Dirk Koetter Praises Four Defensive Linemen
August 26th, 2018
Edge standout
It’s been exactly four weeks since manbeast first-round draft pick defensive tackle Vita Vea went down with a calf injury. So Joe’s thrown in the towel on Vea making an impact on opening day.
But who else might?
Dirk Koetter watched the film of Friday night’s dress-rehearsal game against the Lions and chose to praise four of his D-linemen yesterday at One Buc Palace.
They weren’t all the usual suspects.
“I thought Will Gholston had a really good night. He’s showing his versatility by playing inside some so I thought he did a nice job,” Koetter said. “I thought Vinny Curry did a nice job last night. Gerald [McCoy], as always. Those were probably the three guys that stood out the most. [Jerel] Worthy, I thought for a guy who has only been here for a few days, he played [37] plays. For a guy that’s been out for a little while, I thought he showed up and made some plays.”
For those who missed the signing of Worthy, Joe wrote about that here. Worthy hung in well against the Lions for a guy coming right off the street; the former Packers second-round pick was cut last November by the Bills.
Gholston’s sack was a thing of beauty from defensive tackle. He straight beat a double team. Koetter is right; Gholston has been showing his versatility — and that he’s more of a gamer than a practice player.
Joe loves the effort plays newcomer DE Vinny Curry has put on film, some extraordinary stuff. Joe, though, is skeptical Curry will turn out to be much of a difference-maker through a 16-game season.
Gerald McCoy has had a heroic preseason, as Joe wrote Friday night.
It wasn’t Jason Pierre-Paul’s day against the Lions, and Noah Spence is still struggling to shine versus players who are practice-squad bound and/or preparing for grad school enrollment.
Joe is very confident, however, that the Bucs’ defensive line will be much better this season. One could confidently say they were the worst in the NFL last season. If they can rise to, say, the 17th-best, then that should mean significantly more Ws.
August 26th, 2018 at 8:38 am
Getting pressure with 4 is the key . Easier said than done I know but if you can find the right chemistry than the sky is the limit.
August 26th, 2018 at 8:42 am
17th best?
Shoot for the stars Joe……say 16th best….. you know, the bottom of the upper half!
August 26th, 2018 at 8:53 am
Spence just doesn’t seem like he has “it”. Tired of waiting for him to show out
August 26th, 2018 at 8:58 am
Pass rush needs to get better – somehow.
August 26th, 2018 at 9:02 am
I think Joe is on target.
The Bucs DLine appears much better. The line is not elite at this point, but if it goes from the worst in the league to a middle of the road line it should make a major difference in wins and losses this year.
August 26th, 2018 at 9:15 am
What I really want to know is what’s up with Spence!?
August 26th, 2018 at 9:21 am
Jerel worthy get off was impressive
August 26th, 2018 at 9:24 am
Vinny Curry looks like he’s gonna solid for us…He already looks better than the guy we signed a few years ago Michael “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” Johnson…
Buckner is a coach who will hold his guys accountable…He preaches versatility, technique, toughness, and effort…If we can get this Defensive line to play like they’ve played this preseason the entire year our defense as a whole should be pretty dominant…
August 26th, 2018 at 9:40 am
I love preseason and all the CRAP that goes along with it
Preseason is for people who live in a alternate universe
Starters playing against scrubs
No true game plan
No true offense or defense
gimme a break on gholston ………………….he’ll be lucky enough to make the team this year due to his salary and under performance during the season
August 26th, 2018 at 9:43 am
JPP will be key…..He and McCoy will feed off each other. The others will clean up the scraps. As for Spence, when he came in the league he was a tad slow…and a tad undersized. He’s put on some weight which usually means they lose some quickness at a minimum. I just dont see him being much more then a 6 -8 sack guy….at best. He’s limited in when he can be on the field, when he’s on the field he’s not even taking advantage of 1 on 1’s consistently…..The ONLY benefit of the doubt i give him at this point is we have no idea what his assignment is. I would still like to believe he would show up at some point in the game….especially against back ups.
As the saying goes, they’ll tolerate him until they can replace him.
August 26th, 2018 at 10:16 am
Having 4 good strong pass rushers enhances your blitz opportunities and makes them more effective because blockers hands will already be full. So look for sacks again from your LBs and Safeties.
If you build it they will come.
August 26th, 2018 at 11:04 am
OneBuc55, thanks for reminding me about Michael Johnson! Lol. Him and Anthony Collins are two guys I’ve been trying to remove from my memory. They both used the Glazers as thier retirement fund.
August 26th, 2018 at 11:23 am
Not much difference between best of the worst and worst of the best. Either would be a vast improvement
August 26th, 2018 at 11:29 am
I watched the coaches film on Game Pass last night. One thing that stood out in stark contrast to last year’s pre-season was when on D, the game was pretty much played on the Lions side of the LoS. Last pre-season…and all season long…the game was played on the Bucs side of the LoS.
That is a HUGE development.
August 26th, 2018 at 11:31 am
I believe we’ve seen nothing but vanilla mano y mano from this D. Few stunts and blitzes.
That said, who else has noticed all the press coverage from CB’s and nickel in PS? That was MIA all last season…
August 26th, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Yeah Cobra I definitely noticed our corners creeping up more often than last year…Hopefully that continues…
Every team kind of goes thru the motions during preseason so I can’t wait to see how we play when the games matter…One things for sure, this year’s team definitely has more chemistry and swagger than I’ve seen in quite some time…
August 26th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Vinny Curry never takes a step back and hustles his ass off. He’s a huge part of our chances this season.
August 26th, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Will Clarke has looked good through preseason.
