Hey defense..... YOU SUCK!!!

[caradoc]

The defense let us down.  The local media won’t say it but I will, the defense has as much to with us being 0-4 as Simms’ turnovers, perhaps more so.  With the number of vets we have on defense and the amount of money we have invested on that side of the ball, the dramatic drop off (particularly the sloppy tackling) is unacceptable.  Our defense is on the decline and our core starters are in their 30s.  currently 6 starters (7 if you count Bolden) are in their 30s.  we need to do some house cleaning over the off-season, with at least 4 new starters.  My thoughts:

 - Cut Booger in the off-season.  But during the remainder of this year Wyms should get plenty of PT to see if he is a viable replacement, because he is making too much money for a reserve DT.
- Rice is trade bait, shop him for a 2nd rd pick.  Best case scenario we gain an extra day 1 pick, worst case we retain Rice and suffer through his peaks and valleys. 
- Ruud starts over Quarles next year.  He starts this year too the moment we are mathematically eliminated. Until then, he should see AT LEAST 1/3 of the snaps.  I’d like to keep Quarles around next year as a reserve. 
- White is re-signed and starts at one DE spot.  Spires takes a pay cut and reduction in pt (but is still part of the rotation) or is cut.  White should be starting now; he is leading the team in sacks off the bench.
- Sign a vet FA safety to start. Phili’s Michael Lewis will be a UFA and is my suggestion.  JF said on PR that next year with the cap increase and with our dead money off the books we should be 20+ mill under the cap. Let’s spend it on some holes.
- Along the same lines as #5, let’s make a run at Chicago’s Lance Briggs to replace Brooks.  It’s a long shot compared to Lewis but we still don’t have a replacement in the pipeline behind Brooks.  Cripes, Winborn hasn’t even been active for the bulk of this season, so the team must not think highly of him if Mallard and Cash are playing over him.  Briggs is one of the best young OLB’s in the game. It will take some big dollars to land him but we have the cash to sign a marquee FA. 
- Someone suggested Dockett as an option on the insider board.  I agree if the price is right.  I liked Dockett coming out of FSU two years ago.  He is a RFA.  Depending on what type of tender AZ places on him, I’d go after him.  If all it costs us is a 3rd rd pick (minimum tender) I’d jump on it. He is tailor made for our scheme as an athletic penetrating UT. He has a nasty streak too.  He doesn’t fit AZ’s scheme as well but he could thrive here.  He’s my ideal replacement for Booger. 
- Defense heavy draft.  I pushed hard for this last year as you both will recall, but Gruden likes his offensive toys.  What Chucky wants, Bruce gets.   2/3 of our day one picks need to go to the defense.  I nominate Moses or Adams as our rd 1 targets.  Our d-line is arguably our biggest weakness. The cover 2 is based on the front 4 generating the pass rush so the remaining 7 can stay in coverage.  We have no pass rush what so ever.  Dockett and Adams or Moses on the d-line would inject some youth and athleticism to the unit.
 

Dockett for UT yes. UT needs to to be FA I think and he seems to be the best coming available.
From what I hear there is nothing defensive in this years draft worth round 1, unless it's an end to replace simeon in 2 to 3.  Just get a center there.  A good center could turn what is starting to look like a good offense into a dominant one.
Rice is still good, son't trade him or our lame rush just gets worse.  Right now he's our best defensive player.  Only exception is if we could use him to help pull freeney from Tony's cold, dead hands.
I think winborn is not active more cuz ST but I don't know.  Briggs would be nice though.

It'll be interesting to see how the staff addresses the problems next week, that'll give us more insight into what they think the problem spots are.

[LA BUC]

Blitz, bring the house  don't just stand there . This is a little d-line we get pushed around alot out there and it hurts to see. Gee That Duece looked pretty slow to me . Safety is our biggest problem I can tell you Lynch was a big loss he was not replaced.

