The Rotten Defense
November 8th, 2018
You will fastball your overpriced, barista-poured coffee across the parking lot after you read this.
Savvy Chase Stuart of FootballPerspective.com seems to be on a crusade to hammer home just how godawful the Bucs defense is. He doesn’t have to hard sell Joe.
Just take a look at how this year’s Bucs defense — on pace to set 99-year old NFL records for points allowed and shatter records for TD passes allowed and total passing yards allowed — compares to the glorious 2002 Bucs, one of the best defenses in the annals of the NFL featuring Derrick Brooks as Defensive Player of the Year.
The 2002 Bucs allowed 2,490 passing yards.
The 2018 Bucs allowed 2,457 passing yards… through 8 games.Other pass defense stats:
2002 Bucs: 10 TDs, 31 INTs
2018 Bucs: 22 TDs, 1 INT— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) November 5, 2018
Disgusting and impressive, isn’t it?
Think about this, folks: the Bucs are on pace to have a defense worse than any expansion team that ever took an NFL field. Including the Bucs. Let’s take a look at how those defenses compared.
Points allowed.
1976 Bucs 412 (14 games).
2018 Bucs 275 (8 games).
Touchdown passes allowed.
1976 Bucs 19 (14 games).
2018 Bucs 22 (8 games).
Passing yards allowed.
1976 Bucs 2,241 (14 games).
2018 Bucs 2,457 (8 games).
Remember, the 1976 Bucs finished 0-14.
And remember, expansion teams back when the Bucs were birthed did not have the luxury of free agency. So the Bucs in their inaugural season were comprised of castoffs from other teams, rookie draft picks, dudes off the street right out of college, stragglers from the newly defunct World Football League and whatever saps they could drag out of the Canadian Football League.
And yet that Bucs defense was better than what we are watching now.
There are no words.
November 8th, 2018 at 8:02 am
Awful comparasion
Different game back then where the rules didn’t favor offenses so much. Even the 2002 defense would have a hard time in this current version of the NFL
November 8th, 2018 at 8:19 am
compare most teams with teams from almost 20 years ago and you will see similar results!!!!!!!!!!!!
I find it interesting that the local media are always comparing stats from 20 years ago as it fits their needs!!!!!!!!!
Last year the Bucs defense was terrible, and giving up a bad 23.9 pts a game, And a year later, over 15 teams are giving up more than that!!!!!!!!!!!!
The “Real” fans can see that the league has been turned into the arena league with scoring!!!!!!!! and the Buc while the defensive talent is horrible. they have faced the highest ranked offensive avg. as well!!!!!!!!!!!
by the way, there are two teams worst in pass yards allowed per game. I don’t know why Joe wrongly keeps them as the “worst” !!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 8th, 2018 at 8:30 am
Sigh. What if we would have drafted Derwyn James insted of Vita, and Donte Jackson insted of MJ Stewart
November 8th, 2018 at 8:31 am
My goodness, that 2002 team had 31 interceptions? I know that Bucs defense was an all-time great but I don’t think I’ve ever considered the actual stats. If I have, it’s been a long time since I’ve been reminded. I don’t want to hear about any “different era” nonsense. The rules favor offense today but there were hall of famers all over that defense. I don’t think there is an offensive line in the NFL today that could contend with that Bucs defensive line.
Brian Kelly had 8 interceptions and wasn’t named to a pro-bowl. How did that happen?
November 8th, 2018 at 8:34 am
Records were made to be broken.
November 8th, 2018 at 8:35 am
Joe
Your anger issues and analogies have always concerned me, but now your mentioning public littering?
Please seek professional help………just not with the same doctor that JW saw for his “problems”.
