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Ok so I'm a little under the weather today so obviously no Bull Rush post. So I have made an executive decision to just write everything I'm going to write about the Bucs vs Ravens game in one post almost in a stream of consciousness style and then put the individual D Line break down at the end. I expect it will be longish and I expect some folks may not like it. And I expect I don't care all that much at this point but I'll still do my best.

I think its best if I go by offense/defense and then the breakdowns so guess what, that's what I'm going to do.

Offense

-After the game I had an interesting back and forth with one of the Bucs fans who follow me and has been a loyal reader of my blog since last year. His contention was that Greg Olsen's offensive game plan was lacking and that it played a major part in the loss.

I didn't agree with him and in fact I thought it was one of Olsen's better game plans of the season. Understand that I'm not really an Olsen fan and I have called him out previously on this very same blog, so me giving him any props isn't what you would call normal. But watching the game live I thought he committed to running the ball and he called down hill runs which our O Line is much better at blocking. I also thought he dialed up some good play action passes that they just didn't end up converting. It was my belief right after the game that it was the execution that was lacking, not the game plan.

Turns out others evidently also were questioning Olsen's playcalling judging by local sports talk radio and questions lobbed at Coach Morris by the papers. Obviously this was something worth looking into more closely.

So I watch the game again and...

I haven't changed my mind AT ALL. In fact if anything I'm even more convinced now that the game plan was sound. But I also realize that if people watched the game on TV the announcers kept harping on the game plan and offering up the opinion that the Bucs should have gone to a no huddle or a "sugar huddle" (what ever the eff that means) to change the tempo of the game.

Well first let me address the no huddle deal. It's true the Bucs could have gone to a no huddle offense and I can respect people who have that opinion. But here are the facts about that. Fact number one is that the Falcons who were most effective at it DID IT AT HOME. Obviously its going to be easier to run a no huddle offense when you in a dome and your fans aren't screaming at the top of their lungs to disrupt your communication. Fact number two is that the Bucs started going no huddle with 7:43 left in the game. They had an opportunity for a touchdown with 6:19 remaining when Michael Spurlock dropped the touchdown. If they score with that much time left would anybody be saying they should have started the no huddle sooner? Fact number three is that the drive preceding the one that started with 7:43 left in the game started with 14:15 left in the game. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Bucs didn't think it would be wise to go no huddle for the whole fourth quarter. And fact number four is that the Ravens are a team that is built around defense. If you think that running a no huddle is some kind of magical cure to beating them or that they can't still dial up blitzes against a no huddle you are out of your mind. Going no huddle earlier may have helped but it also could have gotten Josh Freeman killed, especially if the offensive linemen had bad communication.

Now that we got that out of the way let me also talk about Freeman's performance. I know Coach Morris and Freeman himself said he was "off". But I don't know if fans or even some media knows what they meant by that. I would guess that some would take it to mean his accuracy was "off" and in a few circumstances it in fact was. But after watching the game three times what was really off about Freeman was his reads.

Understand that Freeman was getting pressured most of the day so he wasn't always able to go through all of his progressions downfield. But there were times when I felt like presnap he should have had a good idea of who would be open but either didn't hit them or scrambled at a time when the rush didn't really call for it. Of course its easy for me to say that from my couch and I know its different when you are in that pocket and a bunch of 300 pound guys are trying to rip your head off, but I can only go by what I see on the tape.

And this goes back to the argument about the game plan. People see Freeman take a shot down the field on 3rd and 2 and they figure "why in the hell is the Olsen calling that play?!". Not realizing that there were other routes being run, and many times other guys who were open for a first down but Freeman just chose to go for the deep ball.

Now I like Freeman a lot. I think the maturity he has shown this year has been amazing. I also believe he is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league already. But I want to go through some plays during the game, not to throw him under the bus at all, but to illustrate to people who may not know what other options there were available to him.

-10:10 in the first quarter, 3rd and 3. Freeman feels some pressure so he rolls right and throws deep to Mike Williams but it goes incomplete. Nothing wrong with taking a shot early in the game but he over threw Williams who was indeed open. At the same time Michael Spurlock is running a shallow crossing route from his left and he is open for a first down. Don't know if he would catch it but he is open. Whether it was the roll or the read Freeman chose not to throw it to him though.

-6:44, first quarter, 1st and 10. Freeman takes another shot downfield to Arrelious Benn but again over throws the receiver. At the same time Ryan Purvis was wide open in the flat as the Ravens did not adjust when he motioned out.

-2:58, first quarter, 1st and 10. Its a play action pass but damn near every offensive lineman gets beat and once again Freeman has to roll to his right. He ends up throwing the ball away which I have NO problem with. But at the same time John Gilmore slipped out into a route and he was open for a nice little dump off.

-8:56, second quarter, 1st and 10. The left corner for the Ravens was giving the wide receivers a lot of cushion all day. On this play he was at least 7 or 8 yards off. Benn runs about a 7 yard stop route and is wide open. But instead Freeman throws a swing pass to Cadillac Williams which nets about 2 yards. Now this is a play where I believe good quarterbacks see that cushion and automatically hit the WR and let them work. Its definitely what the Ravens did to the Bucs when they played off coverage. But again maybe that wasn't the read.

-6:18, second quarter, 2nd and 7. This was an opportunity for a touchdown. Williams and Benn lined up on the same side with Benn in the slot. Benn ran a skinny post and Freeman tried to hit him in the seam but he couldn't come down with it. However Benn attracted the underneath coverage and the safety while Williams was running his own skinny post. Williams ended up inside the corner and WIDE open. I honestly don't know how he doesn't score there if the ball is thrown to him.

-2:15, second quarter, 2nd and 13. The Ravens blitz and Mo Stovall runs a hot route at about five yards and he's wide open because the corner has once again given a lot of cushion. Freeman however throws to the other side to Williams who is bracketed by underneath and over the top coverage. Thankfully he saw it and made sure it wasn't an interception by throwing it low and outside. But Stovall was good for at least 8-10 yards.

-10:51, third quarter, 3rd and 2. This was the one time all game when I thought Freeman ran when he didn't actually have to. The Ravens ran a pass rush game against the right side of the Bucs' offensive line but it appeared they had it picked up. But for whatever reason Freeman decided to roll to his right again and he tried to hit Caddy in the flat but couldn't. Now it may have been that the play was designed to go to Caddy to begin with because they had both WRs on the right side run crossing routes and then he snuck through the line to go to the right flats. Maybe it was their way of getting him open in space. I don't know.

What I do know is that Ray Lewis ended up picking up Caddy which I'm sure made Freeman nervous about throwing to him and at the same time Sammie Stroughter was open for a first down running the shallow crosser the other way.

-7:04, third quarter, 2nd and 6. Once again the left corner is in off coverage. This time its Williams that runs about a 5-6 yard stop and is wide open. But Freeman decides to try Stroughter in the slot on a skinny post. In fairness Stroughter was open but the pass was a bit off. Still Williams probably gets a first down and then some with his ability to run after the catch.

-2:30, third quarter, 3rd and 2. Bucs line up in a trips bunch formation and it appears that Stroughter is open at the sticks after they all scatter. But Freeman once again feels the pressure and rolls right and almost throws an interception trying to flip it to Caddy.

-12:16, fourth quarter, 3rd and 2. Freeman takes another shot downfield to Spurlock. And Spurlock is once again open on a go route but the ball is just a bit over thrown. At the same time Stroughter gets inside the safety who is lined up on him in the slot man to man and he is absolutely open for the first down.

Now this is the ultimate in Monday Morning Quarterbacking and I understand that. I don't mean to say that Freeman was wrong in all of these situations or even in any of them. The point is that while he may have taken shots down the field that doesn't mean Olsen wasn't calling plays where guys were open for the first down. You never want to take away a quarterback's aggressiveness as long as he isn't throwing into coverage. But the fact remains that just because a bomb was thrown it doesn't mean that was the only route being run.

