Defensive Race
December 24th, 2019
One play from league lead.
With one game to go, a pair of Bucs cornerbacks have a shot to win the NFL crown of most passes defended.
Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean are among the top three among cornerbacks with passes defended. Davis is tied with Logan Ryan of Tennessee with 18 passes defended.
Dean is tied for third. He and Tre’Davious White of Buffalo have 17. The regular season ends Sunday.
What is surprising about this is how many less snaps Dean has than Davis.
A second-year corner from Auburn, Davis has logged 779 snaps. Dean, also from Auburn, has but 258 snaps.
To Joe, that means teams didn’t fear Dean and targeted him while respecting Davis. For Dean to have that many passes defended in so many fewer snaps tells Joe he was a marked man by opposing quarterbacks who likely now know better. There also was the Bucs’ stated aversion to playing Dean in a zone defense.
The fact that the Bucs are getting such solid play from their young corners (all Sean Murphy-Bunting does is make plays), and this is really encouraging for the future of the defense.
Just a few short weeks ago, folks had to run to the nearest porcelain god to barf their guts out the pass coverage was so bad. Now, it sure smells like it is fixed.
Maybe a bit later than Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians envisioned.
December 24th, 2019 at 9:21 am
Wow! Loving the growth these guys have shown this season.
What was it that BA said in the preseason they secondary is fixed’
Stick that it in your stocking haters. He was right and you get to enjoy a vastly improved young defense for the foreseeable future.
Band of Brothers (2018 & 2019 Draftees)
In BA I Trust!
December 24th, 2019 at 9:46 am
The development of the young secondary as well as Devin White is encouraging. We need to improve the OT and RB position mostly. IMO
December 24th, 2019 at 9:56 am
wow….
surprised you didnt mention VHG…..lol….
but then again, not truly surprised…..after KWON and GMC got their W, joe hasnt mentioned them since….lol….now that VHG got his W, joe doesnt even want to use his name….lol….
guess VHG got the last laugh on BA and the bucs……lol….
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 24th, 2019 at 10:04 am
Jpp coming back and being vocal made a huge impact on this young players.
December 24th, 2019 at 10:09 am
We need a new stat category………Snap adjusted passes defended percentage…….Dean wins hands down!!!
December 24th, 2019 at 10:20 am
813BucBoi you act like VHG, Mccoy, and Kwon gave been big difference makers for their teams. News flash, VHG still sucks, Panthers are 5-10, and Kwon just because he is being paid like a pro bowler doesn’t mean he has the credentials of one. # another dumb take from our notorious Gator Homer.VHG wil be outta the league like a 5th rounder before you know it..#BARF
December 24th, 2019 at 10:26 am
It’s heartening to see you warming up to this defense Joe (well, at least a little). They’re soooo much better than the way you’ve portrayed them almost all season now. You worked hard to make them the scapegoats for Bucs’ losses through most of the season, disregarding how they had to clean up mess after mess from this ‘vaunted offense’ led by your Golden Boy.
You managed to focus most of your comments on POINTS ALLOWED, currently sitting at 421 points (#30 in the NFL). And yet, take away Jameis 6 Pick-6’s & the 1 safety (44 points) & our defense has really allowed 377 points while it was actually on the field. That’d put us tied for #22 in the NFL with the Jaguars & Falcons. Of course, many of Jameis’ other INTs (22) resulted in short fields (15 actually) … our defense held on some, but gave up 6 TDs & 4 FGs on those 22, resulting in another 54 points that they had to eat. Just for fun, subtract those also & that leaves 323 points that they surrendered on plays NOT involving INTs by our offense. That would’ve moved us into the #14 spot, slightly ahead of the Saints.
The one who SHOULD get ‘Coach of the Year’ is Todd Bowles. What he & his assistant coaches have done with the young defense is nothing short of AMAZING. No JPP, no White, no Dean (3 current starters) for almost half the season, so he had little choice but to play their backups (to include VHIII). But once the rookies (White, SMB, Dean, Edwards) got some experience, this defense has taken off.
