Night-And-Day Different For The D-Line In 2018

June 14th, 2018

The more Joe watches, the more Joe listens, the more Joe talks to Buccaneers, the more clear it is that everything about the Bucs’ defensive line was ugly last year. And coaching was right up there.

Enjoy this peek at new D-line coach Brentson Buckner from yesterday’s practice. Joe will have more to share later.

45 Responses to “Night-And-Day Different For The D-Line In 2018”

  1. 813bucboi Says:

    I just hope it translates into toughness, pressure, production, and “W’s”….

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  2. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    There is no question there is quite a difference…..a bunch of new players & coach….when Will Gholston could be our worst Dlineman…..things should be better.

    I’d gladly give $100 to see Buckner crawling all up Swaggy’s fat aSS……maybe more.

  3. Kobe Faker Says:

    “Kobe believes in facts,stats and history. Past players turn to the worst coaches and that is a fact and simple truth. Not only in football but it translates to all sports. players play and coaches coach.”

    “Buck, you can scream and yell all you want but your not impressing Kobe Faker”

    Kobe Faker

  4. BuccYa Says:

    I’ll praise Buckner when I see the results. Right now he just yells more than the predecessor.

  5. 813bucboi Says:

    kobe

    Doug Pederson was a former player…..worked well for him……

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  6. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Great stuff Joe. I enjoy your videos immensely.

  7. DB55 Says:

    First, I find it hard to believe that J Hayes was a bad coach based on his history.

    Second, I’d feel a lot better about the D-Line if Curry and Allen were joining McDonald and Ayers. I think were in for a rude awakening. Last night I watched the eagles redskins games on nfln and learned that Curry and Allen are nothing more than rotation players on 1st and 2nd down. They give Barnett and Graham a breather before they come in on 3rd down to rush the passer. Fletcher Cox is the anchor of that line who apparently needs no one around him to wreak total havoc on the qb. He’s a one man army.

    The 1 tackle that Curry and Allen had were on run plays 5 yards down the field. Allen got zero penetration and Curry looked like a poor mans ghost Johnson.

    Better pray JPP can still play like JPP or else it might be another long season.

  8. ManzielMadness Says:

    @DB55, I could be wrong but I thought Curry played on run downs and they brought Barnett in on obvious passing downs? I have family in philly and they told me that was the reason his sack #’s dipped however I didn’t watch a lot of eagles games so like you always say wtfdik?

  9. ManzielMadness Says:

    Agree with you on keeping MCdonald and Ayers though, they were solid rotational players on the cheap.

  10. Lord Cornelius Says:

    Pretty hilarious timing for that rant by Kobe… as I literally heard the complete opposite of this on the way into work on Denver radio.

    Mark Schlereth went on a long rant on how coaching is a good ol’ boys type system where you typically have to start low and work your way up no matter your status as a past player/etc.

    Because of this – many past players say f*ck coaching because it isn’t worth their time for the $$ to start at such low positions and have to work their way up.

    He believes the league needs a lot more past-player coaches and that it’s a huge problem in coaching in general in the NFL. He said how he told John Lynch that he needs to do well because we need more past players teaching the newer generation of players. He talked up Houston’s staff for all the years they’ve gone to the playoffs with sh1t QBs under Bill Obrien. Most everyone on his staff has significant NFL experience and good careers in the NFL.

    Those guys know the nuance of the game in terms of technique and anticipating sh1t in a live instinctual way – vs a coach who didn’t have that experience or doesn’t see the game through the same lens.

    He said Mike Shanahan was successful because he took so much input from the players; and would sit with them to make sure he understood everything from their point of view.

    So basically – the idea that past players = bad coaches is not founded by anything in reality. Kobe is on a tear of negative rants lately. I’ve made sure to bookmark his 4 win prediction for later.

    GO BUCS!

  11. Buccernutter Says:

    DB55

    With all due respect you’re wrong about curry. I have a lot of eagles friends that disagree with that sentiment and wish they didn’t lose him.

    He’s absolutely better than Ayers at this point.