[CurtR1995]

The Bucs spent the last 3 offseasons "upgrading" the offense at the expense of the defense.  The fall of the D isn't that surprising since we lost two critical coaches, left a third to stew about not getting a promotion, and bringing in zero impact talent on the D side of the ball in the draft or FA the last three years.

The Bears had the leagues worst offense last year, yet spent the first two picks on a DB and ST player with speed.  You draft for talent, not for need.  This is proven again, again, and again. 

I assume Gruden will keep his job since he walks on water with the Tampa fans for reasons known only to them.  However, maybe it is time that we took a page from Seattle's book, and let the coach stay, but bring in a real GM.

[alldaway]

You draft for talent, not for need.  This is proven again, again, and again. 

I disagree.

The Saints drafted for need (except for Reggie Bush) and are looking good.  We have talked about this already I believe but both ways can work.  There is no such thing as one right way in my opinion.

[CurtR1995]

I disagree.

The Saints drafted for need (except for Reggie Bush) and are looking good. We have talked about this already I believe but both ways can work. There is no such thing as one right way in my opinion.

Great football players help you win games.  So so football players who just happen to play a position of need don't. 

The defense is terrible because:

1.) We let the D fall apart by ignoring it the last three years in terms of talent infusion via the draft, FA, and coaching.
2.) We did not use the time testing rule of rotating our D linemen throughout the game and keeping them fresh due to Gruden's insane idea of keeping more WR's then D Linemen.
3.) We are not using the running game to break down TOP.  I am not a TOP fan per se, but when you don't score a lot of points, and your defense is getting old, and you don't give them depth for the roster, you have to hog the clock to keep them off the field.  Our play calling does not give us that kind of advantage.   

You can not, and will not win in this league consistently without a top notch defense.  You let the defense get old, and the rest of team dies. 

[alldaway]

Great football players help you win games.  So so football players who just happen to play a position of need don't. 

Really?  Harper was a need pick by the Saints becuase it was clear that Payton had already made up his mind and sent Dwight packing.  Harper was not the best available players on the board in the second round.  The Saints draft was based on need other than Bush.  It was a departure compared to their past drafts where they drafted best available player.

The defense is terrible because:

1.) We let the D fall apart by ignoring it the last three years in terms of talent infusion via the draft, FA, and coaching.
2.) We did not use the time testing rule of rotating our D linemen throughout the game and keeping them fresh due to Gruden's insane idea of keeping more WR's then D Linemen.
3.) We are not using the running game to break down TOP.  I am not a TOP fan per se, but when you don't score a lot of points, and your defense is getting old, and you don't give them depth for the roster, you have to hog the clock to keep them off the field.  Our play calling does not give us that kind of advantage.   

You can not, and will not win in this league consistently without a top notch defense.  You let the defense get old, and the rest of team dies. 

1.  I do not think the Bucs ignored the D on draft day the last three years considering the offense did not have many players to work with.  After that 5-11 season there was no Alex Smith, Stovall, Trueblood, Carnell, and Joseph on the team. 

Free agency the Bucs have been cap strapped for the last three years.  This past year the Bucs had enough cap space to go after at least one defensive player in my very honest opinion and that was Rocky Bernard who  re-signed with the Hawks for a modest contract.

2. I do not think it is simply Gruden's idea to keep so few D-lineman considering the Bucs kept so many LB's.  I felt from the very beggining they made a mistake when they cut Bryant AND Bradely.  Booger should have been sent packing this year.  It is unfortunate the Bucs defensive staff and Bruce had a lot of faith in Booger turning it around.  That is why not brining in Rocky in for a look dissapointed me.

3. For most of the game the running game was used well with the passing attack.  In my opinion that last drive was horrible playcalling by Gruden.  2 and 4 with three tries the Bucs should have tried running the ball at least two times.  Carnell was averaging about 5 yards a carrry.  This is where Gruden's playcalling was very bad.

I agree that it is hard to win in this league with a poor defense but I think the Bucs have the players to improve this defense.  Problem is this coaching staff is slow to play young players.  Not just Gruden and the offense but Kiffen and the defensive staff.

