The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Not going to go through any of the categories this time just going to give some thoughts on the game.

- Several people have asked me in the comments and offline whether I agreed with Coach Morris' decision to punt late in the third quarter. My answer is an unequivocal YES! I understand that people may have the opinion that we should have gone for it there but I'll explain my thinking on it.

First we were up 3 late in the third quarter and our defense this year has been very stingy in the second half. We were already on the Atlanta 41 true but that meant that if we didn't convert on 4th down we would give the Falcons the ball close to midfield only down a field goal. Also we had just tried to convert a 3rd and 1 and we were stuffed. Better to punt the ball, pin the Falcons deep and hopefully get them to punt backed up and play the field position game. In that scenario we get the ball back after the punt somewhere close to midfield which in theory would put us in better position to score.

Now the punt did indeed pin the Falcons back at the 3. Unfortunately we let them get two first downs so they were able to punt from their own 29 instead of from inside the 10, but we still got the ball back after the punt at our own 37 which is pretty good field position. And in fact the drive got off to a decent start but we had a penalty on 3rd and 6 when we had converted for a 1st down and ended up not converting on 3rd and 11. Our punter then booms a punt into the endzone so the Falcons got it on the 20 instead of it being again inside the 10.

So that part didn't work out. But hindsight is always 20/20. Punting on 4th and 1 in that situation and knowing our team was exactly what most coaches would do. And its definitely what I would have done in the same situation. And lets keep it real here, the Falcons ended up throwing an interception and we ended u scoring a touchdown to go up 10. It still worked out and I doubt anybody would be second guessing the call now had we not given up a touchdown on the subsequent kickoff.

- Speaking of that kickoff. I know that Mo Stovall has taken responsibility and that's admirable, but he should have been far from a lone in owning up to that play. Hell Stovall missed the tackle and at least got up and ran his ass off to try to get the return man from behind. Let's talk about the other guys responsible.

Elbert Mack, Myron Lewis, Sammie Stroughter, Vince Anderson and Adam Heyward ALSO all had opportunities to tackle Eric Weems, the Falcons' return man. Although in fairness Stroughter was blatantly blocked in the back WHILE HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE THE TACKLE!!! There is no excuse for the officials missing that call, it was egregious and definitely effected the outcome of the play and the game.

I will say though that the media shouldn't have just taken Stovall's word for it and stopped looking for who was at fault because there was a LOT of blame to go around.

- The injuries to Jeff Faine and Aqib Talib were of course huge. I will say though that E.J. Biggers stepped up big time to fill in for Talib against Roddy White. He played like a starter and there wasn't much of a drop off at all. Myron Lewis however, who was pressed into Biggers' role, played like...well a rookie. He had some good plays but everyone will probably focus on the game winning touchdown he gave up to Michael Jenkins. I'll point out though that the kid was in really good position and I really think had he stretched out his close arm which was his right arm to knock down the ball instead of his right he probably would have gotten a PBU. That's not to say whether the Falcons would have scored or not, but it just shows how something that small technique wise can be a huge thing during the game.

Faine going down however kind of exposed a quirk of the Bucs' decision to keep Derek Hardeman, a tackle, up for the game instead of the Brandon Carter, a guard, whom they had just brought up off the practice squad to take Davin Joseph's roster spot after he went on IR. Now I don't pretend to know what kind of week of practice Carter had last week, but I do know that with Trueblood up the Bucs didn't really need another tackle active. At least not on paper.

Now I'm not trying to knock Hardeman because I thought he came in and held his own, but you could tell that the offensive line was missing something with all the shuffling. Maybe ultimately Hardeman will be a decent guard, but it just makes me wonder if Carter would have been the better backup option on the interior on Sunday.

- The Bucs have not one but the top two steals of the draft this year in my opinion. Mike Williams is obviously supremely talented but Legarrette Blount going over 100 yards was huge on Sunday. I really believe his running was the main reason the game was so close to begin with. If these young guys we have that are performing can stay healthy the foundation has been set for many years to come.

- I really wish the 3-3-5 would die a spectacularly gruesome death. Check the comments section on that post also for my answer on how successful it was, or rather wasn't on Sunday against the Falcons.

- Josh Freeman was pretty bad on Sunday, but at the same time he made several outstanding plays both with his arms and his legs. But the interceptions including the one that was overturned, just appeared to be cases where he stared down the receiver and tipped his hand. In fact it appeared that the Falcons were sitting hard on all of the Bucs' short routes which made it curious to me that Freeman didn't take the shots downfield against them like he did against the Ravens the week earlier. I hope he didn't lose some of his aggressiveness. What he has to do is find that happy medium where he hits the open guy to keep the sticks moving but once he has an opportunity down the field he takes it and makes the opposing defense pay. But that last interception was picked practically before it left his hand. He gave himself no chance of success throwing at Grimes who was in tight coverage when staring down Mike Williams whom its apparent he favors a lot.

- The defense fell apart on the drive where the the Falcons scored the game winning touchdown, but not in the way some probably think. Yes they gave up the 3rd and 20 which should have been a gimmie, but they also committed two very costly penalties to keep the drive alive. On 3rd and 1 Ronde gets called on a PI on a pass that I think was probably uncatchable by Tony Gonzales. And in reality I think it looked worse than what it was because Gonzales fell down after stepping on Geno Hayes who had fallen down covering someone else. That was another spot where we could have gotten off the field. And then of course the horse collar by Quincy Black on 2nd and 8 from our 31. With a horse collar you can't grab a guy by the back of the shoulder pads BUT if you let go and don't take them down by the back of the shoulder pads its not a penalty. Black on the other hand didn't just grab Michael Turner by the back of the shoulder pads, he grabbed him with one hand and then grabbed him with the other to make it painfully obvious. And the tragedy of it all was at that point Turner was already headed out of bounds, Barrett Ruud was right there to help out on the tackle, and it was going to bring up an 3rd and 8. Instead it turned into 1st and 10 at our 16 and well...we all know the rest.