I personally thought we ran the ball better than expected against the Ravens. We didn't get a ton of yards but LeGarrette Blount and Caddy made their presence felt several times. One thing that killed some drives was penalties though. For whatever reason Kellen Winslow jumped several times and when he wasn't getting penalties he was getting abused by the Ravens defense when he tried to block in the running game. He had a couple of nice catches including a touchdown but overall I thought he had a pretty bad game.

For the offensive line to be as patchwork as it is I thought they performed at a decent level. I thought Donald Penn was outstanding most of the day both run and pass blocking. I thought James Lee held his own at right tackle as did Jeremy Zuttah who was pressed into service at right guard. Ted Larsen did get over powered a bit by Haloti Ngata but hell who doesn't? The offensive line wasn't great but I thought they played winning football for the most part.

Defense

I don't really know what to say about the defense. On the one hand they held the Ravens to 17 points and they had an outstanding interception by Aqib Talib and they also came home with 4 sacks including 3 by the defensive line.

On the other hand they blitzed something like 25 times and many times those blitzes were ineffective. There was one situation where Stylez G. White went to drop and ran right into Ronde Barber who was trying to blitz. And of course there was the blitz and the end where somehow Tim Crowder ended up one on one in space with Ray Rice with the game on the line and the defense needing a stop which ended up with Rice getting a first down. Not only did the Bucs go back to using the 3-3-5 extensively, they even went to a 2-4-5 with only two defensive lineman in the game several times. Now I can't say it wasn't somewhat effective but it just drives me crazy seeing Gerald McCoy getting two sacks rushing from an undertackle position but then getting limited reps there because of all these other formations they are sticking him in. But it is what it is at this point.

On another note Barrett Ruud is a guy whom I have defended from what I feel like are baseless knocks against him. But at the end of the game, again when the defense needed a stop, he inexplicably was not in his gap on a one back trap and the result was Rice cutting back where he should have been for a first down. He had a decent game otherwise but you can't be out of position like that when the game is on the line.

I have watched the play where the Ravens tight end Todd Heap catches the 65 yard touchdown and in my mind there is only one explanation. Everyone in the secondary appears to be playing cover 2. Everyone that is but Sabby Piscitelli. He rolled up in the box and then kind of stood flat footed at the snap while Heap ran right by him. I don't know how he ended up that out of position but with both corners rolled up and with Sean Jones on the opposite hash at cover 2 depth its hard to see how the call was anything but cover 2.

No matter what it was an embarrassing play on a day when the defense didn't play bad at all otherwise.

The pass interference on Myron Lewis was a horseshit call. But at the same time I think Coach Morris losing his cool about it might have had a negative effect. We have all heard by now about the verbal altercation between Talib and a ref after the game over the call. I can't help but wonder if Talib felt he was taking his cues from his head coach. Now I love Coach Morris' enthusiasm and see nothing wrong with it, but there are times when adversity hits and in my opinion the head coach has to stay calm so the rest of the team will follow suit. Just my two cents.

Again, it WAS a horseshit call though.

On a positive note the Bucs held the Ravens to less than 100 yards rushing. So there's that.

Now to the individual defensive line breakdowns.

Tim Crowder: I thought Crowder played well with a sack and 3 other tackles. He had to drop so many times he probably felt like a db by the time the game was over. One thing I did notice is that when the Bucs were going to blitz with their four defensive line rush package in with Crowder, White, McCoy and Michael Bennett in they put Crowder at end instead of defensive tackle. That's a tip off that other teams may end up being able to pick up on. Not a good thing.

Gerald McCoy: McCoy had the first multiple sack game of his young career and both rushes were outstanding. On the first sack he beat a double team by the offensive tackle and guard for the sack. On the second he bullrushed and then came off the block inside for the sack. I honestly don't think they could have blocked him one on one all day but again unfortunately he didn't get all that many opportunities to rush from a 3 technique. Still there is no denying that the young man is coming on strong and I think folks who were calling him a bust early on will end up with quite a bit of egg on their faces. Oh he also contributed another tackle by my count and held up well against several double teams.

Roy Miller: Gotta say that Roy is back on track now. He isn't getting pushed around near as much as he was earlier in the season and by my count the guy had 4 tackles and 3 assists on the day. That's damned impressive for a nosetackle/part time 3 technique. He even had a good rush through a double team. The only negative on him for the day was the offsides penalty but I'll take that as a trade off for all that production.

Stylez G. White: Stylez had 2 tackles 2 pressures and 2 hits on the quarterback by my count. I thought he played well but he probably could have made a couple of inside moves to get more pressure on Joe Flacco. Another reason why it was frustrating to watch all the blitzing and 3-3-5s and 2-4-5s was that the starting offensive tackle Michael Oher got hurt and I thought White could have really taken advantage of his backup if he had some more one on one pass rush opportunities. I'll let it go one day I suppose lol.

Mike Bennett: Bennett had a really good physical tackle coming off a tight ends block a couple of good rushes and a hit on the quarterback. One thing I wish I could say to Bennett is to lay off the finesse stuff. He is a guy who I believe should be throwing fastballs just about every play. I'd love if he would just stick to one of three moves. A speed rip around the corner, a bull rush to a rip, or a quick inside move. The last couple of games he has started doing all these stutter and go moves which look good but aren't really all that successful. He should be putting tremendous stress on every right tackle he faces because most of the time they aren't all that athletic. I guess I just see so much of what that kid could be that its hard watching him not doing it every Sunday. But I have a feeling that his time is coming soon.

Al Woods: I had Woods down for 2 tackles. I thought he played extremely well in spot duty and held up well at the point. Its funny because the Ravens were supposed to out physical the Bucs but I personally didn't see it at all.

Alex Magee: I had Magee with an assisted tackle on a really good hustle play. He didn't have a whole lot of production but it appeared that he did his job while he was in there.

Well that's all for now. I'm still a little sick so I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing the rest of the week so hopefully this will tide you over. If not...oh well lol.

See you in the comments section!

Bull Rush

First congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who doubled their win total from last year with a win yesterday over the Carolina Panthers.

I imagine there are some folks today who still aren't ready to give the Bucs any credit because they have supposedly played a weak schedule and then there are others who will argue that they are going to win the division. I find myself somewhere in between at this point. I have to admit that even for all my optimism I didn't predict that they would sweep the Panthers. On the other hand I do see areas in need of major improvement if this team wants to truly get into the playoffs this year. So while I still think that 8-8 is about right, I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised by a 9-7 or even a 10-6.

I definitely think either record is now in reach and that's a testament both to Coach Morris and his staff having a good plan and the players believing in and going out and executing that plan.

As for yesterday's game I have just a few thoughts before the individual breakdowns.

First its obvious that all the talk about showcasing Gerald McCoy last week was just that, talk. The Bucs didn't do anything new that could possibly be construed as "showcasing" his talents as far as pass rushing goes and if anything to me they just stayed the course.

Second because we are winning more than we are losing I am willing to accept that the Bucs will continue to feature a 3-3-5 alignment. What I am not willing to accept is the notion that they ALSO care about getting sacks. The two are just about mutually exclusive at this point. If they want to keep running the 3-3-5 that's fine, but at least admit that the goal in that case is to cover, not pressure the quarterback.

Yesterday out of 14 non two minute 3rd down plays the Bucs used a 3 man line 9 times. That doesn't mean that they only rushed 3, but it does mean only 3 defensive linemen were in the game. All year they have run the same thing and they had 1 sack to show for it from Quincy Black. Now they have 2 thanks to Ronde Barber.

So you do the math, two sacks in 9 games, none by a defensive lineman, but they used it 9 out of 14 times on third down against the Panthers.

