“Where Is The Pass Rush Coming From?”
May 16th, 2019
Next great Bucs’ pass rusher?
Thanks to Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht robbing Giants shot-caller Dave Gettleman last year by lifting Jason Pierre-Paul for a measly third-round pick, the Bucs weren’t horrible rushing the passer.
JPP and his 12 sacks lifted the Bucs to No. 19 in the NFL in sacks. Given how truly shameful the Bucs had been rushing the passer, this was like a return of the Super Bowl Bucs.
But that production from JPP is gone for what likely will be a good chunk of season. Maybe JPP will be lost for good if the Bucs decide to move on from him in the wake of a reported fractured neck after his recent one-car crash.
Throw in the very real possibility that the Bucs may also be without stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, held hostage for reasons not fully clear, and what was a below-average pass rush unit may quickly plunge into the garbage unit the Bucs were known for prior to JPP arriving in Tampa Bay.
If you take away JPP and GMC’s 18.5 sacks from last year’s total, that would put the Bucs at No. 31 in the NFL for sacks. Additionally, JPP and GMC were Nos. 14 and 18 respectively in the NFL in quarterback hits (that includes all defensive linemen and outside linebackers). Carl Nassib ranked No. 38.
This ugly element has elicited NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal to ask how are the Bucs going to rush the passer?
Where is the pass rush coming from? Free-agent pickup Shaq Barrett, 2018 waiver pickup Carl Nassib and 2016 second-rounder Noah Spence look like the best options.
This is just embarrassing. So the Bucs are going to rely on a guy who had a career year last season after, a guy a winless team didn’t even want for a backup, and another player to rise from the dead to get after quarterbacks? Gee, Joe feels all warm and fuzzy now.
You would think that if any team would be aware of what good quarterbacks with enough time in the pocket to get a haircut can do to a defense, it would be the Bucs. How many times does it take the likes of Drew Brees, Matty Ice and pouty Cam Newton to carve up the Bucs defense for this team to figure out that, gee, maybe it should load up on pass rushers?
Nope.
Licht seemed to be going that way last year when he beefed up on the defensive line. It was better.
Now? It seems the team currently lives in a world where an inside linebacker can pressure the quarterback better than an edge rusher.
And how is your day going?
May 16th, 2019 at 9:37 am
@Joe … “If you take away JPP and GMC’s 18.5 sacks away from last year’s total, that would put the Bucs at No. 31 in the NFL for sacks.” Not fair Joe. The Bucs have to replace both POSITIONS in the roster, and those replacements will probably contribute some sacks. Not to mention that the change in defensive scheme will probably rely less on DLine pressure than in past seasons, and more on LB pressure. Really Joe, the sky hasn’t fallen … YET.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:39 am
Defense Rules:
Are you suggesting the Bucs didn’t see the crossroads they now face with GMC coming around the corner?
Of course JPP’s accident was totally unexpected. However, it’s not like JPP is a young chicken with five more years left on his contract.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:41 am
Hopefully with Lavonte David and Devin White like with what Schiano was able to do.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:43 am
Where is the pass rush coming from??? Somewhere back in 1989 I suppose,see here in 2019 it about 6 or 7 DBs buddy.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:43 am
Our beasts rushing the passer this year are going to be (in order of Production/Destruction/sack total predictions)
1. Vita Vea (I’m thinking 15-20 sacks & a freakin 1-man wrecking crew Lol)
2. Carl Nassib
3. Shaq Barret
4. Devin White
5. Anthony Nelson
6. Noah Spence (yes, I said it)
7. And then whoever is blitzing on that play…
*And fyi, I’m not even really joking on the Vita Vea forecast….
He is going to be LIGHTNING FAST this year, and the Strongest guy on the field at the same time… He might end up being the best player in the NFL. Watch
May 16th, 2019 at 9:43 am
Be careful Joe, you might scare and rile up the sheep!!!!!!! Don’t you know they have been saying of all the playoff talent that is on this roster!!!!!!! That all the needs to happen is one meeting with ole stale biscuit, and he will tell them things like “no risk it, no biscuit” and “winna winna chicken dinner”!!!!!!!!!!!! How he will hold their hands and give them joy rides on his golf cart if they get down!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t they all know that the coaches were “clowns” and now all problems are fixed!!!!!!!!!!!
2019 will reveal answers to the sheep, that the “real” fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 16th, 2019 at 9:45 am
I’m certainly not gonna rely on Shaq Barret. We’ve been through this bargain player mess before. Sure guys like Michael Johnson and Vinny Curry sound good on paper and then September comes and they disappear.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:46 am
While I agree that JPP & possibly GMC will be missed with their pass rush/pressures/hits……our scheme will be different.
