Defense As Talented As Philly
July 30th, 2018
One thing that totally baffled Joe as to why the defense was so horrible last year was it’s not like the cupboard was bare.
At each level stood current and former Pro Bowl players. And the Bucs linebackers are thought to be a deep unit.
Yet the defense as a whole was laugh-out-loud bad. So long as you aren’t a Bucs fan.
Well, the Bucs added quite a bit of talent to the defense this offseason, including a couple of guys who just got a Super Bowl ring in February with the Eagles.
One of those guys is defensive end Vinny Curry. And through four practices thus far in training camp, Curry believes the Bucs have the defensive talent to win.
He’s noticed Bucs stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has been watching him and Beau Allen, also a former Eagles defensive tackle. Curry feels that GMC knows there is a reason the Eagles beat the mighty Belicheats to win a ring and that’s why he’s monitoring the two so much.
“You know what man, we had a great team last year and great defensive linemen,” Curry said. “You know, from the ones to the twos, we rotated every four plays. We’re building that here. We have just as much talent on our defense here in Tampa as we did in Philly.
“Just [GMC] watching that, you know, I’m pretty sure he was just watching his position. You know whether it’s Beau [Allen] or Fletcher Cox and seeing how they rush, you know with someone like me being on the same side as Gerald [McCoy]. Trying to get that feel, I’m pretty sure that’s what he was watching.”
That would be chemistry. That’s something Joe has heard defenders say they are trying to build with defensive line coach Brentson Buckner.
It was very interesting to Joe that Curry said the Bucs have just as much talent on defense as the Eagles. It reminds Joe of Bucs coach Dirk Koetter saying on “Hard Knocks” how the Bucs had the most talent on the roster since he has been with the Bucs.
If a team has talent, and they aren’t getting the job done on the field, you know where fingers will be pointed, right?
July 30th, 2018 at 12:11 pm
Our Dline is very talented and very deep…..Imagine where Gholston is our weakest player….and if it weren’t for his expensive guarantee….he would definitely be on the bubble.
This line should make our LBs & DBs much more effective.
July 30th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
He may not even be on the roster if not for that contract.
There was a window for the Bucs to wash their hand of him but they decided otherwise. Bean counters at One Buc Palace have probably taken notice.
July 30th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Back end is huge question mark, the front 6/7 should be tough
July 30th, 2018 at 12:18 pm
Our Defense as talented as Philly? Come on man, thats more of a stretch than the monster in that movie, THE THING!! Its yet to be determined. On paper, we are giant killers. And we have been here on paper before. I will say though, IF…this Defense has improved we will win a few more games. How many more is the question. I won’t hold my breathe on these Bucs. Our 1st 5 games are extremely critical.
July 30th, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Well eagles have Jim Schwartz , who we should of gotten. That defense was nothing special before he was there
July 30th, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Being a Bucs fan since 76′, I for one would love to see the Bucs go back to their roots and emphasize defense. No more blowout losses to start the year.
July 30th, 2018 at 12:23 pm
All we need is a QB that can hit his WR’s in stride
July 30th, 2018 at 12:24 pm
great article joe…..last year dirk said this is the most talent we’ve had since he’s been apart of the bucs…..dirk and licht both claimed we’re close…..now players are saying we have just as much talent as the eagles…translation: if we don’t make the playoffs, it wont be because of talent!!!!….
glad to see excuses being laid aside and pressure being applied to this staff!!!!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
I’ve been saying all along we have more than enough talent offensively and defensively to make the playoffs. Anything less is on the coaching.
July 30th, 2018 at 12:27 pm
Had no depth last year and it showed as much very early in preseason. Injuries took their toll and we got what we got. Simple as that. Maybe David said it best…
“For the most part us linebackers had to drop in coverage, especially with the injuries and things like that,” David said. “We had to throw some of our guys in on the D-line to help rush, so we couldn’t blitz as much as we wanted because everything had to be simple with guys learning new roles. It was hard, but it was part of the game plan we had to run. It hurt me, but it hurt everybody.”
July 30th, 2018 at 12:28 pm
There’s that “rotation” word! Ever wonder what happens to a DT who is on the field for 76%+ of the snaps?
Brandon Graham was the closest at 65% for the Eagles, Curry 55%.
