Like most I dont think you can a ever have enough pass rush, but this is SR's (snarky?) response to a mailbag question about the "GLARING" weakness at pass rush:
ANSWER: Is the pass rush still a glaring issue? Or is it on the way to being solved? I don’t know what game you were watching, but I saw six sacks on Sunday against a very good 49ers team, and three of them came on third down. Two of those sacks ended drives with 49ers field goals, two of them drives with punts, one ended a drive with a failed fourth down conversion and the other ended a drive with an eventual interception.
Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby led the Bucs with two against the 49ers, inside linebacker Lavonte David had one, cornerback Jamel Dean even had one, defensive tackles Vita Vea and Elijah Roberts split a sack, as did outside linebacker Haason Reddick and defensive tackle C.J. Brewer. The sack by Dean was his first in the NFL.
A week ago, things looked a little bleak. Tampa Bay’s defense didn’t record a single sack against Sam Darnold in Seattle. Now, the Bucs are tied with the Colts and Chargers with 16 sacks. Only five NFL teams have more, led by the Broncos, which have a team-high 30. Diaby leads Tampa Bay with three sacks, followed by Vea and David with 2.5 apiece. A total of 11 Buccaneers have at least half a sack. That’s how a Todd Bowles usually performs with blitzing defensive backs getting in on the sack action.
Would it be great if this team had a true stud pass rusher or two like Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul in 2020, or Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp in 2002 who helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowls LV and XXXVII, respectively? Of course. But let’s see how the next few weeks play out first before the NFL trade deadline on November 4. Maybe Roberts keeps ascending as a rookie interior pass rusher. Perhaps Diaby makes strides toward becoming a double-digit sacker.
Let’s see if Sunday’s pass rush was a sign of things to come in Tampa Bay or if it was just a blip on the radar. Because after a season-high six sacks against San Francisco, the pass rush is not a glaring issue right now. We’ll see how the defense fares against the Lions and Saints over the next two weeks.
Once the backend is more settled and players are healthy you probably start to see more coverage sacks if they are able to play m2m.
sacks on Sunday against a very good 49ers team
Their line isn't good. It's very hurt and their best player isn't as good as he once was (Trent)
That's SR, not me, just to be clear but either way SR says the pass rush is good
"Per NextGen Stats through Week 6 (with four teams left to play), the Bucs are third in the NFL in total pressures (101), second in pressure rate (43.2%), tied for sixth in sacks (16) and rank 13th in sack rate (6.8%). These are all very good metrics. So anyone that doesn’t think Tampa Bay’s pass rush is very good just doesn’t get it.
No team is going to be on its game every week. The other team gets paid, too. Bowles and outside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote challenged the D-line and edge rushers to get off the ball and apply more pressure this week. Message received.
“I think they did a good job tonight,” Bowles said. “We talked about it all week, getting more pressure and challenging [those] guys to get more pressure and work together a lot more. They really started the game off right. They got off the ball the whole night. Credit to them, they did a heck of a job.”
I’d agree, it definitely works, when we deploy it. I’m not mad we’re not deploying it more often, just stating that we’re playing a lot of zone, early, then waiting to deploy blitz packages more consistently in 3rd/4th quarter, with a lead. Bowles is gambling a bit and it’s working.That's SR, not me, just to be clear but either way SR says the pass rush is good
"Per NextGen Stats through Week 6 (with four teams left to play), the Bucs are third in the NFL in total pressures (101), second in pressure rate (43.2%), tied for sixth in sacks (16) and rank 13th in sack rate (6.8%). These are all very good metrics. So anyone that doesn’t think Tampa Bay’s pass rush is very good just doesn’t get it.
No team is going to be on its game every week. The other team gets paid, too. Bowles and outside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote challenged the D-line and edge rushers to get off the ball and apply more pressure this week. Message received.
“I think they did a good job tonight,” Bowles said. “We talked about it all week, getting more pressure and challenging [those] guys to get more pressure and work together a lot more. They really started the game off right. They got off the ball the whole night. Credit to them, they did a heck of a job.”
That game saw Mac carve that early, non-blitzing, Buc defense pretty well and with the chunk plays.
Getting Morrison & McCollum back will certainly help with when we can blitz, and from where.
As Fire often correctly says most thinks are not binary. If you asked most if Reddick has been good they would say "one sack, no" or similar. If you asked him though he already said his sack number is low but they are winning and he is dong what he's asked to do." On Sunday that was to play off a bit. It was a win.
the truth depends on the perspective of the person asking but it's probably in between. Reddick and Diaby get more sacks as the short passing and the drops slow and as they pad their numbers with coverage sacks and late game pin your ears back rushing. Maybe they are on their way to that. Maybe not but the Bucs are 5-1 with half a team
Reddick is fine just not elite. He's made some plays but overall, he seems to me a Swiss knife for Bowles.
He's about what I expected...
you give two firsts if you can win super bowl with that trade. we can't give super bowl with this pass defense and this bowles bullshit scheme, not even with top pass rusher in the front. fullstop!
so no, I wouldn't trade that much.
we are having great season, baker is balling out and rocking the league and it is huge fun. let's get into the playoffs and have even more fun. superbowl is not realistic.
Its an interesting discussion when you think of whether the team is truly there. Maybe not this year, which makes it seem more likely they would be making their JPP/Barrett type move in. the offseason.
Who knows though.
Reddick is fine just not elite. He's made some plays but overall, he seems to me a Swiss knife for Bowles.
He's about what I expected...
Reddick is a competent starters opposite of Diaby and that is more than good enough. If he can give more that is the icing on the cake but the prize is to see Diaby and Braswell to progress. If Reddick can reach double digit stacks that would be awesome but if he ends up with 6-8 it doesn't mean he isn't an improvement over JTS overall.
Is JTS even in the league? Braswell is trash.
barely
i dont think i'd give up 2 first round picks for Max Crosby
i'd give up a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick; 3rd becomes a 2nd if we win superbowl
as everyone knows, we go full retard after winning superbowl anyway, so i can live with it.
JTS is on the browns and according to pro football reference he has 1 QB hit, 8 combined tackles, 5 solo and 3 assists in six games.
Braswell in comparison has 0 QB hits, 11 combined tackles, 8 solo, 3 assist and 1 TFL.
So Braswell is doing more of his work on special teams again but like JTS he has to show more than be a fringe depth player/special teams player. Braswell needs to step it up with the time he is on the field rotating in.
Braswell doesn't have a frame to overcome his production. He's a bust...
So, I’m out on Maxx Crosby, only because the cost to get him here would just kill draft capital. You could argue that it would be offset by his age and production, but I don’t see Licht making that call.
My personal preference for a lot of reasons would be Trey Hendrickson, potentially more palatable trade/draft capital impact and also his production… but after having slept on the idea of a linebacker…I am liking the thought of Jets LB, Quincy Williams…
