Three Whopping Defensive Stats
January 1st, 2020
Miraculous turnaround
This might blow the minds of many Bucs fans.
Sit down before you read this. Put down your Big Storm beer.
Our 2019 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were tied for 7th in the NFL with 47 sacks, just one less than San Francisco.
The Bucs also recorded 105 passes defensed. That ranked second in the NFL behind the Patriots.
And guess who tied the Ravens for most defensive touchdowns with six. That’s right, Todd Bowles’ defensive troops in Tampa.
To think the Bucs racked up those kinds of numbers despite a horrid first half of the season on defense is stunning.
It’s no wonder that Bucco Bruce Arians said he wants to keep this defense together. What it produced in the second half of the season was impressive, especially around these parts in the decade that just concluded.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:12 pm
We coming back stronger than ever next season ! Tag Jaboo and he will get mega contract with new CBA
January 1st, 2020 at 6:12 pm
That is Super, Bowles.
But seriously, nice turnaround and more importantly, long term, the staff showed they can identify defensive talent and get them on the field.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:12 pm
Need a great defense with Jameis as the Bucs QB
January 1st, 2020 at 6:14 pm
Please don’t let anyone take Bowles from us.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:18 pm
They were on the verge of something special the second half of the season. But with the turnover machine at QB, they will always be a day and a dollar short and win nothing.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:20 pm
Bowls should be paid well and stay where he is. Too much chemistry to be lost that could last for a very long time if worked right.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:21 pm
Bowls, lol.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:25 pm
Keep the Front 7 on Defense as intact as possible.
Sign Bridgewater, and trade for Minshew. Let them battle it out
January 1st, 2020 at 6:26 pm
If we can get a stud running back and RT in the draft we will have a playoff caliber team.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:34 pm
If we had that type of defense for the whole season, we’d be playing this weekend.
January 1st, 2020 at 6:37 pm
How did we get that many sacks?
We didn’t draft Josh Allen so that’s impossible right?
😜
January 1st, 2020 at 6:39 pm
WOW. Can only imagine how good our team would be with a REAL QB instead of a buffoon ATM
January 1st, 2020 at 6:46 pm
PA……Bridgewater can’t run this offense. He never has never will……OMG every article somebody’s asking for Bridgewater. Y’all driving me crazy!!!
January 1st, 2020 at 6:54 pm
Get minuses from jags…….see you in the playoffs next year!
January 1st, 2020 at 6:55 pm
minshew
January 1st, 2020 at 6:57 pm
Talking about defense and 3 out of 13 posts mention Jameis.
Y’all need some serious Shrinks inept ability to cope.
Defense is fun once again to watch.
2020 is looking bright
January 1st, 2020 at 7:01 pm
“but, but Jameis can win if we just had a decent defense”…..APPARENTLY NOT!
January 1st, 2020 at 7:02 pm
Was it my imagination or did Shaq win Defensive MVP ?
January 1st, 2020 at 7:05 pm
The rookie defensive backs really started to come together in 8 games. Jameis has not come together in five years (80 games). While he has passing records, he also has the turnover record. And while he may wing it after tossing a pick-6, how many points have we given up by giving up the ball instead of keeping it? Signing the defense and a few offensive players is more important than signing a five year turnover machine. Hopefully they will trade Jameis, or let him go and sign a decent veteran.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:06 pm
Well done Bowles and company!
Resign as much of the front 7 as possible.
Construct Classy, simple uniforms.
Trade our second round pick for Derek Carr.
Work on the hamstrings.
Pack RayJay.
Win Championships…..
Aloha 🙂
January 1st, 2020 at 7:06 pm
I just hope the D continues to improve thought next year. Sometimes in the 2nd year coaches figure out offenses and defenses and they become less effective nonetheless, I have confidence Bowles will make that adjustment If he brought our previous defense from where it was to now he should have no problem adjusting next year if he has to
January 1st, 2020 at 7:07 pm
Amazing isnt it?!? We cut 2 first rounders from the D, signed some great FA’s, drafted well and then BOOM! CUTTING OUT THE LOSING CULTURE WORKS WONDERS!
