Bucs’ Defensive Coaches: Seven Picks Is Intolerable
May 13th, 2025
Zeroed in on picks.
It seems Todd Bowles has given an edict to his assistant defensive coaches.
And that order is: You better find a way to get your players to get more picks.
The first three or four defensive assistants that the Bucs trotted out this morning (as all defensive coaches were made available to the local pen and mic club) had pretty much a singular focus and talking point: winning playoff games requires more picks.
(Joe wishes there was half as much emphasis on sacks, but that’s another story.)
This year, Bucs assistant George Edwards is a roving defensive pass game coordinator. He bounces from position room to position room. And it appears Edwards worries about one thing only.
He was pretty adamant about it.
Edwards called interceptions a “concentration of focus” this offseason. He believes the Bucs have the ability to improve.
“I mean, we probably had about eight that we had a chance,” Edwards said. “I mean, [passes] were in our hands and didn’t make it. That’s what it boils down to.
“Obviously, you’ve got to make the interceptions and the turnovers when they come to it. You’ve got to force the ball out of the offense’s hands. You’ve got to take the ball away.”
So how does Edwards plan to get more picks if dudes can’t catch? Joe still believes in the old football axiom that if defensive backs could catch, they’d be receivers.
“All you can do is put them in those situations [and positions] and then make sure [players] fundamentally catch them,” Edwards said.
Joe didn’t get a chance to ask Edwards if he’s going to start having defensive backs work out with wide receivers. Again, Edwards believes the Bucs can do better with picks.
“We had our opportunities, we just didn’t get them done,” Edwards said. “You’ve got to get them done.”
Joe is old-fashioned when it comes to football. Just play good, sound fundamental football and everything takes care of itself. What good is it if a cornerback plays s(p)itty coverage and lunges for a pick only to miss it and have the play go for six?
Joe is still horrified watching lousy Lovie Smith’s defenses — you know, Mr. Turnover — trying desperately to punch the ball out all the while the ballcarrier is dragging a defender past the sticks for a first down.
Remember, gentlemen, punts are turnovers, too.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:37 pm
Hint – if a DB is in the same zip code as the targeted receiver for a pass, he’s closer to the football than in an empty zone 12 yards from anyone else.
Get the DBs closer to the football before the snap. Maybe better things might happen.
And instead of 90% zone 10% man, maybe more man. Might find busted assignment frequency decreases as well.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:38 pm
Well, punts are not turnovers but they are a net positive.
I don’t recall holding on to the ball as a problem last year. It was getting close to the receiver that was our biggest fail. Guys were open at the snap last season with the Dallas game exhibit one.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:42 pm
Does Joe forget what Jon Gruden told the defense when he first arrived?
He challenged them to score 10 times that season.
They did, and the result was a Superbowl.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:42 pm
Make Jamel take off the Mickey Mouse gloves…
May 13th, 2025 at 3:45 pm
I prefer corners In the hip pocket of receivers at all times, breaking up passes and forcing bad throws
Picks are my favorite part of the game, besides kick/punt returns
But I’d rather have a sticky and aggressive defense next year, than one who trades splash plays with the offense
May 13th, 2025 at 3:46 pm
Anthony Nelson and a third
May 13th, 2025 at 3:46 pm
Joe says:
“Remember, gentlemen, punts are turnovers, too.”
Wish someone could have told Bowles this before the playoff game.
It might have caused him to have that “epiphany” a little sooner.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:47 pm
The main focus on any and all defenses should be getting off the field on 3rd down and how any defensive coach that doesn’t live and die by this shouldn’t be coaching. 3rd and short , 3rd and 5, 3rd and 12…. Make the stop and force a punt . With the right field position , that’s a turnover. Sacks would be 2nd and int’s maybe 3rd.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:51 pm
It’s been 2 years of this awful pass defense
Something has got to change
Other teams figure it out but the Bucs “Defensive Guru” is lost when it comes to scheming up pass defense
May 13th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
Algo again clubs the seal.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:54 pm
Punts are a turnover on downs. If they go for it and down make it then it’s just as good as a recovered fumble. Punt is the same as a long interception and sometimes you get a nice runback. Defense Wins enough of those series there’s a better chance win the game.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:54 pm
Bucs DB’s are not in position to make picks, they are usually no where near a WR, usually behind or trailing them by 5 yards
Scheme has to challenge WR’s
May 13th, 2025 at 3:54 pm
I don’t believe it has to be an either-or situation with getting off the field versus turnovers. Turnovers often times create a short field that punts often do not. Turnovers also stop field goal attempts. We definitely cannot allow defenders to drag us for 5-7 yards that is unacceptable. At the same time, nothing wrong with punching the ball while tackling. We beat New Orleans in the 2020 playoff game when Winfield punched the ball out while tackling the tight end. That was game changing. This team also needs to stop dropping and stop running past interceptions. That happens way too often.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:55 pm
I got a better one for todd Bowles..You’d better figure out how to get quite a few more sacks this upcoming season. We were pretty close to the lowest in the league. Our sack total was more than intolerable.