November 8th, 2018 at 8:41 am
well i think it is the perfect comparison, and i was following this club from their inaugural season, and lived thru it, and why is it” thee” perfect comparison, you might ask, it’s as simple as joe stated, in this article, no free agents, scrubs from other teams, and rookies galore, how many high dollar free agents has this club paired with the anointed one (the man from gotham city) over the last 3-4 seasons, well let’s just say the glazers did not get a return on their investment, other than JPP, the signing of swaggy baker and the likes has been a dismal failure, especially this year, as to where it’s a collective kick in the old groin, linebackers taking wrong angles, corners can not cover and the line can not pressure the QB, and that’s with this years addition of not one but two supebowl winning players. this defense has no heart, no soul, no drive, no focus, no leader, and no passion, just as monken had said about his red zone offense we chose to suck, the same can be said about this defense.
November 8th, 2018 at 8:44 am
Joe bring back Mr. Pessimistic Column
November 8th, 2018 at 8:56 am
Why not compare this defense to the 2015 defense
When they fired Lovie and his defensive staff
Total Yards Per Game
2018. 414.3
2105. 340.4
Passing Yards Per Game
2018. 307 Yards
2105. 240.Yards
Rushing Yards Per Game/Carry
2018. 107.1 YPG/ 4.4 YPC
2015. 100.4 YPG/ 3.4 YPC
Takeaways
2018. 6 Total. 1 INT. 5 Fumbles (8 Games)
2015 23 Total 11 INT. 12 Fumbles (16 Games)
Points Scored
2018. 275 Total. 34.4 Per Game ( 8 Games)
2015. 417 Total. 26.1 Per Game ( 16 Games)
I would say
Someone need to coach the LOVIE into these players
2018.
November 8th, 2018 at 8:57 am
***2015 not 2105***
November 8th, 2018 at 9:01 am
You really think this team would use him properly? That’s a helluva logical leap and why Joe was so adamant they not draft Denzel Ward.
November 8th, 2018 at 9:03 am
from the numbers above, looks like lovie was a defensive guru…lol
November 8th, 2018 at 9:05 am
the motto of the bucs defense should be:
“We Get Lit”
November 8th, 2018 at 9:20 am
In fairness joe why dont you compare dungy the clowns offenses with koetter…. dungy and koetter have won absolutely the same damn thing as bucs coaches absolutely NOTHING of substance
November 8th, 2018 at 9:21 am
Yeah, that really jumped out. They averaged two picks a game. Impressive, right?
November 8th, 2018 at 9:21 am
It’s not all bad. We lead the league in field goals per drive.
Also, this is much better tradecraft than yesterday’s horrible-defense post.
November 8th, 2018 at 9:25 am
Unfair comparison, but there is still no excuse. None. Zip.
Lord please let me hear the front offices explanation of why they should get more time.
November 8th, 2018 at 9:29 am
Man LakeLand, you’re not kidding!
People thought Dirk Koetter was going to be some kind of savior and that Jason Licht needed to wrest control of the team from Lovie so that he could build a winner.
Just about everyone in the local media had it out for Lovie because he was condescending towards them. It was obvious the players respected him considering how outraged they were when he was fired. The players were silent when Mike Smith was canned. I wonder if they will be silent if Dirk Koetter is canned.
The deck was stacked against Lovie in 2014 when Tedford fell ill. Lovie was given no mulligan from the fans for the season, yet Dirk got a mulligan last year. Hmmmm, wonder why…
November 8th, 2018 at 9:57 am
D Rome- No players were outraged or broken up by Lovie being fired
November 8th, 2018 at 9:58 am
If you don’t think the players and coaches from 2002 would have adapted and played under todays rules your sadly mistaken. Daddy Glazer is gone RIP. It is the kids that don’t know who to pick for the positions and get the right players in here. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. That is all the Glazes do. Play stupid games.
November 8th, 2018 at 10:22 am
Funny how we got entirely away from the Defense which won us a superbowl. It was the Bucs..calling card. Teams actually feared our Defense. Now, they welcome it with open arms. You can put up 40 a game. But you gotta stop your opposition from scoring 41.