One more to go, and he’s the QB!
January 1st, 2020 at 7:17 pm
Bowles already said he isn’t planning to leave after only one year, so there is no need to pay him more. Next year? If he keeps the defense improving, make him assistant head coach.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:19 pm
Pay the D.
Bring in Bridgewater.
Draft a RT and sign a decent serviceable free agent OT.
Playoffs.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:19 pm
Where’s NDOG to y’all about how garbage our defense is ??? Our defense is finally turning into something we all can be proud of. We’ve gotta be great if Winston is going to be our QB. hopefully we can start next year where we left off this year in defense. Get the kicking game right an get a running game going an we should be unstoppable. Really the team that could beat the Bucs next year is well the Bucs we need more discipline BA an get Winston to cut his turnovers in half an dam we will be scary. JASON keep this defense together
January 1st, 2020 at 7:20 pm
I think Bowles sees himself as a lifetime DC….I don’t see him going anywhere any time soon.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:22 pm
NPUPPY CALLING NPUPPY!!!
Explain the 121 points scored off of Winston turnovers.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:26 pm
Doosh
Nice jab!!! Exactly how did we get all those sacks without Allen.
We might also asked Joe how we would have replaced White’s production with Allen who made his share of tackles and reached Joe’s ORGASMIC number of more than ten sacks with 10.5.
Outside of that ONE number…sacks…White blew the doors off Joe’s pick..and it’s not even close even though White missed games due to injury.
1 interception, 3 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, and 2 fumble return touchdowns.
Allen had exactly ZERO ints…2 forced fumbles..no recoveries and certainly no recoveries for TD’s.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:28 pm
DaBux…..Bridgewater can’t run Bruce’s offense!!!!!!!! Why does nobody understand this!!!!! Y’all driving my absolutely crazy.
Reading all these post and in the last hour alone 4-5 fans begging for Bridgewater!!!!! What is going on? And who started this nonsense? Was it Anthony Bect that started it? I might gotta write him a letter.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:29 pm
Oh wait people don’t write letters no more. Oops.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:29 pm
MadMax … GMC didn’t fit TB’s 3-4 hybrid defense and VHIII was only a 1st-Rounder in JL’s mind. Hiring Todd Bowles as our DC AND letting him mold this defense was the best thing that’s happened to this team in years. We’re FINALLY getting back to our defensive roots.
Formerly Tampa 2 … What’s really amazing to me is that White essentially missed Games 2-5, SMB didn’t get any substantial defensive snaps until Game 5, Dean didn’t get any substantial snaps until Game 8, Ryan Smith was on suspension for the first 4 games. So TB primarily had Davis (our workhorse), VHIII (through Game 8), MJ Stewart (through Game 4) to work with as his CBs, and Minter filling in for White in Games 2-5.
IOW, our rookie CBs (SMB, Dean) didn’t really get much work until Games 5 & 8. Man did they come on fast after they got on the field.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:35 pm
A quality qb that secures the ball with a monster RB and a few linemen would make all the difference next season…
The Bucs have a chance to make themselves a respectable team IF they make the best decision for the team… Keeping a detriment to winning consistently is lethal to your future!
January 1st, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Only thing im concerned with is keeping these guys together.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:41 pm
Winston hasn’t played in 80 games yet.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:44 pm
I agree keeping these guys together. Everyone talks about the cost to bring shaq back but JPP wasn’t far behind him. 8.5 sacks in 10 games, plus he was working himself back into shape. The couldn’t double Shaq anymore when JPP came back and he looked a lot better. We need them both plus Suh in my opinion. Sign the defense!!! Go Bucs!!!
