FAB 4. McCOY IS THE NFL’s BEST DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Over the last three years Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has been considered as one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. This year, the 29-year old actually the best defensive tackle the league has to offer and seems destined to make his fifth straight Pro Bowl.

In a season in which Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans and quarterback Jameis Winston have received much acclaim – and with good reason – it’s time to highlight the play of McCoy, which has been exceptional. Let’s start with the fact that McCoy is tied with Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald for the league lead in sacks among pure defensive tackles with six, which also leads the Bucs.

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy and DE Noah Spence – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As NFL writer Brent Sobleski noted this week on Twitter, a year ago at this point three defensive tackles had 10 sacks or more. An emphasis on quicker passes and max protection schemes have limited the amount of pressure quarterbacks have been getting up the middle.

Yet McCoy has been successful and a good deal of his sacks have been timely, such as his fourth quarter sack on third down of Russell Wilson in last week’s 14-5 win over Seattle. Or his tone-setting split sack with defensive end Noah Spence on the Seahawks’ first possession of the game.

“I’ve said it many times, Gerald makes everybody else around him better because he commands double teams most of the time,” Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter said. “As a three-technique, they almost every double him. When he’s the nose – a couple times last week in the game, they brought the tight end to cross in motion, so we slid the front, so he went from the three to a nose and Clinton [McDonald] kicked out. And when he gets on a center, in between a guard and a center in the ‘A’ gap, he’s really tough.

“On 96’s sack, on Ryan [Russell’s] sack, he was in a game with Gerald and Gerald went up the field, they doubled Gerald, 96 wrapped underneath, got the sack. So he gets the sack, it’s an assist for Gerald. He makes everybody around him better and now that we’re a little healthier and we’re playing with such confidence – Noah is on a roll, Robert Ayers had something like seven quarterback hits last week. They still have got to account for Gerald because [if] they try to single-block him, he’s going to cause problems.”

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy and DE Ryan Russell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Whether it is drawing double teams to free up others or getting to the quarterback himself, McCoy has helped the Bucs rack up 27 sacks in 11 games, including a season-high six against the Seahawks. The Bucs are currently on pace to record 39 sacks, which would be one more they posted a year ago.

“The man is coming into his own,” said legendary Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who serves as McCoy’s mentor. “He’s always been there – I’ve always loved his game. He just keeps going and now everybody is coming with him. You just have to start a fire like we always did. We started a fire and somebody poured gas on it.”

Consider that Donald’s Rams only have 22 sacks this year by comparison, and that Geno Atkins’ Bengals have just 21 sacks this year and understand that McCoy is helping his defense produce more pass rush than his Pro Bowl counterparts.

But McCoy has done things other than just takedown quarterbacks. He’s recovered a career-high two fumbles, including the game-clinching takeaway on the final play of Tampa Bay’s upset win at Kansas City. McCoy has also forced two fumbles, which ties his career high.

Of his four pass breakups this season, two came at Atlanta, including one on fourth down to preserve Tampa Bay’s 31-24 victory. Another one came at Kansas City near the goal line and led to Chris Conte’s game-changing end zone interception.

McCoy has helped the Bucs in other ways this year. Whether it is mentoring young players like Jameis Winton and Noah Spence off the field, or helping prepare rookie guard Caleb Benenoch to play in the NFL by practicing against him daily, or whether it is filling in for goal line fullback Evan Smith against Chicago and helping Doug Martin score a touchdown, McCoy has proven to be a multi-faceted asset to Tampa Bay that can do more than just rush the passer.

Bucs DT Gerald McCoy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“That goes back to being a good teammate,” Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith said. “There’s guys that are just leaders and then there’s guys that are leaders and good teammates and I think that Gerald fits into that category. He’s a mentor to a lot of guys on our football team – not only on the field – but off the field. And he does that quite a bit. He spends time with the young guys and he’s going to impart some of his wisdom that he’s gathered through his years in the NFL. And it doesn’t really matter if it’s an offensive guy or a defensive guy. In the trenches, he’s got a lot of knowledge and I think he’s able to talk to the players and let them know what’s expected.”

What is expected is for McCoy’s name to be called for his fifth Pro Bowl appearance later this month, as well as his fourth All-Pro honors in January. Well deserved, too.