Sad Pressure Rate
June 8th, 2024
Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyina.
Joe will keep harping on this until or unless the Bucs resolve it.
“It” is the Bus pass rush. And last year it was just sad.
(#NFLMedia seems to think the Bucs haven’t done enough this offseason to replace Shaq Barrett and a guy drafted No. 5 overall largely because he could rush the passer, Devin White. What exactly do the Bucs have to replace, their names? Aside from their names, you didn’t know they were on the roster because they had such minimal impact.)
How bad was the Bucs’ pass rush? Well, pressure is often a subjective stat. How close do you have to be to a quarterback to have a quarterback pressure? Well, NextGen Stats knows because they have GPS data from sensors in players’ equipment and the football. They can be exact.
Per NextGen, the Bucs had the 10th-worst pressure rate in the NFL last year, the only team in the bottom 10 to make the playoffs.
In fact, of the 12 worst teams in pressure rate, only the Bucs made the playoffs. Tampa Bay finished 23rd overall in pressure rate. Of the 14 playoff teams, 12 finished in the top half of the league in pressure rate.
So yeah, finding a pass rush is sort of important.
This, just like sacks from an edge rusher, must improve if the Bucs are going to advance to an NFC title game or beyond.
Graphic from NFL.com.
June 8th, 2024 at 11:08 am
Yup, sacks are only 1 piece of the puzzle.
Without more consistent pressure on the QB, this team will struggle to get more than 9 wins.
June 8th, 2024 at 11:10 am
Package JTS and Godwin and trade for Joey Bosa…works for both teams
June 8th, 2024 at 11:23 am
Randy Gregory is pur savior?? Right?? Riiiiight?? Hahaha
June 8th, 2024 at 11:33 am
In playoffs last year, Bucs had same number of sacks as 49ers, who played 2 more games. But 49ers had 5 turnovers compared to Bucs’ 1.
Bucs addressed both secondary and pass rush through free agency and draft.
We’ll see if changes make a significant difference.
A healthy Kancey and Vea will do wonders for pressuring opponents’ QB’s.
June 8th, 2024 at 12:20 pm
I’m with joe we need a legit pass rusher and there were a few out there that we could have gotten. Here’s the thing tho the Bucs have bin trying to find one via draft. JTS HALL KANCEY YAYA NELSON and there’s more some have bin high draft picks and some not. I get they want to build thru the draft but like we are seeing with JTS and hall it doesn’t always work out thru the draft so sometimes you gotta go get them via trade or FA light JPP and Shaq. Bucs have bin trying JOE
June 8th, 2024 at 12:22 pm
JTS has no know that this is his last chance right? I have read prior, on this web site, that Bowles will be using JTS in a joker roll. That makes perfect sense (not being sarcastic) YaYa took his starting job and the Bucs drafted a potential (dirty word, I know) beast in Braswell. JTS is, if nothing else, athletic.
June 8th, 2024 at 12:35 pm
Yeah it was the worst pressure rate in Bowles career with the Bucs. The last two seasons specifically have seen a big decrease in pressure. His defenses ranked 12th in 2019 then jumped to top 3 in 20 & 21 before dropping to 16th in 22 and then 23rd last year. It happens when your top picks on defense don’t work out like you planned.
June 8th, 2024 at 1:16 pm
The genius often has very poorly disguised blitz packages that are so telegraphed that RaybCharles would know who is rushing the passer.
Players are very important, but so too is taking a player like JTS or Logan’s Hall and coaching them up hard. Come early. Stay late. Stop making the same mistakes over and over. I don’t expect anything to change other than maybe Yaya, Kancey and a more fit Vita bring it up a few notches.
June 8th, 2024 at 1:21 pm
Stats for losers
Bucs were 7th in sacks pressure oh please!!!
I’ve seen Brady carve teams under pressure
Any good NFL qb manages pressure
Get sacks!!!!
June 8th, 2024 at 1:24 pm
Pass Rush. Pass Rush will take this team as far as it is effective. This is a Good Team already. Let’s get Baked!
June 8th, 2024 at 1:31 pm
Yeah, JTS is meh at best and Hall just plain stinks. Diaby looks like he might just amount to something, though. Watts is a pleasant surprise too. If Brasswell works out we are in good shape.
June 8th, 2024 at 2:09 pm
Fantastic article Joe. Nice to see that you’re slowing coming around that yes, PRESSURES are important. Sacks be better because they end the play, but still, pressures are important. Can’t wait to read your upcoming article on the importance of turnovers in today’s NFL.
