Defense Will Look “Different”
September 3rd, 2015
GMC, Lovie and the Bucs’ future.
Joe understands with the current state of the Bucs, stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is a lightning rod for both fans and talking heads who sit behind microphones, alike.
One reason is GMC is widely thought to be the best player on the Bucs and certainly is their highest-paid player. Aside from “America’s Quarterback, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, GMC also is the most high-profile player on a 2-14 team.
But Jameis had nothing to do with 2-14, which is why some fans are angered with GMC, tagging him sometimes with unrealistic expectations.
Reuben Fischer-Baum, writing for the geeky site fivethirtyeight.com, types that GMC’s impact will not be felt until the Bucs turn things around. In other words, GMC is not a one-man team. In the future, GMC lead defense, Fischer-Baum contends, that will look far different.
Despite McCoy, in 2014 the Buccaneers defense ranked 28th in passing yards allowed, 19th in rushing yards allowed, 25th in points allowed and 21st in sacks. A single player can have only so much impact on a team’s defensive performance.
But McCoy is still a big part of the Bucs’ future. Tampa Bay isn’t realistically looking to win in 2015. Its path forward — into the tier of teams that legitimately contend for the Super Bowl each year — is a bet on top pick QB Jameis Winston. If he pans out, the Bucs will aim to contend a few years down the line, with McCoy as a cornerstone of a defense that’ll look very different than it looks today.
Why is Fischer-Baum inferring the defense will look “very different?” If anything, Bucs coach Lovie Smith is a rock of consistency. So much so that he damn near drove the Bucs off the cliff last year using his defense whether it was working or not, come hell or high water.
How could Fischer-Baum believe Lovie’s defense will be very different in the future?
Or is he implying that Lovie won’t be around to see the Bucs turn the corner with GMC and Jameis?
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:23 am
GMC might be enjoying retirement by the time this team is good.
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:25 am
we have our DT (McCoy), WLB, and maybe CB set for the next few years. we have cause to hope that Kwon is the man at MLB and perhaps at least one player will pan out from the jumble at safety. beyond that, everybody is a placeholder that needs to be upgraded
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:27 am
Of course it will look different….it looked different last year in mid year. It will look different with Kwon Alexander added and Leonard Johnson gone.
It will look different whether Lovie is coach or not.
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:34 am
By the time that Lovie get all his “pieces” that he needs to run his defense, GMC will be in his last year or retired!!! And if you compare GMC to Sapp, that would be equal to GMC winning a superbowl next year!!! My whole problem is that Lovie’s system takes so much talent to work!!! there are more coaches that could do much better with a lot less!!!! Lovie will not out coach anyone in the NFL, he has to out-talent the lesser teams!!!
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:41 am
Quoting “Reuben Fischer-Baum, writing for the geeky site fivethirtyeight.com”.
Slow news day?? Who cares what this person says?
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:47 am
Buc Realist … “My whole problem is that Lovie’s system takes so much talent to work!!!”
Completely agree Realist, but the Tampa 2 has always required top talent to work effectively as you know. No DL pressure? You’re in deep trouble. MLB can’t cover? Oops, big problem. Guys get blown out of their gap? Deep doo-doo.
Biggest concern this year is the lack of proven DEs who can pressure the QB. But if Lovie compensates for that in various ways, we could still have a decent defense. Personally don’t think it’s a Top-10, but middle-of-the-pack at this point would be better than last year and give us something to build on.
September 3rd, 2015 at 8:49 am
“the Bucs will aim to contend a few years down the line”
Lovie will get a contract extension then!
One more vanilla game folks. Do as you wish. You can come back tomorrow and share how things will not be any different than last year or just relax and wait for the real games of September. After tonight we will be 0-0 on wins and losses. I guarantee it!
In Lovie, Licht, Koetter and Wins-Ton I TRUST!
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:23 am
Every defense needs parts to be successful. Not just the T two. Or are you just saying its Lovies version that requires extra talent?
We got our Sapp and our Brooks. Hopefully Banks can be our Ronde and Possibly Mcdougald can be our Lynch if he plays like he did last year. But we sure as hell need a Simeon or we will never be better than very good.
Look, when you have a rookie qb, your defense has to be strong. It has to be there when the kid makes a mistake and stop the other team from capitalizing on the poor kids mistake. And when they dont, the team fslls behind and the rookie qb eventually has to put the team on his back and that rarely ends up good.
So that brings up, is our defense good enough? Last year they did a decent job of helping out Mccown. But eventually after so many mistakes, the def finally collapsed (think bears game). So if Jameis can play better than Mccown last year, it should make a difference. The mistakes will surely be there. But there should be alot more peaks than we saw with Mccown.
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:30 am
Another point, at times last year, it kinda felt like at times, the defense said F it! Like they were tired of busting their @ss for Mccown, who only dug them deeper until the defense finally rolled over.
Hopefully with a rookie like Jameis, the entire team fight harder. As opposed to a 35 year old who keeps messing up. Eventually the defense and even the oline are going to get p!ssed off.
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:33 am
How could Fischer-Baum believe Lovie’s defense will be very different in the future?
Because unlike you Joe F-B is not here!! Just another outsider making observations based on a day’s visit or worse, watching video and reading clippings. We are the only people who have a clue about Kwon’s talent. We are the only people who have seen Verner playing healthy and the continued growth of Banks. We see the improvement over Goldson and Barron.
As for GMC. I’m not that greedy. I’m not demanding he make other players around him better…he’s failed totally at that…I’m not even asking him to take over a game like Sapp used to do on occasion….
All I want from GMC is CONSISTENCY. Don’t take any plays off!!! Don’t disappear!
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:49 am
every defense needs elite talent to be elite. the scheme dictates whether you need those elite players in coverage, along your interior DL, or rushing the edge. it could be argued (and tony dungy would argue) that the T2 needs LESS talent than most, since it is all about assignments – dallas was lit up by injuries and still kept plugging along in year 2 of the scheme.
it’s funny, i distinctly remember arguments that players such as barber, quarles, singleton, and our Free Safeties that they were not actually as talented as they looked and were a product of the system – the exact opposite of needing superb talent all over the field.
you need 1 elite LB and 1 elite DL, and 1 very good DL. not saying you should be content with average players everywhere else, but after that trio, your best players can be in any number of places – in Chicago it was MLB and DE, back in the day it was simeon, lynch, and later ronde. overall it’s more important to know what your job is on every down than to be freakishly athletic. the growth of this defense this season will be assignment soundness, i don’t think we are all that much more talented but we got guys who know what to do after the ball is snapped
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:51 am
actually, as i think about it, teams have run the T2 effectively without even that many elite players. of course, there are many instances of teams running the scheme with way more overall talent as well
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:17 am
I want difference now! $hit! Dam man, it sucks being a West Coast YUCS fan. Gotdam 9er fans think they own the world. They will get what they deserve this year. LOL! But for once in a very long time I want to be able to stick it to them. Come on YUCS! Why not you?
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:31 am
he is saying once the offense is solidified, we will begin drafting all defense and really mold into lovies image.
September 3rd, 2015 at 1:59 pm
I still can’t believe we have a $100 man on a 2 win team… and he’s on the Defensive line, and we haven’t had a double digit sack count in 50 years… funny