Breakout!
May 16th, 2018
Big prediction.
So who is going to blow up for the Bucs this fall?
A man who taps keyboards for a living at Bleacher Report believes he has an idea.
It seems Maurice Moton has skimmed through the Bucs roster and he is of the mind Bucs fans might want to start squirreling away nickels in order to buy the jersey of Vinny Curry.
Pass-rusher Vinny Curry didn’t start a game or play more than 50 percent of the Eagles’ total defensive snaps until his sixth year with the team. For the most part, he’s been a rotation defender, though a breakout season came in 2014 with nine sacks.
Curry will start anew with the Buccaneers, who completely revamped their defensive line. He’ll stand alongside rookie Vita Vea, Gerald McCoy and Jason Pierre-Paul across the front.
McCoy and Pierre-Paul should command attention as consistent, proven pass-rushers. They combine for 107 sacks in their respective careers. At 347 pounds, Vea will demand extra help on the interior. Curry could see frequent one-on-one opportunities on the edge. He’ll take advantage using speed and his relatively fresh legs. Curry could potentially push for team leader in sacks as offensive coordinators game-plan to stop his established teammates on the defensive line.
While this all sounds great, Joe isn’t so sure Curry will rack up that many sacks, though Moton comes at this with some decent logic.
Joe knows this much: JPP and Gerald McCoy will be on the field most of the time. The Bucs do very much plan on using Noah Spence on passing downs — provided he can stay healthy.
So how much will this and the addition of Vita Vea at defensive tackle limit Curry’s sacks? It sure smelled like, before the draft, the front four on passing downs was JPP, GMC, Curry moving to the inside and Spence at right defensive end. Will defensive coordinator Mike Smith want to bring Vea along slowly as a pass rusher or will he want to throw the rookie into the fire right away?
Still, when the hell is the last time a Bucs fan could have so much fun trying to figure out the defensive line rotation and snap counts? ]
It wasn’t too long ago when Bucs fans wanted starting defensive linemen like CFL-slumming, guitar-plucking Da’Quan Bowers to get less snaps.
May 16th, 2018 at 12:07 am
Let’s hope so
May 16th, 2018 at 12:09 am
Curry was top 5 in the league in QB hurries if I recall correctly, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could turn those into sacks if the DBs are allowed to jam the receivers at the line more.
May 16th, 2018 at 12:58 am
Lol
Is there anyone who would still count on Spence?
Hes too little to play DE. Plus hes been hurt so much- hes still basically a rookie.
If the Bucs had any compassion( or fing sense),?they would find a 3-4 team that is willingbto trade a decent CB or guard, for a rush linebacker.
Then trade Spence.
Its obvious that, if he stays here, the Bucs will continue trying to misuse him.
He played alot of Lb in college- definitely should be there in the pros
Vinny Curry? I absolutely agree! I expect him to have a career year!
He will be a star around here by seasons end
May 16th, 2018 at 1:02 am
The hell with all these ” Qb hurry” stats. We need sacks to put the opposite team behind the los and put them in obvious pass situation. Hurries is not even a stat.
May 16th, 2018 at 1:27 am
Capt tim
Spence was always a d-end in college. What are you talking about?
May 16th, 2018 at 1:51 am
Let’s start by hoping jpp is in shape and motivated.
May 16th, 2018 at 1:51 am
Let’s see.
Noah Spence was drafted two years ago. He is currently listed on the roster as 6 foot two inches and 251 pounds. He is recovering from his second shoulder injury and one surgical procedure. He has played in 22 games for us. He had 5.5 sacks his rookie year and one sack last year. He also had 2 passes defended last year. Someone projected him to get 15 sacks last year.
Does the Buccaneer “brain trust”, consisting of Licht, Koetter and the medical staff have a clear picture of how he’s going to be able to perform this year? Do they have some kind notion that he should remain under the radar and he will contribute to the roaring success of our new defensive line under Buckner’s tutelage? Or are they just as blind as the rest of here as to what his status is and how much impact he may have if any?
I wish I knew. I guess I will have to wait and see how things unfold for the rest of this offseason.
________
Go Bucs!!!
May 16th, 2018 at 2:49 am
Don’t forget that curry played inside at DT on passing downs in philly too.
He has played and excelled at all four spots on the DLine.
He may not have the size to be consistent at DT, but he has proven to be efficient if needed.
Don’t be surprised to see him spell out McCoy from time to time and hold his own.
May 16th, 2018 at 4:03 am
All anyone needs to do to get sacks for the Bucs is clean up what GMC starts. GMC gets pressure up the middle all the time, if a defensive end or a linebacker falls on the QB two or three times a game, this defense will turn around in no time.
