High Standard For The Defense
October 22nd, 2023
Talks Bucs’ defensive goals.
Despite some folks out there angry with the Bucs defense in last week’s loss to the Lions, Joe cannot agree.
The way Joe looks at it, if you hold any NFL team to 20 points, you should be in the ballgame. If there were rocks to be thrown, it should have been at the offense.
Joe has said this on the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” and has written it several times.
The Lions have a powerful offense. The 20 points they scored against the Bucs was their lowest total of the season (they also scored just 20 against Atlanta).
Bucs defensive back Christian Izien doesn’t see it that way.
“We had a different outlook defensively about how we played,” Izien said. “We left a couple of plays out there that resulted in points. Myself included.
“We feel like 20 is a lot of points. Keeping teams under 10, 14 points is kind of our goal.”
Joe sort of chuckled. That’s a damn high standard. But it did remind Joe of the scuttlebutt he had heard back in training camp — that Bucs defenders believed they had to carry the team until the offense and their new quarterback, Baker Mayfield, all got on the same page.
If you are holding teams to under 14 points, that’s carrying a team. That’s what the glory years Bucs with Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks and John Lynch and Rondé Barber did.
Joe did ask Izien if perhaps the defense started to get worn down because of all the short possessions by the offense. Izien replied, “No, I wouldn’t say that.”
October 22nd, 2023 at 12:25 am
“We feel like 20 is a lot of points. Keeping teams under 10, 14 points is kind of our goal.”
Our defense is going to need to keep teams under 14 points to win games with Todd Bowles sorry as offenses only scoring 18 points a game!
October 22nd, 2023 at 12:35 am
The reason so many are down on the defense is because as a professional team they played embarrassing….So many times Lions receivers were as open as college receivers when the widows to throw are suppose to be tight…. It was like they were letting them catch in front of them and tackling to not give p the big plays yet giving them multiple 1st downs…. Receivers should not be that open that often if your defense is good…. SO Bowels just might be getting outdated!
October 22nd, 2023 at 3:44 am
Off Coverage in the NFL has been outdated for decades.
October 22nd, 2023 at 4:07 am
Tye … ‘Receivers should not be that open that often if your defense is good…. SO Bowels just might be getting outdated!’
Drives me nuts also Tye when I see receivers so wide open, but this has been going on with Bowles for 4 years now. Yet from a bottom-line (results) standpoint … POINTS ALLOWED … it works reasonably well.
Job #1 with Bowles seems to be STOP THE RUN. Job #2 seems to be PRESSURE THE QB (blitzing & disguise seem to be big parts of that?). After that, Job #3 seems to be KEEP THE PLAY IN FRONT OF YOU. His defenses give up ground (in the passing game), either forcing the opponent to make a mistake or just waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.
That defensive scheme, with those priorities, seems to fall apart when the Bucs can stop the run OR pressure the QB. Against the Eagles, we couldn’t stop the run (40 rushes for 201 yds isn’t good). Against the Lions, we couldn’t pressure the QB (allowing 30-for-44 for 353 yds & 2 TDs isn’t good either). We fixed the problem we had against the Eagles (couldn’t do Job #1), but couldn’t additionally get Job #2 done.
The game today against the Falcons could be a repeat of the Lions game if we’re not careful. HOPEFULLY we can both STOP THE RUN and PRESSURE THE QB to let our offense HOPEFULLY better control the game this time.
October 22nd, 2023 at 4:12 am
Tye … ‘Receivers should not be that open that often if your defense is good…. SO Bowels just might be getting outdated!’
Drives me nuts also Tye when I see receivers so wide open, but this has been going on with Bowles for 4 years now. Yet from a bottom-line (results) standpoint … POINTS ALLOWED … it works reasonably well.
Job #1 with Bowles seems to be STOP THE RUN. Job #2 seems to be PRESSURE THE QB (blitzing & disguise seem to be big parts of that?). After that, Job #3 seems to be KEEP THE PLAY IN FRONT OF YOU. His defenses give up ground (in the passing game), either forcing the opponent to make a mistake or just waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.
That defensive scheme, with those priorities, seems to fall apart when the Bucs can stop the run OR pressure the QB. Against the Eagles, we couldn’t stop the run (40 rushes for 201 yds isn’t good). Against the Lions, we couldn’t pressure the QB (allowing 30-for-44 for 353 yds & 2 TDs isn’t good either). We fixed the problem we had against the Eagles (couldn’t do Job #1), but couldn’t additionally get Job #2 done.
The game today against the Falcons could be a repeat of the Lions game if we’re not careful. HOPEFULLY we can both STOP THE RUN and PRESSURE THE QB to let our offense HOPEFULLY better control the game this time.
October 22nd, 2023 at 5:26 am
It is not just the big plays!
Here is a standard for ya.
Get off the field on third down!
Go Bucs!
October 22nd, 2023 at 6:51 am
We would have had to hold Lions to 5 points……now that’s a high standard…
October 22nd, 2023 at 7:15 am
Check me if I’m wrong but the Lions defense held their opponent last week under 14.
October 22nd, 2023 at 8:41 am
“Job #1 with Bowles seems to be STOP THE RUN. Job #2 seems to be PRESSURE THE QB (blitzing & disguise seem to be big parts of that?). After that, Job #3 seems to be KEEP THE PLAY IN FRONT OF YOU. His defenses give up ground (in the passing game), either forcing the opponent to make a mistake or just waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.”
And lest we forget DR, the year we played and won the Super Bowl, we played KC twice. In the 1st game, we let KC beat us deep. In the 2nd game, Super Bowl, we kept everything in front of us and easily won that game.
All teams in the NFL play off-man coverage. Look at some of the passing plays, the Bucs complete against their opponents every week. The other team is playing off our receiver. It is not just a Bowles concept.
October 22nd, 2023 at 9:13 am
Bucs have the #1 Red Zone defense in the NFL. Keep that up and scheme better on 3rd and long to get off the field, because we are giving up some huge plays on 3rd and long , that has to stop today.
October 22nd, 2023 at 9:25 am
For those of you that don’t remember or don’t know football, we gave up 9 points in the Super Bowl playing primarily out of a 4-2 Nickle alignment with a cover 2 shell playing press man… but I’m sure y’all know way more about football than Coach Bowles.
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:30 am
Really, the defense only gave up 17 points against the Lions. Detroit was gifted a free three points on the Baker pick on the second drive.
October 22nd, 2023 at 11:08 am
Aww, give it a rest on here. It took Tony Dungy several years to get his immortal Tampa 2 D up to their top level. This is Bowles’ first year as a true head coach of the Bucs. Division games always turn into dogfights. I don’t give a #### what the individual team records are. Sure would be nice for today to be the day when all the newbies finally mesh, and get on the same page.
October 22nd, 2023 at 4:09 pm
Defense was pathetic most of the day.
Got lucky with a bunch of Riddler fumbles, otherwise the score is at least 27 – 13 and not even close.