  12. Lord Cornelius Says:

    @DB55 I’d be down to sign Ayers and will miss McDonald. McDonald’s play did slip though and both guys were on negative trajectory 2016-2017. It’d only be for depth and his price point wasn’t worth it as the 3rd or 4th DT.

    I still think Noah Spence is the biggest X factor for this team.

    Give me 100% healthy Jameis Winston and 100% healthy Noah Spence in 2017 and I think really good sh1t will happen

  13. ManzielMadness Says:

    @LC

    I’m with you on Spence… I think he has the best shot at ten sacks, IF he can stay healthy.

  14. tnew Says:

    GMC worked as the end in that video.

  15. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Kobe Faker Says
    “Kobe believes in facts,stats and history. Past players turn to the worst coaches and that is a fact and simple truth.”

    Kobe faker is a twit to say such a thing considering history itself proves him wrong.

  16. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Lord Cornelius Says
    “I’d be down to sign Ayers and will miss McDonald.”

    I miss him too, but he just failed his physical so badly that he had to rework a completely new contract for the second time this off season…to make less money.

    He’s done. Probably won’t even make his team this year. Just another player refusing to accept his time is over.

  17. Lord Cornelius Says:

    @Bonzai

    Didn’t realize that. I liked Mcdonald’s personality a lot. Just seemed like a good dude.

    But I’d rather have 26 year old Beau Allen. Vinny Curry also has missed a lot less time than Ayers and is younger. Both in theory should be big upgrades because Ayers sucked in 2017 imo; and McDonald was average at best.

    I’d be more concered like DB55 if not for the fact that we also added JPP/VEa/Unrein in addition to those 2. It was a 2 for 5 swap. 2 for 6 if you count Spence being healthy this year. I’ll take that all day.

  18. 813bucboi Says:

    DB55

    I agree with everything you said from jay hayes to curry and allen to JPP…..

    I think hayes was made out to be the scape goat….I think curry is a younger version of ayers….obviously the eagles think Bennett is better even tho he’s older and has an injury history….and im starting to question JPP’s motivation with some of his most recent comments…..

    at this point, WTFDIK……

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  19. Bucsfanman Says:

    Ayers and McDonald, Ayers especially, are rotational players at best. I’d keep McD, not Ayers.
    And see, that’s been this d-line’s problem. We’ve had rotational players starting because that’s the best we had.

    I like Buckner and I hope his coaching is the magic elixir to get this d-line producing.

  20. The Buc Realist Says:

    You guys wanting to see the old players back is hilarious!!!! CM98 was always injured and had his most productive year as a backup in limited snaps!!!! And to be honest, while we all agree the D-line is upgraded, we don’t know if it will be good yet!!!!!!!! They signed some old backups and rotational players, we traded for a DE that is well into his career!!!!! I hope they produce this year as they don’t have much of a window after this year!!!!!!!!! To fix defense you get younger and faster!!!!!!!!!!!! The offense needs to score more than less than a touchdown in the first half, and not turn the ball over so much!!!! Then we will see Coach Smitty scheme a good defense to cover up the obvious holes on the roster!!!!!!!!!

    Go Bucs!!!!!!!!

  21. DB55 Says:

    LC

    On point as usual. Spence has always been the X factor but here’s the problem, have you ever had a shoulder injury? You can play through them but fml if they’re not painful af. Multiply that on a throwing shoulder. Chit Luck hurt his shoulder and was out for 3 seasons, jaboo hurts his and he’s out for 3 games. #RunJameisRun

  22. DB55 Says:

    Lc

    I’m babbling my bad. Brb

  23. Lord Cornelius Says:

    @Realist

    -What “obvious holes” are there this year? Are you saying they will manifest once the season begins – or do you actually have a concrete opinion on a talent deficiency excuse before the season begins?

    DEs can play into their 30s. Curry/JPP are 29. DEs play doesn’t dropoff at 30 like a RB typically. Noah Spence is young. Vita Vea is young. Beau Allen is young. Will Gholston is young. McCoy is older. Unrein is older.

    It’s a pretty solid mix of youth/experience.

    IMO – the biggest questionable talent is in the secondary due to lack of experience. That’s really it. This D-line is 8 deep with a mix of youth & experience. Unless all these 29 year old’s randomly drop off in play this year I don’t see an age /stop-gap excuse. Most good teams are a mix of youth and experience; not 6-8 D-lineman who are all in their first 3-4 seasons.

