Buccaneers' defense starting to practice what Smith preaches.August 24, 2014 7:28 PMThe SportsXchange
TAMPA, Fla. -- One play from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 24-14 preseason win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday typified what coach Lovie Smith has been preaching since being hired in January. Defensive end Adrian Clayborn sacked Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel, defensive end Michael Johnson stripped him of the football and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald scooped it up and ran 17-yards for a touchdown. Three of the four starting defensive linemen were involved in the takeaway and touchdown. The other -- defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, created the one-on-one opportunity for Clayborn by drawing the double team. "Adrian Clayborn starts the tackle," Smith said. "Michael Johnson comes back in. Michael could've been satisfied with it, but what did he do? It wasn't a turnover, it was a takeaway because Michael yanked the ball out. And then from there, the ball is on the ground. You see us in practice? When the ball is on the ground, we want to pick it up and score. And that was exactly what Clinton McDonald did. He picked it up right away. Now every exchange of the ball, you can't block below the waist. Guys did what they were supposed to do. Touchdown. It changed the outcome of the game. "We want that to be in our DNA. We want players to think that always." Prior to Saturday, the Bucs defense produced only one turnover in the first two preseason games. But against the Bills, they forced three turnovers in the first half in which they allowed 82 total yards. Safety Dashon Goldson got it started by intercepting Manuel. Then linebacker Lavonte David caused Bills running back C.J. Spiller to fumble, which was recovered by linebacker Mason Foster. That play set up Doug Martin's 1-yard touchdown run. Then there was the sack/strip/score on the fumble by Manuel. "That's exactly what it's supposed to look like," said McDonald, who was a key part of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks defensive line a year ago. "It feels good out there when everybody is balling." It was the first defensive touchdown of the preseason for the Bucs under Smith, who challenged his team to have no turnovers on offense and three or more takeaways on defense each game. "The pressure is on us," quarterback Josh McCown said. "We know it's not just about taking the football away for our defense, it's about scoring. They preach that. For us, it was, 'Oh, we can't let these guys out-score us.' We were all having a laugh about that." The Bucs cut 12 players from their roster Sunday, including long snapper Jeremy Cain, with Andrew DePaola in line to win the job entering the season. "Andrew maybe is a little bit better in coverage, but you can't really -- both guys did a good job," Smith said. "Jeremy Cain played in the league a long time as a snapper. He's a good football player. We just feel like, where we are right now, this gives us our best option." The team also waived defensive tackle Euclid Cummings, offensive lineman Jace Daniels, wide receiver Skye Dawson, offensive lineman Jason Foster, defensive end Ryne Giddins, guard R.J. Mattes, wide receiver Eric Page, wide receiver Tommy Streeter, defensive end Chaz Sutton, quarterback Alex Tanney and fullback Ian Thompson. "It's always tough when you've been with a group of men, most of them through the offseason and, of course, through training camp, but eventually the roster has to get down to 53, with 10 practice squad guys, so that's just part of the business," Smith said. "In the end there aren't a whole lot of tough decisions. Guys kind of tell you who should stay and who should go." NOTES: S Alterraun Verner saw his first action of the preseason at Buffalo. Verner injured his hamstring the third day of training camp and had not played since. ... S Dashon Goldson picked off Bills QB E.J. Manuel in the first quarter on Saturday. Goldson had one interception all of last season.link
