Ray Lewis: Bucs Don’t Need To Blitz
March 29th, 2021
Legendary linebacker Ray Lewis was all fired up talking Bucs on ESPN TV, and he named five Tampa Bay guys that have him especially pumped.
The general is Todd Bowles, as Lewis calls the Bucs defensive coordinator, and the Hall of Fame linebacker is convinced Bowles knows exactly how dominant his unit is. And that’s why the Bucs were so aggressive in returning their free agents.
“They know what they have, Lewis bellowed on First Take. “Right, they they have a chance to go back and do it again and again until people stop them because of what Todd Bowles has done with that defense. When you got [Lavonte David] and you got them boys running around behind [Ndamukong] Suh and them and [Shaq] Barrett and JPP on the outside, let me tell you something, when you have a front seven that dominant, listen to me, you don’t have to blitz nobody! All you have to do is make sure the ball does not get over your head, and let that front four hunt the way that they hunted in the Super Bowl.”
Lewis equated what the Bucs did against the Chiefs to what his Ravens did 20 years ago to the Giants — in a Super Bowl also at The Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway (now The Licht House). The Ravens’ defense kept the Giants out of the end zone, exactly like the Bucs did to the Chiefs in last month’s 31-9 championship beatdown.
Ironically, the Bucs led the NFC in blitzing, coming in 268 times during the 2020 regular season, per Pro Football Reference.
Astute fans realize Bowles’ frequent diet of blitzes is a nightmare for quarterbacks, so Lewis is off the mark. But he is correct in putting it out there that the Bucs’ four-man pass rush was elite in the playoffs and the Bucs can beat anyone and everyone if that continues.
It’s a reason Joe hopes the Bucs still add a pass rusher in free agency and/or try to strike gold on the edge in the draft. You just can’t have too many QB hunters after New Year’s Eve.
March 29th, 2021 at 2:28 pm
In some ways, our defense reminds me quite bit of the Ravens Super Bowl winning defense.
March 29th, 2021 at 2:42 pm
Blitzing is productive against average quarterbacks, but I suspect elite QB’s like Rodgers, Brees, etc. were able to pick those up and punish the Bucs when they did.
March 29th, 2021 at 2:44 pm
I like “Licht House”. How funny is it that so many wanted him fired after the first 5 years. I think it goes to show that GMs, as long as they are humble and choose to learn from their mistakes, need a leash that is longer than 5 years. I can’t think of a job out there that truly prepares someone to be a GM. You only get better by doing it.
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March 29th, 2021 at 2:45 pm
Don’t know how I could be more energized about the upcoming season. Keep the cannons booming at the Licht House.
March 29th, 2021 at 2:49 pm
Let’s hope Vita Vea was the definitive different maker in the playoffs & SB because we had many games last season with everyone else in that front four that LACKED PRESSURE so much of so many games.
People seem to quickly forget how Shaq & JPP didn’t produce any sacks for several games.
March 29th, 2021 at 3:42 pm
I would not be upset at all if they went Edge rusher / DT with their first 2 picks this year.
Go Bucs !!
March 29th, 2021 at 3:53 pm
With all due respect to Mr. Lewis – I mean that. Didn’t he say he quit watching the SB at half time citing the weak penalty flags thrown. How could he have that much insight into our defense after only having watched half the game. Just asking for a friend.
BTW Joseph LOVE the new moniker, “The Licht House”
March 29th, 2021 at 4:14 pm
Bucs do you intend to sign Antonio Brown for 2021?
March 29th, 2021 at 4:16 pm
No mention of Vita, you don’t have to blitz when Vita is on the field. The disrespect is unbelievable. The dude changes the D
March 29th, 2021 at 4:23 pm
Would love to see another pass rusher added.
And “Licht house”rules
March 29th, 2021 at 4:26 pm
It’s a corundum opportunity at 32 to take 1 or 2 of the best running backs or go edge. Wonder because of that they trade back and get another second and third.
March 29th, 2021 at 4:28 pm
Vea occupies 2 defenders almost every time. This allows the sacks by JPP and Barrettt and the penetration by Suh.
As the secondary matures, they can only get better BUT they need more outside linebackers/ends to spell the starters AND to take over when JPP retires.
March 29th, 2021 at 4:57 pm
@bradybucs – you’re 100% right, this team got hot at the perfect time last season. They have to carry that over into this season, and yes I think Vea is the key piece.
March 29th, 2021 at 5:00 pm
Undoubtedly will get skewered by the Joes for this, but ‘Licht House’ doesn’t cut it for a RayJay nickname in my book. No way does any city nickname its NFL stadium for a general manager. The only one who’s even come close to doing that I can think of is Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, nicknamed by some ‘JerryWorld’ after the Cowboys’ owner (and GM?). JerryWorld? Sounds too reminiscent of Mike Myers in ‘Wayne’s World’ or even Kevin Costner in ‘Water World’.
Nicknaming stadiums is a big deal IMO. Well, at least it used to be. Cleveland’s ‘Dawg Pound’, and Oakland’s ‘Black Hole’, and Philadelphia’s ‘The Vet’, and of course Green Bay’s ‘The Frozen Tundra’ (or to some ‘Titletown’).
Oh wait, I do seem to remember that some nicknamed Bills Stadium ‘The Ralph’ after the Bills’ founder, Ralph Wilson. Seriously? The Ralph?
