Joe has made a big deal of how the Bucs were on the cusp of a horrific mark of giving up the most passing yards in the 93 years of NFL history. Matty Ice only needed 252 yards for the Bucs to achieve this football version of a scarlet letter.
Welp, Matty Ice came 14 yards short of pushing the Bucs into NFL history.
Holding Matty Ice to just 238 yards isn’t bad. Really. And aside from a blown assignment by Anthony Gaitor that allowed the Dixie Chicks an easy score, which prompted Greg Schiano to blow up on his defensive backs on the sidelines, the defensive backs played well today.
Leonard Johnson had key breakups in the fourth quarter. So too did E.J. Biggers, who, despite his legions of haters, actually played decent this year if not OK at times. And as Joe has documented, Mark Barron made the play of the game on fourth down in the fourth quarter against Tony Gonzalez that may have saved the game.
Joe believes for the Bucs to improve the secondary, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik must land a free agent (use the cash that wa going to go to Eric Wright and add some more to get a decent guy in here) and draft a corner. Of course, to expect a rookie corner not to struggle in his first year in the NFL may be a stretch.
Whether or not Michael Bennett re-signs, another pass-rushing specialist sure would be nice and perhaps the Bucs can land a defensive end in the first round?
http://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=81154Yes, the Bucs porous pass defensive played OK today. But that doesn’t mean the Bucs don’t need massive upgrades in the offseason in order to repair the unit.