  24. webster Says:

    Kobe

    Please stop posting. You are what im talking about when i say many around this country laugh at tampa fans. I guess you never heard of lenny wilkens hof player and hof coach? What about kc jones, pat riley, phil jackson etc. What about tony dungy, jim harbaugh, mike ditka etc. You never heard of frank robinson, joe torre, joe girardi? Even aaron boone is off to a good start. Cmon man

  25. DB55 Says:

    One more observation when curry and Allen were in on passing downs they relied on exceptional safety play to stop the o bc they got absolutely zero pressure. Kurt Cousins was back there playing fortnite between snaps.

    Allen is a statue he basically took up a blocker but he was no threat. And based on the game stats this was consistent. The one exception is when Curry went off on SF with 6 tackles and a sack, mid-season.

    Idk, wtfdik? Maybe Vea is the real deal. Maybe Allen and Curry take over. Idk I’ll just hope for the best.

  26. Buccernutter Says:

    I think the biggest impact on the d line will be Buckner. That’s why these dogs will succeed.

  27. Bucsfanman Says:

    DB55- Wasn’t Allen brought in to beef up the run defense? There’s still a lot of question marks until they hit the field but I have to believe that each guy is an upgrade over what we had last year, IMO.

  28. DB55 Says:

    Bucsfan

    Still gotta penetrate or beat your man. This guy made plays 5 yards down field while trailing the play. Idk it was one game.

  29. Tnew Says:

    Buckner is bringing the biggest thing the unit needed. Discipline. That group was in total chaos over half of the time. Players were doing way too much free lancing.

  30. 813bucboi Says:

    LC

    I agree….the only real weakness I see is the youth of our secondary and the right side of the oline…..if coached up right both could become a pleasant surprise…..

    as you stated, rhealist is just trying to make up an excuse just in case sh!t hits the fan he can say, I told you so, this staff deserves a pass…..good news is it aint flying this year!!!!!

    as you stated, we’re deep and talent along the dline…..added the RB that we’ve been missing….its on the coaches now…..

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  31. Defense Rules Says:

    @813bucboi … “we’re deep and talent along the dline…..added the RB that we’ve been missing….its on the coaches now”. Our DLine should certainly be improved and yes, we’ve added 1 RB to the stable, BUT … Bucs have a looong ways to go to win the NFC South. No question bucboi that coaching is a major factor, but they don’t suit up, take the field & play the games. One of those other factors is Jameis: he has to do a better job of holding onto the ball & making better decisions. Our OLine will be another key to the offense. Right now I still see it as a major weakness on this team. The key to the defense will be our Secondary IMO. Lots of P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L, but potential doesn’t win games; performance does. Bucs are still holding auditions IMO … we need a number of guys in several key positions to step forward and take charge.

  32. Lord Cornelius Says:

    @DR

    I agree winning the NFC South is a bit over the top of an expectation but I don’t think 813 expects that.

    I disagree that the O-line is a major weakness though. I’d say it doesn’t match up to the skill we have at WR/TE but not a huge weakness. They were at worst an average pass blocking unit last year to the eye test and statistically by most sites that grade it. There’s a lot worse pass blocking units out there. They added a top 5-8 Center (in 2017 at least) to that same unit who is good at both run/pass. Puts Marpet back at OG where he has all-pro potential; and we saw what a bad4ss LG could do for the offense with Mankins (I believe they simply value LG over RG which is why he’s moving there).

    Basically – if we repeated the same 2017 O-line performance this year it should still be enough to put up much more points with just a better RB stable running more effectively and slight improvements in red zone efficiency and kicking accuracy. Just those slight improvements with a healthy QB should give us like 2-3 more PPG easy I’d think all else equal – which would put us at about the 10th ranked scoring offense.

    We really had some terrible red zone sequences last year that are almost fluky in terms of repeating. It seemed 1/2 of our O-line penalties were in red zone situations for example. And that’s also where WInston lost a lot of fumbles on long developing deep drop plays; or plays where an O-lineman completely whiffed on a key block and got to the QB within 1.5 seconds.