July 30th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
The Bucs could be the most talented Buc’s roster and still finish 4th talented roster in the NFC South!!!!!!
And I heard the whole interview, It sounded and was implied that it was about the D-line compared to Philly’s 2017 D-line!!!!!!!!!
As Joe has always said!!!! Hard to compete when you have the 4th best QB in the division!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 30th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
Our secondary is 31st so don’t get to pumped
July 30th, 2018 at 12:38 pm
You know, I know, We all know that Mike Smith ain’t no Jim Swartz
July 30th, 2018 at 12:58 pm
Our Defense as talented as Philly?
—————
Lmao, you guys really are funny!
Didn’t Curry get manhandled by OJ Howard yesterday? A second yr guy? Hmmm ok!
July 30th, 2018 at 1:03 pm
hard to compete when you have the 4th best coaching staff in the division!!!!!!!!!!!
no matter how much talent you collect, you’ll always finish last with last place coaching!!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2018 at 1:04 pm
No place to go but UP there fellas!!!
DB55- Judging by Joe’s notes from the 1 on 1s, there were a few D-linemen who got owned yesterday.
Kind of bittersweet if you ask me. Great for our O-line, not so much for our D-line!
July 30th, 2018 at 1:06 pm
See if our DLine plays up to their potential we wouldn’t have as much to worry about with our secondary. Yea we don’t have someone like jalen Ramsey who MIGHT be able to hold his own without a decent pass rush but our guys aren’t as garbage as we say they are (I say it too sometimes). Any pro QB can pick apart a defense if he’s not worried about actually being hit/pressured. That’s what’s happened over the last few years!!!!
July 30th, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Coaches can’t get around weak Thought in the lockerroom
You can’t coach lockerroom leadership
Our Players who are Leaders need to STEP UP
The soft minds need to be called out in the Lockerroom
IF ANYONE STATES AFTER A LOSS “We Had an Off Day”
Or one of our DLINEMAN GET PUSHED AROUND LIKE A RAG DOLL THEY NEED TO BE CALLED OUT
July 30th, 2018 at 1:20 pm
813 if they don’t win that many games the coaches will be gone this season.
Everyone knows that…including my next door neighbor’s Aunt in Alaska.
But…
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
Just an observation…you’ve been blasting this for an 1/2 year now. Kind of like you’re worried they won’t be gone if the team still sucks. That’s the way I’ve been reading it. When like I said…most of us see them gone.
You do your thing, and I’ll keep reading it…..just saying…. it’s kind of like….the coaches will be gone? No shyte man.
July 30th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
ATrain….I’m all for Warren Sapp to be given a special coaching spot made just for him. Call him the Accountability Coach.
Make THAT guy hold everyone accountable for how they play.
July 30th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
@Joe … “If a team has talent, and they aren’t getting the job done on the field, you know where fingers will be pointed, right?” I love that line Joe. Focus the attention on Scapegoat Smitty & his band of renown for all Bucs’ losses … and off of Jameis (“getting the job done” could possibly mean the offense scoring MORE points as well as the defense giving up LESS points … possibly).
@DestinJohnny … “Our secondary is 31st so don’t get to pumped.” Actually Johnny, we were 32nd in the NFL in terms of TOTAL YARDAGE ALLOWED and PASSING YARDS ALLOWED. The ONLY team to allow OVER 6,000 yards total. Yuck. We were one of only THREE teams to allow OVER 4,000 yards passing … the Giants & the Patriots being the other two. Yup, the Super Bowl runner-up had the #29 overall DEFENSE & the #30 PASS DEFENSE last year. Of course, that’s using Joe’s criteria ranking teams by YARDAGE ALLOWED.
You get a very much different picture of the Pats IF you rank their defense by POINTS ALLOWED. They gave up only 296 points … ranked FIFTH in the NFL (only the Vikings, Jaguars, Chargers & Eagles gave up fewer points). So MAYBE (?) yardage allowed isn’t really as important as POINTS ALLOWED … maybe. Houston fans would probably agree BTW. The Texans gave up over 500 FEWER YARDS than the Bucs last year (ranking them as the #20 defense), but the Texans gave up over 50 MORE POINTS than the Bucs (ranking them #32 using the POINTS ALLOWED criteria).
