“The Last Time You Won A Championship, Your Pass Rush Was A Son Of A B!tch”
September 28th, 2024
Bucs pass rush flopping like a fish.
With the exception of signing Tom Brady or drafting Tristan Wirfs, Joe maintains the greatest heist Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht pulled off came just after the combine in early 2018.
The Bucs had 22 sacks in 2017, the league-worst total. Joe will never forget the sharp words at the combine from then-Bucs coach Dirk Koetter. Joe was seated maybe five or six feet to Koetter’s right at a round table. Joe asked Koetter what the defense needed to do in order for the Bucs to have a winning season.
Koetter glared, grit his teeth and with a slightly rising voice snapped, “We cannot only have 22 sacks again.”
Couple of weeks later, Jason Pierre-Paul came to town. Licht stole him from the Giants for a measly third-round pick, a felony car-jacking if you ask Joe.
JPP was a proven, glass-eating, beast of a pass rusher. Almost three years later, the Bucs, including JPP, were bear-hugging and tonguing the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Coincidence? Hell, no!
Three games into this season, the Bucs’ pass rush is even uglier than the non-existent pass rush of 2017. The Bucs are the dregs of the NFL in sacks with just two — both against a rookie quarterback in his first NFL game. None since.
Of course, in the Super Bowl-winning season of 2020, the Bucs also had Shaq Barrett, who absolutely blew up playing for Todd Bowles. The Bucs don’t win that Super Bowl without Shaq and JPP. In the NFC title game and the Super Bowl, Shaq almost single-handedly took care of Aaron Rodgers and Pat Mahomes.
So fast-forward to this week. Former Bucs guard and popular former local sports radio personality Ian Beckles is very disturbed about two Bucs trends, so he explained on his podcast “In the Trenches.”
One is the lack of a run game. The other is no pass rush.
Beckles sounded off that if the Bucs plan to have a good year, they better find someone to rush the passer or figure out a way to get to the quarterback.
“You think you are going to win a championship without a pass rush?” Beckles howled. “The last time you won a championship, your pass rush was a son of a b!tch. And it just ain’t that right now.”
That was Beckles’ hangup with the Bucs defense. With the offense, he’s not sure why fans are hollering about Rachaad White after the loss to Denver because, Beckles said, there wasn’t much of a running game in their first two wins of the season.
“I don’t want people to trip out and think Bucky Irving is that much better than Rachaad White,” Beckles said. “He has fresher legs but I’m not sure if he is a better blocker or a better route runner.
“The running game just has to get better for me. You are not a running team until you get out on the field and regularly prove it.”
So Beckles doesn’t know how good the Bucs can be if they can’t run the ball or harass opposing quarterbacks.
September 28th, 2024 at 12:06 am
Quite the fisherman with that catfish.
As far as those 2 weaknesses, yea. It’s pretty obvious. Maybe if it’s spoken enough Jason will pony up again.
September 28th, 2024 at 12:10 am
It’s actually kind of frustrating to see those 2 glaring and obvious weaknesses go unaddressed, especially with all the injuries. Yea, injuries are temporary, but does anyone thing our running game and pass rush are going to get that much better when calijah and goedeke come back? I don’t.
Come on Jason!
September 28th, 2024 at 1:16 am
Trask now linked in the news to Carolina and the NYG.
Interest is building.
Bucs might trade Trask at the deadline.
September 28th, 2024 at 1:44 am
JPP, shaq, Suh, gholston, nunez, vea, those were nasty sob.
Now our pass rushers are soft like charmin
September 28th, 2024 at 2:52 am
@Bucschamp ^^^^^^^^
when you repeat that list, and then read and repeat it again, you realize what a beastly group was up front during that time period
September 28th, 2024 at 5:37 am
So true, none of us saw the Broncos coming to play. However, we all knew Payton was desperate to get a win and he has beaten us before. I love Baker, but he does need to get the ball thrown quicker. We do have many things to feel lucky about. Bucky is one of them.
