Pass Rush Needed Against Lions — Or Else
January 20th, 2024
Must get to Jared Goff.
For one NFL analyst, the way the Bucs can beat the Lions is simple. However, executing this task is anything but simple.
The Bucs must pressure Lions quarterback Jared Goff. If not, the Bucs will have to win in a shootout.
That’s the word from X’s and O’s guy Matt Bowen of BSPN. Goff, Bowen points out, is a bad quarterback when he is rattled. Therefore, the Bucs must find a way somehow to rattle Goff.
If not, it’s time to start worrying about free agency, which begins in less than two months.
Tampa Bay registered a blitz rate of 59% in the wild-card win over Philadelphia and has some of the best pressure concepts in the league, with schemed pass-rushers from the second and third levels to create overload looks. You’ll see linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and slot corners all get in on the pass rush. Bowles can attack the Lions’ protection fronts and create open pass-rush lanes. The Bucs must force Goff — who had a 23rd-ranked 10.0 QBR against pressure this season — to move in the pocket and speed up his clock.
Can the Bucs do this?
Well, in Week 6 the Bucs sacked Goff three times and got three hits on him. Per Pro-Football-Reference.com, the Bucs were the seventh-worst team this season generating quarterback pressures (17.6 percent of opposing QBs’ dropbacks).
Joe isn’t sure how Todd Bowles is supposed to generate something from very little but if anyone can hatch a scheme to make Goff feel heat it would be Bowles. Plus, as has been trumpted on SiriusXM NFL Radio all week, Goff is great against the blitz and is one of the least-blitzed QBs in the league as a result.
Now would be a good time for Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett to rise up. In the past eight games, he has had one quarterback hit and half a sack.
Shaq did have two quarterback pressures last week, his first in three weeks. So maybe he’s beginning to come back to life.
January 20th, 2024 at 2:08 pm
Playoff Joey?
January 20th, 2024 at 2:12 pm
Kancey made a Pro Bowl Guard look silly (at times) last game. Hopefully we’ll see more of that in the Sh!thole City.
January 20th, 2024 at 2:16 pm
I believe Kancey played very little in the earlier Detroit game but still had 1 sack. I don’t have the snap count but Yaya wasn’t starting back then either.
January 20th, 2024 at 2:16 pm
Let’s teach the Lions “The Den of Depression”.
I literally want to see fans crying.
January 20th, 2024 at 2:21 pm
Shaq is gonna have to re-do that fat contract if he wants to be here next year. Not enough production for 1M a game
January 20th, 2024 at 2:35 pm
They better be careful not to blitz like they did with the chiefs. The lions will deploy hurry up when we stack the box if they are smart.
January 20th, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Put a spy on Goff. Bowles is having a ball putting this game plan together. I notice all the big guns are starting. Plus, Godzilla14 has a score to settle with a certain loudmouth Lions DB. Go Cardiac Bucs! Joe, when you going to write about Special Teams? Game Day tomorrow?
January 20th, 2024 at 3:02 pm
Nice day for Shaq to come alive.
January 20th, 2024 at 3:04 pm
Barrett has been a shell of himself, coming back from the Achilles…& out played by JTS…That’s not a compliment to JTS’s improvement either. It an indictment on the below average play from both of the Bucs primary edge-olb’s
January 20th, 2024 at 3:27 pm
Remember the Rams playoff game a few years ago? Stafford was one of the best QBs against the blitz, so what did TB do…blitzed and blitzed and blitzed some more. And we all know how that turned out. So when we blitz, we better have our T’s crossed and our I’s dotted, or it could be a long afternoon!
Go Bucs!!
January 20th, 2024 at 3:34 pm
Hopefully little to NO zone. Putting McCollum at safety was effing genius, allows the other DB;s to play man
January 20th, 2024 at 3:54 pm
Bucs defense will keep them in the game. I’d like to see two turnovers. One being a pick six by Zyon. The rest will come down to the offense.
January 20th, 2024 at 3:56 pm
If the defense plays it’s A game the Bucs have a very good chance. I’m not confident enough in Bowles or Canales to keep the throttle down like Eagles, Jags, Packers games. I think we need to hold the Campbells to 19 max.
Double Amon Rah St Brown and drug Laporta in the locker room before the game. He’s the dude I worry about the most. Todd always sucks against good tight ends and this guy is Kelce-esque.
