Backups Are Backups For A Reason
November 16th, 2021
Blitzes improve, but…
Regular readers here have seen Joe type the following phrase rather often this season when referring to the struggles of Bucs corners.
“Backups are backups for a reason.”
It’s unreasonable to expect backups to play at the same level as starters, unless the starter is truly horrid. These backups largely are not good enough to start for a Super Bowl champion. They either are too inconsistent or just don’t have the game.
If they could start, they would for another team where they would earn more scratch. So earlier this season when the Bucs corners were dropping like empty cans of Big Storm Brewing beers at Joe’s crib while watching college football on a Saturday, the Bucs had to rely on guys not quite as quick, not quite as good or not quite as consistent to fill the gaps.
You know, backups.
Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com dug up a NextGen stat that shows the Bucs’ blitzes Sunday were working. Against the slimy Saints two weeks ago, not one resulted in pressure on a quarterback, forget sacks.
Well, it seems, at least for one game, the problems getting pressure on blitzes has been corrected. However, it shines a floodlight on the secondary.
[Washington quarterback Taylor] Heinicke had 37 dropbacks in Sunday’s game on which he threw or was sacked before he could get the ball away. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Buccaneers sent five or more defenders into the backfield on 11 of those plays, or 29.7% of the total. And to some degree, it worked! Tampa Bay got three of their five sacks on those 11 “blitzes,” all among the eight plays in which it sent just one extra man.
Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, Heinicke completed every pass he was able to get off against the blitz, going 8-8 for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Now this is just sad. It was feast or famine for the Bucs’ blitz. If they didn’t get to Heinicke, he completed his pass. That tells Joe the backup corners couldn’t cover.
And with Richard Sherman down for who knows how long and backup Dee Delaney in concussion protocol, the Bucs once again will have to dig deep in their closets for backup corners.
Backups are backups for a reason.
There is only so much magic Todd Bowles can use before backups get exposed and Joe is convinced that is what is going on here. So one could suggest this may not improve a whole lot until Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting return.
Your guess when that happens is as good as Joe’s (Davis was healthy enough to travel with the team to Washington so that was a good sign).
November 16th, 2021 at 10:10 am
Pete wonders if Danny Dimes torches our defense on Monday Night. I’m very nervous says Pete
November 16th, 2021 at 10:18 am
Ummm what about scheme? Are they gonna change their scheme when the starting corners come back? I mean come on now. Laying off the receiver about 10 yards is not a recipe for success. You gotta be physical on defense.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:18 am
And if our starters come back, they will look like Jamel Dean did. Kind of like a rusty gate swinging in the breeze.
The way to make it easier for them is a better pass rush. If that is true, why is Shaq Barrett drifting into pass coverage so often, he should be pass rushing.
Better yet, have him drop back a few steps and then pass rush. Maybe then he can get there.
All in all, I am underwhelmed by all phases of this defense, though it is better than special teams.
Fix it quick, the Giants are a very opportunistic team and will make you pay dearly for such garbage.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:19 am
@Craig the giants have more weapons than washington. They made washington look like a top 5 offense. Joke. They better fix it quickly . Frankly this is a must win game.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:22 am
That’s part of the problem with the Buc defense. The Bucs play soft zone, which provides opposing QBs with easy short to intermediate completions. Less time to throw, hence less time for defenders to successfully apply pressure to the QB.
You really can’t hide these CBs. They’re career special teamers and street free agents.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:24 am
Dimes and every other QB we play are going to torch our defense. That’s why we need our offense to get back on track
November 16th, 2021 at 10:24 am
I wanna know why bunting is still out? The guy has been out for 2 months and a a couple of weeks. He should be healthy by now. The giants might put up 40 points.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:26 am
PassingThru are they gonna play that way when they get their starting corners back? In this league you gonna be able to play some man coverage. Zone will get destroyed much of the time without a pass rush.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:30 am
i would rather them play press man and blitz every down and make them hit the home runs then continue this soft zone. ya they will score on long throws every once in awhile but we should be able to get more turnovers too. what they are playing just isnt working and something has to change… even with our starting CB’s in there the soft zone doesn’t work
November 16th, 2021 at 10:31 am
Starters should be starters for a reason……some guys aint showin it.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:32 am
Joe
“(Davis was healthy enough to travel with the team to Washington so that was a good sign)”
That’s good stuff to finally hear a little Davis info. Please keep it coming my man.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:33 am
It is a shame you can watch other teams backups and they seem to do ok. And if you think SMB will make a difference good luck. Burnt and another flag magnet. That is who they will target just like Dean.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:33 am
And that’s exactly what they will do. To expect Brady to ring up 50 points each game is unreasonable, even for him. You can’t expect a mule to win a Kentucky Derby. Forcing guys to play a defense they can’t play is suicide.