Bucs had the worst year last season in terms of pressures since before Todd Bowles became our DC … 136 pressures (2023) vs 144 pressures in 2022, vs 224 pressures in 2021, vs 193 pressures in 2020, vs 186 pressures in 2019. Those are very significant drops in 2023 & 2022.
Vita Vea was here all those years, as was Devin White & Shaq Barrett (their combined production was way down in 2022 & 2023 compared to what the 3 of them did in 2019, 2020 & 2021). Bucs also had 3 players in 2019-2021 who left the team after 2021: Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul & Jordan Whitehead. Those were huge losses. They contributed significant numbers of QB pressures and were replaced by players who contributed far fewer pressures. Kinda makes sense that our 2022 & 2023 pressures were down significantly when the quality of defensive talent (especially on the DLine) decreases as much as ours did in 2022.
June 8th, 2024 at 2:14 pm
Suh is still ready and able to play-Show him the money$$
June 8th, 2024 at 2:15 pm
The losses of JPP and Suh in particular were devastating to Todd’s defense. Suh is a genius in his own right and JPP was not going to let anyone slack. Their performance combined with veteran leadership is sorely missed.
We rode them both until expiration but, man, could we use their clones now.
June 8th, 2024 at 2:17 pm
Bowles played a lot of soft coverages last year with zones. When he starts using m2m more the pressures will increase through extra blitzers.
Bucs defense last year lacked pressure from the front seven and the back end couldn’t force coverage sacks/turnovers.
So it was a failure by the defense top to bottom.
June 8th, 2024 at 2:22 pm
Dave Pear … ‘Players are very important, but so too is taking a player like JTS or Logan’s Hall and coaching them up hard. Come early. Stay late.’
A Bucs Fan … ‘It happens when your top picks on defense don’t work out like you planned.’
And why is that Bucs Fan? Is it because of poor coaching like genius Dave Pear contends, or is it because replacing veteran HOF talents like Suh & JPP with rookies like Hall & JTS is a no-win exchange? Wonder if it could have anything to do with Shaq’s injury in 2022? Nah, that must be Todd Bowles’ fault also.
June 8th, 2024 at 2:43 pm
Dave Pear … ‘The losses of JPP and Suh in particular were devastating to Todd’s defense.’
Nice to see you acknowledge that MAYBE it wasn’t ALL Todd Bowles’ fault. Veteran leadership AND performance on the field is huge, and no one stepped up to fill their shoes … yet. Those 2 set the tone, just like Ryan Jensen did on our OLine.
June 8th, 2024 at 3:00 pm
JTS brings up an interesting juxtaposition of two Bucs players.
Drafted in the first round in 2021, JTS is soon getting a fourth season of starting to prove himself despite, shall we say, less than stellar production. Oddly, there has been almost no criticism of JTS on this board.
Drafted in the second round in 2021, would Kyle Trask have been given four seasons to prove himself? Or, would the FSU hyenas have howled for his release after the first miscue?
Interesting, no?
June 8th, 2024 at 3:12 pm
Jack Mullins: JTS gets criticized all the time on here, a few times on this thread alone.
Good points, Defense Rules.
June 8th, 2024 at 3:22 pm
Well Calijah is going to amazing this season. Then Yaya, JTS, Hall, and Gregory and etc should theoretically be dramatically better at getting to QB because of Calijah. Sounds good right…um prove it Bucs.
June 8th, 2024 at 3:24 pm
Didn’t the Bucs get 48 sacks last year? Tied for 7th? If JTS knew how to finish and actually sack the QB when he’s right there it may have been 3 or 4 more sacks. I’m not making excuses for JTS, I’ve pretty much given up hope that he’ll actually learn how to finish.
June 8th, 2024 at 3:29 pm
We should have picked pass rusher Josh Allen drafting an off the ball linebacker that high was foolishness!
June 8th, 2024 at 3:31 pm
Defense Rules….Rules!
Always look forward to read your comments. Thanks for setting them straight!
Go Bucs!!!
June 8th, 2024 at 3:34 pm
Well, I for one have zero, repeat ZERO confidence that JTS will develop into a pass rusher. TE, spy, or a bus ticket are in his future.
June 8th, 2024 at 3:40 pm
Off topic–Did you know the Saints cut J. Winston (finally)?
June 8th, 2024 at 4:20 pm
If he could’ve
He would’ve
Mystery…
Got the size
Got the power
Got the speed
Got the athleticism
The only dog in him is lab
June 8th, 2024 at 4:23 pm
Crickett Baker Says:”Off topic–Did you know the Saints cut J. Winston (finally)?”
