Tampa Bay Buccaneers: How Can Pass Rush Succeed in 2015? By Luke Easterling , Featured Columnist May 20, 2015 
Jeff Haynes/Associated Press Heading into this offseason, one of the most obvious needs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was to add an impact defensive end who could help improve one of the league's more lackluster pass rushes.But after being burned by high-priced free agent Michael Johnson last year, Tampa Bay shied away from spending big money on another top name in free agency this year, despite having quite a few attractive options. Brandon Graham, Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo were just a few of the players on this year's open market, but the Bucs didn't seem interested in overpaying again.Once the dust settled from free agency, it seemed obvious the Bucs' plan was to address the need via the draft, most likely with one of their early selections on Day 2, with most assuming the top overall pick would be spent on a quarterback. With the depth of this year's class of edge-rushers, it made perfect sense the Bucs would target one of them early in the draft.
Cliff McBride/Getty Images Free agent addition Michael Johnson was a huge disappointment in 2014, and was cut after just one season. But the draft came and went without Tampa Bay spending a single pick on a defensive end, leaving many fans and experts scratching their heads.The one addition the Bucs did make at the position—aside from a couple of undrafted free-agent signings—was trading for George Johnson, who had notched a career-high six sacks for the Detroit Lions last season. Johnson had already spent his first three NFL seasons with Tampa Bay, but he never registered a sack until last season.How can the Bucs improve their weak pass rush this season, despite failing to add significant firepower in the offseason?McCoy Must Lead the WayAs has been the case for the past two seasons, absent an impact edge-rusher, Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy must again be the driving force behind the Bucs' pass-rushing success from his 3-technique defensive tackle spot.After a slow start to his career due to injuries, McCoy has tallied 23 of his 27 career sacks over the past three seasons, missing just three games over that span. The former Oklahoma star played through a broken hand early in 2014 and was later put on injured reserve following a nagging knee injury.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Despite playing through multiple injuries, Gerald McCoy led the Bucs with 8.5 sacks last season. But he still led the team with 8.5 sacks despite playing just 13 games last year, and he was a consistently disruptive force in the middle.McCoy is no stranger to being counted on as the heartbeat of Tampa Bay's front four, but this year will come with added pressure thanks to the seven-year extension he signed last season that could be worth up to $98 million. For that kind of money, the Bucs need McCoy to make double-digit sacks a regularity, and he'll need to stay healthy to do that, as well.Rotation, Rotation, RotationOn paper, it looks like the Bucs will have George Johnson and Jacquies Smith penciled in as their starters at defensive end heading into the 2015 season.Both players made impressive splashes last year—Smith racked up all 6.5 of his sacks over the final eight games of the season—but neither has ever been counted on as a full-time starter. Neither player registered a single career sack until last season, so it's a shot in the dark to expect the same kind of production this season that they managed to provide last year.Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier says he wants to have a strong rotation along the front four, and that while Johnson is best suited for a rotational role, he's not the only player they'll want to be able to give a consistent breather, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:“ No question we would like to have a good rotation across the line, so when we get to the fourth quarter our best guys are on the field in those key situations. We don’t want to put George in a situation where he has to play 80 percent of the downs nor do we want even Gerald to play 80-90 percent of the downs. We would like to have enough depth where when we do take guys off the field to get a blow, we don’t have a big drop off. Hopefully this year we will have the depth to do that. That includes George. I think he had (about) 600 snaps a season ago, so he may end up right around that range, again, a little bit more. That will probably depend on how well the other guys are playing around him as well.”At the moment, it's hard to argue the Bucs have that kind of quality depth on the roster. The likes of Williams Gholston, T.J. Fatinikun, George Uko and Lawrence Sidbury aren't likely to strike fear into the hearts of opposing offensive coordinators.One name the team seems to like quite a bit is veteran Larry English, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times points out:
If the Bucs truly plan to go with what they currently have on the roster, they'll need guys like English to step up and provide some quality snaps and production this season.Late Veteran Addition?Last season, one of Tampa Bay's biggest needs was at the guard position. Heading into training camp, the only significant addition they had made at that spot was spending a fifth-round pick on Kadeem Edwards, a raw but promising talent out of Tennessee State.But the closer the Bucs got to the regular season, the more they realized they needed more there. That's when first-year general manager Jason Licht struck a deal with one of his former teams—the New England Patriots—to bring in a veteran with an impressive track record of on-field success and valuable leadership ability.It's doubtful the Bucs will be able to add another six-time Pro Bowler during this year's preseason, but don't be surprised if they try to make a similar move for some pass-rush help if they realize in the preseason they need more at the position.link
