Suh: Don’t Worry About Pressure
June 7th, 2019
Linebacker chatter.
Joe still breaks out into a cold sweat thinking about this. But it helps that a monster of a defensive lineman isn’t worried.
Joe doesn’t have any fingernails left from gnawing them worrying about how in the hell the Bucs plan to pressure Drew Brees, Matty Ice and pouty Cam Newton.
The Bucs have lost a boatload of sacks from their defensive line by injury and attrition. (And no, Joe is not banking on anything from Jason Pierre-Paul this year.)
Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians has stated more than a couple of times the linebackers will make up for the loss in sacks and Joe is dubious as hell of this.
(The last time Joe was this skeptical of an element of the Bucs, inept Lovie Smith was selling how Stuart McClown was the second coming of Russell Wilson.)
Well, new gnarly defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh pretty much backed up what Arians has been preaching when Suh spoke to the local pen and mic club after underwear football season came to a close Thursday.
Suh was asked about his initial impression of the defense and he cited linebackers rushing the passer in his response.
Joe is very much in a show-me mode about the pass rush. Joe has seen too much over the past decade with rank incompetence from the suits at One Buc Palace on down to the coaching staff.
Too many mind-numbing dumb decisions on the defensive line, compounded by swing-and-miss evals that a guy walking around in a white cane could have seen coming.
And just when the Bucs take two steps forward (finally!) with a pass rush, a combination of bad luck (fractured neck) and a curious player evaluation (waving goodbye to Gerald McCoy) makes it sure looks as if the Bucs are back to Square 1.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:04 am
Show-you??? Doubt you’d recognize it once you seen it.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:08 am
I have a good feeling about The Suh for McCoy swap…
June 7th, 2019 at 8:13 am
Time to release JPP if you ask me…waiting around for a player who may or may not return…with health and effectiveness intact…is a fool’s errand. He most likely wouldn’t be around in 2020 anyhow.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:13 am
We’ll probably end up with slightly less sacks at season’s end, but our run D should be much better than last year.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:17 am
Joe… I understand that “coach speak” should always be taken with a grain of salt.. that we will believe it when we see it. But to compare what Arians is saying with what Last century Lovie said about McCown is quite frankly…a little unfair. Lovie was a bust from day one…said so. But until I see otherwise, I trust in Arians/ Bowles to deliver far more than Koetter did, and lightyears more than Lovie did.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:18 am
So if the Bucs put up 24pts and our defense limits the other team to 17pts., but we only get 1 sack and the other team gets 4 sacks, do we still win?
June 7th, 2019 at 8:21 am
Jonathan is right. Get on with it.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:23 am
I can’t wait to hear your interview with Arians.
I hope to God you had the cajones to ask the question you imply in all your articles, “Coach, we suck. We have sucked for over a decade. I submit we will continue to suck because, well, we suck and I’m good writing about sucking. Now, we are all cynical about your ability to turn this franchise around. So coach, how will you suck less and why will we have a top five draft pick again next year?”
That would be an honest question.
Obviously I jest. Relax. It’s Friday.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:24 am
Won’t be optimistic every again…never ever..never.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:36 am
joe:
his name is KONG SUH…
he is a beast…
he is not batman…
he is the HULK !
June 7th, 2019 at 8:40 am
we have gone from: Kwonton Soup
to: Foo Man Suh
June 7th, 2019 at 8:46 am
K2…was optimistic with Gruden… and was rewarded. Not expecting such a turn around…that was a seasoned team Defensively that could have had another SB under their belt. But this team can be something we can again be proud of…this time no jumping at a Raheem or Koetter choice, overreacting to fear of losing a line level coach that we “might” lose, a Schiano modicum of college success coach at a second tier program, or a Last Century Lovie time warp couch dream. I do think we can again compete for the playoffs very shortly.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:58 am
Adam—
“we have gone from: Kwonton Soup
to: Foo Man Suh”
Very good! Love that.
June 7th, 2019 at 9:03 am
Todd … Rewriting Joe’s interview question for him was awesome. Why were you just jesting? You described Joe’s attitude to a T.
