Zone Blues
November 24th, 2020
The Bucs’ trio of cornerbacks is displaying a disturbing lack of improvement in zone coverage.
Week after week, bad things happen when the Bucs play zone. Shouldn’t it be getting better?
It’s really not too much to expect. Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting are second-year players. They’re hard workers and they have the athleticism required to be versatile.
Why aren’t they figuring out zone coverage?
Carlton Davis is marginally better in zone, but he still seems like a fish out of water when compared to his man-coverage game.
Todd Bowles was a defensive back and knows the position about as well as anyone in football. So Joe is flummoxed, and Joe’s head is hurt from banging it against the wall when the Bucs go to a three-man rush.
Yeah, that works at times, but Jared Goff just completed 77 percent of his passes.
Joe warned on the Ira Kaufman Podcast that the Rams duo of Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp were a bad fit for the Bucs with their underneath and zone skills, and they were the first healthy and super-dangerous tandem they had seen in a long time.
Next up is a very different threat in the Chiefs receiving corps. Joe hopes the Bucs figure it out in a hurry.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:19 am
Joe, I agree that the zone defence we continually put out there is being picked apart. But the lack of pressure from the front 4 is even more concerning. Was Goff knocked on his ass even once tonight? His jersey looked pretty clean
November 24th, 2020 at 12:19 am
Joe lets be honest we’re in trouble next week. We’re not getting to QBs and KC has weapons everywhere along with an OC who can draw up plays and scheme guys open. Oh yeah then that have that QB who is deadly accurate and can run as well. Smh
It’s going to take a complete game for us to win
November 24th, 2020 at 12:20 am
Here’s why they’re not good at zone – it’s an outdated way to play defense in the NFL today. Especially the majority of the time.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:21 am
This just in Joe. They don’t cover well in man either. All the draft picks Licht spent on DB’s instead of the trenches, and you saw the result tonight. Our corners are average at best. Licht hasn’t drafted a pro bowl corner in six years, and likely never will.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:21 am
#23 is hot garbage.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:22 am
@Bangkok
You nailed it sir.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:22 am
That d line would make it difficult for any DBs
November 24th, 2020 at 12:23 am
I feel we matchup better against the Chiefs because their defense is suspect…..won’t put near as much pressure on Brady….
We could win, but would be a shoot-out………….38-35
November 24th, 2020 at 12:24 am
History has shown us they won’t.
I can’t figure out who is more stubborn: Bowles or Leftwich. Honestly not sure.
At the least the defense played a good 2nd half though. Real good actually. But enough with the zone. Can’t even get pressure when rushing 4, why keep trying?
All the offense did was crap away multiple opportunities after turnovers, with Brady throwing some of the ugliest and most pathetic interceptions I’ve seen in a while. He looked like a true freshman out there.
At least when a Jameis threw ones that ugly, it was because he was being hit or the call was bouncing off a receivers hands.
But hey good thing we mortgaged our entire future on a 43 year old
Quarterback.
#MikeEvansDeservesBetter
#ChrisGodwinDeservesBetter
#JPPDeservesBetter
November 24th, 2020 at 12:25 am
I saw Suh playing zone coverage twice 😡
November 24th, 2020 at 12:25 am
Not sure what you’re seeing out there to give you hope that this team can hang with the chiefs.
Mahomes is accurate, mobile, throws dimes on the run.
Tom Brady’s accuracy hasn’t been there all season, multiple times Early in games he has missed easy throws. Brady got outplayed in 3 straight games by Brees, Bridgewater and Goff. Yes Bridgewater would do more with the weapons bucs have than Brady.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:26 am
Murphy Bunting is flat out not an NFL CB.
Yet, he’s not even the biggest problem on defense. No pass rush, bad zone schemes, misusing players, etc……
Top 10 defense my bleep.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:26 am
I seriously think we’ll get back on track. All prime times are are done, and we played pretty well tonight, definitely not the outcome we wanted, but? What if that’s the outcome to keep going forward? I truly think it is!!!!
November 24th, 2020 at 12:26 am
What has happened to Shaq???
This is a contract year for him. Guy is a bigger one hit wonder than Dexy’s Midnight Runners
November 24th, 2020 at 12:28 am
Shaq has been a focus this year. However, he’s also been a beast just like JPP!
November 24th, 2020 at 12:34 am
With the losses, I’m so happy to have Brady under center. Our team is still learning what playing under the lights means. So happy we don’t have anymore and we can get back to making this team the best! We have our four losses and it’s time to turn it on! Playoffs here we come!!!!!!
November 24th, 2020 at 12:34 am
I miss vita.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:37 am
We have really cleaned up the penalties since the Chicago game….Last six
O-4-3-5-3-2 That’s an average of 2.7 per game
Tonight the defense had 2 penalties for 7 yards but they were costly.
The offense had zero penalties…..Congrats to the team on their efforts to clean things up.
November 24th, 2020 at 12:44 am
When SMB, Whitehead, Winfield have 26 tackles between them….you know zone isn’t working.
November 24th, 2020 at 1:50 am
after dean took that hit, he looked like he didn’t even know where he was while on the sidelines…
prolly in protocol next week
November 24th, 2020 at 1:52 am
come to think of it, from what someone said above…^^^^^
was goff even touched by the defense tonight?…
i think he went untouched by the defense for an entire 60 minutes…
that’s freakin’ wild…
maybe jpp got a hand on him here and there
November 24th, 2020 at 3:15 am
Dude, soft zones on 3rd down is HOT! Just sit back, play soft, let guys get their easy 15 yards – that gives them a new set of downs and then Bowles can blitz again on 1st and 2nd down! It’s brilliant, this is how you get more blitzes on the stat sheet.
November 24th, 2020 at 3:33 am
KC is going to put up 48 next week. The offense better come ready to play.
November 24th, 2020 at 7:05 am
These past few yrs of loading up on defensive backs in draft and this is what we still have, sporadic play at best. I’m so sick and tired of them grabbing more corners in draft. However, it would help a lot if the d-line got pressure on Goff. Which they didn’t, all night. Shaw isn’t a guy to use up a lot of your cap on. JPP is older and injured, Suh is older and won’t be back. Nelson is invisible. McClendon won’t be back and don’t make me laugh with Noches. The Bucs have some very tough/hard decisions to make on guys to resign – because the reality is the Bucs need to rebuild the entire defensive front. You don’t win the super bowl when your best players are wide receivers, which by the way – weren’t exactly spending all night being wide ass open
November 24th, 2020 at 8:27 am
These are cover corners! Not putting sh!t on SMB until they stop running this Smitty zone minus one on the blitz.
November 24th, 2020 at 9:35 am
Trouble is that whilst they may struggle in zone, this bucs defense is worse in man coverage.
November 24th, 2020 at 2:29 pm
Jameel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting have lost their confidence.
They were playing confident at the beginning of the year.
Our biggest problem, is that our entire secondary is soooo young.
There isn’t a Veteran voice to calm them down, when things go bad.
Don’t underestimate the importance of A vet’s calming influence.
Our kids panic, and then play “safe”.
That doesn’t work in an NFL secondary.
November 24th, 2020 at 10:05 pm
You can’t draft guys who excel in man and struggle in zone and then just expect that they’ll become good in zone. It’s an instinct thing. Whatever happened to “this coaching staff plays to their strengths and doesn’t try to jam square pegs into round holes”? Same old crap as the last staff.