Turning The Corner?
September 24th, 2018
Best of his career.
If third-year Bucs defensive back Ryan Smith can continue to play like he did against the Eagles, it will go a long way toward the Bucs shoring up their pass defense.
Smith, who spent his rookie year as a safety which proved to be a mistake, had his best game as a pro against the Super Bowl champions with two passes defended and seven tackles including five solo. He shed blocks and was always around the ball.
Smith has struggled terribly as a defender (he’s a fantastic special teams player) and last week may have finally shown everything he can do.
“It was perfect timing,” Smith said as both Vernon Hargreaves and Brent Grimes were each injured and did not play. “I just tried to play to my best ability. I did play with a whole lot more confidence. I had a lot of fun.”
There may be good reason he had confidence. Smith said he’s finally feeling comfortable as a cornerback. His rookie season was pretty much a waste between being injured and trying to become a safety.
“People forget [this season is] only my second year playing [cornerback] on defense,” Smith said. “So I am still learning.”
Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith had praise for his young corner.
“I thought he had a solid game [watching] from the press box,” Mike Smith said. “He was where he needed to be and made some plays on the ball.”
Again, with the Bucs pretty much having to rely on rookie corners, if Smith can continue to play like he did last week and Brent Grimes now getting healthy, that could be a major boost to the struggling pass defense.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Time to put some DICKS in the dirt!
September 24th, 2018 at 6:08 pm
Oh wow Joe, your “struggling pass defense” is a real understatement. Bucs defense has given up 753 passing yds in 2 games … on-track for 6,024 passing yds if that continues (it won’t). Last year’s defense gave up 4,169 passing yds (almost 2,000 less). That’s scary. On the other hand, it was the start of the season and we did play 2 excellent offenses. Still, with Big Ben in town tonight & with a lot of passing teams on the horizon, our Secondary needs to improve quickly. Sure glad we didn’t add any experienced CBs like Breeland though.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:12 pm
Was good to see Ryan Smith play like that last week. Hopefully he continues to get better, it would do wonders for our defense overall.
@DR – Agreed we won’t ever get to 6k, but I would expect we give up a fair amount tonight. Despite the Steelers record, they’ve put up the 2nd most in the league behind us I believe. AB and JuJu are a lot to deal with.
Hoping the pass rush shows up strong tonight! Go Bucs!
September 24th, 2018 at 6:14 pm
Over exaggeration, the saints ryan smith is the REAL guy, the EAGLES WRs are bums and the qb is a backup, the backend will show why the bucs defense is still the worst in the NFL tonite against AB & JJ, that being said, still think the bucs outscore big ben & the boys in a good ol 1980s AFC West shootout
September 24th, 2018 at 6:16 pm
Jameis will be in OBP first thing in the morning !
September 24th, 2018 at 6:23 pm
I was shocked watching Smith last week.. If he can continue to improve we would be in excellent shape between him Hargraves and the two rookies for next year…
September 24th, 2018 at 6:27 pm
Glad to see a hard working kid start coming into his own. Keep working, young man.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:47 pm
I have to admit, I thought Ryan Smith was a lost cause, but last week he showed up and gave us reason to be hopeful. The kid can definitely tackle. If he can master pass defense he’ll pass up Hargreaves. Looking to see how well he holds up in this game. I am sure he’ll be picked on tonight with Grimes holding the other side. Let’s see if the last game was no fluke.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:52 pm
I like Ryan Smith. I see him continuing to develop at CB. Always loved his prowess on special teams.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:54 pm
Per Greg Auman – “Bucs inactives tonight vs. Steelers: rookie RB Ronald Jones, injured DTs Vita Vea and Beau Allen, injured CB Marcus Williams, OL Alex Cappa, OL Mike Liedtke, WR Justin Watson”
Good sign to see that C Ryan Jensen is not on the inactive list. Bad news for RoJo. Nice to see that Noah Spence be given another shot to prove himself. Go Bucs.
September 24th, 2018 at 7:05 pm
This weather though…..we don’t need this now…oh what the heck…there’s always something…can’t we catch a break?…😁
September 24th, 2018 at 7:16 pm
If there’s a weather delay that will be in our favor.
September 24th, 2018 at 7:34 pm
AB WILL put up 200 yards tonight..They better give Barber 25 carries and kill the clock on this game to keep him off the field. The D needs to step up can’t keep winning shootouts.
Or.can they?
September 24th, 2018 at 7:51 pm
We are really gonna need him to step up tonight with Grimes being nicked up still and our DL not getting the Pressure we ALL hoped for.
Big Ben in Desperation mode and all that!
September 25th, 2018 at 2:01 am
The corner was there to be turned, but the Charmin soft Buccaneers proved once again they can’t win a defining game. Two years ago at Dallas, they gagged. Tonight, a chance to go three and oh — gag puke cough chunks.
This team is a talented bunch that has a losing mentality at the core.