Sacks Help Secure Wins
October 21st, 2019
Can he rebound?
Joe really does have some wonderful readers.
Last night Joe had a back-and-forth with a couple of Bucs fans on Twitter and Joe pointed out that two teams with wins yesterday, teams which also have winning records, the 49ers and the Cowboys, have a defensive similarity.
Joe noted these two teams believe in a pass rush.
Last night on national television the Cowboys absolutely swarmed Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. That may have been his worst game. Wentz barely had time to set up in the pocket and was surrounded by white jerseys. Dude was mauled.
The 49ers, led by Bucs legend John Lynch, invested heavily in a monster defensive line. They are undefeated.
A reader by the Twitter handle of @josholson203 tipped Joe off that teams leading the NFL in sacks mostly have winning records. In fact, of the top 11 teams in the NFL in sacks (three teams are tied for 9th in sacks with 19), only four have losing records, Jacksonville (3-4), Pittsburgh (2-4), Tennessee (3-4) and Cleveland (2-4).
(Jacksonville and Pittsburgh have also lost their starting quarterbacks; Tennessee benched its gimmick quarterback.)
Those top 11 teams in the NFL in sacks have a combined record of 45-26.
The Bucs, who have 13 sacks (nine by Shaq Barrett), are 2-4. The Bucs are tied for ninth-fewest sacks in the NFL.
Do you see a pattern here?
It has been a thorn in Joe’s side for years that this organization, including three different heads of state, simply did not and does not value pass rushers. It’s like a back-burner issue.
And this drives Joe wild!
Yet the Bucs have the longest playoff drought for an NFC team and have been thoroughly rotten in the post-Chucky era. Coincidence?
And when the Bucs did have a legit pass-rushing end, Michael Bennett, the Bucs got rid of him for no good reason. No sane organization that values a pass rusher would ever do such a thing unless the guy priced himself out of town or tried to get busy with a coach’s daughter.
Yes, Joe understands Jason Pierre-Paul will be back. Joe hopes it is the same JPP we came to know and love last year. Props to Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht for stealing JPP for a third-round pick. Whether JPP can return and be his former self after suffering a broken neck remains to be seen.
Right now the Bucs have the worst pass defense in the NFL, which is sickening. The best way to hide a bad corner(s) is with a pass rush. But the Bucs do not believe in one. At least, not seriously.
Barrett was a wonderful story when he racked up nine sacks in four games. Not coincidently the Bucs were 2-2. The last two games opponents have figured out Barrett and the Bucs defense was exposed, highlighted by the pathetic pass defense.
The Bucs lost both games.
Sadly, with a trade deadline a week from tomorrow, there’s unlikely to be a decent pass rusher available. Teams just don’t unload them in the middle of the season unless the guy has major baggage.
The way things are going, if the secondary isn’t fixed in a hurry, it seems the Bucs are steamrolling toward a top-five pick in the draft. Let’s pray someone at One Buc Palace finally has an epiphany and drafts a friggin’ legit pass rusher in the first round in March.
The time to get serious about building a pass rush is way overdue.
Yeah, Joe just wrote about the draft. Hey, it has become a proud pre-Halloween ritual around these parts.
(Linked here is a chart reader Josh Olson put together last night showing sacks related to wins.)
October 21st, 2019 at 1:04 pm
you are adorable joe…. glazers don’t want a winner and will not tolerate a winner so stop with good advice
October 21st, 2019 at 1:07 pm
“Trust an idiot who should be in Training Camp but instead blows his fingers off and breaks his neck at 3 in the morning?
Mark my Dads words
This Thief is going straight to IR with a fake injury for the rest of the year”
Son of Kobe Faker
October 21st, 2019 at 1:09 pm
Son of Kobe Faker
it would be more entertaining to watch him get carted off… look at the positive it’s like an extra shot and beer break similar to tv timeout. he clearly does not care about his own health so why should we… dumbest player to ever wear a nfl uniform….
October 21st, 2019 at 1:12 pm
Everyone keeps talking the defense of the 49ers. I think it’s Garoppolo. Before he got hurt 2 years ago, they were on a tear. Last year, he was out and they were terrible. This year he’s back. What does that say? I think Jameis is a big part of the problem. He doesn’t hit receivers in stride. I believe the receivers he has has inflated his numbers, so he holds most of the all time numbers.
October 21st, 2019 at 1:13 pm
Plus how many qb’s in tampa have made it through year 5?
October 21st, 2019 at 1:17 pm
Not drafting interior linemen, offense or defense, is our Demise.