November 16th, 2021 at 10:36 am
@Francisco Guzman
I would expect change once they get back Davis and Murphy-Bunting. The soft zone is a reflection that Bowles doesn’t trust these CBs, which is very understandable; I’d like to see less padding, but Bowles knows their limitations better than I do. When the starting CBs return, you’ll see more man defense mixed in with the zone, and less padding. I think the blitzing percentage will also go down a bit. I think the blitzes are an attempt to cover the deficiencies of the CBs, but the league has figured that out, just counter with short to intermediate routes using 3 to 4 wide-outs.
The Bucs are #2 in the NFL in terms of blitzing per snap, while being just average at applying pressure to the QB. That’s a serious problem. Some of that might be age and injury, some of that is due to QBs getting rid of the ball quicker to counter this defense.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:12 am
Dude had a dislocated elbow. Bruce Arians said yesterday he still doesn’t have full function of his arm.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:35 am
I totally understand that backups are just that for a reason. So I don’t know who but they should have tried to get someone at the trade deadline(maybe they did and we just don’t know). Either way it doesn’t take a genius to see that the current strategy isn’t working. Hell all I’m asking is to bring the DB closer and stop with the 10yd cushion. Give to the poor guy a fighting chance if he can’t play true press man. Condense everything down when was the last time we actually gave up a long pass? We’re being killed by the short and intermediate stuff combined with the run after catch.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:40 am
Licht rolled the dice that he could get to the bye week without needing to trade for a corner. Remember that up until the trade deadline, the defense was getting by OK (except for the Saints game which happened two days before the deadline).
The Bucs almost made it. SMB is back to practicing (but apparently not yet ready to play). Arians also claims Carlton Davis is “getting close.” You can define that how you wish.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:47 am
@Joe it must have been a terríble dislocation. It’s been two months and almost 2 weeks. Usually it takes that same amount of time or less.
November 16th, 2021 at 11:56 am
Joe it’s been two months and a couple of weeks almost. He should be ready.
November 16th, 2021 at 12:06 pm
Also have to remember we only know what the team tells us about injuries. SMB could have had ligament damage or a fracture of some sort or something else along with the dislocated elbow. Do know maybe three weeks ago he was still in an arm brace.
November 16th, 2021 at 12:43 pm
Joe, so the CB’s played better against Dallas & Atlanta?
November 16th, 2021 at 12:45 pm
You are equating Trevor Siemian and Taylor Heinicke with Dak Prescott and Matty Ice??? The only similarity between Siemian/Taylor and Prescott/Matty Ice is that they are all right-handed.
November 16th, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Cut Sherman. He’s been out since day 1 w this injury then that injury. He’s a worthless pickup.
November 16th, 2021 at 1:16 pm
Well, what everybody should be figuring out by now is that the stars truly aligned for us last year. Brees was a shell of himself when we played them., Rodgers did what he does best in losing NFC championship games, and the Chiefs had no offensive line.
November 16th, 2021 at 2:25 pm
Devin White is very effective at getting to the quarterback, perhaps more of this.
Some quarterbacks match up against our defense really well, Heinecke is one of them. It does not mean they all do–so many factors including the other team’s offensive line. Joe please do a breakdown of what to expect with the Giants versus our defense.
November 16th, 2021 at 2:41 pm
One sure-fire way for our DBs not allowing pass completions is to keep them off the field. Our offense has to put drives together that eat up clock and result in TDs. Our offense will have to carry the D until we get our starters back, and the offense has failed in that regard the last two games.
November 16th, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Joe what is the difference starting CB’s and starting Qb’s to backup CB’s to backup Qb’s?
November 16th, 2021 at 4:27 pm
If you’re 8 for 8 for 81 yards and a TD, the blitzes are by definition, not working.
November 16th, 2021 at 5:29 pm
The Pats lead the league in interceptions, and they traded away their best corner. Excuses are like you know what, everybody has one. Someone goes down in the secondary the Bucs have to bring in a half dead vet, Sherman. That’s being lazy. Are the backups that bad, or is the coaching not getting them to perform well? Like I said, doesn’t seem to matter who the Pats put back there, their secondary is always solid. Earn your raise Bowles.
November 16th, 2021 at 6:22 pm
I’ve been watching for almost 60 years and i’ve never seen so many injuries. especially at the same damn position. Could it be a lack of training? Or maybe they play so deep that the receivers are going 100 MPH by the time they get to the corners hahahaha