Look for much of their production to be made up by LBs, CBs & Safeties blitzing.
We may get some unexpected help from Nelson….perhaps Gholston & I don’t think our roster is complete.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:46 am
To anyone reading this YouTube Clemson highlights there you’ll see 6 or 7. YouTube bans there you’ll see 6 or 7. YouTube Vita Vea highlights you’ll him accompanied by two other Dlinemen while at Washington on more than a few snaps. You might not see them behind him but that usually means 6 or 7.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:46 am
FOH wit this weak @$$ narrative called a pass rush.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:51 am
The reason why I directed you to the college level was to show you on that level they up on game. This ain’t just an NFL notion,the game has changed dude. You gotta fled that secondary with bodies homie.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:52 am
Vita Vea got clocked at 20.4 mph as a somewhat fat guy (at 340 lbs, he was one of the top 50 fastest guys in the entire NFL at top speed)… Let that sink in for a moment…
And this year, he will be slim and trim and in the best shape of his life.
Think of a 50-lb heavier Aaron Donald and u’ll be somewhere in the neighborhood of where Vita’s playing level will be this year.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:54 am
Funny how all the other teams in NFC South always draft defensive linemen even we they seem to be set. I guess the other teams realize the quarterbacks they will face 2 times a year. The depth on the other South teams will put up better numbers in part time work that our full time starters. Sad really.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:56 am
An oh by the way Vita Darf Vea in his three Dlinemen clips he wreckin s@&: 1 on 1 double teams don’t matter😠 that mountain of a man just moves humans beings with ease. But carry on..
May 16th, 2019 at 9:56 am
Heck, we lost 11 games with JPP and Geraldini- what’s the difference at this point?
May 16th, 2019 at 9:57 am
I believe Nassib, who was late to the party last year will be fully involved in this new defense. Last year he whiffed on at least 2-3 sacks. He’s got a great motor. I think he can be a double digit sack achiever.
Lord knows, there is certainly a pot of gold waiting for him at the end of the rainbow and he knows how to double that $ every 7 years.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:57 am
Funny how drafting all those Dlinemen don’t equate to s@:$. Cause they ain’t won anything as a result of it.
May 16th, 2019 at 9:59 am
Erik,He is a MONSTER!!!👹 After this season he will be challenging Donald for most dominant Dlinemen.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:01 am
Had the answer to this question been “Allen” then the next question would be “who will lead our defense” and that answer wouldn’t be Allen… that’s why I’m glad we have White.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:03 am
Erik before these OCs can gameplan to manipulate the aggressive nature of our new young ILB they must plan to deal with Vita Vea. Before they formulate a strategy to take advantage of our young secondary they must gameplan on how they will deal with Vita Vea. That’s why in my mind he’s the most important piece to this puzzle bro.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:05 am
If the Bucs would play with 9 players instead of 11 they would get less sacks…agree fully.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:14 am
And if recall correctly it 6 or 7 in the secondary that afforded the birds a 28/3 lead in the Super Bowl. Why they dumb @$$ changed the plan is anyone’s guess.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:21 am
The pass rush will come from having a lockdown secondary
May 16th, 2019 at 10:29 am
NOSBOS…literally step away from the pipe….you are out fo your mind if you think 5-7 DBs = sacks….this is the NFL…drew brees and matt ryan will look at the blitzer audible to the man coverage and 80 yards later the band is playing, there is not one player on the bucs that can cover michale thomas, julio jones, ridley, kamara, ginn, dj moore, curtis samuel, mccafery. etc one on one the bucs have no one that can cover these guys…this is pitch and catch if you thijnk this is a jailbreak blitz 24/7
May 16th, 2019 at 10:31 am
The Buc Realist Says:
June 21st, 2018 at 6:48 pm
Huge pass to the coaching staff issued by the “real” Buc fans!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!
May 16th, 2019 at 10:52 am
Dusthty you clearly have a different set of opticals when it comes to way you view the game. Every time Brady faces brees he wins. Why 6 or 7 DBs is usually why. We saw what happened in the birds/pats Super Bowl. The birds surprised them by flipping the script and was working the scheme beautifully for a half. You people act like pressure can’t still be applied from those sets. You’re wrong,go back an look Grady Jarret was pounding Brady from a 3 down linemen look. This why Vea in my mind is so key. I see him being just as destructive as Grady was out of 3 down line sets.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:52 am
Joe please stop mentioning GMC he does absolutely nothing on the defensive line… his sacks last year were garbage time sacks … a couple were basically given to him … countless times I have seen McCoy get thru the offensive line to go to the quarterback and he runs passed him … he’s garbage …he may be a nice guy but his game is straight dookie
May 16th, 2019 at 10:53 am
That is simply factually inaccurate.