Winning teams have good lines and depth.
October 21st, 2019 at 1:29 pm
I know he’s abrasive but Colin Cowherd always says to be a good team you need a B+ or better in four things: QB, GM, Owners and Pass rush. We have a B+ in none of those things and haven’t in years. Coincidence? I don’t think so
October 21st, 2019 at 1:33 pm
Sorry Joe, we need a QB!! And Jason Darkness can’t draft in the second round anyway. Trade for the Dolphins corner and be done. If you upgrade the secondary your pass rush will show up. Or offer a second round pick and Hargreaves for Patrick Peterson, defense fixed.
October 21st, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Josh Olson- pride of Colorado State!
October 21st, 2019 at 1:43 pm
Colorado Says:
October 21st, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Josh Olson- pride of Colorado State!
I thought Greeley was the pride of Colorado
October 21st, 2019 at 1:49 pm
@thisisouryear you might want to check the stats before crowing the overrated goropollo. He has 7 picks and 5 fumbles. They are winning in spite of him, not hecause of him.
October 21st, 2019 at 1:54 pm
While I think a pass rush does contribute to success the reverse is also true. Being up late in games is an ideal situation for push rushed and how many sacks for winning teams come in those situations when the other team is desperately Tring to come back? Not that you don’t want that.. Nothing more satisfying than closing out a game by sacking the others teams qb. God knows we crumble in the dame situation like we did against the Giants
October 21st, 2019 at 1:58 pm
Thank god no fans here have been preaching front 7 & pass rush in the draft over secondary for years and years now going back to the Dominic days.
Thank god man.
October 21st, 2019 at 2:06 pm
Draft=Useless
NO ONE TRUSTS JL to pick the RIGHT guy in ANY Draft!
October 21st, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Jonathan Limpchimpi Says:
October 21st, 2019 at 2:06 pm
This is why you pass on Josh Allen when he falls in your lap because you’re dead set on replacing Kwon with an inferior player at #5. Wait…only deez Bucs.
October 21st, 2019 at 2:20 pm
Remember when Dungy was fired because he could not reach the “next level”? Remember when Jon Gruden was fired for going 9-7 two years in a row?
Then they hired the clown, Raheem, the stone head, Schiano, the befuddled Lovie, and the respectable but incapable Dirk.
A lot of bad decisions just on coaches. Look at the players let go. The ones signed. The ones not signed.
This franchise is a case study in ineptitude.
Are any of these DBs going to shine? Don’t know. Have to give them time and a pass rush. If we can’t get a pass rush with 4, send 5. If 5 doesn’t work, send 6.
But zero matters if fumble fingers Jameis keeps throwing games away. No pass rush can fix that. He’s uncoachable. So, what should they do? Call plays that avoid his faults.
October 21st, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Cgmaster27
All I’m saying is they’ve won with Garappolo and have not without him. 2017- (If I remember correctly) They started 0-8 and won 7 of the last 8 with Garappolo. Last year he’s out all year and they stunk. This year they are undefeated. They had most of that defensive line last year.
Jameis doesn’t win. He has all the team records because his receiver have always been very good. He never hits players in stride. That’s why there’s no YAC. I don’t remember a deep ball where the receiver didn’t have to stop for it. Yes we need help in the secondary, but I think we need to make the switch.
October 21st, 2019 at 2:30 pm
tmaxcon Says: I thought Greeley was the pride of Colorado
October 21st, 2019 at 1:43 pm
I guess if you like the smell of manure year round (probably used to it as a Bucs fan), it’s for you. Also home to UNC (Northern Colorado), bad football team, bad academic school. Though to be fair Vincent Jackson was a UNC graduate so I can’t be too harsh on it.
October 21st, 2019 at 2:31 pm
Maybe stop drafting run stuffers…
October 21st, 2019 at 2:42 pm
Glazers don’t care, they’re just worried about pimpin’ the team to London.
October 21st, 2019 at 2:47 pm
I hear ya Ken. We wish fir those days… we took the guys for granted.. it’s bad enougj j was just thinking the other day about Raheem. I was like man.. he acruelly had a pretty good season. If I recall he also had our defense playing respectable. . Was thrown in just too early and lost the locker room but aftwr the experience he has gaimed would we want him back? Lol
October 21st, 2019 at 2:51 pm
Colorado
i live part of the year in woodland park and have a place in Johnston very familiar with the smell of Greeley was being a smart arse….
