Gholston Contributing In New Way
November 1st, 2020
New trait.
In some ways, the Bucs defense is not doing as well as last year. In other ways, it is doing better.
For example, Shaq Barrett has almost been forgotten when it comes to sacks. Last year he was a hair away from 20 sacks. This year he might be lucky to have eight. He currently has three through seven games. Ouch.
What makes that number so surprising is that unlike last year, when the Bucs didn’t have Jason Pierre-Paul for the first six games to help keep heat off Shaq, JPP has started every game this season.
(Joe understands this subject really grates on some of Joe’s readers who scream, “But Joe, Shaq is getting pressures!” You think the Bucs slapped Shaq with the franchise tag for quarterback pressures?)
However, where Shaq has fallen off, the slack has been picked up. Devin White has four sacks and Will Gholston has two. Only twice in his career has Gholston had more than two sacks (three each in 2015 and 2016).
There is also another area where Gholston is shining in the passing game. And follicly-challenged Billy Barnwell of BSPN has the details.
William Gholston, who has been a run-stopping end here forever, has two sacks and a career-high 11 knockdowns, which is impressive given that we’re not even halfway through the season.
Yes, 11 quarterback knockdowns is damn impressive and Joe didn’t even realize Gholston was doing this so often.
The way other players are contributing more as Shaq has struggled to start the 2020 season, if Shaq ever snaps out of it, damn this could be a scary defense.
November 1st, 2020 at 10:14 am
The article that Barnwell wrote about the risers, which included the Bucs was an awesome read. The Bucs are the best Defense in the league and it is not close. He mentioned that the defense last year had the worst starting field positon in the league. Because of all the turnovers. Also another factor was how the offense would either score quick or give the ball back to the other team quickly. So anyone want to take a look it will fire you up all the more. “Tampa Bay is now No. 1 in the Football Outsiders DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) ratings. And the Buccaneers are No. 1 by a large margin. The gap between the Bucs and the No. 2 Baltimore Ravens is equal to the gap between the Ravens and the No. 7 Los Angeles Rams” GO BUCS!!!!
November 1st, 2020 at 10:34 am
Here we go again. Sacks sacks sacks sacks sacks. A whole article touting how everyone else is feasting (now that opposing offenses are targeting Shaq and neutralizing him, freeing up everyone else) and it’s somehow representative of a drop off in play bc one star number is low compared to a historic number last year.
Is the defense top 3 or not Joe?! Is Shaq a key reason why or not Joe?! Do you watch the games or just read stats Joe?! Should we just replace Shaq with Nelson or someone else if he’s so bad?
Yes, that’s EXACTLY why they slapped him with the franchise tag! In case his sacks dropped (law of averages made that a near certainty) they can sign him for less than he would have commanded after a 19.5 sack year. The tag is pricey, but the cost of a multi year deal would have been a premium.
When did good management become rocket surgery to the proprietors of this site?!
November 1st, 2020 at 10:36 am
Stats are for losers.
November 1st, 2020 at 10:53 am
Don’t look now Joe, but Shaq is tied for 6th in the league this year in pass rush win rate. He’s so bad!
November 1st, 2020 at 10:56 am
The Bucs currently have the second highest sack total in the NFL. I don’t much care who gets the sack, as long as they get to the QB. Keep going, guys!
November 1st, 2020 at 10:59 am
Leigh Roy you’re getting so excited. Please tell us what is “rocket surgery?”, lol, I know of neurosurgery and rocket science, this one is new ! Tell us more about rocket surgery, who performs that ?
November 1st, 2020 at 11:18 am
Uh, rocket surgeons? Lol, ya like that huh… Joes #shadeatshaq does get me excited I will admit.
