Welcome to another edition of “Grinding The Tape.” Now that we have assessed the Bucs’ 2022 draft class, this series will transition to a weekly column coming out on Wednesdays.

And I thought there was no better way to kick off this transition then by looking at a hot topic that has been on your minds over the past couple of weeks. Two prominent Bucs players from the 2021 team remain unsigned: tight end Rob Gronkowski and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. While Gronkowski is not sure whether he wants to return for another season, Suh has been fairly open about his desire to play.

However, before we look at why the Bucs may not want to sign on for one more year of Suh, I want to acknowledge something. As mentioned before, this column is set to come out on Wednesday’s going forward.

Like you, I had come to really enjoy Wednesdays on PewterReport.com because that was the day Jon Ledyard’s Bucs Briefing column was published. I thought Colin Quinn summed up how I feel best when he opened his first “Weekend Update” for Saturday Night Live after taking over for Norm MacDonald.

Suh As A Buc

Now that we have had our moment why don’t we dive into the subject at hand, shall we? Ndamukong Suh has been a staple figure in Todd Bowles’ Bucs defense since he came to Tampa Bay in 2019. Over the past three seasons, Suh has amassed 112 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss. In addition, he has added 46 QB hits, 14.5 sacks, six passes defensed, and one forced fumble. Those are solid, if unspectacular stats in and of themselves.

However, Suh’s presence has always gone well beyond his own box score. Suh has played two major roles in the Bucs defense. First, he has been a plus gap-stuffer, helping the team establish dominance in the run game. Secondly, he was brought in to work on passing downs as a 3-technique that can get pressure on the quarterback.

Suh Last Year

Despite six sacks last year, Suh had perhaps his worst year as a professional last year. Per Pro Football Focus, he registered a 49.4 grade in 2021. This included career lows in both pass rush (54.2) and run defense (50.2). Now while PFF should not be taken as gospel, it is the most accessible grading system available to the public that seeks to evaluate players on a play-to-play basis. As we combine this publicly available data with the fact the Bucs have not signed Suh to this point, along with the Bucs’ brass not stating it is a priority, we can start to put the pieces together that the writing is on the wall.

But why? Where has Suh regressed in play that might lead the Bucs to not want to bring him back? After all, he is a quality veteran that has started every game in his career he has not been suspended for. He knows this Bucs defense and has excelled in it before. He is battle-tested. These are all qualities that a team in a Super Bowl window should be looking for. Let’s take a look at several plays from last year that might highlight where the Bucs’ concerns may lie.

Run Defense

Suh has always been a plus run defender throughout his career. As a matter of fact, since 2014 he has been one of the best run-defending defensive tackles in all of football. However, his run defense has been slipping a bit over the past several years as Suh entered his 30s. Part of the problem can be seen with the expansion of the wide-zone running game.

This style of offense gets the offensive line pushing the defensive line laterally. The running back follows behind the line looking for a gap in the defensive line from a defender either under or over-pursuing the play. As a defensive linemen this requires a lot of athleticism to move in space. And here we see the first area where Suh’s performance is in decline.

Rams Playoff Game

In the above play against the Rams in the Divisional playoff game, Suh is lined up in between the center and the right guard in the “A” gap. As the play starts to develop the Rams offensive line slides to the left getting the Bucs defense moving that direction as well. As Suh moves left, he turns his hips parallel to the line of scrimmage. He most likely did this in an attempt to keep up with the play.

Unfortunately, in doing so Suh also prevents himself from being able to properly defend the backside of the play if the running back cuts back to the left. This is exactly what happens next. A gap opens up behind Suh and the running back easily accelerates through it for an 8-yard gain.

Philadelphia Playoff Game

Here we see it again in the Wild Card round when the Bucs played against Philadelphia. Here Suh is lined up in the “B” gap as a 3-technique. Suh’s initial jump off the ball is a bit slow and he is immediately giving up a wide gap to the play side.

However, this gap is being monitored by Devin White who can easily crash it to stuff the play. But Suh starts to hurry to close it off himself, again closing his hips to the line of scrimmage. In doing so, he opens the backside lane up to the runner. Philadelphia ends up with a healthy gain.