October 21st, 2019 at 3:03 pm
Joe – take a lead from The Eagles….Get Over It
October 21st, 2019 at 3:04 pm
Noah Spence got a sack yesterday!!! Lol
October 21st, 2019 at 3:12 pm
I believe in pressuring the QB; I believe in the maxim that defense wins championships.
I also believe that sacks->winning correlation is valid, but I also think that in terms of causality, there’s a little bit of the running_yards->winning or is it winning->running_yards issue. Some sacks contribute to winning, but it’s also true that getting way ahead leads to more sacks.
October 21st, 2019 at 3:12 pm
@Josh203, Colorado, Next time i am in Fort Collins – Bucs watch party!
October 21st, 2019 at 3:13 pm
The problem is I dont have faith in Jason Lichet. The guy has had many good draft positions and not much to show for it. As it is now I would trade draft picks for already proven players. Jason has proven he cant draft. No clue why he got an extension
October 21st, 2019 at 3:40 pm
Assumption:
If the Bucs would have spent just as much draft capital on the DL as they have the secondary over the last 4 years, they might just have a quality defense that can rush the passer consistently for years to come?
A**-BACKWARDS DEFENSE BUILDING HERE!!!!!!
Take a look at the defensive front as of today (including OLBs).
*Note: The draft status only pertains to who the Bucs drafted:
1.) Vea | 1st Rd | Year 2 | Playing Great
2.) Suh | FA, 1 Yr, no 2020 deal | Year 10 | Playing Good
3.) Gholston | 4th Rd | Year 7 | Decent Run-stuffer, Overpaid
4.) Nunez-Roches | FA 1 yr, no 2020 deal | Year 5 | Almost Invisible
5.) Allen | FA, 1yr, no 2020 deal | Year 6 | Invisible
6.) O’Connor | FA, 2 Yrs | Year 3 | Invisible
7.) Barrett | FA, 1 Yr | Year 6 | Monster for four games*
8.) Nassib | FA, 1 yr, no 2020 deal | Year 4 | High Motor, Playing Good
9.) Pierre-Paul | FA 1, no 2020 deal | Year 10 | Recovering from Broken Neck
_______________________________________________________________
Only Vea, Gholston and O’Conner are scheduled to be on this team for 2020 and the Bucs (per usual) will have ZERO bargaining power to re-sign anyone else without drastic over-compensation.
This is an absolute abomination.
JASON LICHT MUST BE FIRED!!!!!
#Lichtmyb**ls
#worstgminfootball
October 21st, 2019 at 4:19 pm
@Joe … “A reader by the Twitter handle of @josholson203 tipped Joe off that teams leading the NFL in sacks mostly have winning records.’
And yet the Patriots won the Super Bowl last year and they had only 30 sacks all year. Seems unfair since our Bucs had 38 sacks last year. I wonder if their pressuring the QBs with 100 QB Hits last season had anything to do with it? Or their PLUS-10 turnover differential (to our MINUS-18)? Or their 18 INTs (to our 5)? Or them having the NFL’s SECOND most expensive defense (and the TALENT that represents)? Nah, I didn’t think so. Just coincidence.
October 21st, 2019 at 4:48 pm
@thisisouryear again, it has almost nothing to do with jimmy g. The reason they are winning is because they are the number one rushing team in the nfl and have a defense giving up 12 points a game. And that doesnt include the shutout they pitched this weekend. Its just coincidence jimmy g is the qb they are winning with. A lamppost could play winning football on that team. And also another reason i hate the winning and losing stats for qb. There are many other factors.
October 21st, 2019 at 6:58 pm
Wtf u and Ira said sacks don’t matter last year. Lost all respect for you guys after that.
October 21st, 2019 at 8:25 pm
We need that first pick for a QB.
October 21st, 2019 at 8:33 pm
Jamies has racked up the stats playing from behind 75% of the time. We have to throw it where always behind. Time for a new QB. Ive backed Jamies and hope he lights it up so we can tag and trade him. My biggest problem is when Jamies hangs his WR out to dry. After watching some of the top QBs coming out I would make the move regardless of play. Best player available. Right coach? This should be the year to do it.
October 21st, 2019 at 10:18 pm
Here’s a stat
11 out of 13 teams losing the turnover battle have losing records.
10 out of 16 teams winning the turnover battle have winning records.
Both sacks and winning turnover battle help secure wins.
Bucs need pass rusher(s) AND a QB that doesn’t turn it over.
October 21st, 2019 at 10:34 pm
Oh yeah…… remember all the geniuses that had us penciled in for a sure win against a bad SF team for week 1?
Fantasy land idiots.