May 13th, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Mike-
Tampa had 46, tied for 6th best in the league with the Chargers.
I do agree that there could be more, especially since there was no one dominant sack guy, but top 6 is pretty dang good.
Int numbers were VERY low though. Tied for 4th worst with 7.
May 13th, 2025 at 4:02 pm
Jamel Dean who many here are infatuated with has had 8INT’s in 6 years. That would be an outstanding season. Laughable for a 6year career.
May 13th, 2025 at 4:02 pm
Practice catching with one eye then the other covered. It really works to improve clarity and focus.
May 13th, 2025 at 4:04 pm
In the 2024 NFL regular season, Kerby Joseph of the Detroit Lions led the league in interceptions with 9 interceptions. Xavier McKinney of the Green Bay Packers had 8 interceptions, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson (HOU/PHI) and Marlon Humphrey (BAL) each had 6 interceptions.
May 13th, 2025 at 4:15 pm
I’ve thought, for awhile now, that safety play (it sucked – let’s face it) was a bigger part of our pass D woes than is acknowledged by most fans.
Better safety play will equal more aggressive cornerback play.
If we can stay healthy and AWJ returns to form, we should be much better, talent-wise, than last season across the board in our secondary.
I’m most worried about ILB. SVD, if healthy should be good. LVD is the man but he’s going to be slower. No idea about the rest of the guys in that room.
Todd and his assistants will field a top 10 defense this year barring key injuries.
Mark my words…. And I’ll have same name so you can do that, unlike some of our more vocal commenters beating the same dead horses over and over and over again 😉
May 13th, 2025 at 4:23 pm
Mike Johnson … Bucs were tied for FIFTH in sacks with 46 total. We ranked FIFTH in Pressures with 173 total.
How’d we do it? Well, we blitzed SECOND MOST of any team in the NFL last year (244 times). That gave us a blitz percentage of 34.2% . Our leading blitzer was … Lavonte David (80 blitzes) … and he ended up with 5.5 sacks & 13 pressures (2nd most sacks of his career). It came at a cost … LVD allowed a 84.6% Pass Completion Percentage last year, the highest of his career.
The other team who blitzed MORE than we did was the Vikings – 277 blitzes (38.9%). Their defense ranked #5 and only allowed 332 points last year. Ironically they had the #2-ranked Run Defense, but their Pass Defense was #28-ranked. Hmmm, sounds a lot like our Bucs defense, doesn’t it, except that they gave up 50 fewer points than we did.
Interestingly though, the Vikings defense generated 33 takeaways, which included 24 INTs. Sure is a lot better than our 18 takeaways, of which only 7 were INTs.
May 13th, 2025 at 5:15 pm
Enter Morrison, and Parrish. Two ballhawks. That’s why they were drafted, that’s why both will start.
May 13th, 2025 at 5:22 pm
DR that sounds like they at least got better in the red zone than we did.
What percentage did the Vikings play man?
I know you can’t do it all the time but dang maybe 65%
We played the most red zone zone of any team in the league, so even when the field shrunk we stunk at man.
Zyon has to be better
Dean isn’t the answer
AWJ needs to stay healthy
Tykee is gonna be better than Whitehead.
Parrish is gonna start.
My hope is we got the CB who had 6 picks as a freshman up to speed for Dean and this whole stats from last year become irrelevant.
The new guys can catch.
May 13th, 2025 at 5:23 pm
The brain sturgeons need to read DR’s post, above. The data he writes explains the performance and leads to the points given up. And I subscribe to inserting more center cut beef, for which the only addition at present is over-beast Desmond Watson, who is more anomaly than football player today. That can change hopefully.
We must be able to get more pressure and sacks without blitzing so much. We also need to ratchet up the frequency of man coverage and tighten the zones when we do play zones.
Carry on.
May 13th, 2025 at 5:24 pm
Correct, Morrison and Parrish have the gift. Every other CB needs to take a page from McCollum’s book and get themselves a jugs machine. When you don’t have practice, be in your backyard and if that’s not big enough at a local park using your jugs machine. I think Zion will have more ints this year as well but Dean needs to have 50 balls in the AM & 50 in the PM, on his non practice days, shot at him from his newly purchased jugs (cuz there’s no way he has one already, not with those stone hands).
May 13th, 2025 at 5:47 pm
A few things about the Eagles defense that made them the darlings of the NFL last year… even shutting down the Chiefs… AND also reminds me of the 2002 Bucs 4 man front.
The Eagles’ strong pass rush is due to a combination of factors, including a talented interior line, a group-rush approach, and effective linebacker contributions. They don’t rely heavily on blitzing, instead focusing on a four-man rush and playing well together.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
Interior Line Dominance:
Players like Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are key interior pass rushers, creating pressure that opens up opportunities for other rushers.