May 16th, 2018 at 4:45 am
Won’t be getting too many sacks with off coverage and every QB getting the ball out in under 3 seconds and hitting a 77% completion rate..
May 16th, 2018 at 4:54 am
It would be nice to smile and be happy during the games. Been awhile.
May 16th, 2018 at 5:27 am
Bucs’ fans go through this every single year. We get several new toys & all of a sudden we’re SB contenders. Our latest toys just on the defensive side of the ball? Curry … plus JPP, Allen, Unrein, Vea & a fistful of rookie CBs/Safeties. Fun to speculate how well (and how quickly) it’ll all gel with existing defensive pieces (like GMC, Gholston, Spence & others), but at this point in the season it’s only that: speculation.
Coaching will obviously have a huge impact (duh) on how well/fast this all comes together, but what each of these new toys brings to the table is also huge. Vinny Curry has had a fascinating 6-yr career with the Eagles it looks like. (And he may be asking himself “Why did I leave Philly?” before 2018 ends). Eagles drafted him in 2012 in the 2nd Rnd (not too shabby for a DE out of Marshall). In his first 5 years he started exactly ZERO games, and he only got 18 sacks in those 5 years. Interestingly, half of those (yup, 9 sacks) came in 2014 … when Curry only played 32% of the snaps. Outside that 1 year, Curry’s been in the 3-4 sacks/year range. But then last year he started all 16 games, got more snaps (56%) than any DLineman except Brandon Graham … yet ended up with only 3 sacks. Was it coaching & the role he was asked to play or did Vinny have a down year? Uhhh, since the Eagles won the SB & he started all the games, I’d kinda feel that it was the role he was asked to play.
Brings to mind the question: What role(s) will Curry be asked to play on the Bucs DLine? Will he be put in favorable situations where the 9-sack Vinny ransacks opposing QBs or where the 3-sack Vinny ‘holds the line’? Aah yes, that age-old coaching question. Enter Scapegoat Smitty, stage right.
May 16th, 2018 at 6:23 am
There is no question that we have fantastic depth on the D-line…..so much that we have not even mentioned Beau Allen, Unrein, Gholston or Stevie T….
The key to our pass pressure no longer depends solely on Spence…..Noah Spence is gravy….and if he is healthy and stays healthy….watch out!!!
We need to jam up receivers and blitz our LBs……we should be getting some sacks this year.
May 16th, 2018 at 6:25 am
Why m0deration on every post?…..
May 16th, 2018 at 6:40 am
Like Buckner said in article the other day : he compared it to having girlfriend …you wanna see the field (aka your girlfriend more often) then you better make plays and ball out to get on the field (aka girlfriend). Lol
Not worried about who it is …Not worried about someone getting 10 sacks. Just want team sacks to be in 35 to 40 range
May 16th, 2018 at 7:39 am
@Capt. Tim
I wouldn’t say I’m counting on Noah Spence, but I’m not counting him out either. This year will pretty much determine the remainder of his career. If he gets a major injury, he’s done in the NFL.
That said, if he gets past the injuries issue like McCoy did, anything is possible. We don’t really know if he can do more than third downs at this point. He’s been injured too much to find out.
For his sake, I am hoping for the best.
May 16th, 2018 at 8:02 am
Just for comparison, NS57 has played more games in his first 2 seasons then GMC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I am counting on NS57 to have his best year so far!!!!! The only difference in this year then the last 2, is for some reason he is out of the equation, then all hopes of pass rush goes with him!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 16th, 2018 at 8:40 am
Bryan Anger, breakout player of the year for the Bucs! 🙂
May 16th, 2018 at 9:09 am
No one ever mentions Will Clarke, but I think he could wind up being part of the rotation. Gholston needs to step it up. Clarke has good size and has 6 1/2 sacks in the last 2 years. Ghoston got paid and disappeared last year.
May 16th, 2018 at 10:07 am
spence better step up!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
May 16th, 2018 at 10:24 am
Webster
Spence was almost 60/40 between hand on the ground DE, and stand up Rush Lber. Spence was even used in coverage on occasion.
And that was at a smaller school.
I really like Spence. But at 6’2”, 245#- hes getting crushed by 6’5”, 320# Ots.
May 16th, 2018 at 11:31 am
Spawn gonna make you look silly spouting those comments without any merit to them Capt Tim.
Spence isn’t getting “crushed” by anyone if you watch his tape.
You are obviously making an assumption that he’s too small for the 4-3 DE position based on his shoulder injuries – not his tape.