January 1st, 2020 at 7:52 pm
Teddy Bridgewater would be an upgrade over Winston for two reasons. First, he’s not Winston. That is good for TOs and for business. Second, the only reason he’s backup now is because of time away and he’s steadily improved. HOWEVER, I am not for trying to get Teddy for two reasons. First, the Saints will never let him go unless it is at an outrageous price. That will kill cap space and/or future development. Second, it’s a waste of time to try due to reason number one. With rare exceptions, a top pick like Teddy can adjust to a new system quickly. To say he’d not fit BA’s system is idiotic. Frankly, what BA has going on is quite traditional, and quite vanilla.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:55 pm
Winston threw 24 Int’s on our own side of the 50. If at least half of those would have been punts this is probably a 10 or 11 win team.
This team is close to being ready to go, they’re just missing a consistently smart QB.
January 1st, 2020 at 7:57 pm
Just proves that JW is what dragged this team down !
January 1st, 2020 at 7:57 pm
Wow that makes me feel just SO much better for missing the playoffs for the last decade plus!
January 1st, 2020 at 7:58 pm
Phillip Rivers won’t be under contract, he has mentioned he’d play for another team before retiring; he’s won before and has experience to lead and confidence he can back up. He’d likely not be more than $18-20M. This means he can joint with another veteran getting paid same or less and they can compete. Flacco doesn’t have the x factor anymore, Dalton makes better decisions but has never won in the playoffs. Did I talk about these guys throwing for 5K yards? No. History has shown that doesn’t mean SH*T. In fact, of the top 5 passers in yards this year alone, not a sngle one is going ot the playoffs. No matter what, if Winston stays, he needs competition and he needs to share about $37M available pretty evenly for the first year.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:05 pm
Want to know why Jameis is in a conversation about the defense? Because if the bucs pay over player over $30mil a year, they will have to say goodbye to at least two maybe as many as four of those front seven players. It’s called math, can we keep Jameis, extend Godwin, sign Barrett, JPP, Suh, Nasib, find a plug and play right tackle, and upgrade the running back position? I’m already convinced Perriman and Gholston are gone. We were right on cap this year with all of these players making less than they will want next year. People say Jameis had never had a good oline, running game, defense, kicker, and want to give him a huge contract which all but insures this team continues to have deficiencies across the board.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:10 pm
An actually good defense in Tampa after what we have had to suffer through recently would be most welcome. I’m as excited as all get out for next year, but I’m going to wait and see if it continues next season before I get all teary-eyed.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:12 pm
WE NEED JONATHAN TAYLOR!!!!!
January 1st, 2020 at 8:16 pm
i think the poor run game started when we lost mankins. Get another Mankins at right guard and a solid right tackle. Resigne the defense and bring in a veteran qb at 10-15 million and I think we are serious contenders. Go Bucs!! 2020 is our Year!!
January 1st, 2020 at 8:27 pm
My goodness reading some of these comments just reinforces how little people know about football. JimmyJack give up sir they have no idea what they are taking about, they just don’t understand the differences in offensive schemes, defenses and why players and teams succeed.
To the one point below, I have posted time and time again that if the defense did anything in the Giants game, Seahawks game or the first Saints game we win 10 games with nothing being different at all with the TOs from Jameis or anybody else. Throw on this last game with 3 missed FGs, again with changing nothing about to TOs, we have 11 wins. So when these people say we can’t win with Jameis it is flat out a lie. As proven by these points above if we simply had an average defense all season and a kicker that can make kicks we would be in the playoffs right now. And that is still with this being the first year in the offense and basically no running game, which should improve even if a little next year. There is nothing above that can be refuted yet some will try but it is factual.
gotbbucs Says:
January 1st, 2020 at 7:55 pm
Winston threw 24 Int’s on our own side of the 50. If at least half of those would have been punts this is probably a 10 or 11 win team.