Thirdly it appears that the Panthers did indeed slide their center to the 1 technique each time and they few times McCoy was at a three technique with a four man line he got one on ones.

And fourth, the Bucs actually ran a TOM game yesterday....once. It was at the end of the game and for whatever reason they blitzed Geno Hayes to the same side as the looper, but it definitely happened. If you want to see it for yourself its the last Panthers drive with 50 seconds left to go in the game after Aqib Talib was hit with a bogus pass interference call. And coincidentally enough the Bucs ran it with McCoy at the 1 technique...like I drew it up, and had Tim Crowder as the penetrator at three technique.

Aye man, I'll never know for sure if anybody is reading my posts over at One Buc but I do know some things are looking mighty similar on film.

Of course I still have to criticize it because McCoy didn't pop the center to make him sit down for a count before he looped around. Because he looped around on the snap Crowder wasn't able to really get penetration the way he could have because the center followed McCoy right into Crowder's penetration.

But hey, at least they tried!

Having said all that, the defensive line still had a very productive day so on to the individual breakdowns.

Tim Crowder: Crowder started in place of an injured Kyle Moore and I thought he really played well. He wasn't perfect but I had him with 2 tackles and an assist to go along with four really good rushes including one that forced a holding call. About the only criticism I had was that he lost contain twice but I'll continue to say that, injury or not, he and Michael Bennett are better options to start at left end than Moore.


Gerald McCoy: It's really hard to criticize a guy who had 3 tackles and 1 assist, a caused fumble, 2 PBUs, a pressure, a hit on the quarterback, and 2 other good rushes.

But I will do so anyway.

McCoy had some plays where he was in the backfield but he also had some plays where I felt he got pushed off the ball a little too much. He also got caught peeking inside twice where the ball ended up running right through his hole and one of those runs went for 18 yards. And while he didn't get as many one on one pass rushing situations with a four man line, he has to make more out of his handful of opportunities.

In my opinion McCoy had a really good game against the Panthers, but he could have had a great game and that's what I am looking for out of him.


Roy Miller: I have been on Miller's ass for the last four or five games so its only fair that I show him some love when I think he's played well. He still got pushed around a couple of times yesterday but it was a rarity instead of the norm. He ended up with a tackle and two assists by my count but more importantly he held up well against the double teams and reach blocks and didn't allow himself to lose a lot of ground.

He did, however, forget to loop around on a Pirate AGAIN. I don't get why he keeps having that brain fart but sooner or later the Bucs will pay for it big time.

But aside from that I was really impressed with Miller's play yesterday. Hopefully he can find some consistency now.


Stylez G. White: I only had Stylez down for one tackle which was a tackle for loss. But on the other hand I had him with 2 pressures, a hit on the quarterback and 3 other good rushes. As much as I talk about McCoy the biggest loser in the 3-3-5 on third downs might be White. Every week he proves that he is the Bucs best and most consistent pass rusher but with the inside gaps open in the 3 man alignment then unless the Bucs blitz he is generally looking at a double team every time. Not the best thing for a guy playing for a new contract I'd say.

It was nice to see him almost get that sack with a quick inside move though. More of that on early downs will definitely help his productivity.

Michael Bennett: Bennett saw an expanded role both on regular defense and on third downs. And with that expanded role I had him with 1 tackle 4 assists, and 2 good rushes. He also showed a knack for getting up field and forcing the ball back inside to his help. One thing he still needs to work on is losing contain when he goes inside from the left. McCoy probably gets a sack on one play if Bennett stays outside on an edge rush. But at the same time its hard to knock him because he beat his guy clean and got good presure on the quarterback as well.

If the kid keeps progressing and keeps getting more reps he's going to be a problem. Seriously.


Al Woods: I'm really starting to like this Woods kid. Its only his second week with the team and he's a rookie but you can't even tell watching him play. And for the second week in a row he was productive with a tackle and 2 assists. Obviously he still has to get better, a lot better, technique wise. But so far he definitely looks the part of NFL defensive lineman. Color me impressed.


Alex Magee: Magee was active but didn't play as much as Woods and I think I saw why yesterday. Evidently the Bucs are trying to make Magee into an end rather than an interior guy and lets just say....I don't see it so far. Doesn't mean he can't change my mind. But at the moment he doesn't appear to have the athleticism I would associate with a 4-3 defensive end, especially in the Bucs kind of scheme.

By the same token he didn't look near as big as I thought he would either so maybe he is more of a tweener type. I guess time will tell though.

Well that's it for today, I'll look for you in the comments section.

Bull Rush

Not going to say a lot today but being 5-2, especially after a week where the media made fun of Coach Morris for saying we were the best team in the NFC record wise, is pretty damn sweet.

By the way, who's laughing now?

I thought the defensive line played pretty well even the defense gave up 28 points. Over Stick was again a part of the game plan and I believe they called it five times to some pretty good results. One thing the defensive line still needs to work on is backing off the ball and gaining ground on their steps when they run the Pirate stunt. Its a good stunt but they aren't getting near as much out of it as they should.

Also Arizona killed the defense with reverses. I would expect to see more of them in the coming weeks. I thought they played the bootlegs a lot better than they did against the Rams though.

Even though they only came home with one sack I still thought the pass rush improved. The biggest thing now is that the guys have to get better on being on the details both individually and as a group in order to get that sack number higher. That means guys using their hands better and more efficiently, running the a tight hoop when they beat their guy and as a unit keeping the quarterback contained in the pocket. They probably would have come home with at least two or three more sacks had that been the case.

On to the individual breakdowns.

Kyle Moore: I keep waiting for Moore to have a breakout game but he still seems to be feeling his way through. He had 2 assists yesterday, was good on a bootleg getting in the quarterback and had a nice pass rush against the tight end. But he needs to get more explosive. First and foremost he could start with working on his get off. Its harder to get off the ball when a tight end is in front of you but when he has the open side he should be flying at the snap of the ball. Also he should really work on dominating the tightends when they are to his side. He comes off and uses his hands well but you don't see him really push the guy back and change the line of scrimmage on a regular basis.

He also needs to develop one signature pass rush move. I don't care what it is but he needs to find one move and work on it every day until he can do it in his sleep. When he is at left end he just doesn't seem to have much of a plan most of the time. Whether its a bull rush or a rip or whatever, he needs to be able to have a move that gives offensive tackles trouble on early downs.

He would also benefit from backing up off the ball when he is running a Pirate stunt so that he has enough room to take a good step inside and then get up the field. Right now Moore as well as several other defensive linemen, continue to go too lateral on the stunt and end up getting washed instead of penetrating in the gap. That allows running backs to continue running down hill instead of making them change their track which is a big part of why you run the stunt in the first place.

Moore also had the offsides penalty on 3rd down which I think was a matter of him lining up wrong. And he continues to be mostly a non factor rushing inside on 3rd and long. But with Brian Price out there really aren't a lot of other options at the moment.

It wasn't a bad day for him but as the starting left end its time for him to become more of a factor for the defense.

Gerald McCoy: McCoy had a pretty good game with 3 tackles and an assist to go along with 2 pressures, a hit on the quarterback, and at least 2 other good rushes and 2 other good moves. But he is one of the main guys I am referring to when it comes to being on the details of his pass rush. He ends up giving up his chest to the guards all too often because he is trying to reach for their shoulder pads instead of knocking their hands down, especially on inside moves. I know why he is doing it though, because it works all the time on the college level. But on this level if you keep reaching for shoulders guards will punch the life out of you in your chest more times than not.

If he just tightens up his aiming point to the wrist or the elbow he will find a lot more success when he comes inside. The main thing you want to do as a pass rusher on the pro level is keep the offensive lineman's hands off you so they can't grab anything.

