Puzzling Defensive Line
November 12th, 2018
Big play raises team question.
A thing happened yesterday that makes Joe wonder about the defensive line.
Now Joe is not going to include Gerald McCoy in this. It is obvious he’s playing hurt. Joe saw him yesterday in the locker room, chatted with him briefly and he was in serious pain. Could hardly get himself dressed. Had his right leg bandaged from hip to ankle. Yet he played a full game and was effective. He may not be having his best year but he’s a warrior for toughing it out.
(If you want to complain the coaches shouldn’t let him play in that condition, that’s fair — he did get a sack yesterday.)
Carl Nassib got his fourth sack of the season yesterday. Simple math says if he gets six sacks in the final seven games, he’s at 10 for the year. And of course, Jason Pierre-Paul is two sacks away from 10.
If both Nassib and JPP reach 10 (at least), that would give the Bucs two double-digit sack guys despite going 13 years without one guy getting at least 10 sacks.
How many draft picks and tens of millions of dollars of Team Glazer loot have been flushed down the toilet in an effort to find a competent pass rusher and the Bucs may have found two in one year, one by trade and one by accident at an NFL yard sale (Nassib was cut by the bungling Browns)?
You could have argued this before but the success of JPP and Nassib sure put a spotlight on the Bucs’ deep problem with whoever has been scouting pass rushers or whatever formula the Bucs have used to gauge a prospective pass rusher.
If the Bucs clean house for 2019, part of the floor waxing should include whoever or whatever is the root cause of swinging and missing at every pass rushing draftee and major free agent signing.
Whatever hard drive at One Buc Palace contains the file with traits to look for in a pass rusher should be thrown into the nearest retention pond.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:03 pm
GMC and warrior in the same sentence……?
You are beyond gullible if you believe that.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:06 pm
Licht is the problem with his drafting. Vea looks terrible and Jones cannot even make the field. There is no excuse for this, we drafted several players and cant get one true starter, this is very disturbing. We need to clean house.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
I saw Nassib in serious pain with what looked like a bad elbow or biceps injury yesterday.
Any news on him?
November 12th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
I don’t think Nassib will get 10, but the fact he is the Bucs 2nd best d lineman is pathetic.
He gets beat his fair share of time, but he plays hard, and it is getting him to the QB. Great pickup off the waiver wire.
I think Duffner moving him around has also helped. I hope yesterday is the start of the defense buying into his system.
I mean, how many bad calls can you blame on Duffner yesterday? A handful at most. He is putting guys in position to make plays right now. That is his job. The players just need to make the plays.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:18 pm
Sorry Joe. Calling Gerold McCoy a “warrior” so close to Veterans Day is an insult.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Non guaranteed 2019 contracts:
Vinny Curry – $8m
Will Gholston – $3.5m
JPP – $14.5m
Beau Allen – $5m
Gerald McCoy – $13m
Carl Nassib – $867K
Mitch Unrein – $3.75m
Guaranteed cash for 2019:
Noah Spence – $1.27m
Vita Vea – $3.36m
What will happen this off-season is anybody’s guess, but the Bucs have a lot of flexibility as far as the moves they’d like to. Props to Licht on that.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:21 pm
^ spotrac for reference, so if incorrect don’t kill me!
November 12th, 2018 at 12:21 pm
I also found it interesting that Buckner is pretty much in Duffner’s hip pocket for most of the game.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:25 pm
they need to clean house with everyone……GM, everyone from the coaching staff, shelton quarles and his scouting department, players and most importantly everyone from the medical staff…….ive never seen so many whiffs when it comes to diagnosing an injury or being way off when it comes to a players recovery time……
hire Kris Richard, hire a PFO, over pay for some of the other teams good doctors and their assistants(dallas, patriots, steelers), double the amount of scouts they have in the field
then watch the sh!t show flush down the drain!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
November 12th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
We need to sign C.Nassib now, to a long term deal! He’s a True Player!!!
November 12th, 2018 at 12:32 pm
Bruckner yells a lot but his unit sucks.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:33 pm
Bungling Browns? they are better than the bucs at this point
November 12th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
Gmc is overrated!!!! Gtfo of Tampa can’t wait trade LVD too losers both of them
November 12th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
I remember McCoy playing in the same post game condition last year.
But all some will focus on is that he displays good sportsmanship which is a negative. And while production is a legitimate complaint up until this year he hasn’t had a superstar cast.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:15 pm
Carl (Nass-ib) or (Nas-eeb) however you say it drove me crazy against Newton last week by blowing contain SEVERAL times. He has a lot to learn but he doesn’t suck and at this point with this D line that’s saying something.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:15 pm
Minus Curry and McCoy on the d-line. That saves some serious cash to be able to pay a proven vet DT that can play.
LVD does need to be traded because we need dough, picks, and players, but I hate how people try to say he’s not a good player. He makes the most tackles every Sunday. When he gets on a better defense, he’ll be shut down scary again.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:21 pm
Amen
November 12th, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Rather than show any hostility, anger or any other type of emotion that would indicate a deep, deep desire to improve, we get smart alek Dirk with no answers and sarcastic, hollow replies
He is in way over his head as a head coach, he doesn’t have the mental fortitude to fight thru no matter what and his team knows it and shows it
Add in a rookie GM who shoots from the hip far too often and doesn’t understand how to build an ENTIRE roster and we get what we have..
