It’s no secret that the Bucs pass defense has struggled this season. Injuries are part of the problem, as the team has now lost each of its top three cornerbacks for a period of time this season. Starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting are on injured reserve and could return later this season.

In the meantime, it’s been a miscellaneous collection of snaps from a bunch of different cornerbacks. Ross Cockrell began the season as the fourth cornerback, but is now eighth on the team in defensive snaps. It gets more unbelievable, as Cockrell has played more snaps than any other healthy Bucs cornerback right now.

Behind him, a collective effort has patched games together for the Bucs secondary. Dee Delaney was thrust into action for over 50 snaps against Los Angeles. Richard Sherman, signed off the street four days prior, played 58 of 59 defensive snaps against the Patriots in Week 4. And Pierre Desir, after two weeks in the organization, had to play the entire second half after Davis’ injury.

So it’s no surprise that the Bucs pass defense currently ranks dead last in the NFL, giving up 327.5 yards per game. Most units that have gone through that kind of turmoil aren’t going to hold up very well play-to-play. In fact, at one point in Week 4, Patriots QB Mac Jones completed 19 straight passes. On the season, the Bucs are giving up a completion rate of 73.7 percent, the third-worst mark in the NFL.

Bucs LBs Devin White and Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But those volume stats don’t tell the full story. No one would argue Tampa Bay’s pass defense has been great this season, or even good. But it has been much more average than the general consensus would make you believe. This is especially true in the secondary, where Tampa Bay has generally done what is asked of them, with a few exceptions.

One reason for surrendering the most passing yards in the NFL (through Week 4) is that nobody is running the ball on Tampa Bay. Teams have attempted just 70 rushes against the Bucs through four games, the second-lowest mark in the NFL. Nine of those are quarterback runs or scrambles. Opposing teams are basically replacing the run with short passes, and they are doing so with great effectiveness.

Despite the yardage the Bucs have surrendered through the air, they are surrendering just 5.7 yards per play. That’s good enough for 19th in the NFL – not great, but clearly not among the worst teams in the league. The numbers are even better on passing plays, where the Bucs are surrendering just 7.3 yards per pass attempt, 15th in the NFL. Opponents are operating with great efficiency against the Bucs, but Tampa Bay is refusing to surrender many big plays.

“We don’t really care about that part of it (the yardage), it’s about points,” Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said. “Right now, we’re giving up too many points. We want to keep people to 17 or less, and the biggest statistic we look for is points per game. We do take a lot of pride in stopping the run, but when they throw it 50 times, yeah, there are going to be some yards. But we’ve got to keep them out of the end zone.”

In a few sentences, Arians has basically summarized coordinator Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme. In coverage, play zone heavy (Cover 3/Cover 4, mainly), use press man as a change-up, don’t allow big plays and tackle the catch immediately. Up front, stop the run and impact the game as a pass rush unit, with a big assist from a gazillion creative blitzes. Force teams to go underneath in the passing game all day, and they won’t be able to string enough short completions together to be able to beat you. Eventually, throwing into an opportunistic zone defense or because of relentless pressure up front, your quarterback will make a mistake – or two or three – that costs you.

In terms of philosophy, the Bucs are getting teams to do exactly what they want. Through four games, no defense in the NFL has a shallower average depth of target than the Bucs at 6.2 yards. That means that, on average, opposing quarterbacks are targeting receivers just over six yards past the line of scrimmage. No defense in the league has faced a higher or more consistent volume of underneath passes than Bowles’ unit. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is first in run defense by a country mile, and has surrendered just five passes of 20+ yards or more in the air this season.

So what’s the problem? If Bowles’ defense is dictating terms, why are the Bucs surrendering over 26 points per game?

The issues are two-fold.