Joe, seems like you’re hung up on pass rush & sacks. Ray Horton’s 2012 Cards defense had 38 sacks, 91 QB hits & 70 TFLs, plus 22 INTs & 14 FRs. Not that shabby actually, BUT … Todd Bowles’ 2013 Cards defense did significantly better. It had 47 sacks, 115 QB hits & 93 TFLs, plus 20 INTs & 18 FRs.
Want to guess where the majority of the increase in sacks, QB hits & TFLs came from? Yup … the LBs, the CBs & the Safeties. A much more effective defense, even though the Cards DLine produced FEWER sacks in 2013 than in 2012.
And even with that increase in overall pressure, the Cards rushing defense improved dramatically from #32 in 2012 (allowing 2192 rushing yards & 12 rushing TDs) to #1 in 2013 (allowing just 1351 rushing yards & 5 rushing TDs). That’s a MAMMOTH improvement, and I expect that we’ll see a similar improvement this year with Suh & Vea sitting in the middle of our DLine. Perk up Joe … it could take a few games to get this new defense gelling, but once it comes together, IT will be the mechanism for leading the change in our Bucs fortunes. Time to get excited Joe.
June 7th, 2019 at 9:09 am
We got rid of Batman for Superman! What “powers” does Batman have?
1. Lives in a cave with a boy
2. Wears tights
3.Is filthy rich and so he can buy all of his toys-weapons.
As far as I can see thanks to the Bucs that is the only reason Batman can do #3
Then we have Superman who is a badass! He can
1. Have heat/X-ray vision
2.Has incredible strength
3. Can fly
4.No one wants to F… with Superman!
So yeah little little Gerald play with his dolls and read his comic books the Bucs Defense is about to come back to life!
June 7th, 2019 at 9:10 am
I’d feel a lot more cozy if Suh was saying this while wearing a kimono and giving me a Gummie smile.
I miss my safe, happy place of perpetual promises…..
June 7th, 2019 at 9:16 am
suh is about to wipe his arse with a kimono and fed ex it to carolina in a box
#IfYouKnowWhatEyeMean
June 7th, 2019 at 9:33 am
@ Anonymous
Perfect post.
June 7th, 2019 at 9:59 am
[You are some kind of fraud. You claim you like this site, yet all you do is whine why Joe isn’t a con artist and a fiction writer. Maybe you need to play with your dogs more? At least they don’t know the difference between lying and honesty. — Joe]
June 7th, 2019 at 10:00 am
“Thus” not “This”…need coffee.
June 7th, 2019 at 10:16 am
I’d feel a lot better if we had JPP back. However, I can’t wait to see the Bucs finally play the 3-4 again giving the LBs and Safeties a chance to raise havoc. The nfl is going to be shocked by this Bucs team. Take names and kick ass this is the year.
June 7th, 2019 at 10:23 am
joe
why are you worried about sacks?…lol…
smitty is out of the building and out of football in general…..lol…TB is running the defense now….
all those sacks by those players translated into 5wins…..sacks dont equal wins….
GO BUCS!!!
June 7th, 2019 at 10:36 am
@Joe … “and a curious player evaluation (waving goodbye to Gerald McCoy) makes it sure looks as if the Bucs are back to Square 1”. Wow Joe, I almost missed that. A ‘curious player evaluation’? And ‘back to Square 1’? Interesting choice of wording. Is that another way of saying that you felt that BA & company should’ve kept McCoy?
A whole lot could’ve gone on behind the scenes that none of us know anything about. Perhaps McCoy’s attitude about shifting to a 3-4 ‘hybrid’ turned BA & TB off to him. Perhaps McCoy let it be know that $13 mil was his bottom-line for playing for the Bucs this season and BA & TB were convinced he wasn’t worth even close to that. Or perhaps they felt that McCoy’s skillset just wasn’t a match for what they needed from the interior of our DLine. Or even better, MAYBE the Bucs had been in negotiations with Ndamukong Suh & his agent for quite a while and things were looking promising. MAYBE all of the above.
Doesn’t REALLY matter now, does it. Bucs aren’t “back to Square 1” by a long shot Joe. Today’s Bucs’ defense has a LOT more PROMISE & POTENTIAL than the one we closed out last season with. A lot of hard work ahead, but you have to love everyone’s attitude about being willing to put in that hard work. PATIENCE … It’ll all come together soon enough.