A joke of a team with no clear answer as to when, if ever, it will get fixed.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
Nassib and JPP are both keepers for next year. Sign Nassib to a new contract. Vea needs intensive training in getting off blocks and tackling who has the ball. He has been making a good effort and is not taking plays off. He just needs a lot more training and experience. Beau Allen is strong enough but is not stripping ball carriers so needs more training in that area. He is more a solid backup if we use a high draft pick for a star DT. Vinny is not worth his money.
We need to trade Spence to a Three Four Team needing a speed rushing OLB and then use that draft pick for another sacking DE who can stop the run too.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:38 pm
813,
Love the Richard hire idea and what you said along with that! Seriously, if you could increase Monkens salary to keep him and some continuity on that side of the ball, with all new assistants that would make a monumental change to this team. In a great way,!
November 12th, 2018 at 1:39 pm
This is the most pathetic franchise in the NFL
They worship guys with 4 sacks in 9 games
November 12th, 2018 at 1:45 pm
Thanks 813Buc. I’ve been saying this for a long time. Upgrade the infra-structure. Pay the scouts 20k more than anyone else. Get some kinesiologist, physical therapist or whatever you call it that known how to avoid soft tissue injuries. What’s 20k compared to the cost of just one big miss in the draft or free agency? What’s 100k compared to the cost of hamstring and other soft tissue injuries to players that make hundreds of thousands of dollars per game?
We had some really good udfa and bottom roster scouting. We’ve found some really good diamond-in-the-rough players. It’s the bigger decisions that have been terrible. In a lot of work settings, the boss is a lazy idiot, but s/he is saved by younger, smarter, harder working people who work for that boss. Maybe we need to take a closer look at scouting and other infrastructure and get rid of the old timers who choose 4.55 corners over 4.32 corners because they’re “stouter” or an inch and a half taller or they played for a Florida university.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:46 pm
T REX Says:
“Bruckner yells a lot but his unit sucks.”
Unfortunately true.
JPP and Nassib have 12 sacks between them in just over half a season which sounds like good production from the ends – but our DLine is NOT putting anything resembling a consistent pass rush on the field. The exact opposite in fact.
There’s talent up front at every position now and JPP is a legit stud DE – yet our DLine as a whole is playing pretty poorly.
Things that make you go HMMMMMM…..
November 12th, 2018 at 1:49 pm
carl “the arabian knight” nassib and jpp are decent bookends…licht picked them up at a barnes & nobles sunday sale, while he was shopping for a ron burgundy video series
November 12th, 2018 at 1:50 pm
At this point I’m hoping the Bucs lose more games. I’m not a bandwagon and still watch every game but I wanna know how far we can get up the draft board.
Trade back from a high draft position for serious picks and the projected first round is stacked with defensive talent. Especially DT/DE and CBs
November 12th, 2018 at 1:51 pm
maybe jpp has been in cruise control the past 2 games because he has his eye on the prize…he plays the giants next week and might be looking ahead while frothing at the mouth…
#JPPcouldGoWildNextWeek
November 12th, 2018 at 1:52 pm
3 sacks for jpp next week vs eli “the statue” manning
November 12th, 2018 at 1:53 pm
one sack for the arabian knight as well
November 12th, 2018 at 2:07 pm
So you Koetter haters can perhaps explain something to me.
That game yesterday was a disaster with plenty of blame to go around.
But I do not get all this whining about Koetter’s play calling yesterday.
He called a play which had ME13 open in the end zone for a dropped pass….He called play which had Brate close to the end zone…again pass dropped…he called a series of plays which had Jack Rodgers on the way to the end zone until the ball was knocked out of his hands. Did Koetter call for those two drops and Jack’s fumble? Did he call a masterful series to open the game…again we look like world beaters..only to have Fitz overthrow a ball at the end zone. How many points did Koetter just successfully call if only players had executed a simple play…catch the damn ball…hang on to it!!!
I’m not defending Koetter or anybody’s coaching. This team is soft, lazy and clearly disinterested much in football…ALL of that is on Koetter…his playcalling might actually be the best in the league right now…how this team moves the ball with this sad cast of losers is actually quite impressive.
November 12th, 2018 at 2:26 pm
Why would you not include GMC? Afraid you’re not going to get invited to his Christmas Party? Post his stats along with the other DT’s in the league that are in his salary stratosphere. He has no gap integrity, cannot push the lineman back and when his masterful “get off” works he typically runs past the play or ends up too deep in the backfield. Over rated and significantly over paid.
November 12th, 2018 at 2:32 pm
Thom Brenniman yesterday:
“Vita Vea, thats the closest he’s been to a quarterback all season.” LMFAO!!
November 12th, 2018 at 2:33 pm
Joe McCoy was not effective in any point of the game get your facts straight
November 12th, 2018 at 3:09 pm
Cut Noah Spence already – another Bust
November 12th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
Time for Shelton Quarles to face the music for the pro errors. His name never comes up.
November 12th, 2018 at 3:39 pm
Dre Says:
November 12th, 2018 at 2:33 pm
Joe McCoy was not effective in any point of the game get your facts straight
—————
He had a sack … that is a point in the game where he was effective.
November 12th, 2018 at 4:04 pm
Nassib can be really good. Keep this guy. Ditch allen,unrein and curry. Keep Carl nasty!
November 12th, 2018 at 8:30 pm
Aaron Donald has 12.5…..
TWELVE AND A HALF F**king sacks so through 10 games after sitting out all offseason.
That’s what REAL talent does, even after getting paid.
McCoy’s a “warrior” though because he fights through a boo-boo.
#hashtagbulls*it
November 13th, 2018 at 11:21 am
I think a lot of us are in agreement that Carl Nassib shows a lot of damn potential. I think he can get better and better.