Quarterback Pressure = Success
July 4th, 2021
Bucs OLB Jason Pierre-Paul.
Joe is surprised he didn’t have long-term damage to his throat or esophagus due to the many years Joe fought acid reflux because of the garbage pass rush the Bucs used to employ.
The hallmark of the Lost Decade was the defensive line couldn’t get to opposing quarterbacks to save their souls. Remember once when Gerald McCoy politely asked then-Belicheats quarterback Tom Brady not to work so fast?
It was a disgrace to the memories of men who helped build the reputation of the Bucs having a formidable defense like Lee Roy Selmon and Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice that the Bucs’ defensive line of the Lost Decade just waved at quarterbacks from the line of scrimmage, hoping the quarterback made a mistake and threw the ball low enough to get a hand on.
It was so bad, to this day Joe finds it shocking that a member of Team Glazer didn’t throw a suite chain onto the field in outrage like Bobby Knight. After all, the frauds on the field who pretended to provide a pass rush were living large away from the field off of Team Glazer’s loot.
Remember how former Bucs commander Greg Schiano grew so frustrated he just threw his hands in the air and decided instead to load up on the secondary in a desperate attempt to defend opposing passing attacks?
The Bucs as a whole and certainly as a unit began to turn the corner when they got Bucs sack king Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul.
And now the Bucs are defending champions. They shut down arguably the NFL’s best offense. How? Why? Pass rush of course. Chiefs quarterback Pat Mahomes had little to no time to throw the ball.
In fact, only three teams in Super Bowl history got more pressure on a quarterback in a Super Bowl than the Bucs did this past February. And Shaq was one quarterback hit away from trying the single-game Super Bowl record for quarterback hits.
Shaq had four quarterback hits that evening.
It was painful to experience during the Lost Decade how rotten no pass rush can make a team. And now we have witnessed how a pass rush can make a team a Super Bowl champion.
Never, ever forget.
Stats provided by Bucs media relations.
July 4th, 2021 at 12:31 am
How many of those teams chased the opposing QB 400 plus yards?
Hard to get those hits when he’s running away so fast!
July 4th, 2021 at 1:47 am
Michael Bennett. AKA The One Who Got Away. That still hurts.
July 4th, 2021 at 4:18 am
Patrianakos…..That’s exactly what Denver and its fans are thinking saying right now about Shaq getting away.
It is good to be on the other side of the situation.
GO BUCS!!!!!!
July 4th, 2021 at 5:17 am
Yes the Bucs did begin to turn the corner when they got Shaq and JPP Joe, but it wasn’t until we got Suh that our DLine REALLY started kicking ass. Topped with the addition of White, our Front-7 became one of the best in the league.
Look back to 2018. We traded for JPP, drafted Vea & already had Gholston & LVD. No Shaq, no Suh, no White. But instead we had GMC & Allen & Nassib & Curry & Kwon in our Front-7. That defense produced a TOTAL of 38 sacks & 93 QB Hits. Not terrible stats there, but we ranked #24 against the rush & #26 against the pass (defense ranked #31 overall giving up 464 Points Allowed). And oh ya, Bucs ended with a 5-11 record.
Fast forward to 2019. We signed Suh & Shaq and drafted White. Front-7 now became Suh, Vea, Gholston, JPP, Shaq, LVD & White in their first year playing together. That defense, now playing under Todd Bowles as our new DC, increased the sacks to 47 & the QB Hits to 117. Significant improvement IMO considering that we’d drafted close to a whole new Secondary to go with Davis & Whitehead (SMB, Dean & Edwards). We ranked #1 against the rush & #30 against the pass (defense ranked #29 overall giving up 449 Points Allowed). And oh ya, Bucs ended with a 7-9 record.
Now fast forward again to 2020. Front-7 remained intact & now had 1 year of experience playing together under their belts. The only newbie starter that we really added to the defense was Winfield at safety. But with that year of chemistry behind them, the defense improved tremendously IMO. That defense, in its 2nd year Todd Bowles, increased the sacks to 48 & still got 116 QB Hits. We ranked #1 against the rush once again & #21 against the pass (defense ranked #8 overall giving up 355 Points Allowed). And oh ya, Bucs ended with a 11-5 record & won the SB in the process.