Take a close look at their REAL stats (not JUST the ones promoted by the media), and most will come away impressed.
o #30 in Total Points Allowed … includes Bucs’ offense’s ‘contributions’ (INTs)
o #9 in Rushing TDs Allowed (11 Rushing TDs)
o #25 in Passing TDs Allowed (29 Passing TDs)
o #20 in Average Points Allowed per Drive (2.02) … most realistic ranking IMO
o #15 in Total Yardage Allowed (5,130 yards)
o #1 in Rushing Yardage Allowed (1,385 yards)
o #1 in Rushing Yards Allowed Per Attempt (3.6 Y/A)
o #3 in Rushing Attempts Against (332 Rushing Attempts) … close to NFL lowest
o #29 in Passing Yardage Allowed (4,036 yards)
o #14 in Net Passing Yards Allowed Per Attempt (6.2 NY/A)
o #32 in Passing Attempts Against (613 Passing Attempts) … highest in NFL
o #5 in Takeaways (27 total)
o #14 in INTs (12 total)
o #3 in Fumbles Recovered (15 total)
o #8 in Percentage of Drives Ending in Takeaway (14.0%)
o TDs scored from INTs: 2
o TDs scored from FRs: 3
o #16 in 1st Downs Allowed (303 total)
o #31 in Average Starting Field Position (Own 31.0) … result of offense’s TOs
In short, this defense is a LOT better than the media have made it out to be, thanks to Todd Bowles & his staff. And anyone who thinks that Jason Licht hand-picked these rookies for Todd Bowles new, hybrid defense is probably ‘smoking dope’ (these rookie selections have TB’s fingerprints all over them).
December 24th, 2019 at 10:46 am
ERIC
lol….they have….
truth hurts huh…..lol….
without kwon in week7 vs the redskins they lose…his forced fumble was a difference maker in a 9-0 win…GMC had 3sack vs us in london…VHG made plays vs the PATS and made a critical stop vs us…..
and kwon made the PB with the bucs so he has the credentials……
your just another dumb FSU fan thats butt hurt that dont know football….lol….
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 24th, 2019 at 10:48 am
eric
BTW
VHG will be in the league for a long long time…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 24th, 2019 at 11:58 am
Adrnagy Says:
December 24th, 2019 at 10:04 am
Jpp coming back and being vocal made a huge impact on this young players
_________
Yeah, sure. A pass rusher being vocal had everything to do with the young CB’s development. It was probably that and something to do with the placement of the moon in relation to the sun and the earth’s rotation…. or it has nothing to do with it whatsoever. You watch too many movies.
December 24th, 2019 at 11:59 am
Best young trio of CBs in the league. Truly great drafting by Licht.
December 24th, 2019 at 12:12 pm
geez brandon when ever you don’t agree with someone, you attack them. Merry Christmas to you as well, bud!
December 24th, 2019 at 2:15 pm
The coach was right is saying it was fixed. We had the right players in place. Common sense tells you they needed time to grow since they are rookies.
Go Bucs!!!
December 24th, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Dean is a true lockdown island! So glad we got lucky with him!
Now go get Kyler Dugger for some Safety help in that backfield Mr. Licht! Bottom of 2nd, top of 3rd rounder
December 24th, 2019 at 7:00 pm
“anyone who thinks that Jason Licht hand-picked these rookies for Todd Bowles new, hybrid defense is probably ‘smoking dope’ (these rookie selections have TB’s fingerprints all over them).”
And I can tell you D.R….even some of us who do occasionally “celebrate” with the ganja realize Licht gets no credit for this new group of young guys.
Coincidence is not the same as causation but….we draft DB’s and the never work out including a major bust in the first round when Licht WAS calling the shots. Don’t know how much influence Smitty had but in fairness Licht may have been drafting corners for Smitty’s soft D.
But Bowles shows up and quickly finds Dean and SMB…both better than any of Lichts picks other than perhaps Davis.
December 24th, 2019 at 7:40 pm
This article just makes me smile. I can’t wait for next year.
December 25th, 2019 at 11:45 am
@buc boi….
GMC had a great game against the Bucs, who were down 2 starters on an OL with no depth. He hasn’t surpassed that total in his other 15 games. He’s been a shadow of his replacement in Tampa and the Panthers are now doing Buc things as he’s become a team leader with guys like Cam and Short injured. And look, another coach fired on his watch….
Kwon was and is a very good player who looked to be getting even better in the middle of that talented defense. However he continues to struggle to play a full season, and is closer to his ceiling than a guy like D White
Vernon might be in the league for many years but any team that is playing him as a top 2 corner probably has some work to do in their DB room. Not fast enough or driven enough to be a front line DB but if you ignore his draft position and he’s willing to play special teams he could pull NFL checks for 5+ more seasons
No need to look back, the future at every position is better now