Bye Did The Defense Good
December 3rd, 2014
The Bucs’ pass defense has significantly improved since former safety Mark Barron was shipped to St. Louis.
Earlier this season, the Bucs were playing so woefully, Raheem Morris was laughing.
It also got former Bucs commander Greg Schiano to scream in his backyard to no one in particular, “Toes on the line!”
It was dreadful football. Fans became so demoralized, they pined for the return of Schiano if not Raheem.
Before the bye, the Bucs were dead last in average yards allowed, coughing up a grisly average of 422 yards a game. That has changed dramatically.
In the weeks after the bye, NFL Weeks 8-13, the Bucs carved that average down to an average of 300 yards a game even. That’s good enough for second best in the NFL during that period.
Another interesting nugget: The Bucs were getting slashed through the air something frightful before the bye, getting roasted for 294 yards a game. That is shameful on any football level. But, boy, has that turned around.
Since the bye, the Bucs have allowed an average of 196 yards a game through the air, tied for best in the NFL.
The difference there? Joe is going to guess addition by subtraction. That would be the jettisoning of safety Mark Barron.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Couldn’t have anything to do with finally starting to learn the Cover 2 could it.
I seem to remember a similar turn around in 96
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:12 pm
One Word. Bustiest
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:13 pm
Mark Barron should just play LB
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:16 pm
Finally learn cover 2?? Seriously? That’s a basic coverage in high school. Now I know they have improved the techniques and different packages/blitz you can run within it but if our players have learned cover 2 finally then we are dead for a long long time. The truth is the redskins stink and handed us the game and bengals tried to let us win with three picks and a horrible onside kick decision and we still lost. Now we have Det, NO and GB. Good grief. Let’s see how the defense plays in those games. Did I mention how horrible we are offensively? Im frustrated…
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:16 pm
I’m sure getting rid of Barron had something to do with the turn around of the defense, but I thunk the emergence of J Smith is the biggest difference. The scheme is totally predicated on getting pressure with the front four and before Smith came on we didn’t have a guy that could bring consistent heat off the edge. Hoepfully Licht and Smith don’t let him walk for peanuts a la Michael Bennett.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:20 pm
All this tells me is that Lovie would make a decent DC.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:21 pm
@Jon
Really? So you are telling me that Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp and Ronde Barber were all just lying to us when they said it would take this D a while to learn the nuances of the Cover 2 and to jell?
Interesting. Tell me more.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:22 pm
Better stats, yet still losing games. Something to be upbeat about signifying a turn in the right direction. Keep it up team.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Hey JOES have you ever thought about updating your comment section to a livefyre setup? It would probably draw more people in.
Nope. –Joe
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:32 pm
To me what has changed is the way the corners are now hitting receivers on line. In one of the blowout losses the tv announcers (I believe Jim Nantz on the Falcons Thursday night game) were really shocked how the corners were letting the receivers run free. They said “You can’t let the offense play pitch and catch untouched in today’s NFL” or something like that. It is nice to see some hands on the receivers now.
As an aside – I will be attending the Bucs/Saints game week 17 and have never been to the stadium. (I thought this might have playoff implications when I agreed to fly from LA!) How easy is it to move down to an empty good seat in a lower section?
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:34 pm
jon is an idiot
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:38 pm
Is it the bye? Getting rid of Mark Barron? Or is it this…
Pre bye QBs faced
Derek Anderson
Austin Davis
Matt Ryan
Drew Brees
Joe Flacco
Ben Roethlesberger
Post bye QBs faced
Teddy Bridgewater
Future Bucs starter Brian Hoyer
Matt Ryan
RGFinished
Jay Cutler
Andy Dalton
Some combination of the three. But if we get lit up by the Lions, Saints and Packers, it will definitely be the weaker competition that drove the stats down.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:54 pm
bucrightoff Says:
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:38 pm
Is it the bye? Getting rid of Mark Barron? Or is it this…
Pre bye QBs faced
Derek Anderson
Austin Davis
Matt Ryan
Drew Brees
Joe Flacco
Ben Roethlesberger
Post bye QBs faced
Teddy Bridgewater
Future Bucs starter Brian Hoyer
Matt Ryan
RGFinished
Jay Cutler
Andy Dalton
Some combination of the three. But if we get lit up by the Lions, Saints and Packers, it will definitely be the weaker competition that drove the stats down.
————
Wrong on all counts. According to Pro Football Focus, they did their own rankings and accounted for weaker offenses, etc, and the Bucs still have a top 5 defense since the bye week.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:58 pm
I’m still waiting to see Barron become an all pro, now that he has good coaching. That was predicted by so many experts on this here board.
December 3rd, 2014 at 4:03 pm
PFF also says Revis is the 2nd best CB in the league even as you call him average Brandon. So PFF is wrong Revis, but right about the Bucs? That wouldn’t be pure confirmation bias on your part would it? How much do your knees hurt every day? Being on them 24/7 for Lovie has to take it’s toll.