June 7th, 2019 at 10:45 am
gotbucs for whatever reason I came up anonymous but in the event after I finish typing this one it shouldn’t be too hard to know it is. But I found to be really cool on Bucs app they showed Kong Suh,he was mic’d Up yesterday. During session on the bags after his rep Will stood next to him and said “I look forward to learning from you” Suh replied “I look forward to learning from you”.
June 7th, 2019 at 11:08 am
@Buc believer, you know Batman beat Superman, right? Right?
June 7th, 2019 at 11:09 am
@Buc believer, you know Batman beat Superman, right? Right?
June 7th, 2019 at 11:18 am
@Bucsdelight…. no I don’t know that because I am an ADULT and I DONT read comic books! That is for children thank you very much.
June 7th, 2019 at 11:23 am
Yet, you made a whole post about? Yeah, you’re an adult…
June 7th, 2019 at 11:36 am
Joe did you see Suh’s mic’d up segment on the Bucs site? Just seemed weird to me. From not know a drill, to what looked to me like old beat up equipment, to the heat and gholstons interaction with Suh.
June 7th, 2019 at 11:49 am
@Bucsdelight… you obviously never heard of making fun of the absurd by being absurd. Don’t waste your limited brainpower on it.
June 7th, 2019 at 12:09 pm
Other day in mini camp I saw several times Winston three a TD but if it was a game these defenders were pulling up. The most impressive sack was Devin White up the Middle almost instantly as ball was snapped. All out blitzes, guys running free. I’m worried about oLine.
June 7th, 2019 at 12:29 pm
DB55
Just watched that mic’d up segment did seem a bit weird. But I love the little “nuggets” he’s given the guys it’s a pride thing, master a few moves and learn your opponent’s weaknesses. This guy is going to be good for us. Plus he seemed humble been in the league all this time and still calling the coach, coach along with the willingness to learn something new. Gotta love that. Can’t wait to get this season going.
June 7th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
One has to wonder though, how much our offense will improve, by running all these blitzes at them. I can’t help but think, that our weak defense in the years past (no blitzing), set our O-Line up for failure.
June 7th, 2019 at 1:39 pm
“Curious player evaluation”? So all the coaches before BA are inept, but they keep GMC…. We finally get a “real” coach and suddenly you cast doubt on his evaluation skills? Who made you the chief of personnel anyway? I am sure a lot of thought went into this staffs decisions before casting GMC out to the wolves… Let’s see this how this season plays out before we call the move to cut McCoy as “curious”….
June 7th, 2019 at 2:08 pm
adam from ny Says:
June 7th, 2019 at 8:40 am
we have gone from: Kwonton Soup
to: Foo Man Suh
In what world did you post this from LMAO
June 7th, 2019 at 2:38 pm
I don’t see either the Alexander or McCoy decisions as “curious” at all.
It is abundantly clear neither BA nor Bowles wanted either one on the Buc defense.
A coach who likes Suh will probably not like McCoy. They may play the same position, sorta, but those two are completely different as players.
Let me use a McCoy-esque analogy: McCoy is a technician, think Tony Stark. Suh is a brutal menace, think The Hulk.
And while I know this statement will draw hate from a certain segment of JBF minions, I thought Kwon Alexander was the most overrated Buc in recent history.
The replacement, by themselves, of McCoy/Alexander with Suh/White is a huge upgrade. Huge.
June 7th, 2019 at 4:49 pm
Joe – there are valid reasons why some teams have major turn around seasons right after a change in the coaching regime. I am buying Arians and his staff knowing how to put a square peg in a square hole – by finding the best attribute for each player instead of having them play a scheme. Koetter’s coaches seemed to want to put a square peg in a round hole like Mike Smith’s favoring soft defense when he had cover corners who would have excelled otherwise. That’s why interceptions were rare and far in between. Noah Spence as a DE just got him hurt. I am betting on speed. I am betting on physicality. And I am betting that Drew Breese at age 40, Matty Ice at age 31, and Cam Newton will not be as fast/good as they were two years ago, five years ago in avoiding younger, quicker defensive players on a better scheme.