The irony to me is that 2019 sacks & QB Hits were the same (164 total), but they were achieved much differently. That’s a credit to Todd Bowles IMO, because he’s consistently put guys in the right places to make big plays. It’s also a credit to his player-development and team-building coaching skills IMO. Now in their 3rd year together, can’t wait to see how well this defense does in 2021.
July 4th, 2021 at 6:29 am
I’d like to see us improve to #1 against the run and #10 against the pass…..now that would be a very dominating defense.
July 4th, 2021 at 6:35 am
9 QB hits in the SB…. Feels like more.
The reality is, if it wasn’t Patrick Mahomes, who is downright incredible, they probably would have easily broken that record of 13 quarterback hits in the Super Bowl
July 4th, 2021 at 6:54 am
I feel like the media and fans in general are giving Mahomes a pass for his Super Bowl performance. Yes, he was under pressure a lot of the time but if you really watch the film he ignored open receivers on short/intermediate routes. The flat was open numerous times. He could have also checked to the run for big gains. Instead he tried to play hero ball. The Chiefs O-line and the receivers who dropped passes get blamed. In reality Hill and the running back who got hit in the face mask probably never saw those balls as the Bucs defenders had hands in their face. I believe the Bucs win regardless but Reid and the rest of the team didn’t get a pass but Mahomes did.
July 4th, 2021 at 7:19 am
Maybe he got a pass, maybe not. I’m pretty sure this loss humbled him enough. Did you see him on the bench in the fourth quarter? There’s really no need for anybody to take it any further. I could understand if Mahomes was an a-hole like Cam Newton or Aaron Rodgers, but he seems to be a pretty cool dude and is fun as hell to watch.
That being said, the Chiefs just knew they were gonna win that game. I wasn’t convinced that the Bucs would win that game. Which is why by the 4th quarter I was completely hammered from Rum and beer. Your Buccaneers simply don’t lose in Super Bowl games. 😎
July 4th, 2021 at 7:25 am
Fact- in two Super Bowl wins your Buccaneers throttled the best team in the league as underdogs. And neither game was even close. Just an all out ass kicking. Just how we like it. Fill the whole GD field with non stop uppercuts.
Other fans might enjoy close games and game winning field goals, but that just isn’t our style. We prefer blood and guts all over the field and broken hearts of opposing fans. The best part is when we win, somebody else loses. And that makes me feel really good.
July 4th, 2021 at 5:34 pm
No commentary about Michael Bennett?
Kinda shocked lol
July 4th, 2021 at 10:42 pm
You know that’s what people are going to do this season. We’ll be seeing more aggressive defenses this year. Brady will fold if guys get in the backfield fast enough. You can bet your bottom dollar Bellicheater is going to throw everything and the kitchen sink to make sure Brady doesn’t beat the final team in the league. That’ll be a double burn if we win.
July 5th, 2021 at 1:34 am
Stop calling him Bellicheat because Brady got caught cheating as well. Maybe he won those superbowls in New England because of there cheating ways!! Lol 😆🤣
July 5th, 2021 at 6:58 am
Agree with most of you on if mahomie was NOT mobile then he deff would have bin sacked and hit more. If he wasn’t so fast he would of left the game early due to injury.
July 5th, 2021 at 10:05 am
Awww Ohneill did your parents let you out of the room today to be among adults??? Bellicheats fits perfectly in Bellechik’s name but not in Brady’s. Are you hurt over that because Brady is white and he received so much love from us? You know what name fits your favorite qb??? Winsnot or Jaymiss or America’s Turnover Machine or Jaymiss Loser Winsnot. You must be ndog with your incessant man love/crush for a mediocre qb too stubborn to learn from coaches who knew more than he did.
July 5th, 2021 at 11:43 am
@David
My sentiments almost exactly!
I might have expressed it a little differently but the general idea is right there.