March 29th, 2021 at 5:01 pm
Uh, that’s exactly why Jerry’s World is called that.
March 29th, 2021 at 5:02 pm
Ray Lewis who picked the Packers to Dominate the Bucs in the NFC championship game……he said that on Fox.
Now over on BSPN Ray Lewis likes what he sees from the bucs.
Being a great player usually gets you a job in the media when you retire nowdays, unless you’re Emmit Smith.
March 29th, 2021 at 5:42 pm
He’s right, kind of. They were better in the playoffs and big part was the DBs playing up tighter yet the safeties focusing on not allowing the deep ball.
During the season, the DBs weren’t ready to play like that and the pass rush wasn’t as consistent.
There will still be games that they need to bring White or DB more than usual.
March 29th, 2021 at 5:43 pm
Ray would like to see the defense be allowed to carry clubs and stunguns.
March 29th, 2021 at 5:46 pm
@Joe … “Uh, that’s exactly why Jerry’s World is called that.”
Aw come on Joe, that was too easy. Actually, I was expecting you to jump on ‘The Ralph’. In any event, you’re the one who kept ‘The Den of Depression’ alive all those years. And I’ll be the first one to say it was very descriptive & appropriate (unfortunately). We need something to replace it that’s badass. REALLY badass. ‘The Licht House’ or ‘We saw the Licht’ or whatever just isn’t badass enough. It’s kinda like ‘The Stick Carriers’. Nope, not badass enough.
March 29th, 2021 at 6:08 pm
I disagree, 20 years ago you could pressure and just not let the ball.sail.over your head.Now, that style defense will lose the time of posession battle amd leave you with little time on the clock….keep blitzing!
March 29th, 2021 at 6:44 pm
Super. Dude with opinion still shot a guy. Allegedly.
March 29th, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Been saying for a couple seasons Licht is modeling his defense after the Ravens.
Ngata – Vea
Suggs – JPP
Lewis – White
Reed – Winfield
Look for Licht to get his Suggs in this draft.
March 29th, 2021 at 6:56 pm
Apparently he didn’t watch the regular season games. So many games would have gotten out of hand in a bad way without those blitzes to stop the opposing offense
March 29th, 2021 at 7:48 pm
I love Winfield but Reed he is not. You can sorta make a case for the other guys but even Suggs and JPP comparison is a stretch. I kinda like JPP over Suggs.
March 29th, 2021 at 8:00 pm
Licht House sure sounds a hell of a lot better than Den of Depression, just saying…
March 29th, 2021 at 8:02 pm
“Lewis equated what the Bucs did against the Chiefs to what his Ravens did 20 years ago to the Giants…”
No Ray, it was nothing like that. The Bucs faced arguably the most explosive QB in the NFL coming off a Super Bowl win, looking to repeat, and forced him to literally run 500 yards for life…….
……You faced Kerry Collins who was about as mobile as Century 21 sign in a Florida front yard.
The Bucs shut down Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. The Ravens handled the greatness that was Ike Hilliard.
No… it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t even close to the same.
March 29th, 2021 at 8:02 pm
It’s a numbers game. If you can get consistent pressure with 4 rushers then you don’t need to blitz. They did blitz less in the playoffs and were able to drop extra defenders. With the bag of crap schedule they have I wouldn’t blitz one time
March 29th, 2021 at 8:49 pm
Amen. More pass rushers!
March 29th, 2021 at 9:38 pm
This Bucs defense showing blitz definitely messes with the opposing QBs head.
March 29th, 2021 at 11:10 pm
Astute observers have yet to weigh in. For the record, the Bucs four man rush was only used in the Super Bowl. It was the only game the team used four down linemen the majority of the time. All other games they were in a 3-4 and in the Super Bowl they were in a 4-2 nickel the vast majority of the time.
March 30th, 2021 at 1:10 am
HeyItsAdam Says:
March 29th, 2021 at 8:02 pm
“Lewis equated what the Bucs did against the Chiefs to what his Ravens did 20 years ago to the Giants…”
No Ray, it was nothing like that. The Bucs faced arguably the most explosive QB in the NFL coming off a Super Bowl win, looking to repeat, and forced him to literally run 500 yards for life…….
……You faced Kerry Collins who was about as mobile as Century 21 sign in a Florida front yard.
The Bucs shut down Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. The Ravens handled the greatness that was Ike Hilliard.
No… it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t even close to the same.
——
Lmao! Get eeemmm! So spot on
March 30th, 2021 at 5:12 am
The Bucs don’t need to blitz if the other team is missing two starting tackles – but against anything close to healthy teams – yes, they need to tackle. We know this because in the midseason rut, the team stopped blitzing, and they looked like s-hit. Also the Bucs play a 3-4, when you say don’t blitz, you’re saying either drop JPP or Barrett into coverage – again, which is stupid. Yeah, JPP got an INT in coverage, but he’s a lot more valuable rushing.
March 30th, 2021 at 10:41 am
If there is one then we need to draft another stud DT. this defense was not great last year for many games. especially when bowles played soft zone. Vita Vea makes this defense scary good. We need to find another vita vea even though that is very difficult.
March 30th, 2021 at 12:42 pm
Hows kahlil davis ? Is he any good can he back this season somewhere on that line ?