- Arellious Benn had a fantastic run after the catch on a simple smoke route to set up the Bucs just shy of the goalline in the fourth quarter. To be honest I can't understand why he doesn't get more of those opportunities when corners are 7 to 10 yards off him pre snap. I'm not talking about a WR screen which tends to bring defenders over with the blockers. I'm talking about Freeman getting under center, raising up and throwing it to Benn and letting him work to make the corner miss in a one on one situation. It's what I thought was missing from the game plan against the Ravens and I thought the Bucs could have used it more against the Falcons as well. I'd definitely try to use it more going forward if I were them.

- Speaking of plays I'd use on offense, remember some weeks back when I drew up the Saints' running plays? Well diagram number 7 is a damn monster. With the variation of sending both tightends out to the flat at the snap it makes it hard as hell for a defense to stop that play because of the angles and the rules most defenders have to follow. If I were the Bucs I would run that play 4 or 5 times a day if not more. I can tell you this much, damn near every opponent they have faced this year have run some variation of it and they have all found some degree of success too. Hell what's good for the goose is good for the gander and that's one way to get Blount up into the secondary with a full head of steam on a consistent basis.

Well that's all for this week. See you in the comments section.

Bull Rush

When writing my posts about the Bucs I try to stay as objective as possible. You may not notice it but a lot of times I have to go back and substitute "they" for "we". Its because no matter what I will always feel allegiance to a franchise that I played for for six years of my life. But I don't want to give the impression that I am biased towards them in my posts because I don't want anyone to be able to question the credibility of the substance of my critiques. But every once in awhile the Bucs will play a game where its damn near impossible for me to hide my biases.

The Atlanta game yesterday was one of those games.

We should have won that game.

Don't get me wrong, before the season started I had plenty of doubt about whether we could beat the Falcons this year. They looked to be a much improved squad and we couldn't even beat them last year. Add to that all the recent injuries before the game and during the game yesterday and you could make the case that it was a long shot.

But after watching the game for the second time I am even more convinced that WE SHOULD HAVE WON THAT GAME!!!

There was no one play that lost us the game any more than there was any won play that put us in a position to win it. But at crucial moments in the game the Bucs just fell short. But it was so close. So damn close that I'm sure those players could damn near taste it. And that makes the loss just that much harder to digest.

What makes it worse is the talking point that all sports pundits have now to dismiss everything these young Bucs have accomplished this year. That they haven't beaten a team with a winning record. Never mind that other, to most people better teams, have lost to some of those same teams that the Bucs beat out (Patriots losing big time to the Browns for example). People haven't wanted to believe in the Bucs all year and now this loss helps their case. It doesn't matter that a team which many are calling the best in the NFC could only beat the Bucs by 6 at home and 4 on the road. Nope, the Bucs are supposedly frauds in a lot of people's minds after yesterday.

BULLSHIT!!!

You're talking about a team where only one offensive lineman has started all 12 games. A team that is down to its 3rd free safety (or technically fourth). A team that is the youngest in all of the NFL and they STILL have 7 wins including 4 on the road.

Yeah they might not make the playoffs but lets be real for a moment. They have ALREADY exceeded most people's expectations, "soft" schedule or not, and then some. And they still have a chance at a winning record with their remaining schedule consisting of the Redskins, Lions, and Seahawks to go along with the defending world champion Saints.

So if you want to call the Bucs frauds its best if you not do it around me. Because I still remember all the naysayers BEFORE the season started. I remember all the people who didn't think it was possible for the Bucs to win six games all year. This team has and continues to out perform expectations, sometimes even in a loss. And I for one am not about to allow the same people who dogged them before the season act like they were predicting a Super Bowl now.

As for the game yesterday the defensive line played well if not spectacular but that was partly by the Falcons' design. Instead of running at the defensive line as they had in the previous game, this time they ran a lot more at the edges. They were pinning in the defensive end and undertackle and getting a pulling guard out on the linebacker. They put pressure on the secondary to be perfect in their run fits and unfortunately that wasn't all the case. But there wasn't much the defensive line could do about it except try to get up the field on those blocks which they did a decent job of all day. And not for nothing the defense did hold Michael Turner to less than 100 yards for once.

Now I know I have beaten this dead horse all year but it literally made my head hurt to see the Bucs use the 3-3-5 so much yesterday. We may not have any pro bowlers up front but we do have some guys who can pass rush if given a chance. Instead they were put in situations where they three guys had to try to beat five along with a chip block or we blitzed which never seems to get much pressure either. Don't get me wrong, a few times guys still were able to beat two offensive lineman and get some pressure, but why make it so damn hard? I just will never understand why Coach Morris is so wedded to a defense that doesn't produce favorable results the majority of the time. Especially when in my eyes its clear that a four man rush has been much more productive this year.

I'll tell you this much, no matter what anybody says I am convinced that we would have been better off rushing four to at least have a shot of getting some pressure on Matt Ryan on 3rd and 20 instead just rushing three. And while that one play didn't lose the game for us, that conversion was definitely a back breaker.

Individual breakdowns:

Tim Crowder: I didn't have Crowder down for a single stat. Some of that I'm sure is due to the Falcons' blocking scheme because its not like he played poorly. But some of it is also because of how much 3-3-5 the Bucs ran which he isn't in on. I will say this, some people believe that the touchdown run by Turner was Crowder's fault. It wasn't. He had to try to spill the play by getting underneath the tight end coming across the formation and he did that. But the hole Turner had to run through was just too large and so he couldn't get far enough inside the block to make the tackle. Roy Miller was actually the problem on that play which I will get to later.