This team is close to being ready to go, they’re just missing a consistently smart QB.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:32 pm
? Bring in a vet QB at 10-15M per year? Ok now I found something that drives me crazier then begging for Bridgewater!!!! The QB you are talking about doesn’t exist. That’s like how much it cost for a WR. Veteran starting QBs cost at least over 20M. That’s just reality. Now maybe what your after is a quality backup/journeyman and let him compete with a rookie. That will cost you under 10M. Still not 10-15.
And dang I dont study CAP money for nothin…..and I can’t even use a computer good…..but all I had to do was googling “QB salaries” and a list popped right up with every QB in the league from Aaron Rodgers to Ryan Griffin. It was in order too. It aren’t that hard.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:36 pm
The fourth “Whopping Defensive Stat” is that the Bucs’ defense had
28 total Takeaways ( 12 INTs and 16 FRs) for 5th best in the league.
They still had a Turnover Differential of -13 , which was the 5th worst
in the league, due to 11 fumbles lost, and 30 INTs.
tickrdr
January 1st, 2020 at 8:40 pm
From what I understand, Dalton is making an average of 15 million per year. I read an article that Mariota would expect to bring in less than 10 million per year.
With the weapons we have on offense plus the coaching staff, there are a number of veterans that could thrive. I think Arians thinks Gabbert could do well.
Jameis had huge numbers plus the ints, but I think it was from what he had around him. I don’t like how he’s asking for 30 million. To me that’s an I first attitude. If think if we lower the cost on our QB, resign our D and add a few pieces, we will be serious contenders. Very realistic.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:40 pm
Well Ndog we won’t have to worry about defensive collapses no more. They are going to keep this defense together and these guys know how to play in this system now.
The only thing left to do will be win. The only thing that scares me is how the QB will respond to a big late December or playoff game. He has not done well under pressure or on the national stage………Maybe with better defense all year he gains more confidence. We can only hope.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:49 pm
In the last five years, the Bucs have played a total of 80 games.
22 wins 6 losses.
4 wins 7 losses.
6 wins 35 losses.
tickrdr
January 1st, 2020 at 8:51 pm
Thisisouryear……..Correct Andy Dalton is making a lower salary like you said. But the difference is he signed a long-term 100M contract like 6-7 years ago. Back when he signed 15M was much more expensive then it is today.
To look at more accurate numbers on how much it cost to sign a veteran QB today you have to look at guys who were signed recently. Both Flacco and Foles were signed as starters last year and both got over 20M. Kirk Cousins also signed last year and is making nearly 30M.
Dalton’s salary is outdated and don’t resemble fair market value no more. It a poor example. And yes we can sign Mariota for under 10M but that’s only for him to compete for a job and only because no other team in the league is going to sign him and annoit him as their starter.
January 1st, 2020 at 8:55 pm
Tickrdr……..Are you playing a guessing game?
Ill guess the context is Winston INTs.
First column no INT
Second 1 INT
Third multi-INT
Did I win?
January 1st, 2020 at 8:59 pm
Actually that is debateable JimmyJack. Below are his games in prime-time night games:
Year. Team Att. Comp. Yards. Comp% TD. Int
2019 @ Car 16 25 208 64.0 1 0
2017. Atl. 27 35 299 77.1 3 0
2017. NE. 26 46 334 56.5 1 0
2016. @Car. 18 30 219 60.0 1 0
2016. @Dal. 17 35 247 48.6 2 3
2015. @Rams 29 50 363 58.0 2 1
January 1st, 2020 at 9:01 pm
Jimmy jack
I think Bridgewater signed for 7.5 last offseason. I think he’s expecting to make 15 average this offseason. I’m not trying to be disrespectful but I think Mariota could run this offense as well as Winston.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:06 pm
keep the producers on defense, cut MJ Stewart tho
January 1st, 2020 at 9:07 pm
Thisisouryear!!! Says:
January 1st, 2020 at 9:01 pm
Jimmy jack
I think Bridgewater signed for 7.5 last offseason. I think he’s expecting to make 15 average this offseason. I’m not trying to be disrespectful but I think Mariota could run this offense as well as Winston.