I get that it sounds logical in your mind that OTs are 300+ and Spence is at least 50 lbs less – so of course it would SEEM to make sense to you that he’s giving up too much weight and “getting crushed” play in and play out to be putting his hand in the dirt on a consistent basis…
But that ain’t the case. Again – watch the man play. He’s got plenty of strength (check the biceps) and more than enough speed to be an effective 4-3 pass rusher.
The reason Noah’s shoulder got re-injured in 2017 is because his shoulder socket was too loose and the 2016 injury made that worse. Not because he’s too small for his position.
FYI – the most recent surgery last year included a procedure that closed the gap in his shoulder socket so that the ball at the top of his humerus bone will no longer be able to slip out of socket.
Once that repaired shoulder is fully healed (which it should be close to now) – Spence should not have any more problems with that particular injury.
May 16th, 2018 at 12:00 pm
Pickgrin
– nah, 6’2”,245# battling every play with massively strong 6’5,320# opponent sounds Ideal!
What could go wrong?
His injuries are just a coincidence
Prepare for another one- if the continue to misuse him at DE.
May 16th, 2018 at 12:55 pm
@capt tim- plenty of good pass rushers w/ similar measurables as Spawn…
DE Danielle Hunter – 6’4″ 240lbs
DE Markus Golden – 6’3″ 255lbs
DE/LB Robert Quinn – 6’4″ 250lbs
LB Shane Ray – 6’3″ 245lbs
LB Dee Ford – 6’2″ 250lbs
DE Cameron Wake – 6’3″ 260lbs
DE Cliff Avril – 6’3″ 260lbs
LB Von Miller – 6’3″ 250lbs
Now you could make the argument about him being better suited for a 3-4 OLB, but the difference between a 4-3 and 3-4 alignment is just where the guys are standing. Plus we’ve already seen Spawn rush from standing positions as well as with his hand in the dirt.
It all just comes down to his shoulder staying healthy. And a larger rotation on the d-line should only help with that.
May 16th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
All I know is Spawn got 5.5 sacks and 3 FF with a bad shoulder his rookie year. Got 1.0 sack and one FF in six games 2017 with a bad shoulder. If he can stay healthy, I don’t give two sh#ts what this guys size is, he can apparently ball.
May 16th, 2018 at 2:15 pm
Spence looked really good vs Chicago in the 1st game last year. Had a sack/strip/fumble. Then dislocated his shoulder in the 1st half vs Minnesota.
So Spawn really only played 1 game in 2017.
The Spirit is more than willing and capable. Lets hope the body can hold up so we can see this guy reach for his true potential.
“Best true pass rusher in the draft” was not a mistaken label that was widely thrown around 2 years ago.
But the old “Best ability is AVAIL – ability” line certainly rings truest at the end of the day…
Fingers Crossed that the Bucs can avoid the type of sweeping and key injuries that plagued the Bucs defense in 2017. Its not an excuse because injuries happen to every team every year across the NFL – but those key injuries to Spence, Grimes, LD54 and Kwon early in the year were pretty damn devastating to this defenses ability to operate like a pro defense should – and absolutely did contribute heavily to the Bucs lack of “success” last year.
Even when they came back after missing multiple games – Grimes, David and Kwon were not the same consistent players for at least a few more games. Miko was actually quoted as saying Brent was never more than 80% healthy all season long…
May 16th, 2018 at 3:41 pm
little evidence that Vea is ready to come in and immediately be a relied-upon pass rusher. for the role of passing down DT next to mccoy, he must first prove he can do more than Curry and Gholston.
May 16th, 2018 at 9:36 pm
Unbelievable
Von Miller, Shane Ray, Robert Quinn are all great examples of how Noah should be utilized.
As A QB wrecking Edge linebacker.
The 3 true DEs you listed- Golden,Wake, And Avril,- are an inch taller, and 10(Golden) to fifteen pounds ( Wake and Avril) heavier than Noah.
And thats a lot, when its pure muscle.
Smith stated he would occasionally run a 3-4 defense, but he doest.
He runs a base 4-3, which consistently morphs into a 4-2-5, or a 3-2-6.
We can disagree, but so far- Noah has been hurt both years he primarily had his hand in the dirt.
The day we drafted Hargreaves and Spence, and was angrily posting the same things Im saying now.
Hargreaves is too slow and too short
May 16th, 2018 at 9:44 pm
– and Noah was a Edge rushing Linebacker, Not a DE.
I hope they start using Spence correctly. If they keep rushing him at bigger stronger tackles, he is gonna develop chonic injuries.
Despite all the differing opinions, Ive been right so far. I hope they start using Spence correctly- So I dont have to keep being right.