It took a 5-11 season for Gruden to consider playing a lot of young players on offense and an 0-4 start to activate Stovall.  Well this should be a wakeup call to Monte and he should let the other young players and oppurtunity to play.  We already saw that with Pearson in for Phillips in limited time.  I expect Ruud, Cash, Winborn, White, Zemaitis to see a lot more playing time.  Booger needs to be benched and the Bucs need to bring back Bryant and Bradely to help against the run.  Charles Bennett needs to be on the roster as well and see what he can do.

[cheveliar]

It's not the whole defense.  It's Boger and Phillips that are killing our defense.  Remember for this defense to be top notch you have to have disruption from the UT and big time play from the SS.  Those two are wearing us down...

[watson]

It's not the whole defense.  It's Boger and Phillips that are killing our defense.  Remember for this defense to be top notch you have to have disruption from the UT and big time play from the SS.  Those two are wearing us down...

Chev,
Don't disagree that they are the main problem, but the LBs are supposed to be the ones making most of the tackles and they are not getting it done this year.  As of last week, Ronde was the leading tackler (per SR on Buccaneer Blitz).

[cheveliar]

Chev,
Don't disagree that they are the main problem, but the LBs are supposed to be the ones making most of the tackles and they are not getting it done this year. As of last week, Ronde was the leading tackler (per SR on Buccaneer Blitz).

When your tackles don't take up much of the oline and are getting blocked one on one you have linemen from the opposing team who can get to the second level and block LB's thus making our corners have to tackle more.  It;s a ripple effect...

[alldaway]

It's not the whole defense.  It's Boger and Phillips that are killing our defense.  Remember for this defense to be top notch you have to have disruption from the UT and big time play from the SS.  Those two are wearing us down...

I do not think you can leave out the rest of the D though.  The D-line failed to apply consistent pressure on passing downs and they failed to stop the run.  Rice made some pressures here and there but it was not enough.  Considering he may have been injured he escapes my wraith for now.  Hovan made a nice penetration on the Deuce TD run to slow him down but no one else was there to take advantage of that and Deuce easily went in for a score.

The linebackers missed a lot of tackles and took some bad angles.  It was not like they were slow but when they were in position they whiffed on tackles.  Not only that but Brooks made a lot of mental errors in pass coverage (he did hustle downfield and save a TD early on).

The secondary was pretty good in pass coverage considering how much time Brees had and how effective the running game was for the Saints.  I do not know why Phillips and Allen are not aggressive like they used to be.  And both players are young so we can not say they looked "old and slow" either.

[alldaway]

The main coceren on D that I have is stopping the run. Scoring defense and pass defense (may be misleading becuase of a poor run defense...) looks good but the run defense is simply bad.  The first change that needs to be made is to sit Booger.

[cheveliar]

I do not think you can leave out the rest of the D though. The D-line failed to apply consistent pressure on passing downs and they failed to stop the run. Rice made some pressures here and there but it was not enough. Considering he may have been injured he escapes my wraith for now. Hovan made a nice penetration on the Deuce TD run to slow him down but no one else was there to take advantage of that and Deuce easily went in for a score.

The linebackers missed a lot of tackles and took some bad angles. It was not like they were slow but when they were in position they whiffed on tackles. Not only that but Brooks made a lot of mental errors in pass coverage (he did hustle downfield and save a TD early on).

The secondary was pretty good in pass coverage considering how much time Brees had and how effective the running game was for the Saints. I do not know why Phillips and Allen are not aggressive like they used to be. And both players are young so we can not say they looked "old and slow" either.

ADW, I hear what you are saying, but it's my opinion that if you get more pressure up the middle you get more from the ends.  If our SS plays better in Centerfield, we don't have all the big runs we've had against us.  Those three the UT, MLB, and SS are the key to this defense and when they don't play well we give up massive amounts of yards...