January 20th, 2024 at 3:57 pm
Id like to know what those pressure rates were the last 8 games, Im guessing we were way better than 17th, week 6 was a long time ago, now our rookies are seasoned, our QB WRs n OC are seasoned, and we have dominated QBs other than our yearly NO collapse
January 20th, 2024 at 4:26 pm
Time to start Nelson….
January 20th, 2024 at 4:28 pm
Definitely not the same defense the Lions saw in week 6. I know that vs the Eagles the first time around, literally every time they sent more than 5 players, they played zone defense – which was absolutely killing the team. That same defense was in effect in week 6. This time around, I believe you’ll see a lot more man – which should mean when you get pressure, the QB won’t have an easy outlet pass to a guy standing wide open because the zone was so soft and so sloppy. Yes, you will get guys beat that way, but you’ll also make some plays and force bad throws to end drives, or perhaps lead to turnovers.
In any case, I just hope to God that Bowles stays aggressive and doesn’t go into a shell, or think he’s outsmarting anyone by changing up what is working as of late. If you’re going to go down, go down swinging, not playing passive ball like the Rams did where they’re punting from their 45 with 4 minutes left when everyone with a brain knew the Lions would run the clock out.
January 20th, 2024 at 4:50 pm
The strength of the Lions is the O-line. Ragnow, Decker and Sewell were all R1 picks that panned out, think Jonah J was R3 or something. Aaron Donald got manhandled last week
January 20th, 2024 at 5:31 pm
First meeting neither team could run the ball. White was shut down receiving out of the backfield. Montgomery went out injured after his first target went for 19 yards. Lions Rookie Gibbs did not play and is their biggest threat out of the backfield and will keep the edge
This game will come down to the most productive backfield and which QB can produce when the quick routes are not there and they have to work for their yards.
January 20th, 2024 at 5:36 pm
So do we blitz a QB who is good under pressure ? Hurts wasn’t good against the blitz and Bowles blitz him like crazy and it worked
January 20th, 2024 at 6:47 pm
Buckeyebuckchuck Says:
January 20th, 2024 at 4:50 pm
The strength of the Lions is the O-line. Ragnow, Decker and Sewell were all R1 picks that panned out, think Jonah J was R3 or something. Aaron Donald got manhandled last week
True. Our 4-man rush will probably not do much save for a lucky play. If Bowles can get creative with some timely overload blitzes, we might have a chance to rattle Goff a few times. IF our D-line can win their matchups, we have a real chance to win this game.
January 20th, 2024 at 6:51 pm
Speaking of Ragnow, he’s by far the strongest center in the league. Remember Akiem Hicks – 330 or so? Miller and Kirwan said on SiriusXM this week that they saw Ragnow push Hicks 7 yards deep, then pick him and slam him.
That’s incredibly impressive, so it’ll be an interesting matchup with Ragnow and Vea. Love to see Vea bullrush Ragnow or toss him around – that’d be epic.
Anyway, done with my man-strength rant… Go Bucs ! ! !
January 20th, 2024 at 7:04 pm
Bucs 20, Lions17. Upset city. They are jelling at the rite time. Go Bucs!!!!!!!
January 20th, 2024 at 8:14 pm
The defensive lineman should be sitting in their hotel tonight and saying “if we have to blitz to get to golf, then we should go home and apologize to our parents for embarrassing them.”
Tryon needs to feel it.
Davis and Dean need to reclaim respect.
Devin is auditioning for a new town. Put it on tape.
January 20th, 2024 at 8:55 pm
Sad moment, Shaq has been so unproductive this year Joe doesn’t have a pic of Shaq wearing no. 7
January 20th, 2024 at 11:57 pm
Ratttle Goff!
The Book on him since day one! We can beat these guys like a drum!
Go Bucs!
January 21st, 2024 at 2:43 am
This game and this run (if there is one) is all about Kancy and YaYa playing this year like we hope they will next year. They need to have evolved into something we haven’t fully understood them to be yet. McCollum, too.
January 21st, 2024 at 11:16 am
Bucs pass rush is the biggest key to the game. Bowles must devise ways for his defense to get to Golf. Because he can pinpoint targets with time. We gotta put pressure on him If not? Its gonna be a real long day at the office for us.
January 21st, 2024 at 1:04 pm
Shaqs contract is up.
So is Jensens.
So is Brady’s.
So is Gage’s.
However,
Winfield. Top tier salary.
Wirfs. Top tier salary.
White. Adios.
David. Re-signed.
Evans. Top Tier money.
Mayfield? Franchise tag.
Neal. Bye.
Feiler. Bye.
Free agency? Nope. In house signings only.
And hopefully, another solid draft.