I’m not usually one for telling someone their take is wrong, but this topic is an easy exception. Fish in a barrel
November 1st, 2020 at 11:21 am
Joe, your analysis is not good and you’re a ninny…lol. I can’t get enough of the jbf comments
November 1st, 2020 at 11:33 am
I think Shaq is a great player and is doing more than joe gives him credit for. Last year everyone was saying pay him after his great season and I kept saying slow down it’s one great season let see him do it 2 years in a row before we open up the vault for him. We still got half a season left so he can still lay down the smack down on teams but realistically I think he’s a 10 sack a season guy which is good if we have multiple players like that. He sets the edge really well and still forces some turnovers with pressure maybe not sacks but pressure. I know how joe doesn’t believe in pressure but I’ve seen many guys get good pressure and force turnovers just from pressure so it does help. Shaq not having monster season honestly helps us in the financial department. Prob saves us some money lol
November 1st, 2020 at 11:37 am
You’re doing the same thing to Shaq that you’ve been doing to ME13 Joe, and that’s unfair to both of them. Shaq has been on the field for 86% of the defensive snaps in our 7 games … that’s huge IMO. Based on what he accomplished last year, it’s quite likely that opponents are keying on him on most plays, and his sacks etc should be expected to be down as a result. But that also opens up opportunities for others to get more sacks, QB hits, etc and I for one think that’s exactly what we’re seeing in this defense. Kudos also to Todd Bowles for exploiting opponents’ shifts in priorities assuming that’s the case.
Mike Evans is going through a similar decrease in stats during this first half of the season, but I couldn’t care less. If opponents’ defenses want to focus on Mike & thus open up some other opportunities for Brady to exploit, so be it. It’s all about T-E-A-M and ultimately wins. The coaches know what’s going on & how well different players are performing. Shaq & Mike are superstars because they know how to check their egos at the door. I’m sure that Antonio Brown will do exactly the same. (Please tell me when I can stop holding my breath on that one Joe).
November 1st, 2020 at 11:39 am
Leighroy:
If you believe a quarterback pressure is as important or more significant than a sack, then you and Joe have a full, complete and fundamental difference of the game of football.
Joe doesn’t think there is a defensive coach alive that would take a pressure over a sack.
Maybe you are unaware but a quarterback can *still* complete a pass when pressured.
November 1st, 2020 at 11:41 am
Will Gholston, doing the dirty work.
November 1st, 2020 at 11:43 am
WHAT???!!!
You hallucinating again (which is your norm)?
Joe cannot come up with a coherent response to someone claiming Joe is remotely anti-Mike Evans or disappointed in his play.
There may not be a guy on the roster the Bucs think more of than Mike Evans.
November 1st, 2020 at 11:43 am
I also understand where joe is coming from Shaq is on a tag so he is making great money this season so joe is saying because of his pay we should in return be getting sacks and not pressures. Joe is right in that sense. If we get pressure on a QB and he throws a pick or they go 3 and out cause of consistent pressure I’m good with it even tho there wasn’t a sack but we need both sacks and pressure. Get a few sacks and good hit on the QB and the pressure will eat them alive
November 1st, 2020 at 11:47 am
Bowles said last week in his press conference that Shaq was playing at an extremely high level, and that QB’s have been getting the ball out much faster this year than last year. He said last year was the luck of the draw for Shaq to get so many sacks. I personally would like Shaq to have atleast 6 sacks at this point during the year given he earned the franchise tag. However, I am not unhappy with his play. I think he has been very disruptive with his pass rush, and has been very consistent in the run game too. Just needs to make it to the QB a little more often this last half of the season.
November 1st, 2020 at 11:48 am
He’s looked good to me. In the offseason i said 8-12 sacks is a reasonable goal just based on what elite pass rushers average. If he can notch 1-2 this game he’s right on pace.
November 1st, 2020 at 11:56 am
Shaq Barret is doing just fine! Lets see: first of the word is out on him and he saw a lot more doubles to start the season. Speaking of starting this season he has dropped back on more plays and played coverage plays. Next is the team has a lot of sacks! So I for one don’t care if he has 8 or 20 if the defense as a whole is producing them all the same and more!
