The Bucs are inching closer to the regular season. After a long and grueling off-season, the team is on the precipice of real football again. And so Bucs head coach Todd Bowles decided to give his starters a tune-up before live bullets get fired. We already profiled the Bucs starting offense earlier this week.

Today we are going to look at the Bucs defense. Bowles left his defensive starters out for two drives in Indy which encompassed eight plays. We will take a look at those eight plays and see how the unit performed and were there any wrinkles in scheme we can glean from this performance. So, without further ado let’s jump into it.

First-and-10, IND 25

The Bucs start off in a familiar Bowles look with a single-high safety. Post-snap they rotate into Cover 2 with a four-man rush where safety Mike Edwards comes off the edge from the left. On the opposite side of the line outside linebacker Shaq Barrett drops into coverage. Colts quarterback Matt Ryan is forced to make a quick check-down throw to the running back due to the almost immediate pressure he receives from the Bucs pass rush.

Anthony Nelson and Akiem Hicks are both able to push back deep into the pocket and make Ryan uncomfortable. From there cornerback Carlton Davis III is able to pinch down on the running back shortly after the catch for a minimal gain.

Second-and-6, IND 29

Here Hicks lined up in the “A” gap as the nose tackle. The coverage appears to be a two-high shell with man coverage underneath. Hicks provides a stellar pass rush, splitting a double team with a strong shoulder punch to the right guard and getting after Ryan. Unfortunately, Ryan navigates the pocket well and sees an opportunity to pick up a sizeable gain with most of the defense having their backs to him in man coverage.

Overall, this is a strong play from a coverage standpoint. No receiver is able to separate quickly, and Ryan is forced to use his legs. As a defense you would call that a win. The pass rush loses containment, allowing for the scramble. You can see Nelson recognize the lane and try to adjust. He just can’t get there in time.

First-and-10, IND 40

On this play the Bucs show single-high pre-snap. The Colts are set up in 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends). Additionally, they have their receivers in tight to the line of scrimmage. This allows the Bucs to get eight men in the box. Despite this the Colts still technically have the numbers advantage.

Off the snap you see Hicks immediately get penetration on the play side of the run. His ability to penetrate the front allows him to hunt the running back. The running back sees the quick win and tries to bend the run back to the left. But what he doesn’t see is Edwards blitzing off that side and ready to make the defensive stop.

Hicks was all over the place in his limited action on Saturday night. In eight snaps, he had a pressure, a hurry, and was the direct cause of two different run stops. He was penetrating and disruptive. He was everything the Bucs wanted from their defensive line this year. And his Pro Football Focus grade backed that performance up with an 89.9 overall rating.

Second-and-10, IND 40

Would you look at that?! The Bucs pass rush shows up again. There is a good chance this is going to be a theme for the year if Hicks and Vea can stay healthy. The Bucs show a single-high look again and end up bringing a four-man rush. But while they only rush four, it looks like a blitz. This is simulated pressure where the Bucs defense drop traditional pass rushers into coverage and rush other players. It often times creates overloaded pass rushes from one side of the pocket.

Lavonte David is the extra rusher as he shadows Hicks initially, before looping inside around Hicks. Meanwhile Barrett drops into coverage from the right edge. Hicks’ explosive get-off and rush path force the center and right guard to engage him. This provides the gap for David to loop into and through to get to Ryan. Again, you can see Hicks being a disruptive force that is helping elevate the play of those around him. From that angle it’s a little tough to see, so let’s take a look from the end zone angle.

Here you can get a better look at that simulated pressure. With Barrett dropping, defensive end Will Gholston is able to effectively occupy both the left guard and tackle. He is able to get both to set wide, helping to create the hole that David is able to eventually get through. This look created double teams for Hicks and Gholston, while leaving outside linebacker Anthony Nelson in a one-on-one with David coming free for the sack.

Third-and-17, IND 33

With third-and-forever upon them the Colts elect to try a wide receiver screen to pick some field position back up. They lineup with a three-receiver bunch to Ryan’s left. The Bucs counter with only slot defender Antoine Winfield, Jr. near the line facing them. As the screen is thrown, the Colts try to create a tunnel screen that allows the receiver to move up field back towards the inside.

But Barrett makes a great read on the play. He immediately notices the left tackle move past him and reacts to the screen by jumping into pursuit. He is able to make an athletic diving tackle from behind to limit the gain to eight yards. Additional kudos are warranted for both deep safeties on this play. Both Edwards and Nolan Turner read and react well to this screen, crashing down to stop the play well short of the first down. This ends the Colts drive well out of scoring range.

First-and-10, IND 44

On the first play of the second drive the Colts attempt to run a simple running back dive to the strong side of their alignment. The Bucs defense isn’t having it. Vita Vea winds up one-on-one with the left tackle and just manhandles him to the side. Once he throws the tackle into next week he calmly shuts down the running back for a 2-yard gain. Shaq Barrett assists on the play after executing a double-hand swipe and slipping around the tight ends block attempt. Great rep by both players.

Second-and-8, IND 46

On second down, the Colts come out in shotgun with a double wing look out of 12 personnel. It looks like Ryan’s initial read is the receiver on his left running a dig route. But Ryan can’t wait for the route to develop. Why? because the Bucs run a T/T stunt on the inside.

Hicks comes crashing down from Ryan’s right to left. He puts the center on roller skates and pushes him back into Ryan’s grill. This forces the Colts quarterback to go with a hot read to his back in the flat. A slightly inaccurate throw forces the back to try and readjust his entire body to make the catch. He is unable to do so and ball falls harmlessly to the ground for an incompletion.

Third-and-8, IND 46

Bowles loves to blitz. And he especially loves to do it on third-and-long. And with the Colts facing third-and-long, Bowles did not break from his character. On this play he brings a zone blitz as he dropped Nelson into a hook zone on the left while he blitzed two defensive backs from the right in the form of Edwards and Sean Murphy-Bunting.

The result was an overload on Ryan’s blind side that forced him out of the pocket almost immediately. With Vea in good pursuit ahead of him Ryan didn’t have a reasonable option to run on this play. Instead, he had to continue to scramble to the sideline while hoping one of his receivers could come open. Eventually he decides to dump a pass off too his tight end Mo Alie-Cox in the flat. While the pass wasn’t perfect, it was catchable. But Alie-Cox dropped it while Davis drove down on him for what would have been a drive-ending tackle.

Takeaways

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and S Mike Edwards – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It was the smallest of sample sizes, but the Bucs defense looked REALLY GOOD. The pass rush especially was dominant. Between Bowles’ schemed up blitzes and simulated pressure packages, and the shear athleticism of Barrett, Hicks, and Vea, the Bucs were able to get penetration and pressure on almost every single play. Ryan was unable to consider any long-developing routes because he just did not have time.

The lone big play the Bucs defense gave up was a broken play scramble by a quarterback not known for his wheels. I am sure Bowles will take that 10 times out of 10.

On six drop backs the Bucs got pressure on Ryan three times. They held him to two completions on four attempts for 12 yards and an 11-yard scramble with a sack. In addition, they held the Colts’ running backs to two carries for two yards.

By any standard you want to look at the Bucs’ starting defense was dominant on Saturday night. And if they can maintain this level of dominance come the regular season, it could go a long way to helping the team reach its ultimate goal of the third Super Bowl in franchise history.