August 26th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
SOE… I was just going to say that
August 26th, 2018 at 1:07 pm
I don’t think Noah Spence will be on the roster starting day… I think the Bucs will trade his spot for someone they pick off the big NFL cut down pile, there are always surprises
August 26th, 2018 at 1:47 pm
That would be shocking. Not only is he not that expensive, part of the reason Brentson Buckner was brought in was to work with Spence.
The guy is finally healthy and the Bucs would toss him overboard??? Can’t see that at all.
Shoot, at the owners meetings in March, Koetter was talking about him being on the field on passing downs.
August 26th, 2018 at 1:54 pm
@Joe … “Joe is very confident, however, that the Bucs’ defensive line will be much better this season.” They have to be much better Joe, because they couldn’t be much worse than they were last year. Our DLine got a total of 20 sacks in 16 games … not very impressive (our LBs added 2 sacks & our Secondary added 0 sacks, and that was even less impressive). And just as bad, we couldn’t stop the run when it really counted (like in the Red Zone) & we couldn’t put any pressure on opposing QBs. Good reason for a house-cleaning.
So far this preseason our DLine has more than held their own at the LOS, although I was expecting a LOT more pressure on the QBs. They’ve also done a very good job IMO of stopping the run. And that’s without several key DLinemen contributing like they probably will: Vea, Allen & Unrein. Once we put the beef in there, our DLine should do even better.
If the DLine can do its’ job, not only should it get more sacks, but the LBs should also. And I fully expect more turnovers (especially INTs) from the Secondary. We just have to get guys healed up so they can get on the field.
August 26th, 2018 at 3:09 pm
I think everyone missed on Spence. He was never fast to begin with, and you can’t put a guy with quickness out on the edge in the wide 9. He has to be a sprinter, a Ziggy Ansah…Myles Garrett type. Too much dancing before he engages the lineman, and when he does engage the lineman he can’t get off the block. His best game was against Seattle who pulled five guys off the street to block in that game. I thought he’d be really good coming out of college, but he seems to be a smaller version of a tweener…linebacker size, but not fast enough or strong enough to make an impact anywhere. Guys that small who run in the low to mid 4.6’s don’t have a chance against these tackles, unless they’re strength level is off the charts. He’s a bust, and I hate saying it. We’ve all heard how hard the kid works.
August 26th, 2018 at 3:42 pm
Jersey Buc … Don’t write off Noah Spence just yet. I keep thinking of how so many said exactly the same thing about Mark Baron. He’s now has 7 years under his belt in the NFL, starting an average of 13 games a season, now as a specialized LB instead of as a Safety. Rams found a way to use his particular talents, and he’s rewarded them with 5 INTs & over 200 tackles in the last 2 years.
Noah obviously didn’t do anything last year, but as a rookie … with a bum shoulder for most of the year … he had 5.5 sacks & forced 3 fumbles while only starting 3 games. A lot less pressure on him this year because he’s surrounded by more talent, and Bucs should be able to pick their spots where they want to fit him in. Don’t give up on him prematurely. He may not do anything this year, OR he may surprise you.
August 26th, 2018 at 5:34 pm
No way the Bucs give up on Spence during his rookie contract. No way.
August 26th, 2018 at 6:13 pm
Defense rules – I’m trying not to give up on the kid. He reminded me of Pat Swilling, when he was in college. Same build, same drive to get to the QB.
August 26th, 2018 at 9:18 pm
Jersey Bucs,
You got one point right. Spence has to get better at keeping hands from grabbing onto him. As far as the not fast at 4.6 40yd dash to be good…..Absolutely garbage.
4.6 is in the 98 percentile …unfortunately it isn’t the best metric or much value for the position. …
But the couch scouts love to spew 40 times to sound like they know why a guy is struggling.
If you’re that guy, at least learn the Times .
August 27th, 2018 at 1:15 pm
Anonymous Says:
August 26th, 2018 at 6:13 pm
Defense rules – I’m trying not to give up on the kid. He reminded me of Pat Swilling, when he was in college. Same build, same drive to get to the QB.
—————
Pat Swilling? Uhhhh, NO! Very few similarities. Spence is not nearly as long limbed as Swilling nor is his take-off nearly as special. Swilling was an absolute dominating pass rusher just with his speed and quickness. On a LB corps loaded with the likes of Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, and Vaughn Johnson, Swilling was the freak athlete. Spence has nice quickness but a shorter thicker frame. He doesn’t have anything close to the explosiveness that Swilling had.
Based solely on when he has been playing, it wouldn’t surprise me if Spence is cut. He played most of the 4th quarter the other night. There wasn’t any other Buc players on the field in quarter 4 that are expected to make the team.
August 27th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
D1…aka JACKASS, learn how to read the comment before inserting foot in mouth. I said players that small, running in those times unless they have the strength to match, have no chance. Spence is no where near the size of Ansah or Garrett let does he have their strength. Idiot. Uh Brandon, yeah, I forgot your opinion overrides all others. I see it’s that time of year again. Idiots in full bloom. Scouts I n record comparing the kid to cliff Avril, who’s the same size and length as Swilling. But, I forgot, your opinion rules. Should be a fun season. Lol.
August 27th, 2018 at 5:23 pm
To those responsible for allowing these posts to come through, please remove my previous posts. I tend to forget the lack of football knowledge with most of my fellow Bucs fans. Don’t want to start out the season with name calling, because some of my fellow Bucs fans enjoy running their mouth and being critical without actually reading the comment, they’re attacking. I’d really appreciate it if you remove the last comment by Jersey Buc and Anonymous, both being myself. Thank you.