November 1st, 2020 at 12:04 pm
He had 19.5 last year and where did that get him?? Jpp came in and immediately started having success… They were great at sacking the QB what did that get them?? …. Now they are one of the best in the league at getting pressure and knock downs (knock downs are pressure Joe!! How can you insult pressure but impressed by knock downs?) And are one of the best defenses in the league at interceptions!!! You don’t see the link there!? …. And people have been talking about gholston getting pressure all year how did you not know???
November 1st, 2020 at 12:04 pm
Lol at the joes hand wringing over Pressures vs knockdowns. Isn’t a knockdown be a pressure? Vice versa? If so, how many “knockdowns” does Shaq have compared to Gholston? To the rest of the team? This is the definition of splitting hairs guys and it provides minimal insight.
November 1st, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Chandler Jones of the Cardinals, who was 2nd in the NFL in 2019 with 19 sacks, had 1 sack in his first 5 games this year before going on IR. The year after Michael Strahan had an NFL record 22.5 sacks, he had 11. Warren Sapp had 16.5 sacks, the next year he had 6.So yes, gawdy sack totals lead to a lot more attention, which helps the other guys on the defense.
November 1st, 2020 at 12:26 pm
I’ve mentioned it before. Gholston leads the team in QB hits and is among the league leaders. He is constantly in the QBs face and has been killing it this season.
November 1st, 2020 at 12:34 pm
Everyone is comparing last year to this year, last year Shaq was a unknown threat so teams wasn’t game planning for him, last year White was a rook and not developed into what he is becoming. Teams has to plan differently for this team this year because how well the whole team is playing. Also it was the teams first year learning TB defense , our secondary was weak so more offensive plays was designed to take advantage of the secondary. Now teams have to play more to protect thier QB than to gash our secondary. I would like to see a breakdown on how much teams are keeping TEs or RBs in to protect vs us this year then last year.
November 1st, 2020 at 12:44 pm
*Gaudy, not gawdy
November 1st, 2020 at 1:33 pm
I echo what D.R. has said. Production truly is a team effort.
I’m not a stats wonk much less a video junkie so I expose the weakness of my opinions up front.
But I would like to know statistically how many double teams Shaq and ME13 have had to fight through so far. I’d like to see a companion stat on the increased production of their teammates when they are double teamed.
IE..Could Shaq be a reason why Gholston is getting props for knockdowns and sacks? Could ME13 drawing attention from safeties be a reason for Scotty Miller’s breakout season deep?
Most of all I’d love to see a video dissected by Ronde that shows all of these things..or not. Perhaps Shaq IS having an off year. Since the team is playing so well and he’s still a part of the team I honestly do not care about his individual stats…at least as long as the team stats are at their current amazing levels.
November 1st, 2020 at 1:57 pm
Well, people talk about him getting pressures, because HIS pressure is forcing the plays towards other players who are getting the sacks (JPP, Gholston, LVD, DW, even Vea before he went down, etc.)
I’ll be here all season if you need this explained again 😛
November 1st, 2020 at 2:00 pm
On a more serious and unrelated note-
Is there some reason why I can ONLY post when I’m connected to my home wifi?
If I go for a walk or am out and about and just using my cellular connection, I can no longer make posts. They don’t go into moderation or anything, they just disappear completely when I hit submit, and then the page reloads at the top.
Started happening a few months ago, never used to be this way.
I’m going out of town next week and I need my daily JBF crack fix. Plus, what would everyone do without my unsolicited opinions?
November 1st, 2020 at 2:08 pm
Good sack stat comparison Joe in Michigan.
Definitely puts things in perspective.
November 1st, 2020 at 2:12 pm
I’m not saying sacks aren’t better than pressures. But they aren’t insignificant if they impact the play. You used to argue all the time about how Lovie was so focused on TOs and forgot that 3 and outs are turnovers too. We’ve seen more 3 and outs this year than we have the last 5 years it feels! Pressure is a huge reason why!