Bucs Ss Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

First, Bowles’ defense relies on tackling in the open field and preventing yards after catch. They’ve done neither this season, and it’s killed them. According to Pro Football Reference, the Bucs have 29 missed tackles, 27th in the NFL. As a result, they’ve allowed 703 yards after the catch, second-to-last among all 32 defenses. Despite giving up just five completions of 20+ air yards, they’ve surrendered 19 20+ yard gains on passing plays. That number ranks 31st across the NFL, behind only the Dolphins.

So despite forcing teams to complete a massive volume of their passes just six yards from the line of scrimmage, the Bucs are still giving up too many splash plays. I put a lot of this blame on the players. They must tackle better in the open field. It’s been an issue for most of the lineup throughout the season. And I’m not just talking about tackling, I’m talking about impact tackling.

If you get a guy down, but he just carried you for 4-5 more yards, that’s tough to overcome when teams are living underneath against you. All those yards after catch matter. It’s the difference between second-and-8 and second-and-4. It changes the whole play-calling approach for your opponent.

Second, the Bucs could also be aided with more speed and more defenders in the open field. As the blitz-heaviest team in the league, Tampa Bay often has fewer players in coverage to flock to the ball. They’ve also played with five defensive linemen more than most teams, which takes speed off the field. Also, dropping Shaq Barrett and Vita Vea into coverage may be a fun wrinkle, but you’re sacrificing open field pursuit as a result.

So the Bucs need to tackle better and perhaps blitz less, but those are fixable concerns. More fixable, say, than having three cornerbacks who are bad at their jobs. That seems to be the common refrain among many fans and analysts when it comes to the Bucs defense this season. Watching and re-watching all four games, I’m just not sure that’s the case.

Cockrell struggled in Week 1, but has improved every week since. He was very impressive in Weeks 3 and 4. Dean was picked on often against Dallas, but bounced back with a great game in Week 2. We haven’t seen much of him since, so we’ll see. Davis was terrific before his injury, and Desir was fine in relief Sunday night. In fact, he nearly had a pick-6 in the fourth quarter. Sherman, off three days of practice, kept everything in front of him and gave up zero big plays in his Bucs debut.

Bucs CB Ross Cockrell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yes, all of these players can play better this season. Nobody is saying the Bucs have a sure-fire Pro Bowler in their secondary in 2021. There are questions and concerns, but the play of Tampa Bay’s cornerbacks is not the primary reason the team is dead last in the NFL in surrendered passing yards. It’s because this is how Bowles wants opponents to play. But right now, coverage and pass rush aren’t matching up consistently through four games.

Heading into Week 5, the Bucs rank 28th in third down defense and 14th in red zone defense. They took a huge step in the right direction in both areas against the Patriots. That will need to continue if this team has a prayer of reaching their peak. The Bucs entire defensive philosophy is built on thriving in situational football. Through the first three games of the season, it wasn’t good enough. Moving forward, I think you’ll see improvements.

You can argue against Bowles’ philosophy if you want. I certainly have disagreed with parts of it, but that’s an article for another time. The point is, right now the Bucs are forcing teams to live on underneath completions and yards-after-catch at a ridiculously high volume. That’s what Bowles’ scheme is designed to do.

Can opponents sustain these types of conversion rates on third downs, an annually fluid statistic? Will the Bucs continue to miss tackles at this rate as the season progresses? Can opposing offenses match Tampa Bay’s offensive scoring without creating splash plays down the field? Will the Bucs remain among the league’s cellar-dwellers in sacks? If Bowles’ defenses don’t impact the quarterback with pressure, they are toast. That’s a big one.

Heading into Week 5, the Bucs have plenty of question marks in their pass coverage. But through four games, the primary concern isn’t the talent level at cornerback. That could change moving forward, but right now, the aforementioned concerns loom large. Tackling should improve as the season goes on, as it does for most teams. If the Bucs’ pass rush and situational football can stay on the trajectory shown against New England, they’ll be fine. Probably not a Top 10 unit in the NFL, but good enough to win lots of football given the talent on Tampa Bay’s offense.