Yes, and he signed with the Browns, who love to sign – and draft – bad quarterbacks.
June 8th, 2024 at 4:27 pm
Joe in Michigan: JTS is not criticized here “all the time”. Maybe once in a while. My point is that it is nothing compared to the howls and shrieks that would emanate from this board if Trask were entering his FOURTH season starting and performing like JTS has.
June 8th, 2024 at 5:56 pm
@Topcoach_78
I said they should’ve drafted Josh Allen from the very beginning, too! But of course now he’s probably staying in Jacksonville.
June 8th, 2024 at 5:57 pm
Jack Mullins: Okay, JTS is criticized often, not “all the time”. This article has absolutely nothing to do with Trask.
June 8th, 2024 at 6:03 pm
@Topcoach_78
Some of them they should consider drafting next year.
JASHEEN DAVIS (Wake Forest)
DAVIN VANN (North Carolina St)
KAIMON RUCKER (North Carolina)
NIC SCROUTON (Texas A & M)
PATRICK PAYTON (FSU)
AHKEEM MESIDOR (Miami)
COLLIN OLIVER (Oklahoma St)
June 8th, 2024 at 7:54 pm
JTS is often talked about needing to finish and play more physically. I think we do not talk about Hall enough. JTS at least looked competent as a third down rusher in a rotation when he was benched. Hall just looks like a stiff board out there with no bend, no power, doesn’t his mitts to disrupt passing lanes, etc.
June 8th, 2024 at 8:32 pm
Send JTS and Godwin to the chargers for bosa… problem solved
June 8th, 2024 at 8:34 pm
“Didn’t the Bucs get 48 sacks last year? Tied for 7th? If JTS knew how to finish and actually sack the QB when he’s right there it may have been 3 or 4 more sacks. I’m not making excuses for JTS, I’ve pretty much given up hope that he’ll actually learn how to finish.“
Yes 48 sacks, which matches the team-high and is 1 more sack then when Shaq had 19.5, but remember we were giving opposing offense tons of extra possessions that season. 16 games, 30 picks almost shakes out to two every single Gameday. So of course we had plenty of reps to rush the passers, especially considering we negate the run with the best defense in the league on a yearly basis.
That’s why, trying to talk as if the success of our rush hinges on 1 player makes absolutely NO sense to me, when even when we do it via committee w/o the double digit sack guy we’ve finished top 10 in sack production every year Bowles has been here with 2021(could be wrong) being the exception. It’s just an irrational POV to evaluate a player and it seems like nothing else matter but his sack total.
So it makes things sound weird, like fan will laude Kancey as a rookie cause he looks the part until the team doubles him or runs the ball of either of his gaps and he’s getting washed out. It’d be a factual statement to say JTS plays the run better than any of our OLBs and Kancey, but because he’s not a double digit sack guy and was drafted 32nd overall he’s gotta be the double digit sack guy or he sucks.
You guys don’t even entertain the fact our front office could see JTS as an easy re-sign as a 1st rounder if he put together a solid season and banking on the bloom later, and if he were to do just that his detractors look like idiots and the team saves a few million. Fans apparently don’t grow tired of beating the same old half dead horse
June 8th, 2024 at 8:44 pm
Mac Jullins…does it hurt much to have Kyle Trasks head up your butt
June 8th, 2024 at 9:16 pm
Dude … ‘our front office could see JTS as an easy re-sign as a 1st rounder if he put together a solid season and banking on the bloom later’.
That’s certainly a possibility, but I got a hunch they’d be more concerned with JTS’ production NOW than to be concerned with saving a few mil on his next contract. JTS was green as could be when he arrived here (physically gifted to be sure but young AND inexperienced). He’s had great availability every season (never missed a game), but his sacks have stayed generally the same year-to-year (4-4-5), and his total pressures have decreased considerably (27 to 22 to 13). That’s blooming in the wrong direction.
June 9th, 2024 at 12:37 am
With the rookie and Gregory and I believe Wells they will have an outside domination this year I believe but y a y a is going to have to play a lot though
June 9th, 2024 at 11:14 am
Dude….” It’d be a factual statement to say JTS plays the run better than any of our OLBs and Kancey, but because he’s not a double digit sack guy and was drafted 32nd overall he’s gotta be the double digit sack guy or he sucks.”
Dude, I disagree that JTS plays anything better than anybody at this point. I’m sure he made individual tackles last year but I don’t recall any.
June 9th, 2024 at 6:39 pm
HAASON REDDICK !!!!!!!!!!! GO BUCS !!!!!!!!!!!!