Take it a step further, neither are as good as strip fumbles. I don’t hear you complaining about how JPP is down bc his sacks aren’t TOs as well. Or why Carlton Davis can’t turn passes defensed into more INTs!
Pretty sure Shaq had a dry stretch last year among those gaudy stats and eventually defenses are going to choose the other Bucs to key their game plan on. Shaq will get his soon enough.
The point is to say Shaq is playing bad, or has fallen off simply bc his sacks numbers are down is erroneous, and not congruent with the facts. This the portion of your argument across multiple articles now that I and other readers take umbrage with.
November 1st, 2020 at 4:21 pm
RELAX, Shaq will get his. The current offensive protection plan when playing the Bucs is to put emphasis on the outside rushers.
That leaves holes in the middle, hence Gholston and White. O-line coaches have also noticed this and will start putting emphasis in the middle of the line. That will open some lanes on the outside.
But, Shaq is proving to be a more complete OLB than he showed last season. He has had some good coverage plays and some good run stop plays.
November 1st, 2020 at 5:37 pm
Joe, pressures can create sacks for other players as well as bad throws and interceptions. You’re not taking into consideration that on same play there could be pressure by one or more players and a sack by another.
November 1st, 2020 at 5:43 pm
I was watching Kahlil Mack drop into coverage, trying to cover Alvin Kamara. I suppose you have to do something different once in a while, but I don’t know that Mack or Shaq belong in coverage.
November 1st, 2020 at 5:46 pm
^ They don’t.
Plays where guys like that drop into coverage are depending on the linebackers and blitzers to get to the QB first.
November 1st, 2020 at 6:53 pm
Shaq is playing every bit as well as last year. Guess Joe prefers looking at numbers to actually watching a dude play.
November 1st, 2020 at 7:10 pm
Unbelievable: right, it’s designed to confuse the offense, but it leads to some ugly plays, such as Mack getting beat for a 48 yard gain.
November 1st, 2020 at 9:01 pm
Inject this thread into my veins, lol
November 2nd, 2020 at 2:36 am
Man Joe proves time and time again to not have an ability to see the big picture.
Look at our team sacks last year and compare them to this year. Last year our OLBs took up the vast majority of sacks for the team. 19.5 for shaq, 8.5 for JPP 6 for Nassib and 13 for the rest of the defense.
Before this week the buccaneers have 25 sacks, Second in the NFL to the Steelers. This year so far our sack # is distributed among our players much better across the board. Do you really think that attention on Shaq has nothing to do with it?
The way you are writing you would think we have Robert Ayers rushing from the edge.
The blitzes are working for a reason. attention on the OLB that led the league in sacks last year has something to do with that.
Also Joe you should be placing a bigger importance on take aways then sacks.
November 2nd, 2020 at 7:06 am
I think the Bucs will want Shaq back again next year because how well he has played two years in a row.
He at 86 percent of snaps count an increase from 79 percent last year. That means he is playing most every down.
David, Suh, JPP, Barrett, White, Winfield, Davis, SMB, and Whitehead they stay on the field and play through injuries.
There are a ton of guys on most NFL teams that have to be spelled more often and then you are getting to guys that have less talent. Less ability to make a stop or stay with a guy.
There is a reason why Chicago is a better defense than Green Bay or the Bucs are a better defense than Atlanta.
We have guys that are good and that also know how to stay on the field.
November 2nd, 2020 at 7:07 am
Last year some joebucs fans wanted Chase Winovich as a pass rusher in the 3rd round and when we traded down from early in the 3rd round to two later picks we missed out on Winovich.
Winovich ended up with 7 sacks and I am sure Joe at one point suggested we missed out. But the guy ended up with only 9 total tackles and no forced fumbles. He is so bad against the run, he got only 5 snaps against Buffalo this week.
We ended up with Dean and Edwards instead.