The Swarm “Felt Like Old Times”
September 9th, 2012_t607.jpg)
There’s no limit to the superlatives one can hurl at Ronde Barber. The Bucs icon is still out there doing great things at age 37.
Today was his day, honoring his 200th consecutive start. And Barber had a sack and an interception and was swarming away with the rest of the Bucs defense that contained the Panthers and amazingly held the Panthers to 10 yards rushing.
Barber liked the look of the defense. He said it reminded him of the glory days, which have been a distant memory around these parts.
“It felt like old times,” Barber said. “When we were a great defense back in the day, guys played so fast. You turned the film on and people would be saying to themselves, ‘It can’t possibly be this. This film is sped up. It can’t possibly be this fast.’ But that’s what it felt like out there [today].
“I mean [Carolina has] some very talented players. And we swarmed on them all day long, kept Cam in check. Obviously they had some breakout passes there at the end of the game. But when you can limit this team that completely dominated us on the ground last year to 10 yards, you can say we did something right.”
Greg Schiano talked about the importance of the “swarm” during the offseason. Joe was looking for it today, and it definitely was back. Derrick Brooks often has referred to the swarm as fighting for “every blade of grass” on defense.
Joe’s not about to compare this Bucs defense to the glory days’, but at least for tonight, it’s hard not to.
September 9th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
It’s going to be interesting to see how we respond next week to a more traditional offense. They had months to prepare for Cam and their gimmicky offense, and they played him absolutely perfectly. I’m pretty sure the Giants aren’t going to run the read option. They don’t have to worry about Eli getting outside the pocket. They do, however, have to put him on the ground, and play excellent in the secondary.
September 9th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
The key next week I think is to rattle manning and not let him get comfortable I loved the swarming to the ball it was remarkable how different it was from last year. I love buc football so far very happy.
September 9th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
HEY JOE, what ever happened to Capt. Tim??
September 9th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
If tonight’s performance is an indicator of this team’s potential, then I could imagine what kind of team we should expect with another foray into FA and another good draft. We are going to be a powerhouse!
September 9th, 2012 at 11:19 pm
it was soooooo good to see the boys swarmin to the ball. Good job guys, THAT’S BUC BALL!!!
September 9th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Defense was firing on all cylinders tonight. Was a lot of fun to watch, particularly the swarming, the hard hitting, and the much improved tackling. Only complaints on the D for me was a couple of blown assignments, and while the tackling was better, it still could use some work.
As far as next week? We have had a lot more preparation and insight on the Giants, then the Giants do the Bucs. Whether that translates into a W remains to be seen.
Go Bucs!
September 9th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Barber’s play really impressed me. I haven’t seen him so relentlessly involved in quite some time. 5 tackles, 2 for a loss, a sack, two pass deflections and an int…. Seems like the move to safety was a great one.
September 9th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
The swarming tackling on that Cam Newton run on 3rd and goal in the 4th was absolutely inspiring to see. I didn’t think we had in us anymore.
September 9th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
The best part about tonight was that I never saw Ronde having to take on a RB one on one with the RB coming downhill. That’s my major concern with him making the move to a true safety. I don’t mind him being in there but I’d prefer if he was never in position to have to make that kind of play. It looked like all the plays he made were in the places he usually makes them: behind the line of scrimmage or in that deep curl/in-cut part of the field where he’s been making plays his entire career.
September 9th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
All week people talked about “How are you going to stop Cam Newton?!? Not a word was said about how you are going to stop this defence!!!!” WOOOOO go bucs!!!
September 10th, 2012 at 12:27 am
I’m curious, Joe…when you predicted 6 wins, did you count this game as a loss?
We’ll win the Skins game too, so PEOPLE BUY TICKETS!!!!
September 10th, 2012 at 1:00 am
As much as i’m excited for that awesome win today, i’m also cautious. It’s one game out of 16. Our offense needs to produce some explosive plays and Trueblood needs to play like a decent tackle. Go bucs! and congrats to mr. 200 Ronde.
September 10th, 2012 at 1:11 am
From 31st to 9th total defense…not bad!
September 10th, 2012 at 1:18 am
Interesting fact…Ronde started the game as CB…to round off the 200. was only the first play…then he went to safety.
September 10th, 2012 at 1:23 am
I want to say this: thank you ronde barber for being our iron man and leader who has inspired many a player and fan. Great day for a great man/player. ronde, Canton awaits your arrival when you sadly give up your cleats.
September 10th, 2012 at 7:53 am
Next week Giants. Our OC knows their offense. Should be interesting.
September 10th, 2012 at 11:35 am
Sad to see the lack of national attention Ronde should’ve received, 200 consecutive starts, add on another sack and int to stats, he led the stop of Cam on 3rd and goal. Amazing…
September 10th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
@OrlandosBucsFan
“The key next week I think is to rattle manning”
Eli does not rattle. Per the stats from last year, he was the most pressured QB by far over the course of the season with the worst pass-blocking offensive line. He was also the least sacked per pressure.
He was pressured 40 more times than Josh (3rd most) yet had 1 less sack and 34 more completions made.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/01/31/pressure-and-the-2011-quarterbacks/
The key next week is to stop the run, cover the recievers, and have a ground game going. But after losing to Dallas, the Giants will be working on everthing that went wrong for the week and a half they have. And more injured players will be back that were out for that game (the #2 CB, the #1 OL, the #3 DT)
September 10th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
The Giants have a banged up secondary. The key is run when you can and light them up with VJax. MikeWill & DClark. The easiest way to beat them is to get rid of the ball quickly and score more points through running a good hurry up offense. They have a great D line but they tire too.