    We were also at 73% FG accuracy compared to the NFL average of like 85%. That doesn’t factor in distance but if we were just average on our kicks; that’s almost an extra 1 PPG by itself ( 4 more FGs made and a win against the Pats lol).

    I expect better play from Smith/Marpet in contract years; plus improve play by Jensen and ideally an upgrade at RG with Benecoch or an improved Sweezy. If we can generate a decent run game it should also lead to more effective pass blocking/play action as the defense won’t be keying on the pass as much as they did last year when they knew we were 1 dimensional.

    I guess I just think it’d be crazy if we didn’t improve in scoring just given the personnel we have – as long as there are no major injuries to the QB or like losing 1/2 or more of the O-line.

  33. Kgh4life Says:

    What’s with the love affair with Ayers? The guy did not produce in his final year. In fact the dline in general was garbage last year. Big changes were needed.

  34. DB55 Says:

    Ayers is just as good as curry but much cheaper. In the last 2 years ayers had 8.5 sacks in 24 games vs Curry’s 5.5 sacks in 32 games.

  35. Buccernutter Says:

    Ayers had 2 sacks on a horrid d line if not the worst and 31 tackles as a STARTER and essentially our #1.

    Curry had 3 sacks on an extremely good Superbowl winning d line and 42 tackles as a ROTATIONAL player.

    Just look at the eagles blogs. They are pissed he’s gone. Dude lasted hours in the free agency market.

    And Ayers is still unemployed.

    You’re wrong dude.

  36. buc15 Says:

    ^^^ what he said ^^^

  37. DB55 Says:

    Nutter

    The way that started I thought you were agreeing with me. Lol. It’s all good my dude I could be wrong I haven’t been yet but you never know.

  38. Bob in Valrico Says:

    Correction: In a recent post I said that Gholston had lost weight at the start
    of last season along with Spence. There is a story on PR that Gholston says the opposite is true,that he actually played over 300 lbs. at times. He called it
    dead weight.and blamed his performance on that.
    Since this thread is on the D line, its a good place to bring it up.

  39. Buccernutter Says:

    Haha it did, didn’t it?

    Dude’s been scratching for a bigger role for a while. He’s got kwon’s heart. I have a lot of faith in curry.

  40. 813bucboi Says:

    LC & DR

    i agree with both of you….winning the division should be the goal but it’ll be tough….not really expecting that….

    with that said, i do think we have more than enough talent to make the playoffs…..

    coaches have to game plan better and the players have to execute better…..

    as LC pointed out, we’ve made upgrades along the oline but i still share the same concerns as DR regarding the right side…..i think wester can hold his own but im not sold on benenoch…..

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018 is for everyone….dirk, Winston, smitty, GMC, licht, glazers, the clock management guy, the medical/training staff…..everyone is on notice….

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  41. GhostofSchiano Says:

    813bucboi Says:

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018 is for everyone….dirk, Winston, smitty, GMC, licht, glazers, the clock management guy, the medical/training staff…..everyone is on notice….

    Hopefully not the nice ladies at the mobile device tent in front of the stadium. They assisted me in getting my tickets downloaded on my phone, very customer service friendly, kudos to the Bucs organization for these unsung heroes.

  42. 813bucboi Says:

    bob

    good info….I wish he would’ve kept the weight and the staff kick him inside to DT….his strength is stopping the run not pass rush…..I hope less weight translates into more sacks…..

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  43. 813bucboi Says:

    ghost

    they’re on notice too!!!!…..we don’t make the playoffs, you’ll see them at sams or wally world checking receipts….lol…..

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  44. Lord Cornelius Says:

    “It’s all good my dude I could be wrong I haven’t been yet but you never know.”

    lmao @ never wrong

    Everyone here’s been wrong a sh1t load of times about a sh1t load of things over the years.

    love you guys tho

  45. webster Says:

    @ db55

    Its more than just sacks. Curry had way more pressures and way more hits on the qb than ayers as well. I am not sure why you cry for past players like najee good, steven means, foster etc. Now you wanna cry for ayers? None of those players are better than the players the bucs have on this roster who play the same position.