Love the Gale Sayers football on the desk!
September 28th, 2024 at 8:11 am
The real problem lies with Jason Licht. He’s been the head of the Bucs draft for the last ten years, and has not been able to draft one capable edge rusher. He should’ve traded some of those picks for a proven guy like he did getting JPP. Licht gave us JTS, and YaYa most recently. Both our starting edge rushers have one sack between them after 3 games going against 2 rookie QBs, and one rookie LT getting his first start. Joe calls Licht ROH general manager, what a joke. He used the 5th pick in the draft for White, need I say more. But Hodad White was great in 2020. Yeah easy to be great when he had JPP, Shaq, Sue, and David in his prime. Now he’s been a healthy scratch for Philly on a one year prove it contract. ROH G.M. Licht my arse.
September 28th, 2024 at 8:59 am
Sounds like JOP couldn’t save Dirk’s job, lol. I wish he’d come back and save Bowles’s.
September 28th, 2024 at 10:13 am
Licht is not winning anything with his formula. The pride for him has been .500 ball and winning the division middle of the pack football but if we don’t win the division and make the playoffs now what. No one is asking that question
How can you be considered a good gm if you haven’t drafted a pass rusher, running back or quarterback? You can’t even get a blocking tight end in here. PAY FOR A PASS RUSHER YOU CLEARLY CANT DRAFT THEM.
September 28th, 2024 at 10:29 am
There is Hassan reddick drama over at the jets, make a play and pick him up
September 28th, 2024 at 12:30 pm
So what was Devin White supposed to do then since he had guys surrounding him four years ago, lay down?
Joe will gladly forget and absolve mistakes (remember, Joe SCREAMED for the Bucs to draft Josh Allen, the pass rusher) if they result in Super Bowl wins (Joe’s waving at O.J. Howard).
September 28th, 2024 at 12:53 pm
Suh helped us almost as much as tb to win the sb
September 28th, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Hodad, Licht is easy ROH. It’s been less than 5 years since he won a SB. Good pass rushers don’t just grow on trees. 30 other teams aren’t jumping at the chance to get Reddick. The draft is a crapshoot after 10 picks. No one was mad at JL 2 months ago when Diaby as a rookie was coming off 7.5 sacks and had a great camp. Then he got hurt, he’s missing 2 important starters next to him.
I want an edge rush as bad as the next guy but JL is still playing the right cards. These young guys show the upside and development we hope for, I almost guarantee Licht gets more aggressive after this season.
September 28th, 2024 at 1:03 pm
Also, it wasn’t like the run game wasn’t addressed this off-season. New OC, new OL and TE coach. 1st round C, 4th round RB, signed a couple guards in FA… haha you can say the moves aren’t working out but you can’t say it wasn’t addressed. That’s ridiculous… also… it’s not even week 4 and injuries have taken a toll. Take some deep breaths guys and come back week 10 to vent if necessary.
September 28th, 2024 at 1:08 pm
its the main reason Seattle is 3-0. They have a pass rush with their front 4. We have to blitz so much to compensate for no pass rush. And get where and when we get burned. Bowles did not address our last years glaring deficiency. And its going to cost us dearly again this year.
September 28th, 2024 at 2:50 pm
He is spot on.
September 28th, 2024 at 5:32 pm
Agreed 💯 with beckles outside a few long runs Bucky average per carry would be the same as whites maybe slightly better. Not saying white is a good or better RB than Bucky what I am saying is if you benched white for Bucky he prob doesn’t do much better and if he does it’s not going to be a lot better like some of yall are saying like he’s the holly grail. Berry sanders couldn’t run behind this line. The line is good at pass protection well it was seems like they have slipped there too. I’ve watched our best lineman prob in the NFL get blown by several times this year already. Wirfs got paid and now his play has slipped. They all gotta be better