June 7th, 2019 at 5:21 pm
I find it difficult to figure out why BA can show up with his ridiculous hat and immediately all see a doubling of the wins. The Cardinals were not the worse managed team while BA was there (there is always the Bucs), but I don’t recall any wizardly coaching either. A few nice seasons with Kurt warner and that’s it. Now he has surfaced here and is being fitted for the Governor’s hat. I’ll believe that he transforms the Bucs when (and if) I see it. BTW Spence has been here for what – -3 seasons? Was he hurt all that time, Jack?
June 7th, 2019 at 5:45 pm
Um…Arians never coached Warner in AZ…Warner was long gone. He coached Carson Palmer and had them on a Super Bowl runner until Palmer tore up his knee. As for the hat…it protects his dome from two of the sunniest places in the U.S.-AZ and now Florida. i actually like the hat on him. He’s by far the best the Bucs and Licht Weight could have hoped for.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:38 pm
McCoy sucked, nothing curious about that. JPP is a loss but towing a broke down GMC to Carolina is a win.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:56 pm
So… @defenserules points out what you already know and have done your homework about, Joes. If you are indeed professional journalists. I have no doubt Ira knows all about it. Yet you ignore it for your clickbait sensationalism and neurotic borderline (fake) panic attacks. Savvy “business”, 5h!tty support for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Perhaps you should rename this site redtidenews and be honest about what you’re doing here.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:23 pm
Yup. Two most important things in the NFL in 2019. Truly am “hung up” on them.
Should Joe be “hung up” on elements that don’t mean a damn, like time of possession or hang time on punts?
June 7th, 2019 at 8:26 pm
Ignore what? Joe is not a cheerleader. What is Joe supposed to support, one of the worst franchises in the NFL the past decade? Why should Joe “support” incompetence?
Joe writes what he wants. If pointing out the faults of a horrible team annoys you, there is Buccaneers.com to monitor where you would be hard-pressed to find that the Bucs lost a game.
Hell, Joe gets killed for writing positive stories about the best quarterback this franchise has ever had not named “Steve Young.” If Joe dares to write that Gerald McCoy is a good player, he gets flamed by readers.
So you really need to think twice when you claim Joe is a one-trick pony.
June 7th, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Vita Vea can be the player to make everyone forget about McCoy. I think that kid Nelson is going to be a decent player plus Nassib seems to be a viable option. Some of those free agent pick ups such as Shaq Barrett will contribute to sacks. I can see major improvements from last season.
June 7th, 2019 at 10:39 pm
Big Black Dick 😂😂😂
Best screen name ever 🔥
June 8th, 2019 at 11:22 am
I dont think the Joes even like the Bucs. We know Ira likea the Chiefs. What about the other Joes? And have any of you Joes played organised football in pads?
June 8th, 2019 at 11:51 am
Big Black Dick gets it. Where going to ram it down there throats. We will blitz more than any other team. Guys will step up under this staff.
I knew Koeter would fail. And I know Bruce will have this team ready to play. Fundamentals will be practiced umtill there done correctly with out thinking. Its always been the coaching. Go Bucs!
June 8th, 2019 at 12:40 pm
BigMacAttack I can’t say that it’s original but it’s a fair depiction of what people are jostling over lol Look at the depiction of Suh in particular most of the media tried to convince football fans that he was some ignorant knuckle dragging brute. I heard his introductory press conference to Tampa idiots were bringing up incidents that happened nine years ago. I feel that he deconstructed the concept that he’s a terrible person with ill intent.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:40 pm
Does Joe have to dig up his nearly 37-year old mesh creamsicle Doug Williams jersey?
And yes, one of the Joes have often spoken of his old high school football coach who played for John Madden, Tom Landry and Gene Stallings. Must be new around here?
June 8th, 2019 at 12:56 pm
BucFan727
I just want to see them win I knew what the problem was in the past it was like a exercise in futility. I heard Sapp say that you have to play like a blind dog in a meat house to win in the trenches. Terry Beckner Jr., DT, Mizzou might just be that guy. every year some late round draft pick makes a team. I’m pulling for this guy he’s overcame some obstacles in his life.