Gerald McCoy: I had McCoy down for a tackle, 3 pressures, a hit on the quarterback and a forced holding penalty off another good pass rush. It was a decent game for him production wise but again he didn't have near enough opportunities to rush from a 3 technique in my opinion. He also had the stupid personal foul penalty after the Falcons were already in a hole because of their own personal foul against Roddy White. The replay didn't show clearly why he hit the offensive lineman in the back but it was way too late and way too obvious for the refs not to throw a flag.

Now I said my peace about bullying the bullies on Friday but what he did simply didn't fit into that category as best I could tell. I don't know what the guy did to provoke McCoy but when its that late and away from the actual play he has to let it ride until the next down.

One question I had was why he decided to all of a sudden start doing spin moves. I don't think that was a good move for the kind of offensive lineman he faced anyway but more to the point I don't know if that's a good move for him anyway. It could be, at some point. But why try it out against a big game like this one? Kind of a head scratcher if you ask me.

Roy Miller: I had Miller with a tackle and an assist and a forced holding penalty on a running play. I thought he played ok for most of the day but the Falcons' blocking scheme along with the Bucs game plan of having him line up in a G technique a lot on the guard rather than the center didn't lend itself to him having a big day of production. On the touchdown play to Turner he simply allowed himself to be caved in too far by the guard. He ended up all the way over by the opposite defensive tackle which created far too great a lane for Turner to run through. Now that play was an anomaly for him yesterday as he wasn't getting pushed around most of the game. Still he has to learn how to anchor in and fight pressure better, especially that close to the goalline.

Stylez G. White: I had Stylez with a tackle, an assist, 3 pressures and 3 hits on the quarterback. If there is one guy who probably could have made more of a difference with more 4 man rushes it was probably White who was really getting after it yesterday. I'm sure the left tackle for the Falcons is grateful that he didn't get those opportunities though.

Michael Bennett: By my count Bennett had 2 tackles. He had an opportunity for a tackle for a loss but he couldn't bring Turner down. Bennett continues to be frustrating to watch because he never seems to put it all together. He had a really nice spin but he fell down. He has improved on playing the run but now it seems like his pass rush has fallen off. He keeps trying to be too finesse for my taste instead of just running around or through his opponents. I don't think he has a clue how good he could be. But at some point you have to show more than just potential and that moment is fast approaching.

Al Woods: I had Woods down for 1 tackle. I thought he played well, if sparingly.

Alex Magee: I didn't have Magee down for any stats.

That's all for today. I haven't been in the comments section lately but I'll try to do better this week.

Unsolicited Advice

Just finished watching the first Bucs vs Falcons game from earlier this year and the Falcons vs Packers game from last week and I had some thoughts specifically for the defensive linemen.  Not that any of them will ever read this but if they did here's what I would say to them.

- I backs was almost always a run. Weak offset I backfield was usually pass. I'd take that into account presnap.  Meaning if its I backs I'm looking run first and especially looking at the offensive line to see if there are other give aways as to where they are trying to go with the ball.  If its a weak offset I backfield then I'm looking to see if the offensive line is light in their stance and planning my pass rush move.  Nothing wrong with making educated guesses.

- Chip the chipper. In the first game Jason Snelling chipped our defensive ends several times and knocked them down on the way out for a pass. I would suggest that when a defensive end sees him lined up offset to his side on a passing down to go right at him and knock him on his ass. Or at the least chuck the hell out of him. For one it may give you a chance to knock him into the offensive tackle so that you can get a sack. For two Snelling is a big part of the passing game, not only as a receiver but also as a guy who attracts the underneath coverage and opens things up at the intermediate level for Tony Gonzales. Delaying him from getting out into his route will help the pass coverage a lot.

- Roy Miller started with his improved play for the last few weeks with a good showing against Atlanta the first go around. He will need a better performance this time to help get the win. One thing about the Falcons is that they allow their center to single block the nose tackle a lot more than normal. What he tries to do is get the nosetackle to push him upfield rather than expanding, especially when there is a zone running play called. My advice would be for Roy to tighten down his alignment a little bit so that he heavier on the center. And then when the center tries to reach him rather than getting up field he should try to rip off and go laterally to either make the tackle or make the ball bounce back behind him. And Al Woods who backs Miller up should be doing the same thing.

- I think Gerald McCoy can have another dominant game this week. They key in my opinion will be for him to also get heavier on his guard and go with mostly power rushes against the pass. One of the things Atlanta is really good at in the run game is doing a slip block where the guard gets a piece of the undertackle then goes up to the linebacker while the offensive tackle gets inside of the undertackle. If McCoy gets heavier on the guard he can make it harder for him to get up to the linebacker and also harder for the offensive tackle to get inside of him. With Michael Turner the Falcons don't run a lot of wide stuff anyway so getting reached isn't really a big worry this week.

On pass rush I know McCoy has some great finesse moves but the Matt Ryan is a guy who generally tries to get the ball out of his hands quickly. That means you want to try to take the quickest route possible to get to him and that's right through the guards. Now I wouldn't mind him doing some bull rushes and then ripping inside but I don't think this is the week to just make finesse inside moves. Cullen Jenkins made a really good one last week and got good pressure but the thing to notice is that he didn't reach to make the move. Instead he kept his hands tight and insteaad of going for the guard's shoulder he went for his inside hand and got it. McCoy will be able to do that one day but right now he is still reaching for the guard's shoulder which means he is still getting punched in the chest. For the most part I would stick to outside power rushes quite honestly and I think he will dominate the Falcons' offensive line.