December 3rd, 2014 at 4:40 pm
dumping barron did not improve our pass rush. the more important addition by subtraction was giving Michael Johnson’s snaps to a DE who actually shows up
December 3rd, 2014 at 4:47 pm
Pewter_Power is right, the biggest difference is we are getting more consistent pressure up front.
December 3rd, 2014 at 4:55 pm
@Day1BucFan, unfortunately, moving up to a seat you aren’t ticketed for is quite hard. They check tickets at the top of every section for the most part. maybe after halftime (or because of general apathy by week 17) they will be a little more lax, but i wouldn’t count on, say, buying a 300 level and making your way to the sideline. your best bet may be to mill around the end zone courtyards and slip down to a seat amid a large group. just confidently proceed to a seat you’ve identified in advance, if you stop to search once you pass the usher all is lost
December 3rd, 2014 at 5:22 pm
He hasn’t done much since his debut with the rams
December 3rd, 2014 at 5:23 pm
Well if ANY safety AT ALL had some picks or batted passes then I would have to agree that Barron is HOT GARBAGE. However since NO safety has made any kind of play on a pass so I’ll have to say it was indeed the emergence of Ja Smith. Without questions, unequivocally, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Haters are in fact going to Hate.
December 3rd, 2014 at 6:03 pm
@DB55,
You don’t have to defend or intercept a pass to be better in coverage. Have you ever considered the possibility that because the new safety is doing his job correctly, the ball isn’t even thrown to him? Did you used to notice that every completion had Mark Barron chasing down the guy who caught the ball? There’s a reason for that. He sucks hot garbage.
December 3rd, 2014 at 6:26 pm
@ al24643674
Amazing insight. Thank you. Check back with me in four weeks. Dare someone to ask brooks, sapp, lynch or barber if it takes this long now. 2 and whatever! Sheep
December 3rd, 2014 at 6:34 pm
It also help that they are tackling way better than before. The LB’s are also trusting their keys and getting in the throwing lanes too.
December 3rd, 2014 at 7:04 pm
@ Hawaiian
If you can wait another year or two to see if Lovie will eventually blossom into a good HC for the Buccaneers (inserted for the Buccaneers so I don’t have to read rehashed news about what he did in Chicago for the hundredth time…we’re talking present ‘what have you done for me lately Lovie’) then it certainly shouldn’t be a big deal waiting to see what Barron does with a season and off season under his belt with his new team before writing him off with the Rams. Teams usually don’t give up even that high a pick mid season unless the coaching staff really believes they got a player that fits their system. We’ll see, but perhaps both coaches will be proven right (Barron not fitting the Frazier/Smith scheme but might be perfect for the scheme the Rams play)?
December 3rd, 2014 at 7:48 pm
@bucrightoff u seriously want Brian Hoyer? Eww
December 3rd, 2014 at 8:26 pm
@toesontheline,
I would agree, had Barron not been such a failure under Schiano’s system as well. He simply can’t cover, and he has never been able to cover. More concerning is that he seems to get worse at covering and tackling with each year in the league. That leads me to believe that he is not putting the work in. Maybe he is, but I’ve seen him stroll into the stadium as one of the last guys almost every game. Maybe that’s nothing, but when you don’t perform or get better, it becomes noteworthy (interesting to note that similar things were said about Trent Richardson in Cleveland and Indy, who I slurped like an idiot during his draft year.).
December 3rd, 2014 at 9:10 pm
When did I say I wan Brian Hoyer? I simply said he’ll be starting or someone (i.e. a vet) like him. Seriously if Mike Jenkins didn’t get hurt he’d be playing and Banks wouldn’t. Lovie’s wood for vets is what got him fired in Chicago, and what will likely get him fired here too.
December 3rd, 2014 at 11:14 pm
I just don’t see it.
I understand the numbers tell a different story but I just don’t get excited about anything involving our defense. I don’t see splash plays, I don’t see swarming to the football, and if it’s the 2 minute drill for out opponent and we need a defensive stop, I’ll put my $ on the other team 9/10 times…. Call it failing the “eye test” but I watch good defenses and how they play for FOUR QUARTERS
… our defense just feels “flukey” – if thats even a word
December 4th, 2014 at 12:17 am
Mike10 i have to disagree. it was not an accident that we could not get a sack or turnover to save our lives early in the year. similarly, it is not an accident that we are now regularly punshing the QB and defenders are forcing turnovers weekly. certainly the level of competition is a factor, but this is the same team that let derek anderson and whats-his-name from the rams hit them up for something close to an 80% completion rate. i’m not trying to compare them to the 99 or 2002 defenses by any means, but it is beyond debate that these guys have turned a corner in terms of executing the concepts of this defense. the thing that makes me optimistic is, if J Smith can do this working alongside McCoy, i figure one genuinely dominant DL working with mccoy (i would LOVE for the bucs to throw a pile of money at Suh this offseason) will make the other 9 guys look like borderline pro bowlers at worst
December 4th, 2014 at 2:08 am
Pick6 – thanks for the seat info.