Also he needs to really work on running the hoops drill and finishing his pass rushes low and fast. Several times during the game he made a really good move but he was too high to really turn on the jets and get to the quarterback before he got the ball off. He should really work on dipping his inside shoulder, leaning towards the quarterback and mashing the gas.

Roy Miller: I thought Miller had a better game this week but he still had some plays where he gave too much ground. I had him down for 1 tackle and 3 assists. He had some really good penetrations on a couple of plays and he held the point on double teams a lot better for the majority of his snaps. The holding call against him was bullshit in my opinion. But he really could have helped himself by getting low when he felt the pressure until one guy came off.

He also had two more plays where there was a Pirate and he didn't loop around for containment. Thankfully the quarterback didn't try to scramble either time but its really too late in the season for him to be making those kinds of mistakes.

Stylez G. White: Stylez had a really good game again yesterday. I had him with a sack, caused fumble, another hit on the quarterback, 1 tackle for loss, 2 other tackles, 2 pressures, and 3 other good rushes. One of the tackles he made was a situation where we ran a zone blitz and he dropped to the flat and had to bring down the running back in a one on one match up. Had he had some help from the other side containing the quarterback he probably would have had at least 1 more sack also.

Now that the Bucs are running Over Stick and White is making occasional inside moves on pass rush you can see offensive tackles not being as comfortable in their pass sets. It really paid off at the end of the game where the Bucs were protecting a lead of just three points and he was able to sack the quarterback, cause a fumble and keep the clock running down.

I do have a complaint though and that is the terrible EX and TEX games he ran with Moore at the end of the game. Both were wasted reps ad if they are going to run them that bad they might as well just go straight rush.

But all in all I thought he played the kind of game Bucs fans have been looking for him to have all season. And if he can continue playing that way for the rest of the season and even improve on it, opposing teams and the rest of the league will have to start taking notice.

Tim Crowder: I only had Crowder with 1 assisted tackle but I still thought he played ok. He did however let the quarterback break contain when he was rushing from left end on a play where White would have probably gotten a sack. In fairness he got chipped by the back but as a left end you always have to be guarding against a right handed quarterback trying to escape to your side.

Its hasn't been a problem for Crowder up until now so I expect for him to get it cleaned up by next week.

Michael Bennett: I swear, you watch Bennett play and at times its apparent he has all the tools to be a dominant left end. But he continues to mess up on little details like reading his keys. Arizona ran a shuffle pass and Bennett's key blocked down inside. When that happens you are supposed to get your head inside and look for a pulling guard or a kickout block from the fullback or backside tight end. Had he done that he would have seen the shuffle pass coming and likely knocked it out for no gain.

Instead his eyes went upfield at the quarterback as the play is designed to do and when he went for him the shuffle pass went to the running back up inside of him. Its a testament to his athletic ability that he was able to turn around and make what was essentially a solo tackle on the running back down the field. But it never should have come to that.

I had him with 2 tackles and 1 assist. He had a couple of really good plays where he jacked up the tight end, pushed them back and ripped off inside to make a play. He also had a pretty good level rush on one play. But he also lost containment on one pass rush which again gave away a potential sack.

If Bennett can ever put it all together I think the sky is the limit for him. he is big, physical, and he has a knack for pass rushing. But until he starts reading his keys and being on the details he is never going to live up to his potential.

Ryan Sims: I didn't have Sims down for any stats but I thought he played well for the most part. He gave everyone a scare when he went down holding his knee, especially because we only had three defensive tackle active for the game. But thankfully he was able to shake it off and play the rest of the game.

That's it for now. I'll try to get my TGTBATU post up later today. Until then as always just leave remarks or questions in the comments section.

Bull Rush

Well what do you know, for at least a few more hours the Buccaneers are in sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Who woulda thunk it?

In fairness some of us did see the potential for this kind of success but none of us really knew how things would work out once the regular season began. Its just great to watch the team performing up to its potential and getting back to what we have come to know as "Buc Ball"

It was particularly gratifying to see us dominate the Panthers, a division opponent, on their home field after so many years when they had dominated us. They showed a shot of the stadium at the end of the game and just seeing all those empty seats made me smile

Having said all that the reality of the situation is that the Buccaneers have beaten two teams that have yet to win a game. That doesn't mean the Bucs aren't good, but on the flip side it doesn't mean they are world beaters either. Even though they won yesterday we still have a lot of things to work on. They continue to let guys get deep on our secondary and just thankfully haven't faced a quarterback that could get the ball to them or the receivers are dropping the passes. Their run defense was good overall yesterday but we had too many missed tackles and gave up several big runs. They ended up with 4 sacks yesterday but at times our pass rush was none existent on early downs. They continue to have busts on blitzes that lead to big plays against us. And up front we have to get better on some details.

The Bucs are going to have to get better if we have any expectations of beating a Steelers team that is also 2 - 0 and is playing some fantastic defense themselves.

Still there was a lot to be excited about. Holding the Panthers to 7 points. Keeping DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart under 100 yards COMBINED. Forcing four turnovers including a turnover on downs after a magnificent goal line stand. And the hustle to the ball was outstanding.

So Bucs fans should enjoy this victory and in fact savor it. Then get ready to give the Steelers hell this Sunday. Only one team is coming out 3 - 0 and it needs to be the Bucs!

Now for the individual breakdowns


Kyle Moore: Moore played ok notching two tackles, a pressure and a fumble recovery by my count. I saw a little more out of him from a pass rush stand point and he had a really good spin right at the level of the quarterback in the second half of the game.

There are two major things I think Moore needs to work on. First and foremost he needs to be more physical on the tight ends. As a starting left end the tight end is going to be on his side the majority of the time. And Moore is definitely strong enough to win the matchups in dominant fashion. Unfortunately it seems like he catches the tight ends block instead of dishing out the blow. The more he gets knocked off the ball the easier it is for opposing runners to get to the corner. It doesn't help that he also starts peeking around the block to try to find the ball.

I always try to tell guys that the blocker will tell them where the ball is or is going to be. You don't have to look for the ball if a tight end tries to cut you off from the gap inside. The ball is going to be inside. You don't have to look for the ball if the tight end tries to block your outside shoulder. The ball is coming outside. The easiest thing to do is just get your hands inside on the tight end and run your feet then depending upon the block rip off to where the ball is going. Or just rip off to your gap. You won't be wrong and you will put yourself in position to make a play instead of allowing yourself to get pushed around.

The other thing Moore needs to work on his is pass rush. Specifically he has to learn when to stop running passed the level of the quarterback and come back to make a play. Too many times he is ending up five or more yards behind the quarterback when the ball is thrown. Its almost impossible to affect the quarterback from that position. At least if you come back to the level you have a shot to get a hand in his face or tackle him should he decide to take off running.

Kyle Moore is a second year player and he didn't play all that much last year so he's still learning and I realize that. But if he just works on those two things I think he will see his productivity go up dramatically in a short period of time.


Gerald McCoy: I had mixed feelings watching McCoy yesterday. On the one hand he was productive with two tackles and two assists along with a quarterback pressure. He really played the slip blocks and double teams well in my opinion. And his effort, as always, was outstanding.

But on the other hand I thought he regressed as far as his pass rushing went. Especially when it comes to pass rushing play action on early downs. Too many times I saw him just running right down the middle of guards with no plan on how to get off the block to try to get to the quarterback. And I saw him in wayyy too many K Lang's* against an offensive line that I thought he would dominate. He also came out of a pirate defensive line stunt instead of staying in the gap and he ran what looked to be a pass rush game with another defensive tackle and instead of looping around the opposite side guard where he likely would have gotten a hit on the quarterback, he stopped in the middle of the game and tried to go back the other day.