- When its a definite passing situation and the Bucs have the occasion to keep four defensive linemen in and let them rush I would go with EX games all day with the left end and left defensive tackle. I wouldn't run any games on the right side because for whatever reason the center tends to slide that way a lot regardless of formation. The EX game allows the end to get away from the chip block while going in and punishing the guard. The key will be the set up by the defensive tackle. They need to either show a bullrush to get the guard to sit down or make a realistic inside move to get the guard to follow them down and allow the end time enough to get inside the offensive tackle. Once they feel the end hitting the guard they can loop around to contain Ryan who while a decent athlete isn't exactly a speed demon.

- Stylez White should make power rushes and inside moves all day long to start the game and then in the second half once the offensive tackle is tired of getting hit under the chin, give him some stutter and go moves to get around the corner. One thing about the Falcons offensive line is that because they run so much zone none of them are especially big. Stylez should tear the left tackle up in the second half, if given the opportunity.

- This is a game where Tim Crowder and Michael Bennett could be huge. In addition to chucking Snelling they are both good bullrushers around the edge. If they can just concentrate on being definitive with that move they will get a lot of pressure. They also should have some opportunities to run natural games behind McCoy if he is getting up field a lot. Kyle Moore actually almost got a sack that way in the first game but Ryan just barely gained a yard before he could bring him down.

- The Falcons like to run that Saints play a lot where they have the tight end run out to the flat to get the end upfield and then send the fullback to kick him out. Atlanta also runs a lot of split belly/split zone type stuff too where the fullback or a backside tight end comes across to cut off the defensive end. It will be major for the ends this week to get inside all of those cut off blocks. If they can do that they will make a ton of tackles and or make the running back have to try to bounce outside to all the help.

- This last suggestion maybe should have been first. One thing I notice from watching several games of Atlanta this year is that their right tackle and right guard are assholes. They cheap shot guys and late hit. They will try to give a guy the business on the ground after the play is over. One time in the first game Roy had shed the center and was about to make the play when the center shot at his knee and started rolling.

My suggestion? Its time to bully the bullies.

I'm not talking about getting kicked out of a game. I'm not even necessarily talking about getting a personal foul. But its time to show the Falcons that there aren't any punks in a Bucs uniform. See a guy trying to clean up a pile? Clean his ass up. See a guy giving your teammate the business on the ground? Snatch his ass up and get in his face.

I know some folks will say that's just what they want you to do but in my experience that's bullshit. Bullies are generally bullies not because they are smart but because nobody has ever stood up to them. Those assholes play like that because they think it makes them look tough. Well you punch a bully in the mouth and they tend to close up shop. Oh and if there's a chance to run that EX game the defensive end should come in and earhole the guard and try to knock his block off.

This is a division game against two teams that don't really like each other anyway. Its time for somebody or somebodies on the defensive line to show that they have some dog in them. I'm not saying start the fight, I'm just saying END IT!

That's all I have for today. Can't wait to see the Bucs shock the world on Sunday!

Bull Rush

Now that the season is half way over I want to give my thoughts on what has happened so far and I'm also going to make some judgements about what needs to happen going forward. I'll still do the individual breakdowns but they will be pretty brief this time.

Even though the Bucs lost yesterday I am still feeling really good about their season. Not playoff good, but I do believe that we will get to at least 8 wins which is what I predicted in the preseason. And I do believe that if we catch a couple of breaks we could possibly get to 10. But even if its just 8 wins I would think that its evident that Coach Morris and his staff have done a phenomenal job this season. I pretty much predicted that we would be around 5-3 at this point in the preseason but I made that prediction believing we would have the services of Tanard Jackson, Jeff Faine, Earnest Graham and Brian Price for all eight games. Had I known then how many starters and key backups would miss significant amounts of playing time its very likely I wouldn't have been quite as bold.

But the Bucs have won with a very simple formula, take care of the ball and take the ball away from your opponents will being great in the kicking game. I know people will point to this stat or that to try to make the case for or against the Bucs being legit, but the turnover ratio as well as Connor Barth's kicking stats are the only numbers I need to make the case for the Bucs. As long as they continue to win in those areas they are likely going to be in every game the rest of the season.

But it won't be easy. For a team that was already very young coming into the year, the Bucs have basically gotten even younger. Whether because of suspension or injury or release, the starters on the team at the moment trend heavily in favor of players with 2 years or less of experience under their belts. Clearly the future is bright with that kind of foundation, but it also makes for a lot of speed bumps along the way in the short term. And so no matter how the Bucs finish up the second half of the season, I hope fans stay on the bandwagon for the long haul because this team is definitely being built for long term success.

Now having said all of that and factoring in the youth of the team, of course I still have some complaints. Some of my complaints are just a personal preference kind of thing where "I" would have done things differently. But some of my complaints, specifically about the defensive line, are based on every bit of football knowledge I know and are as close to facts as you are going to get when it comes to how the game is supposed to be played. So as you read the rest of this hopefully it will be apparent which is which and I want you to keep that in mind because I realize that my way isn't always the only way when it comes to football strategy. But on the other hand there are some things that are right and some things that are wrong when it comes to how you play AND coach the game.

Because its my area of "expertise" for now I will just focus on the defense. Maybe later on in the week I'll offer up my thoughts on the offense and how it could improve but it will probably be a much more general post.

Last year I had a few major gripes about the defense. We didn't blitz enough, we didn't utilize line stunts, our pass rush was disjointed and we of course needed better personnel. Well I still gripes in all four areas but for very different reasons.

Blitzes

I believe the Bucs blitzed something like 16 or 17 times yesterday against the Falcons not counting when they lined up in a 3-3-5, but they didn't end up with any sacks or turnovers. To me that's a problem.