I’m not trying to be disrespectful but if you think that then you clearly haven’t watched much football or you have no idea what you are watching. You do know that Mariota had the NFLs leading rusher taking pressure off him which I don’t quite think he would have here.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:11 pm
Thisisouryear……Somewhere there is a place on the internet where you could find how much all these NFL players are expected to make. Sorry I’d let you know if I knew where it was.
You might be right on Bridgewater where he’s not really a proven starter in the league. Pretty sure if you bring in somebody whose an established starter like Rivers or Dalton for example they are gonna demand at least the same as what Flacco and Foles just got.
Disagree about Mariotta running the offense the same as Winston. Pretty sure he’s a scrambling QB who likes his check downs. If you bring in Mariota you’d probably be best to change your scheme on offense…..Which is why I wouldn’t want him. The rest of the offense just spent a year learning this offense. If you bring in a new QB I say bring in somebody who can run the same scheme.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:14 pm
In the last five years, the Bucs have played a total of 80 games.
22 wins 6 losses, when they won the turnover differential for the game.
4 wins 7 losses, when they tied in total turnovers for the game.
6 wins 35 losses, when they lost the turnover differential for the game.
The Turnover Differential is the only variable used to generate those results.
Points scored matter, turnovers matter, total yards not so much.
Possibly could add rushing game, and kicking game too….. not so much.
They could bring back Ryan Fitzpatrick or similar journeyman and get JW3-like results, which was seen in 2018, where Fitz had even better stats (yards per game, TD%age), however his INT%age was just as bad as Jameis’ (4.9% vs. 4.8%), and nobody seemed to like that much.
But that would save a ton of money, and everyone says that the best “bang for the buck” is getting a rookie QB on a rookie contract for five years, which allows adequate money to keep this defense intact.
Finally, ALL 12 of the playoff QBs in 2019 have a TD:INT ratio > 2:1!
Eight of the 12 have a TD% > 5% or more.
The highest INT% for all of the playoff QBs is Jimmy Garoppolo’s 2.7!
JW3 has NEVER in 5 years had a TD:INT ratio > 2:1!
His TD% HAS gone up each of the last two years, but SO HAS his INT%.
The problem is (as pointed out by SteveK and SPBF, IIRC), is that as Jameis plays more aggressively (which increases his TDs and yards), it ALSO markedly increases his INT%.
tickrdr
January 1st, 2020 at 9:16 pm
Just think with the defense we have we would be in the playoffs right now if we didn’t spot the other teams 14 points a game and turn the ball over 2-4 times a game. Damn for once I hope this team makes the right decision and brings the defensive guys back and dump the quarterback.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:23 pm
NDog……I’ll admitt I may have let recent memory cloudy judgement about pressure/national games. You also missed both London & Texans games which both were national.
The biggest games for me that hurt was the last two of the season. Heading into the Texans game Winston was really starting to build some fan support. I really think there was a lot of pressure there for him to proove some worth against a legit playoff team. Then to get the ball in that OT period last week and make that fatal error was unacceptable.
Maybe I’m overestimating how much pressure he had in those moments. That’s just me. Just felt like those were big moments for him to show us all that he could carry this team like a true franchise QB. Was very dissapointing to see him fail.
Im not having a kneejerk reaction saying get rid of him like many others. I do want to see him in year two of this offense. But I won’t lie and I got no trust he could come through in a big pressure game. He’s gotta earn that trust.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:26 pm
Jimmyjack and dog
I understand what you’re saying. Maybe Mariotas not our man. I do know Bellicek loves chip kelly and chip kelly believes different than you about Mariota.