May 16th, 2019 at 10:55 am
This team will finally be able to play hard 100% without the distraction of Gerald who always takes plays off during games in key moments when we had them…I’m so excited to finally watch a bucs game without seeing 93 out there on the field … I love it… can’t wait for his release/trade … it will be a great moment in bucs history
May 16th, 2019 at 10:56 am
No joe the fairy tales you write about GMC is inaccurate… sorry to burst your flask
May 16th, 2019 at 10:59 am
He is not a disruptive player at all … not one iota
May 16th, 2019 at 10:59 am
Lol joe is prob getting mad so let me stop poking fun at his favorite player
May 16th, 2019 at 11:09 am
Yeah it’s a mess to not have a legit stud option at what is considered a top 3 position of importance
QB
DE/OLB Edge
DT
= highest paid positions in football for a reason. No excuse for Licht being here for this long and not investing heavily into edge rush more.
Sheldon Rankins over VHIII
Ngakoue over Aguayo
Those 2 moves alone = we are in WAY better position. Or making a move for Jachai Polite or Chase Winovich on top of Anthony Nelson in the last draft.
The only hope I have is reading PFF articles that say coverage is more important than pressure. That you can always manufacture pressure but you can’t cover up for a terrible secondary player or 2 that the QB will pick on all game.
Just gonna keep telling myself that I guess. Also loved the SHaq Barret signing. Likely going to be about as good as any rookie edge rusher we could have brought in IMO
May 16th, 2019 at 11:21 am
Fans still don’t get it. Jpp proved that sacks is just a fancy stats that doesn’t tell the whole story. This defense was horrible despite the sacks and we were still 19 in that category and much worse in overall defense. Time to move on from Geraldine and jpp
May 16th, 2019 at 11:25 am
@Nos
Actually sir , the Eagles beat the the Pats because their deep DL, they figured out if you can get to Brady on a consistent basis with only 4 DL they could drop the rest back. They had enough depth on their DLine to hound QBs all game… still do.. we have Vea, Nassib, Lawson and Spence… gotta bring in help, maybe trade for Solomon Thomas..
May 16th, 2019 at 11:26 am
Ok, I get it. Vita is going to be our savior. The guy who barely showed up at the end of the season is going to be a one-man wrecking crew. Maybe best in NFL. Right!
I am so sick and tired of each summer we see holes in the roster big enough to see from space, and then we hear how it is going to be great because some guy(s) is going to sprout wings or legs of steel and blow away the league.
What a bunch of craap! This team, its owners, coaches, and fans have no legitimate excuse to be optimistic about anything. Every year there is a new (or old) reason for failure and our residence in the cellar. It’s fine to be hopeful or cautiously optimistic as the off season rolls on. But, please hold the “Aaron Donald” comparison until we have some evidence other than some blogger’s pipe dream.
May 16th, 2019 at 11:30 am
I do not believe the Bucs ever planned on playing GMC this year. If you listen to BK’s press conferences his said numerous times JPP would be playing over a Guard most of the time, in other words in nickle defense JPP was going to play the 3tech. With JPP/GMC out you slide over Vita of the 3 tech and Allen as NT.
We will be playing a totally different defense this year. Bowles defense brings blitz’s from every direction but rarely does he bring everybody, but he will blitz often enough to give the illusion more are coming than they actually are.
May 16th, 2019 at 11:44 am
Too late to cry about it now, it’s over. All we can do is hope they find help when teams begin to trim their rosters.
May 16th, 2019 at 12:07 pm
The Bucs in a nutshell!
May 16th, 2019 at 12:34 pm
nosbos, actually what teams are doing now instead of having 10 different personnel groupings the smarter OCs/HCs are now devising a personnel grouping where they can keep a “big package/12 personnel or 22 personnel” on the field and have the TEs flex and the Rbs flex out and give you different looks with one personnel group…the Pats do it all the time the chiefs do it…the bucs could do it if they had a RB that could catch and run but of course no they dont…bottom line is if you get caught with 6 DBs on the field against a 12 or 22 package or 13 package you are going to get hammered on the run…bucs have that personnel on offense to do that to teams all day long minus the RB
May 16th, 2019 at 12:54 pm
Like in the old Wendy’s commercials in the 80’s….Where’s the beef?
May 16th, 2019 at 1:16 pm
NOS, these guys are sleepin on Vea bro… Everyone believes he will be good, I get it.
I just want everyone to know that this dude has it within himself (and has the physical attributes) to be the best player at his position in the entire league.