Suh As A Pass Rusher

Now that we have shown a few plays where Suh is declining as a run-defender let’s take a look at his abilities as a pass rusher. We established at the outset that when the Bucs initially brought Suh in, he wasn’t a dominant pass rusher. But he could apply consistent pressure. Is that still the case?

Not really. Don’t get me wrong. He can still apply pressure, but the consistency just isn’t there. On some reps he can strike hard and fast with leverage and drive offensive linemen back with his still considerable strength. Take a look at these two reps against LA where he rushes as an edge defender.

In both clips Suh is set outside the tackle as an edge rusher. In each clip, despite the tackle getting a good jump-set, it doesn’t matter. Suh strikes center-mass both times using momentum to help drive his power through his opposition. In both instances the result is the same. Suh forces his blocker back into the quarterback just after he gets rid of the ball.

These reps are great for pressure. But two things stand out. First, Suh needed space to get some speed to transfer his power into a useful rush. Second, because Suh isn’t a true edge rusher with the requisite explosion off the line and speed up the arc this is about as good of an edge rush as you will get from him. One where he does not get home before the ball is released.

Which brings me to my next point…

Can He Get Home Consistently?

Both of the reps above were positive examples of what Suh can give the Bucs, or any other team, at this point in his career. In both of the clips he failed to impact the throw. Or better yet, he failed to get the sack. You see that in this next clip as well.

This is a staple of the Rams’ offense. They fake the outside zone run to the left and have quarterback Matt Stafford roll out on a naked bootleg to the right.

Now for the good: Suh recognizes the play, pushes the tackle out of the way and sets himself up to make the play.

The bad: He lacks the explosive closing speed necessary to really blow this play up.

And the ugly: Suh is unable to get home, sack Stafford, and really put the Rams offense in a bind. What could have been a 10-yard loss that really backed up L.A. was merely an incomplete pass.

And this theme will continue with the now infamous “Kupp Catch”

Suh works through the left guard easily and has a free lane to Stafford. Imagine what could have been if he just had the juice to get home before or even as the throw is made. Imagine if the pass wasn’t complete or if the sack had occurred. Just imagine. But c’est la vie.

Inside Pass Rush

Now I have shown you quite a few clips with Suh showing positive traits as a pass rusher. But those are uncommon situations and flash inconsistently as you look through last year’s games. As I watched Suh throughout several games last year it became apparent that on far too many plays he just was not creating enough pressure as an inside rusher.

Here Suh gets a quasi-one-on-one with the right guard. This is a play he has to create some kind of pressure. A sack would be great, but even a pressure or a hurry would suffice. The tackle who is keeps his eye on the rep is never needed. The guard stones him.

Again, we see Suh struggling to make life uncomfortable for Jalen Hurts against Philadelphia. Off the snap Suh comes out of his 3-technique position and tries to attack the right guard’s inside shoulder. But Suh is slow off the snap and the guard is in a full pass set ready for Suh’s attack. He gains leverage and absorbs Suh’s frame and momentum, slowing Suh to a standstill and allowing Hurts plenty of time to assess the field.

Final Thoughts

Make no mistake about it. Suh can still play. But it is apparent he can no longer play at the level he once could. Certainly not a player at age 35 that should command anywhere close to $9 million per season. He is not the run-defender or pass-rusher the Bucs signed in 2019 who helped establish what this defense was to become.

At this stage in his career, Suh has limited lateral mobility, which hampers his ability to properly defend outside zone runs. He also lacks the consistent explosiveness needed to be a key contributor in harassing quarterbacks. The Bucs have talked extensively this off-season about getting younger and more athletic on the interior defensive line. This is a hint at what the team was missing with Suh, and an indication about why he hasn’t been re-signed.

Tampa Bay has also expressed a need to improve the consistency of pressure up the middle. At this point in his career Suh does not help in any of those areas to the level that the Bucs are looking for. Bucs general manager Jason Licht hasn’t closed the door on Suh returning to the team in an emergency capacity. But while the door may be open a bit, he hasn’t invited Suh to come in, either.