Which are the top five Buccaneers who have to stay healthy to keep the Bucs in contention for the NFC title?
Consider not only the talent level but the importance of position and the difference between them and the "next man up". These are my top five....
1) Tristan Wirfs - With Wirfs we have a dominant O-line. Without him the confidence level goes way down. With Mayfield out you can still run the ball. With Wirfs out both running and passing take a big hit.
2) Baker Mayfield - We could lose him for a couple of games and be OK, but with an extended absence we'd be needing the defense to dominate. Do we have a dominant defense? I don't think so. Without Baker we're sub 500.
3) Vita Vea - The defense is all based off the ability to stop the run first and force the pass. Last year teams were more than happy to pass, but that's beside the point. To have a defense worthy of winning the NFC title we need Vita. There is no substitute.
4) Graham Barton. When we lost Jensen we saw what a difference a dominant center makes as opposed to a run of the mill center in Hainsey. Barton should take a big leap forward and be that dominant center. But if he were to miss games we don't even have a Hainsey type to step in. Without Barton the offense will struggle. With Barton and Wirfs healthy we'll be able to run the type of creative offense that will dominate.
Put Evans, Reddick, Winfield and Irving in the honorable mention category....
5) SirVocea Dennis. The #1 reason the defense was roasted last year was ILB. We drafted nobody. Brought back aging David, signed one year prove it FAs and just crossed our fingers that Dennis will remain healthy. If he does we'll have that guy who can be everywhere and create havoc. If knock on wood we lose Dennis again then once again the middle of the defense will be wide open for teams to feast on us all day long. IMO we need Dennis to be a great defense. The defense can't afford to have ILB be the weak link once again.
Nice write up, with the injury to McMillan and the unknown status of Godwin, I would add Mike Evans as an honorable mention.
We went from having by far the best WR core in the league to being an injury away from having a real problem.
Evans was in my honorable mention. If we don't have Evans that's a huge blow for sure.Nice write up, with the injury to McMillan and the unknown status of Godwin, I would add Mike Evans as an honorable mention.
We went from having by far the best WR core in the league to being an injury away from having a real problem.
Evans and LVD not on this list is laughable.
So if you could only have one between LVD and Dennis this year you'd choose David? I'll disagree with you. As much as David means to the team I think Dennis is more critical to the teams success this year than David. I don't think that's laughable. Who's going to cover the passes over the middle better? David or Dennis?Evans and LVD not on this list is laughable.
Who's going to cover the passes over the middle better? David or Dennis?
Definitely relying on Dennis for this. Last year is a great example of the dropoff
LVD may be more critical though because of his leadership
tough to say. I know every team is quick passing on the Bucs D unless/until they show they can stop it. No one looks at the Bucs D and says "yeah let's run on them"
I would have to take LVD over Denis. I remember an interview with the great Bill Parcells that aired, idk, a looooong time ago, where he said (paraphrasing here): 'to build a great defense, you have to start with the spine. That's the NT, MLB and SS. If you have great players in those positions, you can build a great defense, but you can't without those guys.' And I've never seen a great defense without those guys, not in 45 years of watching the NFL.
with that in mind, I have to go with LVD, because he's the QB of the front-7, and I have no idea whether Denis can replace LVD in that role.
1.) Baker
2.) Evans
3.) Wirfs + line cohesion
4.) Winfield + corner depth
5.) LVD
6.) Reddick/Vea/Diaby
Yeah give me an injury to Dennis over evans any day of the week and twice on sunday
LVD was the defensive quarterback on a team that gave up the 3rd most passing yards in the league last year, got only 7 INTs and gave up the 5th most first downs. He had by far the most tackles on the team. Was the defenst bad because of LVD? No. Was the defense good because of LVD? No. He's still an important piece, but top five most irreplaceable? No.I would have to take LVD over Denis. I remember an interview with the great Bill Parcells that aired, idk, a looooong time ago, where he said (paraphrasing here): 'to build a great defense, you have to start with the spine. That's the NT, MLB and SS. If you have great players in those positions, you can build a great defense, but you can't without those guys.' And I've never seen a great defense without those guys, not in 45 years of watching the NFL.
with that in mind, I have to go with LVD, because he's the QB of the front-7, and I have no idea whether Denis can replace LVD in that role.
Dennis is the one who the Bucs are counting on more than anybody else to fix the pass defense IMO, even moreso than the CB draftees. You have all-time great players like Evans and Winfield, and Dennis isn't in that category. But if you pull that Dennis piece out of the puzzle there's really no patch.
He's still an important piece, but top five most irreplaceable? No.
Claiming that LVD is more replaceable than Dennis might be the dumbest thing you've ever posted. And, I mean, there's a lot of material there.
Dennis is the one who the Bucs are counting on more than anybody else to fix the pass defense IMO, even moreso than the CB draftees.
LOL!!!!!
But if you pull that Dennis piece out of the puzzle there's really no patch.
You pull that LVD piece out of the puzzle, then we're absolutely fucked (unlike Dennis).
Dennis is the one who the Bucs are counting on more than anybody else to fix the pass defense
They are definitely counting on him to cover the underneath passing game (formerly LVD domain) and I thought he was wearing the green dot? So, I get the point that he is important.
you'll never get most here to accept more important than LVD though because LVD is the heart/soul of the defense even if his play is a little different these days.
LVD was the defensive quarterback on a team that gave up the 3rd most passing yards in the league last year, got only 7 INTs and gave up the 5th most first downs. He had by far the most tackles on the team. Was the defenst bad because of LVD? No. Was the defense good because of LVD? No. He's still an important piece, but top five most irreplaceable? No.I would have to take LVD over Denis. I remember an interview with the great Bill Parcells that aired, idk, a looooong time ago, where he said (paraphrasing here): 'to build a great defense, you have to start with the spine. That's the NT, MLB and SS. If you have great players in those positions, you can build a great defense, but you can't without those guys.' And I've never seen a great defense without those guys, not in 45 years of watching the NFL.
with that in mind, I have to go with LVD, because he's the QB of the front-7, and I have no idea whether Denis can replace LVD in that role.
Dennis is the one who the Bucs are counting on more than anybody else to fix the pass defense IMO, even moreso than the CB draftees. You have all-time great players like Evans and Winfield, and Dennis isn't in that category. But if you pull that Dennis piece out of the puzzle there's really no patch.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't TB's defense lose like 5 DBs to injury early last season? Including both starting safeties for a time, iirc? no? If so, are you saying that that didn't have as large an effect on the passing defense as LVD's inability to cover a few TEs or whatever?
Look, it's just my opinion, but ILBs like LVD are absolutely necessary to the success of a defensive front. They're the guys that get the DL lined up, and are the focus of all the communication. then on top of that, they're the ones that can see problems with the playcall and still make plays, because they've seen everything, so even if the playcall isn't quite right, they can still see the problem and go fill that hole and make a play.
i mean, have you guys ever seen the defense without LVD for long stretches? it probably wasn't pretty, is all I'm saying.
Same with the secondary. A smart SS can be a force multiplier. he can hide issues a team might have in the slot or even vs. the run, the screen game, etc.
given that, I'd just rather have a guy like LVD quarterbacking my defensive front than an unknown like Denis.
I would not want a healthy LVD on the sidelines, I would love to think SVD is going to be the heir apparent, but he has to show it on the field, first.