Louis Riddick: Bucs Building A “Fundamental” Defense
August 20th, 2026
Bucs doing it right.
A defensive back who played in the NFL for Nick Saban and Bill Belichick and later became an NFL pro personnel man, Louis Riddick is one of the more intelligent NFL voices out there.
Few, if any, talking heads on TV break down the NFL in a way Joe respects more Riddick.
With Vita Vea signing an extension yesterday, Riddick noted the Bucs are doing it the right way: making sure the middle of the defense is a beast.
LRiddickESPN: The #Bucs defense strong right down the middle, all three levels. It’s fundamental.
He’s not wrong. Think of what teams will have to tangle with if they test the middle of the field against the Bucs, assuming the Bucs stay healthy.
You’ve got Calijah Kancey, A’Shawn Robinson and Vea up front. At linebacker there’s Josiah Trotter and Alex Anzalone. And in the back there’s Antoine Winfield and Tykee Smith.
That’s a helluva crew between the hashmarks each Sunday. Good luck running up the middle on that outfit.
August 20th, 2026 at 7:03 am
Agreed
August 20th, 2026 at 7:12 am
I’m worried about the outside. We have Parrish, and that’s about the only good sure thing. Then we have glassman and bored glassman. Really hope we sign a decent vet in the next couple weeks for out there.
August 20th, 2026 at 7:15 am
Baker is probably pissed because vea got his money because Baker does not understand this a short term deal and will not cripple the organization for years.
August 20th, 2026 at 7:20 am
Agree, really like listening to Riddick.
August 20th, 2026 at 7:25 am
bubble wrap those guys for a couple more weeks! especially Calijah!
August 20th, 2026 at 7:27 am
I’ll just sleep easier if we can get one more vet corner in the mix. even if he isn’t a huge difference maker. somebody proven who won’t be a diva about starting.
that said, I didn’t expect to be the happy with our depth at every other level. especially off ball linebacker.
I do wonder if bowles will rotate smith or winfield back down into the slot if a corner goes down. they both excelled there previously. and it seems we have more depth up high than we do outside. winfield is a disrupter that could be fun to watch.
August 20th, 2026 at 7:28 am
I’m not counting Trotter yet. Yes he’s been a fiery cheerleader in underwear practices, but he was nearly invisible in the Jets game with barely two tackles. He’s not even on the first team, playing behind Disaster Dennis.
August 20th, 2026 at 8:03 am
I heard someone on the radio say they love our starters at Safety, but don’t like our depth. All I can think is what team is really that deep at Safety??? Not saying there aren’t any, but can’t be many
August 20th, 2026 at 8:04 am
They won’t need to run Joe. They will just throw it all over these CBs don’t ever forget 3rd and 28
August 20th, 2026 at 8:05 am
What jumps out, especially up-the-middle and for the reserves, is a shift in Bowles’ approach. For almost a decade the Bucs have had the luxury of a strong and huge anchor at nose in VV and so have experimented with smaller, lighter players at 3-technique and 5. Kancey is still here but the rest of the DL has more size if less quickness. ILB where smaller ‘backers like David roamed are larger as well. And just look at the safeties: Winfield and Tykee Smith are the lead dawgs, both smallish by NFL standards, but their backups are over 6’ and 205+. You can see this trend even at Edge where the short and light players have given way to short and stouter guys like Bain and Walker.
OTOH at cornerback he has gone in the opposite direction: Bowles has long liked long and lanky — over 6’ for sure. This time he’s going over to the midget brigade and featuring 5’10”s. So far this crop looks sticky.
The NFL is a copycat league and offenses have turned towards a jumbo philosophy. Two- and three TEs, a real FB, some larger wideouts and RBs tell of a new era for football. If personnel is policy, and it is, then it sure seems like the Bucs aren’t changing a few spots but revamping their whole scheme. Has anyone else seen evidence of such a change?