Considering the lack of talent on our defense last year (obvious by our additions for 2018), plus the high toll in injuries, plus the high number of turnovers committed by the Bucs’ offense (27 ‘giveaways’ ranked us 6th WORST in the NFL last year), I’d say Smitty did a lot better job than many JBFers (and Joe) give him credit for. We might have had the #32 defense in terms of YARDAGE ALLOWED, but we were considerably better than that (tied for #22) in terms of POINTS ALLOWED. I’m anxious to see if Smitty, with this influx of talent, can get this Bucs’ defense to improve to a Top-10 ranking in terms of POINTS ALLOWED.
July 30th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Very good to hear the comments from Curry!!!! The team should have a good chance to gain momentum without America’s Turnover Machine for the first three games.
July 30th, 2018 at 1:37 pm
With all the belly-aching about Jameis, can only imagine the wailing if the Bucs hired Sapp full-time as a coach.
July 30th, 2018 at 1:38 pm
DB55. It’s obvious you’re no Bucs fan. All you do is cry and whine about everything and not ever rooting for any part of this team to do well. We don’t need the constant trolling. Get lost already if you don’t mind. Please
July 30th, 2018 at 1:47 pm
Bucfan
And you know how awesome Wester and Caleb are, smh.
Dotson so awesome he’s resting. And where’s the superstar Cappa?
July 30th, 2018 at 1:53 pm
Defense wins Championships!
Offense is nice but I want a mean and aggressive defense.
July 30th, 2018 at 1:57 pm
Defense Rules- Dropping knowledge! Great breakdown. However, even at #22 it puts us in the bottom third of the league. I am not one to put ALL the blame on the defense, but lets face it, THEY WERE BAD!
I too hope the influx of talent is what’s needed for Smitty. Being cautiously optimistic dictates that I do NOT hold my breath!
If they just improve to average, our offense (ahem JW!) cleans up the turnovers, we can run the football competently, AND the kicker actually makes kicks, we’ll be alright. Just to average!
July 30th, 2018 at 2:07 pm
Bucs against the Bucs. If the Offense get owned ? And if the defense gets owned? Guess what. It is not going to be a toss up on every play in practice. But then Tmaxs’ kids need something to b!tch about.
July 30th, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Joe imma be nice. Woo saa
July 30th, 2018 at 2:56 pm
Joe Says:
“There was a window for the Bucs to wash their hands of him (Gholston) but they decided otherwise. Bean counters at One Buc Palace have probably taken notice.”
I sure as hell took notice. Been saying most of the offseason this is the one most “questionable” decision among all the moves that were made personnel wise since the end of last year’s epic failure of a season.
You don’t “reward” bad production. Its a bad look and sets a very bad precedent. But that’s exactly what happened in Gholston’s case. He got a $6.5M dollar mulligan this year after “earning” $7M in 2017 – that for recording ZERO sacks and not that many tackles nor good plays – and he played more than a fair # of snaps…
Why did the Bucs not just cut Gholston??? Hell – with the free market dictating his worth – its quite possible the Bucs could have re-signed him for like $2-3M if they really wanted him to come back for one more year with Buckner to try and salvage his career.
The only defense really and it IS somewhat valid – is that the window to release Gholston without penalty (March 18th) closed before GM Licht knew exactly who all he would be able to acquire at DE. The JPP trade completed on March 22nd happened 4 days after the window closed. I believe Curry was already signed the day before that though on March 17th.
The question of what to do with that $6.5M SHOULD have come down to “What’s more important? – the 8th guy in our DL rotation – or bringing in some real help/insurance for the right side of the OLine?”
Hindsight is 20/20 of course – but cutting Gholston for $6.5M in savings seemed like a no-brainer to me.
Would love to hear the rational behind that decision explained – but of course it will never be told…
Unless he blows up this year of course – LOL.
Hopefully that”s what happens and we see Will Gholston actually EARN that $6.5M with 50+ tackles and 4 or 5 sacks.
Consider me skeptical of that outcome at this point….