Obviously those things didn't hurt us too terribly yesterday, but against a better team it will. On the line stunt and the pass rush game the thing he has to know is that although he might not come free if he runs it right its highly likely that someone else will. But conversely when he doesn't go where he is supposed to be, with violent intentions, he will end up in a situation where he isn't in position to make the play and nobody else is either. And when it comes to pass rushing he just has to be ready every play to make a move. Its not like he can't get good pressure with a bull rush, but for a guy that has his kind of skill and quickness that shouldn't be his signature move.

Now I don't want to come down too hard on him because its not like he didn't play well. But I just have seen what he can do now so that's what I expect every week. And in fact that's what that defense is going to need from him every week in order to be special.

Roy Miller: Roy had a tackle for a loss, two other tackles and an assist by my count. But he also was a little soft playing the double teams yesterday. He is a guy who usually plays with great pad level but for whatever reason he appeared to get high against a lot of those double teams which made it much easier to push him around. Now its not easy holding that point, especially against a team as physical as the Panthers. But that's the job of the nose tackle on this defense so Roy is going to have to figure out away to anchor down in there against the run. He isn't getting any burn on 3rd downs so he is going to have to make his name as a run stopper.

Last week I suggested he tilt a little more to give the offensive linemen less surface to hit. This week I'm going to recommend that he work on being a knee bender and staying low when he feels that double team coming. But I know that's all easier said than done. At the end of the day Miller is going to have to find his own way when it comes to playing those double teams. But one way or another it has to happen because we all know he has a guy breathing down his neck coming off he bench.


Stylez G. White: Stylez had another productive day at the office, this week turning in two tackles, an assist, a sack and a pressure. He is off to a very solid start to the season. He continues to be really technically sound in the run game and physical on his tackles as well. He did however let one running play get outside of him and missed the tackle as he was trying to rally to the ball.

As well as Stylez is playing I think he could be even more productive. So far he hasn't really run many pass rush games on his side on 3rd and long. Some of that is because we aren't always getting four man rush calls on 3rd and long. But still there have been opportunities in both games for him to run an EX or TEX game and he hasn't taken advantage of it. I know some guys just prefer to do one on one rushes and I totally get that. But one thing I have noticed is that offensive tackles are setting Stylez for an outside move now. One way to get them to stop doing that would be to run some pass rush games and give them something else to think about.

Another way to do it, of course, would be to make a....say it with me...inside move. I am going to make this suggestion into I'm blue in the face because I know the impact it can have. If Stylez would just hit a spin move on an offensive tackle early in the game, even if it didn't work, then for the rest of the game that guy is going to have to worry about him doing it again. That means he can't feel as comfortable kick stepping back looking for a speed rush. And conversely it means it will open up the outside rush even more.

One thing I worry about with Stylez is that he doesn't use finesse moves enough. Its not like he isn't strong enough to bull rush and all that, but using those kinds of rushes repeatedly game after game wears your body down, and takes a lot out of you from rush to rush. The reason why making a spin move or for that matter any other quick inside move matters is because when you have an offensive lineman worried about that inside move now you he's not jumping way out for the speed rush and thus you don't have to run into him as much and instead you have the opportunity to run around him.

I know Stylez says he isn't a spin guy but I think if he just tries it out a couple of times early in the game he will see how much easier it makes pass rushing the rest of the game for him.

Tim Crowder: See now this is the Tim Crowder I expected to see in the preseason. Of course in the preseason Crowder wasn't on the left side, but instead the right side. I won't keep beating that dead horse but if you have read my blog any length of time I think you see what I'm getting at.

Crowder hit the Panthers over the head with two sacks, one of which was accompanied by a caused fumble, a tackle an assist and another really good bull rush on a play where the ball was completed. The Panthers came into the game without their starting right tackle and Crowder made them pay for that. He was also stout in the run game as that assisted tackle came on the fourth down play on the goal line where he jacked up the tight end and got a hit on the running back to finish him off after Geno Hayes clipped his ankles. If there was one guy that I was say had the most consistent pass rush all game it would have to be Crowder. The sack he got on the roll out play was just an awesome display of hustle and he was very physical in his hit on the Panthers quarterback Matt Moore.

The question for me is how long can Crowder continue to be this productive, especially pass rushing, and continue to be a back up?

I guess we will all see.

Brian Price: For what ever reason Price didn't play all that much this game. I guess when you aren't in for most of the third down plays and you are a backup to a guy who mostly only plays on first and second down then the numbers are just going to end up that way for now. Still he was productive with limited reps notching two tackles. He also had great penetration on that 4th and goal goaline play which helped to clear the lane for Hayes to come in and hit the running back.

Because we haven't gotten a lot out of Kyle Moore as an inside rusher on 3rd and long I would expect to see Price inserted into those situations going forward. Pairing him and McCoy up inside to pass rush on 3rd downs just makes sense to me and honestly I can't understand why it hasn't happened so far unless maybe Price's hamstring is still holding him back. I just do not believe that Moore is a better interior rusher than Price and I don't think its even close.

But hey just because something makes perfect sense doesn't always mean it will be done does it?

Although one has to wonder how long a high second round pick can only play a handful of plays before someone (maybe the player himself) complains. Id say not very long.

Ryan Sims: Sims also didn't play much. But when he was in the game he was also high and a little soft playing the double teams. Not many reps to go on but I thought he could have played a lot better.

*P.S. - I was so ecstatic to see the defense go back to using six defensive linemen on the goal line I almost didn't know what to do. Last year we kept trying to use five linemen and we kept getting our ass kicked but nobody did anything about it. I wrote so many posts on it that my fingers were about to start bleeding. I'm not saying that because we were successful yesterday that it means we will win on the goalline every time. But I am saying that using six defensive linemen instead of five gives us a hell of a lot better chance at doing so.

Bull Rush

Cross posted at joebucsfan


It sure as hell feels a lot better writing this column after a season opening win!

The Buccaneers went out there and put the hammer to the Browns on our home field to start the season off right. There were definitely some mistakes made and we are going to have to make quite a few corrections before the next game, but a win is a win dammit. And after suffering through last season every Bucs fan should be walking around with their chest pushed out a little.


The defensive line was particularly instrumental in this win. On a hot muggy day and with only seven guys suited up they brought the heat to Jake Delhomme and while they didn't get any sacks, put so many hits on him that by the end of the game he was limping around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.


Before I get to the individual breakdowns let me give some general thoughts about the performance both positive and negative.


On the positive side the defense as a whole and the defensive line in particular swarmed to the ball yesterday. Few things get me more hyped that seeing 4 or 5 or six guys tackling the ball carrier at the same time. Several times yesterday I jumped up out of my seat I was so fired up from watching groups of Buccaneers putting the wood to the Browns' ball carriers (along with a few instances of friendly fire lol). We have to keep that going for the rest of the season if we want to really be considered a great defense.


The defense also came home with three turnovers, two of which the defensive line had a hand in. On both of the interceptions Delhomme threw there was a defensive lineman in his face applying pressure. And as the saying goes, pressure bursts pipes. In addition we had a defensive lineman force a fumble that unfortunately we didn't recover.


That's what you call Buc Ball!


Another thing I noted was that on at least 20 plays, excluding the final series when we went prevent, where the Bucs ran some version of a 3 man defensive line. Sometimes we had four defensive linemen in the game and stood one up in a 3-4 look. Other times we just went with three linemen in the game period. A few other times we had a four man line but it appeared that one and in one case two interior linemen spied the quarterback instead of rushing.


Now it's no secret that I'm the opposite of a fan of a three man rush. I think it makes it too hard to put pressure on the quarterback and the tradeoff in coverage, which is generally negligible, doesn't justify it. Thankfully many times we blitzed out of a three man look or at the least sent Quincy Black as a fourth rusher.