Its not a problem that they called that many blitzes. Its a problem that the blitzes were so weaksauce that out of almost 20 times they were called they didn't force a single game changing play. I have seen all kinds of blitzes out of all kinds of defensive formations ran in all kinds of situations. (Hell I even designed a blitz in my short time at USF) But I admit that many of the blitzes the Bucs employ puzzle (and irritate) the hell out of me. I don't get their purpose nor how they are supposed to actually work even in a best case scenario.

I have brought up several times on this blog the zone blitzes we used to run back when I played for the Bucs. The only reason why I keep referring to them is because of out effective they were. That's not to say they would still work perfectly today or that no team ever caught on to them (the Eagles really had kryptonite for our zone blitzes those years they were beating us in the playoffs). But the fact remains that they were relatively simple, they forced the action, and they were highly successful.

Right now I can almost guarantee that if I asked all eleven starters for the Bucs what their best blitz is I would get at least 5 or 6 different answers. To me that's not a good thing. Several times so far this season the Bucs have run blitzes where nobody picked up the back out of the backfield. Other times they have run blitzes where the quarterback had all day to throw and his receivers were running wide open down the field.

What I think they need to do going forward is start using overload blitzes. Whether its overloading one side, or its overloading the middle so that the tackles have to leave an outside rusher free, overload blitzes force a quarterback to be both quick and extremely accurate. The only reason I can come up with as to why we haven't run many thus far is because of concerns that our secondary might get burned. But the more I watch Aqib Talib looking like a Pro Bowler and E.J. Biggers playing like a seasoned vet, the more it is apparent to me that they are ready to have more challenges on their plate. We already have a very fast linebacker corps and everybody knows that Ronde is an expert at making big plays, so why not bring the house a few times and create some havoc? Especially when opposing teams are always doing it to them?

I really believe a few over load blitzes would have helped the Bucs get off on 3rd down yesterday.

Line Stunts

Well the Bucs are definitely using line stunts now. The question, however, is to what effect? Right now the Pirate stunt seems to be a top call and that is where the undertackle and the defensive end to his side stunt inside to the A gap and B gap respectively. If its a run they should be trying to penetrate when the action is towards them and get into the backfield. When the action is going away they should be trying to cross the blocker's face and make the ball turn back behind them. If its a pass they should stay in their new gaps while the nose tackle loops around for contain.

That's how its SUPPOSED to go.

But there are two major problems the Bucs have had with running this line stunt. For one the defensive end and undertackle rarely get penetration into the backfield. For whatever reason they continue to line up too close to the line of scrimmage which means they have to go so laterally to stunt inside that there is no chance of getting penetration or push. In practice it also makes the whole defense soft because while going that laterally neither guy can really stop themselves from getting pushed down the field by the offensive lineman. And so you end up with defensive linemen pushed back into the lap of linebackers and instead of the line stunt being a weapon it becomes a hindrance.

The other problem is the nosetackles, primarily Roy Miller, continue to forget to loop for contain on pass at least once or twice a game. That means that along with giving the quarterback a clear line of sight down field to whichever side the Pirate is run on, he also has the ability to break containment and put pressure on the secondary to continue covering or come up to stop their scramble. Now a Pirate will never be confused with a good pass rush game, (although inexplicably the Bucs have run it in passing situations in the last two games) but there is a possibility to get pressure if the quarterback can't throw quickly to their primary target. By not looping for containment the nosetackle is potentially giving away a pressure.

Now that's freshman level stuff. When you talk advanced level play the nosetackle has the ability to get over the top of the pirate so that the defense buys an extra defender to the side of the run. But you can't even think about getting to that until you have he basics down first.

On a bit of a better note the Bucs did in fact bring back Over Stick (although, again inexplicably, they didn't run it against the Falcons). So far it has been a very productive line stunt and it has helped Stylez G. White's pass rush as it has forced offensive tackles to respect the potential for him to make an inside move.

It it were up to me two things would happen. 1) The defensive line would learn how to get penetration with the Pirate stunt and 2) The Bucs would run just as many or more Over Sticks every game as Pirates.

If those two things can happen I really believe the defensive line will be a lot more productive both against the run and the pass.

Pass Rush And Personnel

These two issues kinda go hand in hand. The Bucs went out and picked defensive tackles with their first and second round picks this spring after having spent a third round choice on a defensive tackle the previous year. Those guys are obviously young and now it turns out the second round pick, Brian Price, is out for the year with an injury. But still you would think the pass rush would be better, if inconsistent. At right defensive end Stylez White, the leading sack guy from last year, returned but at left end last year's fifth round choice, Kyle Moore, as installed as the starter in the offseason. And if you believed the hype about Moore this preseason he should have also helped to upgrade our pass rush.

But it turns out after 8 games we have a total of six sacks.

What gives you ask?

Well I'm going to give it to you straight. Our defensive linemen do not seem to be getting better under Todd Wash and so coaching appears to be an issue. And Kyle Moore should not have been, nor should be going forward the starting left end.

Now these assertions actually encompass both my opinion and facts based on my football knowledge. I won't say everybody should agree with me, but I will state my case.

And I know that making these kind of statements can get me labeled as hater.

I really don't give a shit.

How is it that 8 games into the season our starting nose tackle is still not looping on Pirates versus pass rush? How is it that none of the young defensive linemen have a signature pass rush move? How could our best pass rusher not be coached up to make an inside move the first 5 games? Why don't any of the young defensive linemen look much better than they day they first came to Tampa?

Simply put, it has to be coaching.

I don't know what goes on at One Buc every day, but I do know what I see on Sundays and what I see are guys making the same mistakes over and over again and guys who are consistently inconsistent.

Let me give you some for instances.

I said before that Kyle Moore shouldn't be starting and its true. But I'm not sure its his fault. He is big and strong and fast and quick. But he also has terrible technique and can't self generate a pass rush. But aren't those areas where he should be getting coached up?