I believe that if we add a safety, right side of the line and resign our defense there are many qbs that could make us contenders for a price that would allow that. Joe said today that he doesn’t think Winstons decision making will improve and that’s the problem. From what I’ve heard he’s a crazy hard worker, he has all the tools but I don’t believe he had the mental game.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:27 pm
I think JW is fatally flawed by his overconfidence in spite of his incredible failures…on and off the field. I’m done.
So who is next?
Bridgewater would be better than JW but I don’t believe we can afford him…or that this would even be a good fit.
The two most interesting candidates to me are one who is a candidate and one who is not.
Rivers wants to play. He’s pissed. He knows he had a bad season and tried to hard to save the Chargers bacon. When you make hard throws into tight spots they are called low % throws for a reason. Rivers freely confesses he did that this year. JW OTOH thinks he’s “ballin” bwaaahaaaa. Could BA convince Rivers to move from the West Coast with his 8 or 9 kids to Tampa.
The 2nd but impossible candidate would be Andrew Luck. Yeah the Colts would want compensation…how about JW and a draft pick or two.
Luck would base his decision on far more than salary. Unlike JW his ego does not need to be stroked with another 50 million on top of the 100 he’s already earned. He walked away from 500 million because of his health. (Did unhappiness with Colts management have anything to do with it?)
So Luck left football for year to heal and regain his health….maybe permanently retired.
BA left coaching for a year because of his health.
BA was Luck’s coach for that first of three straight 11 win seasons.
IF..admittedly a large IF…Luck did decide to return to football who better than BA to lure him back? I would pay Luck starters money but not JW…what has JW done to earn it?
The Defense grows up this season and improved dramatically.
ROJO improved somewhat finishing with his first 100 yard game.
JW…remained exactly the same. His first pass with the Bucs was a pick six…his last a pick six. What’s not to like?
Oh I know it’s all about ints not JW’s manifest other faults.
This is like bringing woman home to meet the parents…smart and a real babe but she has three breasts and half her teeth.
But…But…but the rest is perfect…those three breasts are all perfect D cups…again what’s not to like? Oh the teeth…yeah everybody focuses on the teeth….big deal..if only she had her teeth and two breasts she would be amazing.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:28 pm
NPUPPY!!!
121 points off of Winston turnovers!!! 7.5 points per game!!! Do you need a game breakdown of his ints? I have them ready for ya! Yes, the defense holding tough in a couple of games would’ve equaled wins but don’t act like Winston didn’t cause just as much, if not MORE, loses.
When Winston turns the ball over as much as he did in bucs territory, of course that’s gonna equal points! Doesn’t take a genius (trust me, you’re nowhere close to that) to see this!
Go ahead, prove me wrong. How many pick 6’s did Winston have again?
January 1st, 2020 at 9:53 pm
Does anyone know the status of Beckwith?
January 1st, 2020 at 9:53 pm
Amazing how once VH3 and IceCream93 were gone the D suddenly got better.
January 1st, 2020 at 9:54 pm
Bucs are going to be very attractive to free agent QB. A factor for bringing jameis is the asking price or years in contract.
Bruce spoke highly of Teddy. But can he be durable with the amount the oline will give up. The same goes with Mariota which leave Phillip rivers. So it will be rivers or Winston. Also … didn’t Phillip ran the whisehunt offense.
January 1st, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Yes. The priority should be signing Barrett, JPP and Suh.
January 1st, 2020 at 10:18 pm
Bucs14…….Notice how Lavonte David stepped up this year and has become a vocal leader? Originally I thought it was coaching that made a difference but it stands to reason that our old leader could have been holding a guy like David back from stepping into that role.
With Hargreaves I’m reading the leafs and remembering how JPP had it out with a certain Bucs player(s) for laughing about partying after a loss. About a week after Vernon was cut a national guy claimed stop clubs was a problem for players in Tampa Bay and the game after Vernon was cut Dean was unexpectedly benched……..Call me crazy but it sure seems like there is a new way this team is handling their business. I’d call that culture change.