I would still say the results were mixed though. Black simply is not a guy who rushes offensive tackles well. He's much better blitzing when you can get him matched up on a running back. But I will say that several times the defensive line did find a way to get get pressure while only rushing three. And that to me was damned impressive.


Another thing of note is that we showed a "Big" defensive line at times. There were only four guys in the game but McCoy was at defensive end with Roy Miller and Ryan Sims inside and Kyle Moore at the other end. I don't know if it was something special just for the Browns since they seemed to like to go with a lot of two tight end formations or what. But at the least it will give the rest of our opponents something else to have to worry about.


And finally I will again attempt to send some kind of subliminal message to the Buccaneers coaches and or defensive linemen, plus in this case Quincy Black, about how to run a TEX game. The outside rusher on a TEX game come closer and read this closely.


THE LATER YOU GO INSIDE THE BETTER!


It doesn't help anybody when the outside rusher goes early. What happens is that the offensive tackle can stop his kick step and sit on the defensive tackle who is trying to get to his back and the guard who was initially blocking the defensive tackle can now come off to the outside rusher who is no looping inside and easily block them before they can even make a move. Worse yet the earlier the outside rusher loops inside, the more ground they have to give to try to get around the guard.


Now if the outside rusher runs upfield then the tackle keeps kicking back to pass block him which allows the defensive tackle to get to his back and now the guard is so vested in blocking the defensive tackle he may not even notice the looper coming inside. And because everyone is now deeper instead of having to give ground, the outside rusher can basically plant off their outside foot and run a straight line inside to the quarterback.


Why the guys at One Buc still haven't figured this out really and truly escapes me. Especially when that pass rush game can be so effective and productive.


Ok, I'm going to try to let that be my last time talking about it, but it really and truly drives me nuts every time I see them running it wrong.


As for the individual break downs.


Stylez G. White: Stylez had a very productive day. By my count he had four solo tackles, two assisted tackles, three pressures and two hits on the quarterback. In actuality he was even more productive than his stats would suggest because one of those hits on Delhomme injured him in the first half. It was on the same play where Delhomme threw the momentum turning interception to Ronde Barber that got us in position to score a touchdown before the half and cut the Browns' lead to 4. He was also good in coverage several times and he was running to the ball all over the field. He had one of the more physical plays when he took on a pulling guard and stuffed him in the hole and still was athletic enough to come off the block and make a very physical tackle on the running back. I know in the past people have questioned Stylez's ability to play the run but he was lights out yesterday. Banner day all around.


Gerald McCoy: Its hard not to get excited about this kid. I keep trying to talk myself out of building up too many expectations for the rookie but when you see him playing like a seasoned vet, its hard not to. By my count he had a tackle for loss, another solo tackle and an assisted tackle with two pressures and two hits on the quarterback. He also drew a holding penalty against the Browns because of his penetration. And he played all over the line. In addition to his regular undertackle duties he lined up at nose tackle and both defensive end spots at times in both four man and three man lines. And none of it seemed to be too much for him.


He still has to work on his technique when it comes to slip blocks and he needs to work on penetrating more when he has a line stunt that calls for him to go inside to the next gap. But for that to be his first real NFL action the guy showed me a lot. Now its a matter of consistency. He has to be able to do it next week and every week after as well. If he can do that he's going to be special, that's for sure.



Roy Miller: I thought Roy had a very steady game. I had him with one solo and two assisted tackles. He anchored down well when facing double teams. He also showed a lot of hustle getting to the ball. He didn't get that many opportunities to rush the passer but he did have at least one really good rush.


On the flip side he got hit with a WHAM block on that long run by the Browns' Jerome Harrison. A WHAM block is when they trap one of the defensive tackles, usually with a tight end who goes in motion before the snap. Ideally you want to get underneath that block and make the ball spill. Failing that you at least want to take it on strong so the hole doesn't open up really wide. They kind of caught Roy slipping however and he was upfield too much to be a factor on the play.


In my opinion Roy should consider tilting a little bit more in his stance when he is lined up on the center. It seems like he is just a little too squared to the line of scrimmage and in that case he is giving the center and onside guard too much surface to hit when they block him. Also it will help him to get more push upfield when they try to have the center reach block him to his outside shoulder. That's just my suggestion though. Overall he did a very good job.


Kyle Moore: Moore had a decent game as well. He was another guy who didn't play a lot of snaps because we went so much 3 man line but while he was in he was productive. I had him with 3 solo tackles and a couple of good rushes. One thing I will caution him on though is getting too far behind a quarterback on a pass rush. One time when he was lined up on the right side he was at least five yards deeper than Delhomme in his pass rush. The defense is playing with 10 at that point and there is nothing you can do from back there.


Tim Crowder: Even though he was a backup Crowder was all over the field. He had a forced fumble, he broke up a pass to the tight end, he had a couple of pressures, a hit on the quarterback and he even forced a holding penalty on an offensive tackle after a really good bull rush flushed Delhomme from the pocket. He almost had another outstanding play but he barely missed the running back for a tackle for a loss from the backside on a trap play. If he keeps playing like that I have a feeling he will see his playing time increase.


Brian Price: Price showed some of the skills that compelled the Bucs to draft him at the beginning of the 2nd round of this year's draft. He was lightning quick of the ball and he showed really good quickness pass rushing through some double teams. In fact he was the guy, rushing from the nose position, that flashed in front of Delhomme on the interception he threw to E.J. Biggers. He also added a two tackles including one on a running play where he split a double team. He looked like he has finally gotten his legs back under him and I look forward to seeing more of him next week.


Ryan Sims: Sims played mostly nose tackle which is where I think he is most comfortable anyway. He didn't have a terribly productive day but he did hold the point well versus double teams for the most part and he got a tackle showing good hustle running down the field to get to the ball carrier.


In closing there's one more thing I will address. The Bucs chose to dress only 7 defensive linemen yesterday. It ended up working out ok but I have to wonder if that's why we went to a three man rush so many times. It's really hard to for me to understand how not having Michael Bennett, probably the second best pass rushing defensive end on the roster, active helped us yesterday. I know that special teams make a difference and that we were facing one of the most dangerous return men in the NFL yesterday in Joshua Cribbs. But A) I have seen Bennett on special teams in the preseason and he seemed to do a pretty good job and B) I just do not believe that all 3 safeties that did not play a down of defense yesterday were absolutely necessary for special teams. Especially when one of those guys got a penalty and almost got a stupid personal foul after there was a fumble on another occasion.


It worked out ok yesterday mainly because we won. But there is going to come a time when we have to rush four guys and get pressure on the quarterback all day long, especially in the home heat. Quincy Black is a very talented linebacker but he is not going to beat an offensive tackle on a pass rush very many times if at all. So I hope they work the numbers out better in the future because I can't see dressing 7 defensive linemen working for very long this season.

Bull Rush

Cross Posted at joebucsfan

Since the game last night was largely a matchup of backups versus backups I will give a quick recap but not the full write up that you are used to.

The defensive line played ok as a unit last night. We only came home with one sack but several guys pass rushed well. And of course we won the game so that's always a plus. But I don't think anyone would call this a dominant performance up front by any means.

A few negatives I saw. We still aren't looping around for containment when we run our line stunts. Sooner or later that will come back to bite us. The Texans also ran a lot of bootlegs and they fooled us on all but one play. The general rule of thumb I have on bootlegs is when you see buttholes and elbows its a boot. When its a running play the offensive lineman try to stay square and get up the field to make their blocks. Because they can't be downfield on passing play they turn and run toward the sideline on bootlegs. At the very least a defensive end should slow down and check the quarterback once he sees a blocker's backside. I can almost guarantee you that after watching this film the Browns are going to run several bootlegs just to see if we have solved that problem.