Group Rush Strategy:
The Eagles emphasize a team effort, where defensive linemen and linebackers coordinate their rushes, making it difficult for opposing offenses to prepare for.
Linebacker Contributions:
While not blitzing frequently, the Eagles’ linebackers, including Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun, can contribute to the pass rush and are also effective in coverage.
Limited Blitzing:
The Eagles often prioritize their four-man rush, rather than blitzing, to keep the offense guessing and create more pressure.
May 13th, 2025 at 5:54 pm
You see four, maybe five Hall of Famers on this defense all in their prime? Did they have a problem getting to the QB?
May 13th, 2025 at 6:11 pm
Sombrero – excellent post.
Scheme and coaching matter. Yes so do the players, but it takes a lot of work to coordinate and synchronize the big 4 in a strategic manner. Something we don’t witness since BA retired and two critical coaching jobs are now some half time each.
And the Eagles run a 4-3….hmmmm
May 13th, 2025 at 6:51 pm
Aggression wins!
Reverse the 16-7 interception to 7 on Baker and 16 for DBs and the Bucs will really contend.’
May 13th, 2025 at 6:59 pm
Big Sombreo … ‘Interior Line Dominance: Players like Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are key interior pass rushers, creating pressure that opens up opportunities for other rushers.’
I think that’s the key Sombreo; if a team can generate a great consistent interior pass rush with 4 men, that has to impact the opposing QB’s short passing game (as well as their deep game). Allows you to keep more guys in coverage and forces the QB to move laterally or deep drop (can’t step up in the pocket). Regardless, that benefits the OLBs and should require less blitzing.
One strange anomaly pops up however from last year. Bucs blitzed 2nd-most in the NFL (461 times). We got 46 sacks (tied for 6th most) and 175 pressures (5th most). Blitzing seems like it paid off in terms of sacks & pressures.
Eagles only blitzed 154 times (ranked 28th in the NFL). Their 4-man pass rush drew rave reviews. Eagles ended up with 41 sacks (ranked tied for 13th) and only 111 pressures (tied for 28th). It would seem that the Eagles should’ve blitzed more to up their sacks & pressures.
And yet, Bucs used tons of zone coverage, while the Eagles used a lot of man. Bucs got 7 INTs, while the Eagles got 13 INTs. Eagles defense gave up 303 points on the season, and ended up with the #2-ranked defense. Bucs defense gave up 385 points, and ended up with the #16-ranked defense. Eagles finished 14-3 and won the Super Bowl. Bucs finished 10-7 and were eliminated in Rnd 1. And yet, Bucs had the better offense and we even kicked more FGs (30 vs 28). Hmmm, wonder if there’s anything we might learn there?
May 13th, 2025 at 7:02 pm
“Concentration of focus”
“All you can do is put them in those situations [and positions] and then make sure [players] fundamentally catch them” …
George Edwards sounds (and kinda looks) like Special Jack. If these are his words of wisdom, our secondary will be just as bad as our pass rush last season under his watch. Why in the world did we keep this guy?
May 13th, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Kickoffs are turnovers
Losing the coin flip is a turnover
Punts are turnovers
…Nonsense
May 13th, 2025 at 7:18 pm
Joe is old-fashioned when it comes to football. Just play good, sound fundamental football and everything takes care of itself. Wow, literally the best statement/opinion I have heard since John Madden was known as coach of the Raaiiders!!!! Well said Joe
May 13th, 2025 at 7:52 pm
The Tampa 2 defense moves the middle linebacker deep, as a mid-field safety, leaving the corners to only cover the areas outside the hashmarks. That leaves the short middle of the field open. There is nobody there to prevent a pass, let alone intercept it. Things get even worse when you need five guys to put pressure on the QB, further opening up the middle of the field. The key this year is going to be a dominant 4-man pass rush. If that happens, you’ll see far less Tampa 2 except on 3rd/4th and long.
May 13th, 2025 at 7:53 pm
Oh, and far more interception, since there will be more players clogging up the middle of the field and QBs who need to chuck it far sooner than they wanted to.
May 13th, 2025 at 9:16 pm
Whose worse, the defensive coaches or the defense? After reading the quotes from this guy, I think it’s the coaching.
May 13th, 2025 at 9:49 pm
That photo, worth a thousand words
May 13th, 2025 at 9:52 pm
Wayne Haddix had 7 INTs in 1990, and returned those 231 yards with 3 TDs. He’s a Buccaneers legend, should be in the Ring of Honor.
May 13th, 2025 at 11:13 pm
I do get the concern for dude coach pictured above. Makes we wonder why he’s still on the job, actually, although I already know the answer. The DC also still has his job after three consecutive years of regression. The HC didn’t make a move although claims to have found the fix.
We shall see.