[CurtR1995]

Really? Harper was a need pick by the Saints becuase it was clear that Payton had already made up his mind and sent Dwight packing. Harper was not the best available players on the board in the second round. The Saints draft was based on need other than Bush. It was a departure compared to their past drafts where they drafted best available player.

The Saints are the exact proof that you draft based on talent, not need.  If they drafted for need, they would have pulled a Texan and drafted Brick instead of a guy like Bush.  The Bears are the same way.  Bad O, so they draft a DB and ST guy.
 

1. I do not think the Bucs ignored the D on draft day the last three years considering the offense did not have many players to work with. After that 5-11 season there was no Alex Smith, Stovall, Trueblood, Carnell, and Joseph on the team.

The offense is still a low rated inept unit even with the guys you mentioned.  Now the D is cracking under the weight of the neglect.  That is the definition of poor roster management.  

Free agency the Bucs have been cap strapped for the last three years. This past year the Bucs had enough cap space to go after at least one defensive player in my very honest opinion and that was Rocky Bernard who re-signed with the Hawks for a modest contract.

The Cap card?  The same cap problems that allowed us to sign Steussie, Stinkbomb, Garner, Deese, et al?  That same cap issue?  We had enough cap room to sign a player here and there.  Now, I do agree that margin of error was low, but if Gruden is the HC/GM that you say he is, then surely he could spot the right player for the right price.  

2. I do not think it is simply Gruden's idea to keep so few D-lineman considering the Bucs kept so many LB's. I felt from the very beggining they made a mistake when they cut Bryant AND Bradely. Booger should have been sent packing this year. It is unfortunate the Bucs defensive staff and Bruce had a lot of faith in Booger turning it around. That is why not brining in Rocky in for a look dissapointed me.

Of course it was Gruden's idea.  Who else made that decision?  3 DT's and 7 WR's.  If that isn't pure Gruden, I don't know what is.  

3. For most of the game the running game was used well with the passing attack. In my opinion that last drive was horrible playcalling by Gruden. 2 and 4 with three tries the Bucs should have tried running the ball at least two times. Carnell was averaging about 5 yards a carrry. This is where Gruden's playcalling was very bad.

As it was last week as well.  Gruden is not a good play caller in the 4th quarter.  I do think that he knows the X and O part of offense, but not the squence and game management skills of the top tier guys.  A top OC gets us to 2-2 even with this expansion caliber offensive roster.  Gruden has us at 0-4.  

I said on another post that maybe we do what Seattle did, and shed the time management of GM from Gruden and give it to a real GM.  

I agree that it is hard to win in this league with a poor defense but I think the Bucs have the players to improve this defense. Problem is this coaching staff is slow to play young players. Not just Gruden and the offense but Kiffen and the defensive staff.

That "problem" worked just fine for the Bucs since 96.  The problem is that the young players drafted on D aren't nearly the talent level of the past guys brought in.  Kiffin is not sitting down the next Butkus so he can play Quarles, I assure you of that.  

You with with Defense.  You can't overlook defense.  The Bucs have, and now they are paying the price.  

[alldaway]

ADW, I hear what you are saying, but it's my opinion that if you get more pressure up the middle you get more from the ends.  If our SS plays better in Centerfield, we don't have all the big runs we've had against us.  Those three the UT, MLB, and SS are the key to this defense and when they don't play well we give up massive amounts of yards...

Without a doubt I agree with you.  That is why Booger needs to be benched.  I feel Ruud should start over Quarles but at the same time I am not so sure he should slide to SSLB.  I rather see Nece/Cash on the field at this point in time to play SSLB.  Thank you Shelton but I think your time is over as a Buccaneer.  Pearson will probably finish out the year out at as the starting SS with the way things are going. 

The hardest decision will be do you sit Derrick Brooks and play Winborn?  Toughest decision for Monte that he has to make.

[cheveliar]

I don't think Shelton has played bad, at least not bad enough to warrant Ruud starting.  Nor do I feel that way about Bush.  You keep the guards off those guys in the run game and get pressure in the passing game and our LB's will look like world beaters again...ask Ray Lewis...