Another thing I noticed is that some of our players still don't understand how important it is for them to be in their gap on running plays. I saw several times where a guy would get cut and then the ball ran right through their gap. There were other times when a guy would get cut off from their gap and instead of fighting to get back where they were supposed to be, they took the path of least resistance and guess where the ball went. Yep, you guessed it, right where they were supposed to be.

It was mostly the backups committing these infractions but some of these guys are going to have to play for us on Sundays so they need to get it together.

For the personal breakdowns I'm only going to mention a few guys.

Michael Bennett: Bennett had another productive game with four tackles, one of which was for a loss, and two pressures. He was the one guy who played the bootleg correctly by the way. He continues to show good pass rush ability from both left end and inside at the tackle spots. On the negative side he didn't set up the offensive tackle while running a TEX game. Again for the umpteenth time TWO STEPS UP THE FIELD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! He also needs to work on really ripping into his gap when he is running a line stunt which will help him to escape the would be blocker and help to keep him from getting cut. The more I see of the guy though the more I'm convinced he is our best option right now at left end. We will see how that plays out as the season goes on.


Carlton Powell: Powell again showed the kind of effort you like to see from your young players. He also had a pretty productive night with two tackles, and assist and he knocked a pass down. He looked particularly good on a couple of plays avoiding the cut block and making the play in his gap. Unfortunately he got reached a couple of times and allowed the runner to run through his gap. I'm not sure whether Powell is talented enough to play on the NFL level but I think if he keeps working like he has been he definitely will be in the years to come.


Dre Moore: Moore turned in his best performance of the preseason last night in my opinion. But it was also the most frustrating to watch. He had two tackles a pressure and a pass knocked down by my count. But in between the plays he made he just looked so disinterested at times. Literally on some pass rushes it appeared that he just ran into the guy in front of him just to bide his time until the pass was thrown and he could run to the ball. I'm not saying that's definitely what he was doing but it was definitely what it LOOKED like he was doing. His effort has been so up and down in the preseason games that you have to wonder some times if its the same guy. There is no question that he has a lot of talent and when he turns it on he is a very hard guy to block. But you can not play in the NFL if you are Tarzan one play and Jane the next. It just doesn't work that way. I was really hoping for big things from Moore this preseason but I just didn't see it. At least not on anything resembling a consistent basis

Erik Lorig: Lorig had some decent rushes last night and that was good to see. He had a hit on the quarterback as well. But Lorig is one of the guys I was referring to about not being in his gap all the time. I can tell him that I got my spot on the active roster my rookie year from the practice squad because another guy on the active roster refused to stay in his C gap against the Lions and he ended up getting cut. That's just how serious it is. And that's how serious he has to take it if he wants to both make the team and make a serious contribution on Sundays.


George Johnson: Johnson had a decent night last night. He did have a penalty for roughing the passer which we could have done with out. But the very next play he made a good inside move and got himself a sack. He also had a tackle for loss and another tackle by my count. On the negative side he has to learn that our defensive ends spill the fullback on split bellys and he also got sucked in really bad on a bootleg fake.

All in all though he looked pretty good for a guy who we signed after camp had already started.


That's all I have on the game last night. If you saw something I missed post it in the comments section.

Bull Rush

Cross posted at joebucsfan

Even though we didn't beat the Jaguars I came away after watching this game very encouraged about the Buccaneers' season. Particularly I thought just about every guy on the defensive line showed at least some improvement. There were a bunch of hits and pressures on David Garrard even though we didn't come home with any sacks this game. And the effort was once again very good.

There were some problems though as far as everyone on defense being on the same page, particularly when we blitzed. At least twice we had major busts when we blitzed and nobody covered the running back out of the backfield. One time it appeared to be Kyle Moore's fault, another time it appeared to be Sean Jones' fault. In addition, several times when we blitzed there was no contain element of the defense away from the blitz. It didn't hurt us at first but then in the second half Garrard noticed and he took off running for a first down.

Now I don't know for sure who was right and who was wrong or if the blitzes just had some design flaws or what. But those are the kinds of mistakes that can be the difference between a win and a loss in a tight game. So its of utmost importance that we get those problems ironed out as we get ready to face Cleveland in a couple of weeks.

Technique wise one thing I noticed this game was when the defensive line ran a line stunt and guys came inside they really didn't use their rip to help them get inside of the blocker. Instead they just stayed square and tried to push the blocker in the backfield. I understand not wanting to get washed way down inside, but by the same token if a guy doesn't rip into the inside gap they lose almost any chance of penetrating and either making a play or forcing the runner to go laterally instead of downhill. Its a little technique thing that can really make a big difference.

I'm still not a fan of the five down lineman alignment we have for short yardage and goalline. Its simply too easy to run inside when you don't cover both A gaps. I keep hoping that Coach Morris will at least consider going back to what we used to do seeing as how what they are using now hasn't been all that effective, but so far I've seen nothing that makes me believe he will change so I guess I'll just have to get over it and hope we don't end up in that situation all that often.

I did like some of the things Coach Morris did with the three lineman set up. But only when he sent pressure or at least had Quincy Black coming off the edge. I don't really think rushing an offensive tackle is really Black's strong suit, but when he rushes it gives the 3 other guys an opportunity to be successful. But I can't stand when we only rush 3 because its almost impossible to get any pressure on the quarterback and anybody if given enough time can find an open receiver. With the way we were getting after Garrard with our four man rushes I was surprised that Coach Morris went to so much 3 man rush, but maybe he was just trying to get a long look at it. At least I hope that's all it was.

For most of the night the Jaguars were getting the passes off early anyway and not giving our guys a chance to sack Garrard. I did get really excited one time though when Stylez White and Gerald McCoy ran an EX game to perfection. The ball came out quick but if it didn't both guys would have been free to pummel Garrard.

As for the individual critiques:

Kyle Moore: Moore's pass rush at left end was much improved this game. He still didn't really attempt to turn the corner outside but he had several good inside moves. I had him with one pressure and a couple of other notable rushes. He still doesn't look all that impressive as an inside rusher to me though. Also he was poor again in trying to set up a TEX with Ryan Sims. Taking two steps upfield and expecting that to attract the offensive tackle is just not good enough.

He also got a little too high down on the goalline and got knocked off the ball a little. I would really like to see him use his hands more when he goes against tightends. He is big and strong enough to dominate those matchups but he never seems to get good hand placement on them so he can get good extension with his arms. Because he is the left end and most offenses are right handed he is going to have to battle tight ends a lot. That part of his game definitely needs some work.

Gerald McCoy: I was very impressed by McCoy this game. You can tell that he is getting very comfortable with the speed of the game now and its not overwhelming to him. He had some outstanding pass rush moves that you probably didn't even notice on the first glance. I had him with two pressures a quarterback hit and three other really good rushes. By my count he had a tackle and an assist to go along with that.

And that's with Garrard going with a three step drop for most of the game.

He did have a missed tackle but it was on a play where he got good penetration into his gap and made the running back go almost backwards to try to get around him. That penetration allowed the rest of the defense to pursue and get the running back on the ground for a loss.

I still would urge caution against anyone expecting McCoy to be a world beater in his rookie season. But I can tell you this much, I wouldn't be all that surprised if he is.

Roy Miller: Roy had a quiet game this week. I think that's mostly because he wasn't in for a lot of the three lineman schemes. When he was in the game I thought he did well though. And he did a lot better this week on the scoop cut. He didn't fall down and he ended up being in on the running play. He also held up well over the center in goalline and didn't allow himself to get knocked off the ball much.


Stylez G. White: Stylez flashed big time against the Jaguars. After having his coaches taking shots at him in the paper for his work ethic and other folks including me saying he needed to show up, he did just that. He had a really nice spin move and got a hit on the quarterback. He came inside on a blitz and good a pressure on Garrard. He had a good speed rush and forced a holding call on the offensive tackle. And he had a really good tackle from behind on a play where he showed great effort running down the field in pursuit.