Will admitt that it does worry me that their aren’t a reason behind why we play like dogcrap at home.
January 1st, 2020 at 10:24 pm
@Ndog
Winston was throwing heinous interceptions when the kicking was good and when the defense was playing well. When are you people going to understand that players standing on the sideline while the offense is on the field have nothing to do with the QB giving the ball away. QB’s across the league every week have to deal with playing from behind by a score or kickers missing a kick, they’re all not coughing the ball up at historic rates because of it.
@tickrdr
Don’t speak truth and bring glaring stats to the table. These guys that want to keep Winston want to try and win despite him. They would, for some insane reason, like to force the defense and kicking game to be perfect every week so that Winston can go out there and play playground football.
Turnover differential is THE most important stat in the game, yet these guys can’t be bothered to accept that truth either.
This guy commits around 2/3s of his turnovers inside our 50 yard line, forcing the defense to defend a short field. He is absolutely terrible playing at home, which makes having a winning season with him and getting a home playoff game pointless.
Does Winston have positives? Sure, but the negatives, like Arians said, are so glaringly horrifying that they’re impossible to ignore.
If Blaine Gabbert would have been healthy, I firmly believe that Winston would have been benched halfway through the season and this would not be a discussion.
To the point of this article, the defense came alive the second half of this season. The defense was doing this while defending a short field at minimum 3 or 4 times a game due to offensive turnovers. It is paramount to keep this front 7 as close to intact as the salary cap can allow us. Hopefully these guys realize they have a good thing going and leave a little bit of money on the table so they can stay together for a couple more years.
January 1st, 2020 at 11:18 pm
Winston wants $40 million, 40 TD, 40 INT, 10 PICK 6’S, 6000 yards
January 1st, 2020 at 11:22 pm
Imagine if we had a “keep Bowels” Movement…….
January 1st, 2020 at 11:38 pm
The defense is really coming. First priority should be keeping it together.
Then go and get a real damn QB that won’t keep putting them in bad positions and losing games for them.
January 1st, 2020 at 11:53 pm
The good thing is that I’m confident this defense won’t be unanimously blamed for any losses next season. The kicking game and QB play will be magnified.
January 2nd, 2020 at 12:26 am
Ardnagy,
I believe you are the first to identify the potential problem with signing Bridgewater or Mariota. It’s not the schematic fit that should be chief among questions about those 2 as possible free agent acquisitions.
You’ve zeroed in the most important question to ask, could either one of those guys survive in the scheme.
If the belief is they could, then the other factors play into the decision. But if they can’t, who gives a sh@# about anything else.
January 2nd, 2020 at 12:44 am
Bring in Bridgewater and Kareem Hunt. Draft a RT and a center. Why waste a high draft when Hunt could be had. He has done a lot of penance for his moment. He is a proven back set for a comeback year. He just got in his conditioning and training by playing downs, but his body has been saved a lot of contact. I think Hunt blows up. Remove Winston’s turnovers, and that defense wins games next year. I wonder what Arians could do with Bridgewater?
January 2nd, 2020 at 1:05 am
This pass defense sucked until JPP returned and Hargreaves was cut. No matter who is on the roster come September, the defense will be much improved over what it was last week. Most of these guys will be back for a second year in this system. They know it works here. Why would they want to start over with players and a system they have to adjust to? No team is going to score on this defense like they did this season. The offense will score more and reduce turnovers with Jameis. We still need a dependable kicker, but 30 points a game should be enough to get the Bucs in the playoffs.
January 2nd, 2020 at 1:43 am
Joe, you forgot about another important Defensive stat, opponents 3rd down percentage. In 2017, we were dead last at 48% (great job Mike Smith). In 2018, we were 22nd at 40%. This year we finished 5th overall at 34%.
https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/opponent-third-down-conversion-pct
January 2nd, 2020 at 3:57 am
1sparky,
Why will winston reduce his turnovers? Or more to the point, how will he?