July 30th, 2018 at 3:00 pm
Bucsfanman … I’m with ya; the Bucs’ defense was BAD. Best on 3rd down performance in 2016, but worst on 3rd down performance in 2017. THAT’S BAD! Couldn’t effectively stop the run when it counted. THAT’S BAD! Couldn’t get any type of a pass rush going. THAT’S BAD! Only 22 sacks on the year. THAT’S REALLY BAD. And all of that is probably why Jason Licht FINALLY focused on getting some TALENT onto the Bucs’ defense.
I have no idea how well this year’s defense will do (no more than anyone else at least). BUT … we SHOULD be better at stopping the run. We SHOULD be better at mounting a pass rush. We SHOULD get a LOT more sacks. And we SHOULD be better in regards to 3rd down performance. IF this defense can just give up 3 LESS pts/game (down to 334 pts total) that SHOULD put them in the Top-15. And IF our offense can stop turning the ball over & score just 3 MORE pts/game (up to 383 pts total) that SHOULD put us in the Top-10. Playing COMPLIMENTARY FOOTBALL like that (assuming our S/Ts don’t step on it) SHOULD get us a 10-6 record and potentially a trip to the playoffs. Lots of SHOULDs in there huh.
July 30th, 2018 at 3:04 pm
Didn’t the Bucs sign an offensive lineman to a huge contract in free agency???
July 30th, 2018 at 3:07 pm
Defense Rules- And, it was BAD to watch! LOL!
Well, here’s to defensive improvement….cheers!
July 30th, 2018 at 3:32 pm
87
everyone knows they’ll be gone if we don’t make the playoffs….but some folks are slow and need a reminder…..cough cough @realist
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2018 at 3:32 pm
Yes Joe – We signed one OLine free agent. A center. A good one (hopefully) – certainly an expensive one.
But the Bucs had TWO of the worst Guards in the league starting last year. Both are gone. That’s two holes to fill. Marpet fills one nicely. But the RG spot is up for grabs among a rookie D2 draftee, a 3rd year 5th rd pick with limited live experience and Evan Smith.
Dotson turns 33 this year and has missed 21 games in the last 3 years. His primary back-up is 3rd year UDFA Wester who has limited game experience and just had an injury in TC. And I guess D2 rookie Cappa who I believe is cross training at RT.
I can only assume our OLine will be vastly improved this year – regardless of who plays. Particularly when it comes to run blocking. There’s nowhere to go but up. Getting rid of Pamphile and Sweezy in particular is addition by subtraction.
But to assume the OLine is ‘fine” just because we signed a 1 year wonder at Center to an obscenely lucrative FA contract is hopeful thinking at best.
We had 2 if not 3 “holes” to fill up front on offense and signed 1 guy.
The hope of course is that Benenoch and Cappa can develop quickly and thus fill those holes with young, inexpensive for now talent.
Fingers crossed. That’s putting a lot on these young guys IMO.
If the OLine ain’t “fixed” – the offense won’t “click”.
But WTFDIK? – LOL
We shall see…
July 30th, 2018 at 4:01 pm
#fakenews
July 30th, 2018 at 4:40 pm
@Buc1987
813bucboi is just trying to place the bar so high so everyone gets canned!!!! He wants to avenge his “boy” incompetent lovie!!!!!!!! Are Head Coach Koetter and Coach Smitty the best in the league??? NO!!! But I do not trust team glazers can do better than them and they can win once the roster is fixed!!!!!!!!!
This was 813bucboi during the loser lovie days!!!!!!!!
813bucboi Says:
December 22nd, 2015 at 4:47 pm
@bucrightoff…lovie has progressed in the 2 years he’s been here…that’s a fact that you realist and couch cant debate…6 wins is more than 2 fact…this year was better than last year fact…you continue to blame lovie for everything without putting any accountability on the players…drop balls, missed kicks, penalties are all lovie fault right?..GTFOH…players know the have to catch the ball…players know they have to make their kicks and players know they cant hurt their team with stupid penalties…if you think this team is currently littered with talent that couldn’t win with than your either blind stupid or a combination of both…which I think you are…but im not stressing it because I know lovie has this team headed in the right direction…next year I will be saying,”where’s realist couchfan and bucrightoff at now?”…GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2018 at 7:43 pm
Can we please have people stop telling us what our defense was ranked last year especially the secondary. Last year’s stats don’t mean crap. If front 4 pass rush helps secondary then it will be better even we had the same starters which we won’t.