Instead although he is strong he is consistently soft against tight ends. Although he is quick he is the slowest defensive lineman on the roster off the ball. Although he is fast he continues to run right into offensive lineman and get stuck instead of getting on an edge and trying to get to the quarterback.

But its not just Moore.

Remember a few weeks back when I drew up all the plays that gave us trouble against the Saints? Well the Rams and Cardinals have both run variations of play #7 against the Bucs since then and guess what? The defensive ends STILL aren't getting underneath those kickout blocks.

Let me go deeper though because this hit me last night when I was watching the game again. This may go over some people's head but I'll try to be as clear as possible.

Certain formations tell defensive lineman which way it is likely the center will slide in pass protection. This is a big deal because in general unless a tight end stays in there will be three blockers versus two on one side and on the other side its going to be two against two. You REALLY want to take advantage of the side where both guys get a one on one match up because of course its harder to win when the numbers aren't in your favor.

Well one major key that hasn't changed much in over a decade is that when there is one back in the backfield and they are offset to one side, the center will usually slide away from the back. So in that situation you want to either have the end and defensive tackle to that side do their best pass rush move, or for them to run a good pass rush game to take advantage of the center sliding to the other side.

But it appears that in that situation what the Bucs do instead is have the defensive tackle to that side make an inside move.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with making an inside move if the guard is giving up the inside move. But if every single time the defensive tackle away from the slide is making an inside move when will they ever have the opportunity to make an outside move to SET UP the inside move?

Moreover the Bucs appear to be telling the defensive tackle to the slide to make an outside move. But unless that defensive tackle beats his guy clean outside, which isn't likely on the side of a slide, he is going to end up naturally coming back inside when he can't turn the corner. That means that you end up with two A gap rushers, little to no inside push, and and only one true one on one, that being the defensive end to the back.

Now I'm not saying its impossible to win that way, but I AM saying its a hell of a lot harder. And in my opinion a good defensive line coach would know that.

You want to know what else sucks about the situation? With Price out Moore is getting most of the inside reps when we go with 4 down lineman in 3rd and long. And he usually ends up to the side of the slide. So the Bucs have their best interior pass rusher, McCoy, make an inside move, and they have Moore trying to make an outside move which I haven't seen him win on so far.

What we SHOULD be doing is having McCoy line up away from the slide on passing situations and allow him to make which ever move he wants to make to beat his guy one on one and let Moore rush the A gap, try to get some push, and if the quarterback tries to take off he can go hunt him down.

Now you have unleashed McCoy so he can really get after the quarterback, you allow the end to his side to play off him (if McCoy makes an outside rush the end to his side can come under neath him at the level in what is called a "natural game") and the defensive end to the slide at least has some lee way on where he can go rather than getting pushed wide.

As for pass rush games, the Bucs look worse than most college teams trying to run them. I won't lie, it drive me nuts every time I see a defensive end take just two steps up field and then come underneath on a TEX game. That's harry high school bullshit and they might as well not even run the game rather than running it so poorly that they give up containment like they did against the Falcons.

So far I haven't seen the Bucs run a TOM game with the two inside guys which you would think we would do to try to help McCoy get free. Of course that would be a little too much like right. Better to just keep sending him out there with no plan and hope for the best.

People keep talking about Ndamukong Suh and comparing McCoy to him unfavorably. But if you ever watch the Lions play the one thing you notice is that they are constantly trying to showcase his talents. First and foremost he rarely moves from his left defensive tackle spot which means his development has been building every week. But when he DOES move its because they are trying to get HIM free so he can wreck shop. And oh by the way he has two pretty good pass rushers at end starting with him and they all haul ass every play at the snap of the ball.

The Bucs on the other hand have been too busy trying to showcase Quincy Black at the expense of McCoy's development, to try to design any defenses for him to have a favorable match up.

Look, I like Black and I think he is a really good player, but this defense will be built around Gerald McCoy for the next 10 years if the Bucs are lucky. And that should have started THIS year. Again that's something a good defensive line coach would have been fighting for.

If the Bucs want to get better at pass rush enough to make a difference the one place that they can make the most gains is pass rushing on early downs. Its a lot harder to get sacks, at least in theory, on third downs when the offensive linemen are more alert for moves and when quarterbacks are more apt to get the ball out of their hands quickly. But on early downs offenses tend to run a lot of play action which takes longer to develop and also can make for a harder block for an offensive lineman trying to sell run.

So how can we take better advantage of that?

Start Michael Bennett at left end.

Its a simple but obvious solution. Bennett is still fuzzy sometimes on the details but he is the only left defensive end on the roster who can create his own pass rush on any down. He uses his power, speed, and quickness most effectively and he also has the best get off. Its worth having him miss a few tackles or not getting under a few kickoff blocks if on the other hand he is harnessing the hell out of the quarterback on play action pass. I like Tim Crowder and he is a decent left end but he doesn't have the tools Bennett has. I am not as high on Moore honestly as either Crowder or Bennett even though he is in fact a decent player.

If you DVRd the game yesterday just do this one favor. Replay the game, let it go and only rewind when you see the left end do something that catches your eye. I can just about guarantee you that almost every time it will be Bennett flashing on screen. And that's even though Moore made more tackles.

I can't put the decision to start 100% on Wash though because Moore WAS fifth round pick so maybe the front office wants him playing to make them look good. But the more Bennett plays the more obvious its going to be to everyone on the team who gives them the best chance to be successful. I don't know what kind of practice habits Bennett has or doesn't have but if the Bucs are serious about improving their pass rush putting him in the starting lineup is the easiest and quickest way to get that done.

It of course won't solve everything, after all there may need to be some more additions come next spring from the draft. But it will be a shot in the arm for a defensive line that needs it.