GREAT DEFENSES WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!
November 8th, 2018 at 10:53 am
Coaches and GM must go, then players need to be re evaluated. This season is over, our defense can’t get better at this rate with the same scheme. Sad stats Joe, no words for how horrible our D is. I’m not reading any more about the Bucs today, too depressing. Licht and Koetter have made a huge mess.
November 8th, 2018 at 11:07 am
Uh huh…
November 8th, 2018 at 11:39 am
@D-rome
What are you talking about??????? loser lovie got a an undeserved mulligan!!!!!!!!!!! after being THE worst team with the WORST record in the NFL with the #1 Overall draft pick, he got to come back and wreck the team even more!!!!!!!!!
The hiring of incompetent lovie set this franchise back 5 years easily!!!!!! and most likely longer!!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 8th, 2018 at 12:01 pm
Realist- There’s no way, no way that you can say with a straight face that this defense isn’t worse than anything Lovie fielded. AND, with unquestionably upgraded talent. Those stats LakeLand posted above are no mirage!
November 8th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
D-Rome Says:
November 8th, 2018 at 8:31 am
My goodness, that 2002 team had 31 interceptions? I know that Bucs defense was an all-time great but I don’t think I’ve ever considered the actual stats. If I have, it’s been a long time since I’ve been reminded. I don’t want to hear about any “different era” nonsense. The rules favor offense today but there were hall of famers all over that defense. I don’t think there is an offensive line in the NFL today that could contend with that Bucs defensive line.
Brian Kelly had 8 interceptions and wasn’t named to a pro-bowl. How did that happen?
——————-
That isn’t even the half of it. The Bucs D of that season held opponents to a 46.9 rating (or something like that). An incomplete pass is a 36. Add in the INTs, INTs returned for TDs, and sacks, and you wonder why teams bothered to ever throw the ball against that team. And unlike the 2000 Ravens D that people like to claim as better, the Bucs didn’t get the luxury of playing a quarter of their games against the two worst (one was historically bad) offenses in the league that year, the Bucs played a ton of top 10 offensive teams and totally dismantled them. That was a defense for the ages.
November 8th, 2018 at 1:09 pm
The hiring of incompetent lovie set this franchise back 5 years easily!!!!!! and most likely longer!!!!!!!!!!
The Bucs were 6-10 when they fired Lovie
They are 3-5 now
Maybe the hiring of Dirk Koetter has set this team back
Everything points in this direction
November 8th, 2018 at 1:10 pm
What was the Bucs record in 2017?
5-11
November 8th, 2018 at 4:17 pm
What was incompetent lovies record???? 8-24!!!!!
Right now Head Coach Koetter from is 8-16 from last year and half way thru this year against a much stronger schedule!!!!!!!
the point is lovie should have never been hired, or at the very least blown up instead of trying to fix and patch up stuff that that loser tried to start in Tampa!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!
November 8th, 2018 at 4:52 pm
Dirk Koetter and Mike Smith did the same thing in Atlanta
The Falcons was rolling with Mike Mularkey as OC
The first year with Koetter/Smith they was following the trend
13-3 record
Then they decided to bulk the trend in year 2
4-12 Year 2
6-10 Year 3
Then they were sacked……FIRED
With the BUcs
9-7 Year 1
5-11 Year 2
3-5 ?
November 8th, 2018 at 8:02 pm
It’s amazing how anyone can even think of defending this defense. Because of the rules which has made the NFL, the arena league on a 100 yard field, how dare anyone make such a comparison. No that 2002 defense would not struggle, because they had what’s called a pass rush, linebackers who could cover and a secondary that had more than a clue. A pass rush levels the field even with the screwed up rules hyping up offenses. And too criticize Joe for saying the Bucs rank last in passing yards allowed per game, when they really “only” rank 30th…lol. Really?!!!! It’s comments like that, that makes me think Bucs fans deserve this team. Unbelievable.