And the same goes for Devin White…
And that was a brilliant point by SCBucsFan about ‘who would be leading our defense if we drafted Allen instead of White’…
May 16th, 2019 at 1:52 pm
Being a 3-4 defense, you don’t have to rely on 4 good DL guys. Not as worried about a lack of pass rush than most sports writers. I think Arians and Bowles have enough talent to blitz from all positions.
May 16th, 2019 at 1:55 pm
Joe
“What was a below average- pass rush unit may quickly plunge into the garbage unit the Bucs were known for prior to JPP arriving in Tampa Bay.”
Those are your words and that’s how they were with your so called “stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.” I’m sorry the guy is over rated and it’s time for the team to move on. We’ve sucked with him for long enough if we suck without him what’s the difference. I’ll tell you the difference 13mil and the ability of some of these young guys with winning mentalities having the chance to change the culture. If he’s still here he’ll be looked at as a leader by default and we don’t need that.
May 16th, 2019 at 2:36 pm
Frank Pillow Says:
Heck, we lost 11 games with JPP and Geraldini- what’s the difference at this point?
EXACTLY!!!!
Not a Sheep
May 16th, 2019 at 2:38 pm
TAMPA BAY SUCCANEERS, WHERE CAREERS GO TO DIE
May 16th, 2019 at 3:31 pm
It’s May 16th.
Almost 4 full months until game 1.
Relax.
May 16th, 2019 at 3:40 pm
@Joe … “Are you suggesting the Bucs didn’t see the crossroads they now face with GMC coming around the corner?” That’s not what I was saying at all Joe. Your article stated that if we lose JPP’s & GMC’s combined 18.5 sacks, that our new total would put us at #31 in the league instead of at #19 where we were. All I was saying is that ASSUMES that neither one of them gets replaced on the roster. Obviously that’d be a poor assumption … SOMEONE (or 2) will fill in those spaces, and that SOMEONE (or 2) will surely get SOME Sacks, QB Hits & TFLs.
And in regards to JPP not being a ‘young chicken’ you’re right. But that wily ‘old rooster’ certainly did show the little chicks a thing or two last year, didn’t he. I have zero idea as to the extent of his neck injury, but I wouldn’t be too fast to count him down & out just yet.
May 16th, 2019 at 3:46 pm
AlabamaBucsFan … Tons of folks keep referring to us as a ‘3-4 defense’ but that’s not at all what I’ve taken away from the things I’ve read about Todd Bowles defenses. Most seem to call it a ‘hybrid defense’ because it’s not your standard 3-4 nor the standard 4-3 for that matter. Bowles apparently loves to be unpredictable, changing in & out of defensive sets, blitzing from heaven knows where, etc. I for one applaud that.
May 16th, 2019 at 3:57 pm
Joe’s Livin in the past…..
Will we miss JPPs productivity and demeanor on the field? (Assuming he is out at least a few games to start the year) Of Course – any team in the league would miss what JPP brings on the field.
But we are no longer in the situation where if the “next man up” at DE isn’t getting it done – then we’re screwed.
Bowles will bring pressure from every gap with every position group involved.
OLBers will be rushing the passer from one side or the other (or both) at least 50% of all rush plays.
You might see 10 blitzes from CBs and Safeties in one game – and 9 ILB blitzes the next…
The Bucs defense will now be actually scheming towards the opponents they face – with multiple moving pieces.
The in-game chess like maneuvering we will see on the field will be a welcome change from the weekly inability to adjust that plagued the Lovie and Smitty schemes and (save for a 5 game stretch in 2016 and a few decent games under Schiano) has drug this franchise with it into the basement – basically ever since the very day in early Dec 2008 that Monte Kiffen announced he was leaving OBP.
I understand why its hard for many fans to be hopeful this time of year after 10 straight years of watching mostly sucky Buccaneers defenses take the field torpedoing any chance of post season during that entire stretch….
Todd Bowles and his defensive staff under BAs guidance – are literally the Cavalry for this franchise folks.
Watch and see what a difference “scheme” and “coaching” makes for this Defense!
Adding FIVE young, hungry, FAST, cheap rookies to the mix with our first 5 picks in the draft (including a likely future All Pro level MLB to run the defense on the field) didn’t hurt none…..
May 16th, 2019 at 5:01 pm
The best pass rusher on the team is David – if the coaches actually use him that way he’ll produce some great numbers.
May 16th, 2019 at 6:14 pm
LMAO here. Somebody suggested our best pass rusher will be Bita Vea? God help us. I hope Vita gets his weight down by at least 20 more pounds. Lay off the Oreos bro.
May 16th, 2019 at 11:17 pm
Without GMC and JPP this team is in the tank. They better hope that they can find a few good vets off of the waiver wires or our DLine is toast.