Well I know that was pretty long so I won't wear your eyeballs out. In closing here are the quick individual breakdowns.

I will say that the pass rush overall was very very average


Kyle Moore: I had him with 4 tackles and an assist, and a pressure.


Gerald McCoy: I had him with 4 assists a pressure and a hit on the quarterback. He also had two penalties for offside and he also helped to give up a long run when he got out of his gap on a scoop block.

Roy Miller: 3 tackles and an assist. He was a little soft again against double teams and he didn't loop on a Pirate.

Stylez G. White: 3 tackles and two assists along with two pressures, a hit on the quarterback and another good rush. He played ok but after the previous two weeks I was expecting more.

Tim Crowder: 1 tackle and 1 assist along with a really good bull rush. He also had a good drop on a blitz.

Al Woods: I was very impressed with Woods being able to play after only a week and being productive. 2 tackles and an assist and he really showed some good hustle playing both the nosetackle and undertackle positions. Can't wait to see more of the guy.

Mike Bennett: 1 tackle and a pressure along with a hit on the quarterback. He also was really good against the tight ends, knocking them back and getting off the blocks. He did have a missed tackle that would have been for a loss but he forced the play and that's what the Bucs need more of.


That's all for tonight. I'll see you in the comments.

Get Ready For Some Alex Magee

This just came across my twitter stream

Jeff Faine, Jeremy Trueblood, Earnest Graham & Ryan Sims are all going to miss this weekend's game in Atlanta due to injury.

That's from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' twitter feed. It's kind of ironic because I was just talking about why the loss of Brian Price to IR was so big the other day and now that Sims is going to be out people will get to see what I mean. That's not a knock on Alex Magee though. Actually I don't know much about him and I couldn't say how he will fit in with our defense until he gets some snaps. But I would say its pretty damn scary when you think about the fact that he and Al Woods now make up the second team defensive tackles even though neither have taken a snap for Tampa and both were recently learning how to play in a 3-4 rather than a 4-3 defense.

And yes, it DEFINITELY matters.

I don't know if both Magee and Woods will be up but even if they are I have a hard time believing that Woods would be able to learn the playbook quick enough to be ready to play meaningful snaps for the Bucs on Sunday. Magee on the other hand has been here for a few weeks so he should at least have some of it down pat. Its not like Sims was necessarily a world beater either but at least he knew where he was supposed to be on every play.

Now the Bucs and all of us fans will have to say a few prayers that Gerald McCoy and Roy Miller, along with Magee, stay healthy for the whole game. If not you are looking at the prospect of some major shenanigans inside against the Falcons.

On an additional note James Lee will get another week to impress the coaches, this time he will probably see a lot of Kroy Bierman and probably some John Abraham as well. I thought aside from a couple plays where he slipped that his blocking was outstanding against Arizona. But he had two false start penalties and the truth is that's what drives everyone crazy about Trueblood. If he can cut that out then I really do believe no matter what the Bucs say publicly that he has a chance to be the permanent starter.

Bull Rush

My latest Bull Rush post is up over at joebucsfan. Please check it out and leave a comment!

Live Blogging The Bucs Vs Falcons #2 Week 17

A Zone Blitz Wrinkle For The Bucs

For years and years since Coach Dungy and Coach Kiffin arrived in Tampa our defense has been running a certain zone blitz where we send 3 people strong and drop the backside end. The blitz is still effective and I have seen Coach Morris use it a couple of times since he took over the role of defensive coordinator. However there is one thing that offenses learned to do in pass protection over the years to block this blitz which made it harder to get pressure on the quarterback and generally gave him a nice window in which to look downfield and deliver the football. I would like to propose a wrinkle in this scheme for this week, just as a change up.

No matter which Falcons quarterback starts against the Bucs this weekend, we know none of them are particularly fleet of foot. So in my opinion what we want is quick pressure in his face and if we can't get him on the ground initially then we make flush them out of the pocket where they aren't as comfortable. The wrinkle I am suggesting is that instead of having the Sam Linebacker or nickle corner rush from the outside and the Mike Linebacker rush inside in the B gap, that we switch their responsibilities. The bottom diagram shows the blocking scheme that most teams are going to in order to block up this blitz when they want to pass. By blocking down with the tackle and having the running back block out on the outside blitzer they create a lane with a big gap between the tackle's outside shoulder and the running back's inside shoulder. Further they put the outside rusher on an island where if they make an inside move and miss the quarterback then contain is lost and the quarterback will have nothing but green grass in front of him.

With the Mike Linebacker and outside rusher switching responsibilities, you alleviate that problem against that particular blocking scheme. Your outside rusher takes a step or two upfield and then comes screaming inside. If its our Sam linebacker, ie Quincy Black, he can even get a quick shove on the offensive tackle's back who is blocking down to ensure he isn't able to step back out and try to get to the Mike. When its performed correctly what you end up having is a double team on the running back with the outside rusher who is now coming inside and the Mike who is now rushing outside for contain. He will have to pick someone to block and either way he is going to be wrong. As long as both guys maintain their given lane outside or inside then its going to be a win for the defense. And because the Mike will be a little late outside, which is fine considering Barrett Ruud's closing speed, then he should be able to discern if its a screen pass by then if the back doesn't block the Sam or nickleback.

I gave the illustration on top of the offensive line blocking out just to give a picture of what the Sam or nickle back should do if the offensive tackle actually block out to them which is take a couple steps up field then rip inside. Trust me, it won't be an easy block for the offensive tackle and they shouldn't have any guard help inside because of the end coming inside to the A gap. It also may confuse the back as to who he is supposed to block and give the Mike an opening on his outside rush.

