Sikkema’s Stat of the Week

When the Bucs announced their “final” 53-man roster and finalized their practice squad, I really did think they were done with the roster moves for a little bit. But, that changed when the claimed former Cleveland Browns defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday.

Nassib played his college ball at Penn State where he had minimal production until a monster 19.5-tackle for loss, 15.5-sack season as a senior. That year caused Nassib to be picked in the third round. On a talented defensive line in Cleveland, Nassib recorded 5.5 sacks over the last two seasons.

In today’s All-Twenty Tuesday, we’re going to take a look at all 5.5 sacks and see what we can expect from Nassib in Tampa Bay.

The first sack of Nassib’s career actually came from the defensive tackle position.

Nassib (No. 94) was lined up in a 3-technique position on the right shoulder of the guard. He’s very much a straight line, bull rush type pass rusher, and we’ll see that quite often in these clips. His first sack was sort of a gift, too, as the offensive line was actually bailing for a screen play that was busted due to pressure. But, Nassib did get push on the pocket, so he was there to get the sack.

Nassib’s second sack was actually the half sack that he recorded in 2016.

He was lined up on the right side of your screen on that play and was heads up with the tight end who was in-line. Nassib has a nice quick swim moved past the tight end, but the tight end was releasing into the route, so it’s not like it was a clean swim against a blocker. Nassib got to the quarertback with the bull rush, but his path to get there was pretty long, and the momentum likely helped him more than brute strength. It was a situation where the pocket was collapsing all around, so though Nassib was there, it wasn’t just him who made it happen.

On Nassib’s final sack of 2016, we saw him lined up in a WIDE-9 position far outside the right tackle. This helps us better confirm what he does best. The Browns put him that far outside the line so instead of having him play closer to a 5-tech and trying to make him win off the edge with speed and bend, a WIDE-9 allowed him to angle his rush in a straight line off the edge to be able to push the tackle back with that bull rush.

The quarterback actually tripped, so it was another somewhat free sack for Nassib, but it did help us identify who he is a pass rusher and how he wins – the Browns tailored their pass rushing strategy to show it.

Okay, I have to make note of this, but Nassib has recorded a sack in each of the two Week 1 games he’s played in. Bucs fans would surely like that tradition to continue.

Nassib was lined up on the left side of the screen in the pass rush rep above. In his WIDE-9 alignment once again, Nassib actually did go for the speed rush around the edge. He had the tackle beat to the edge, at first, but this play again showed Nassib’s limitations. Nassib bailed on beating the tackle around the corner because he knew he wasn’t flexible enough to bend around and get to the quarertback, so he bailed, went back inside and the quarterback happened to run into him.

Do you like the effort? Yes. But you also see why this guy was released and on waivers – he’s limited athletically.

Nassib’s fifth sack.

Pretty much what you’d expect, at this point. WIDE-9 alignment to get him his head of steam, a bull rush into an elongated rip move, eventually broke free and got home.

Nassib’s final sack of the 2017 season actually appeared to be his best. He got a nice jump off the snap, was able to bull rush using a one-arm technique this time, as to keep the other arm free. He pushed the pocket and got the quarterback. But then you realize he did that to a tight end, not an offensive lineman.

Still nice to see, but not as impressive.

So, the verdict: Nassib is okay.

He’ll bring some effort and power to the defensive line at 6-foot-7, 275 pounds, but there’s a reason he was released to waivers. He’s limited athletically, doesn’t show many pass rush moves, and if you can overpower him he likely won’t be a factor. Will Clarke didn’t offer much upside as a defensive lineman, either, but I expect a similar sort of production from Nassib.