How much can he cut down on ints and still be as productive?
I’m asking because I read a comments like yours and wonder what gives you the confidence that he can. Then there’s how to reduce them.
Personally, I ‘m not counting on or going to expect winston to lessen the turnovers . Nice if he does but, I see no evidence to convince me he can. Which is why I am curious, why do you seem to be counting on it as if we’re no big deal.
January 2nd, 2020 at 8:19 am
@D1:
And if he can reduce turnovers, WHY hasn’t he yet??
It’s only year five, and the INT percentage is RISING.
More risky throws = yes, more TDs, but MORE INTs as well. That’s my point.
tickrdr
January 2nd, 2020 at 8:30 am
Sorry to drone on, and posted previously, so please ignore.
Three criteria for elite playoff caliber QB play:
1) TD/INT ratio of >2:1, at a MINIMUM.
2) TD percentage >5.0%
3) TD% minus INT% > 3.0
The NFL MVP for the year usually has the highest number for
TD% – INT%.
For this year, Lamar Jackson’s numbers are:
TD% = 9%
INT% = 1.5%
TD% – INT% = 7.5
Very low INT% = low risk QB, but maybe a “checkdown artist”, usually with lower TD percentage.
High TD percentage = aggressive “gunslinger” QB, but adds the risk of unacceptable number of turnovers, due to increased number of high risk throws.
That is why in my humble opinion, the best QBs are able to have BOTH a high TD percentage, AND a low INT percentage. JW3 has NOT been that QB to date.
tickrdr
January 2nd, 2020 at 8:53 am
Tickerdr,
The question I have is, why anyone would believe winston can drastically cut his interceptions totals.
“Why hasn’t he reduced interceptions after year 5?”
The 30 million dollar question isnt it?
Why anyone would be so assured that this is an easy fix, is what I am interested in understanding. At this point, faith is the only plausible explanation I can think of.
January 2nd, 2020 at 8:58 am
@D1:
Amen, faith and prayer is the only answer!🙏🙏
January 2nd, 2020 at 9:03 am
Tickerdr,
High reward/Low risk ……. ..High number of TD’S / low number of interceptions.
Winston has done this before, first year as a starter at FSU.
January 2nd, 2020 at 11:21 am
@D1 I believe that was the last year Aguayo was consistently good as well…
January 2nd, 2020 at 12:02 pm
Hard to believe! Joe–remember the black hole at edge–now we have JPP and Shaq–amazing! we have Carl and last years draft pick(anthony Nelson) too to work with. No we did not get Josh Allen and good for us we didn’t, Devin White is coming around too. Lets resign our defense and beef up our safety position, Justin Evans is not to be relied on–best reliability is your availability. We also had a black hole at right guard and Cappa filled it up without alot of commotion. Safety is important in Bowles defense–we should pick OT and safety in draft and Jacob Eason in round 2.
January 2nd, 2020 at 4:31 pm
The dumbest fan base in all of NFL fandom. Bridgewater gets at least $28M, 3+ years with a new team. Mariota is not even close to Winston talentwise and he fetches 22+ on the open market. Winston a bargain at $30 M. He’s being generous asking for $30M eith the new CBA on the horizon. Rickety Rivers and Broken Down Brady will get mauled behind the Bucs offensive line and won’t come here. Bears, Colts more likely destinations for the geezers.
January 3rd, 2020 at 7:24 am
Ah yes… nfl fans…… everyone is a GM… but nobody is qualified to be a GM. Cant wait for next year! Jameis will be back, because the only opinions that mattered in the decision, made it so. He will have a stellar year behind a better OL, or his mistakes will be compensated by a top notch defense. Cut him lose and we are contracted with a sub par qb(its basically our only option), another question mark for playoffs… or Blaine, who will guarantee us a top 3 draft pick qb in 2 years. Decisions decisions… I think I’ll wait for the qualified decision makers to make a decision… it’s less stressful!