This should be an especially effective blitz against the Falcons because they like to flex their hall of fame tight end, Tony Gonzales, out in the slot which means you won't have to worry about him staying in to block. I don't mean to infer that the Bucs haven't thought about using this wrinkle on their own, but regardless it sure would be nice to see them use it a time or two this Sunday.

Just sayin...

Xs And Os

You asked for it, you got it. Several readers over at joebucsfan asked for another post with more of the Xs and Os aspects of the Falcons game so I decided to give them what they wanted. Here is the new post and I hope everyone enjoys it!

Bull Rush

My latest edition of Bull Rush is up over at joebucsfan. Go check it out and let me know what you think!

Live Blogging The Bucs Vs Falcons Week 12

The Difference

I have to keep saying this, this blog was meant to be pretty much a hobby of mine. I had no reason to believe anybody would care about what I had to say about sports in general and the Bucs in particular. So the interest that I have drawn truly humbles me.

Having said that, there are some fans who think that I have some kind of ulterior motives. I have a feeling that they aren't feeling what I say on this blog because for the most part I give substantive critiques instead of broad (and usually wrong) generalizations. See when you speak in specifics a lot of the times the media narratives they normally hear don't fit. So all of a sudden I am covering for the defensive line or I am just trying to get some notoriety when the truth is like I said before this was all a hobby for me.

But here is the thing, I haven't actually been factually wrong about anything all year. I know this because I actually watch and rewatch all the Bucs games before I decide to offer my assessment. I highly doubt any of the chattering classes around here do that listening and reading some of what they have to say. If they do then either they don't really know football or they are intentionally misleading their fans in order to further some other agenda.

However this blog is about what God loves, the truth. Doesn't matter really to me if people believe me or not, like I told a commenter yesterday all I can do is argue with facts. After I do that I can't make anyone accept those facts but at least I will have exposed them to them.

Now here is the narrative you will hear all week about the Bucs. That they are in disarray after essentially firing Jim Bates. That they never gave Bates the players he needed for his defensive scheme. That we really don't have any play makers on defense. And that this change won't really make much of a difference.

So here is what I think about those memes. First of all, yes firing both the offensive and defensive coordinators in the same season is a bad sign. I can't defend it and I don't know that anyone should. But I will say this, something had to give. And honestly, although I would never call for Bates to be fired I would almost bet that the only reason he lasted this long was because the Bucs didn't want to fire him after firing their OC Jeff Jadgozinski right before the season started. Whether this means the team is in disarray will be seen in the final games.

As for not providing Bates the players he needed, yeah I have said for the past few weeks that what we brought in here in the draft this year versus what Bates said he needed for his defense did not line up. Neither did trying to switch Jermaine Phillips from safety to outside linebacker. But here is my thing on that, as a coordinator you have to be able to adjust your scheme to the players you have, especially in the pros. Every year people lose big time players on offense and defense. So lets imagine for a second that the Bucs brought in two big tackles and two big linebackers to fit Bates scheme. What happens if those guys get hurt during the middle of the season? The NFL is set up where you are only going to have so many big time guys because of the salary cap. If your coordinator on offense or defense can't adjust their scheme to their talent level then you will always be one or two injuries away from disaster.

As for talent level I will say again that we have enough talent to win. Not all of the guys on our defense are guys I personally think would be starters in the NFL but that doesn't mean we can't win with them. Lets take a trip down memory lane. In the year the Bucs won the Superbowl one of their starters and best players on defense, Booger McFarland, got hurt. We had to go down the stretch run through the playoffs and into the Superbowl with a guy most people never heard of, Chartric "Chuck" Darby, as our starting nose tackle. Here was a guy who wasn't drafted and had played in the World League before signing with the Bucs. And yet he still played well and we did go on that run and we did win the Superbowl.

It ain't always about the big name guys. Its about how they fit in your scheme.

As for whether this will make a change on defense, absolutely it will. The one thing that I am worried about the calls Coach Morris will make at crucial times. I haven't seen him in that situation so I am not sure how that will go. But I am telling you right here and now that our defense will show a marked improvement on Sunday against the Falcons if they truly go back to our old scheme with the weak tackle lined up over the center and at times running an under defense with Quincy Black on the line over the tight end. If you see those things happening on Sunday you will see our stats improve. Basically the thing about it is there were small adjustments Bates had every opportunity to make all year but never made them.

I know most sports pundits around here won't take the time out to actually attempt to explain what the specific problems on our defense were, but I don't work that way. I am not just going to say this group or that group is the problem or this player or that player is the problem...unless they ARE the problem. I will give you one prime example in closing.

Today on the radio I heard some very popular sports guys say, loudly, that the Bucs didn't have any hurries against the Saints. Now I like both of the guys who said this but that doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. The Bucs actually had 6 hurries. First let me make sure you know what a hurry is. A hurry is when someone hits or gets close to hitting a quarterback which either makes him throw the ball away or affects the throw and ends up in an incomplete pass. The truth is we could have had a couple of other hurries but for the fact that Brees still found a way to complete the pass even with someone bearing down on them.

As for the hurries we did have, Greg (Stylez) White had 3, one of them on a great spin move when he hit Brees right in the kisser. Jimmy Wilkerson had 2, one of them on a 3rd and 5 in the first half when he was rushing the guard and made a really nice rip move. And Roy Miller had 1 where he beat a double team on an early down and got right in Brees' face.

Now would I have liked to have had more hurries? Hell yes. I would have also liked to have some sacks too. But still you have to admit that 6 is a lot more than 0. And for someone who wants to argue with me that we didn't have any hurries they are going to have facts.

*Kanye Shrug*

Anyway, I advise all Bucs fan to at least stay on board or get back on board for this weekend and check the defense out against Atlanta. I am not saying we will win, and I am not saying we will be perfect. But what I AM saying is that you should see a noticeable improvement.

It is what it is.