“Neuro-Responsibility” And Front-7 Success
August 18th, 2023
A major Buccaneers priority this season is repairing their run defense that fell from historically good in 2019 and 2020 to strong in 2021 and subpar in 2022.
Two Bucs think a step was taken in that direction during Wednesday’s 10-round fight against the Jets.
“Pretty on point. I think a couple runs got out, but that’s something we can fix easily,” Lavonte David told Joe after practice. “… For the most part pretty solid.”
Joe can’t say the same about the Bucs’ pass defense in that practice, though the pass rush was exceptional.
Head coach Todd Bowles sort of praised the run defense against the Jets in code yesterday when Joe asked him to name names when came to stating who stood out on film Wednesday.
“I thought as a group, our front-7 kind of got better as a whole. They played together, so that was important for me,” Bowles said.
Joe’s taking that as code for quality run defense, especially considering the pass rush was thriving against the Jets as a four-man unit.
David praised the overall work against the Jets, in part because of the presence of their quarterback. The defense was no longer working and adjusting against Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield. It was future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers changing plays and reacting.
“Definitely challenges your neuro-responsibility and stuff like that. Your communication has to kick in looking at different things from him and his adjustments,” David said. “Definitely great work. It’s obvious right away it’s not an average quarterback back there.”
Joe loved when David said “neuro-responsibility.” Hey, it may be a new word, but it fits.
The first sneak peek of the starting defense was a winner. Expect the next one to come not Saturday night, but against the Ravens next week at The Licht House in the season dress rehearsal game.
August 18th, 2023 at 10:32 am
YaYa needs to start as soon as coaches think he’s ready- the man’s a disrupter
August 18th, 2023 at 10:34 am
I DO think the defense, barring injuries, will be top ten this year. Which, of course, might save Bowles job (depending on how much damage Mayfield does).
August 18th, 2023 at 10:51 am
NOt concerned on D actually….I trust Bowles on that area 100%…
Main concern is the other side of the ball.
OL is a mystery, so as the TE position and running game……WR we are good, and praying ME13 or CG don´t go down
August 18th, 2023 at 11:41 am
Zz feel the same. Defense was close to top 10 last year in some categories. I think they deff improved with just the addition of the LB coach we got from Dallas. Then the FA addition. Looks like we might have some rookies make some impact too so overall our D should be stout. Bout the only credit I will give bowels his defenses are good and the the year we won the Super Bowl they played lights out in the post season.
August 18th, 2023 at 11:42 am
I agree. I think the Buc’s defense will be rather stout this year, barring injuries. O-line and QB play are the main areas of concern. I think the RB game will reflect how well the o-line is performing as a unit rather than the quality of our RBs.
August 18th, 2023 at 11:44 am
Did Lavonte just call Mayfield and Trask average?
August 18th, 2023 at 12:00 pm
^^^^^Is there any question about that?
August 18th, 2023 at 2:15 pm
When he spoke of neuroresponsibility I thought he was talking about avoiding concussions.
August 18th, 2023 at 2:39 pm
Joe, the second preseason game is the dress rehearsal, not the last. Reed, Tomlin, are playing their starters this week. No one plays their starters the last preseason game, what are you talking about?
August 18th, 2023 at 2:51 pm
Lavonte, did finish his college studies at Nebraska a couple years ago, and got his degree. It was a big event for him, (I remember it) for personal reasons.
Now he uses fancy $5 words sometimes, lol
August 18th, 2023 at 3:40 pm
Hodad, I would not expect many Buc starters to play Sat night either. This is the Todd Bowles way. Why? ????
August 18th, 2023 at 5:03 pm
You lose Suh and JPP, that’s gonna hurt quite a bit.
However, I think the 2021 run defense was still living off the rep of the 2020 run defense. Teams, needing to score points to keep up with the Bucs, rarely ran that much – but teams that wanted to run, did. Last year, with Arians not there to run the offense and keep them aggressive, the Bucs didn’t score points, other teams didn’t have to throw as much, and the run defense was exposed.
But I don’t care about run defense. It’s 2023, good teams throw the football, while loser teams like the Bears and Falcons run the football. I’d much rather the team be a top tier pass defense than worry about run defense. Another team who thought that? The 2002 Bucs, with the best pass defense in the history of football. They weren’t bad against the run, but they weren’t the best, and didn’t need to be when they could shut down any passer.
August 18th, 2023 at 5:33 pm
With great brain power, comes great neuro-responsibility.
August 18th, 2023 at 6:45 pm
Ummm who on the Bucs staff exhibits great brain power? Wasn’t there last season. There are some significant coach changes so hope the composite IQ has increased. Time will tell.
August 19th, 2023 at 3:19 am
Somewhere Ira is cringing. LOL
Neuro What?
Pass rush progress? I hear Shaq is looking solid and JTS appears to have a new attitude. LFG!
Go Bucs!
August 19th, 2023 at 4:33 am
I still love a good LB vs QB chess match. Lavonte David is such a class act. Hoping Devin White has reached the thinking mans game this year, so he is more than a pointed bullet. We heard so much about Sirvocea Dennis in camp and then saw a lost puppy IMO. The game changes under the lights for some, and we need Dennis to be more than a young Darden, who always looked 12 to me. Not saying Dennis looks 12, just played like a 12 year old.
So disappointing.