Bucs Defense Is DangerZone For QBs
December 26th, 2021
Just a few short years ago, Joe never would have dreamt of seeing this from the Bucs.
Watching the defense in the throes of the Lost Decade, it was a struggle for Joe not to punch a hole in the drywall. Not only did the Bucs not pressure the quarterback, the team acted as if that wasn’t even important. The team never seemed to prioritize rushing the passer.
In a passing league, to just shrug your shoulders while quarterbacks could sit in the pocket and play “Madden,” it was beyond frustrating and made Joe seriously question some life choices.
That changed drastically when the Bucs traded for Jason Pierre-Paul and then, current defensive coordinator Todd Bowles arrived and the Bucs loaded up with pass rushers.
Finally, someone got it!
The Bucs have gone from not breathing on a quarterback, to quarterbacks wetting their pants from fear of getting their ribs cracked. Along the way, the Bucs got a Super Bowl title. Imagine that?
Joe found pass rusher stats offered up by the Bucs’ media relations department and Joe sat back and tried to wrap his head around how much things have changed in a handful of years. What a satisfying feeling it is.
The Bucs are second in the NFL since Bowles arrived in strip-sacks with 25. Only the Cardinals have more (29).
In the past three seasons, only two teams have more sacks than the Bucs (132). That would be the Steelers (151), a team that has always coveted a strong pass rush, and the Rams (139), who have one of the greatest defensive tackles that ever walked the earth.
Additionally, when it comes to quarterback hits, the stepsister of sacks, no team since Bowles began running the defense has more than the Bucs.
Joe isn’t certain what got into someone/some people at One Buc Palace the past four years to put so much emphasis on the pass rush. But thank God someone saw the light.
It is no coincidence whatsoever that the Bucs went from a joke to a champion at the same time the team figured out rushing the passer was critical to winning.
Source: Buccaneers media relations.
December 26th, 2021 at 8:16 am
Great, what are the stats on pass coverage?
December 26th, 2021 at 9:01 am
You put the fear of god into any QB, even iconic ones, their passing attack suffers. Pretty straightforward.
December 26th, 2021 at 9:30 am
Plus when you are winning the other team has to pass more – which helps with these stats.
December 26th, 2021 at 10:04 am
I’d be curius to see the % of blitzing compared to the other teams. Sometimes I feel like we blitz so often we lose the surprise element and teams are able to game plan for it. Which is why they get the ball out so fast and we don’t get home often enough on sacks.
December 26th, 2021 at 10:05 am
List, good enough to get us a super bowl victory last year. We’ll see what happens this year.
December 26th, 2021 at 10:55 am
Good pass rush covers up a lot of deficiencies. I still remember that Jets front four from decades ago… They were the only good players ON the defense
December 26th, 2021 at 10:58 am
Thank God the D is coming around, particularly of late, because the O is hurt and on a downward trajectory. Hope TB and gang can turn things around today.
December 26th, 2021 at 11:55 am
Joe. I feel the same way. I started watching football when we had the greatest defense in the glory years and to watch what they did they the lost decade made me punch holes in the wall. Hopefully we never have to go thru that trash again. If you don’t get sacks n pressure why even play defense then. Doesnt take a genius to figure it out
December 26th, 2021 at 12:19 pm
Would help if the secondary helped though. They should definitely look at any of them coming out of Cincinnati. Gardner, Bryant, Cook or any of them because their secondary is very good. Marcus Jones from Houston is another sleeper.