That's the kind of performance I am expecting out of Stylez every game and that's the standard he is going to be held to. And if he can go out and play like that for 16 games, something tells me our pass rush will be alright.


Michael Bennett: I'm going to go ahead and say this and get it out of the way. I believe Bennett should either be the starter or split reps evenly with Kyle Moore. It's not necessarily a knock against Moore but the truth is Bennett has shown himself to be the better pass rusher at left end in games this preseason. And its not as if he has only done well against backups. He has had some of his better rushes against starting offensive tackles in fact. And as I have said before, and as it was proven again on Saturday, right now Bennett is the only guy at left end who is successful speed rushing around the corner.

I just believe that all other things being equal you go with the better pass rusher, and that is Bennett in this case. Its the same argument I made last year in training camp when I felt Stylez should have been starting over Gaines Adams (RIP).

Now I have about as much chance of starting at left end for the Bucs right now as Michael Bennett does and I realize that. The Bucs are committed to Kyle Moore and its not likely that they would consider benching him any time soon. I'm just telling you what I see as an unbiased observer.

Against the Jaguars Bennett again was very productive. He had some really good rushes, got a hit on the quarterback and ended up with a tackle and a couple of assists. He might be falling too in love with his inside pass rush moves though. He is good at getting the offensive lineman upfield and then coming back inside, but when you are the left end facing a right handed quarterback the last thing you want to do is lose containment and allow the QB outside of the pocket. And sooner or later if you keep going inside somebody is going to see it and take advantage of it.

Bennett also learned a valuable lesson Saturday night, and that is when you see a back offset to your side you always have to be aware that they might chip block you when you aren't looking for it. Bennett was trying to get upfield to make the Jags' quarterback pull up on a roll out pass and one of their running backs caught him from the blindside and put him on his back. Not a good look at all lol.

Brian Price: Price had a much better game. He obviously got his legs back up under him and it was a lot harder for the Jaguars to move him or get him on the ground. He had a really good hit on Garrard off of a three man plus Quincy Black pass rush look. He did have one bust though when he forgot to loop around for containment when we ran a line stunt. But all in all for his second bit of live action of the preseason he held his own.


Tim Crowder: Crowder played well but he didn't flash all that much. He did have one good rush that I noted but for the most part he was where he was supposed to be, doing his job. But he just didn't really fill up the stat sheet.

Normally I would go through the rest of the guys on the roster but they didn't play all that much this game plus because the DVR gods are jerks, the last 2 minutes or so of the game was not recorded. Therefore I will just note that although Carlton Powell may not have enough talent to play in the NFL, I have really been impressed with the way he has bounced back from a decidedly horrible first preseason game against the Dolphins. The guy goes hard and you can tell it means something to him. I feel like that's the kind of guy who I would want on my practice squad because I think he will actually appreciate the opportunity and, in time, just might develop to the point where he IS ready to play in the NFL.

I'm not trying to campaign for the guy but I am saying I really appreciate seeing young guys who bust their ass and show marked improvement from game to game.

Well that's it for this week. Just two more weeks before the real bullets start flying. I don't know about you but I can hardly wait!

Bull Rush

Cross Posted at joebucsfan

The defensive line as a whole performed better against the Chiefs than they had against the Dolphins but there is still a lot of room for improvement in a lot of areas.

One of those areas is ripping off of blockers. Too many times I am still seeing guys trying to make arm tackles with a blocker still on them. This leads to a lot of missed tackles and in some cases some dislocated shoulders. By ripping off of a block a guy gives himself a much better opportunity to make plays and reduces the chances of getting hurt. But in the heat of the moment when you see a guy running through your gap I know guys get excited and forget their technique at times. That's why you have to drill it over and over during the week so that it becomes second nature. Its not just one or two guys either so that's something everybody can work on.

Another area is a pet peeve of mine that it would seem has continued from last year to this year. When we blitz people inside its common sense that the quarterback will try to escape that rush generally by either continuing to backpeddle or by trying to escape outside of the pocket. It is for that reason that the contain rushers on those kinds of blitzes should be hauling ass upfield with their best speed rushes rather than trying to use power rushes of any kind. As a matter of fact, if they can avoid the blockers altogether by running around them, that's what you would usually prefer. But some of the defensive ends tend to get into the blockers too much which not only keeps them from getting to the quarterback when they are drifting back (and when it should be a free shot) but also has the potential of allowing the quarterback to break containment if they take a deep drop and immediately take off running outside to avoid the inside blitzers.

The moral to the story is if you have a lot of people rushing inside of you get your ass upfield.

On the other hand it was encouraging to see quite a few guys really getting after it rushing the passer. We also managed to run the same line stunt from last year a few times and actually get it right. Defensively we showed a little more 3-4 this game to some mixed results especially up front. I'm not totally sure but it seemed at times as if some guys weren't sure which gap they had on run fits. But we did have several defensive ends standing up making plays against the run by folding back inside and even getting good pass drops on occasion.

One last gripe. Too many guys spent too much time on the ground this game. Yes, everybody get's cut and its hard to stay up at times. But you won't make any plays if you keep falling on the ground and it wasn't always due to cut blocks. Guys have to take pride in not allowing offensive linemen to take them to the ground unless they take two guys with them on a double team. Other wise by hook or by crook as defensive linemen they have to work harder to stay upright, especially when the ball ends up coming back into their gaps.

Now for the personal breakdowns.

Kyle Moore: I thought Moore did some good things against the Chiefs. He showed good hustle on the play when he caused Thomas Jones to fumble early on in the game. He also had the best pass rush Ive seen from him so far out of the times when he is lined up inside as tackle. And he showed a lot of hustle every play he was in there.

One area that he needs to improve on however is taking on tight ends in the run game. Moore tends to come off a little soft and catch the blocks which leads to him getting knocked off the ball a bit. Because he's athletic he usually ends up in his gap where he is supposed to be theoretically but because he has given ground it gives the running back an opportunity to get yardage even when everyone else has done their job. Now no defensive end dominates every match up with a tight end but you can't consistently lose ground when they are blocking our defensive ends one on one and expect the defense to work.

Also Moore needs to develop more outside moves at left end. His power rushes and inside rushes are good but at some point when teams notice that he never tries to turn the corner, offensive tackles are going to start sitting on his power and inside rushes and make him try to take the corner. If he can't do it he's going to be in trouble because very few defensive ends in the history of the game have been able to rely almost solely on power rushes and been any good.

Gerald McCoy: McCoy showed a lot of improvement from the last game to this one in my opinion. He played that slip block a lot better. He was also a lot more active in his pass rush. By my count he had at least three legitimate pressures and he almost got his first sack on a play where he got upfield and then came back underneath after he saw the quarterback trying to take off running up the middle. His hands were also a lot better as he kept them closer together which protected his chest from the offensive linemen's punches.

I would say this was a really good building block game for McCoy. He showed a little bit of everything with his pass rush. He had a really good speed rush on a guard to force the quarterback to throw it too early. He showed some good power as well. He even showed a little spin move (which needs some work lol). I think more than anything else though his level of activity was the thing that was most encouraging to me. He didn't accept being blocked at any time and he kept working to beat blocks until the ball was thrown or the whistle blew.

Roy Miller: Roy was a bit up and down this game. He did some really good things like splitting a double team and getting pressure on the quarterback. As well as another time when he got really good penetration and made the tackle. But he was also reached by the center on a play where the running back ended up going through his A gap. He was also on the ground a little more than I'm used to seeing him including one time where nobody actually blocked him but because he was expecting contact he fell down. And of course the ball found his gap that time too. Another time the center scoop blocked him and went up to the linebacker while the guard cut blocked him from behind. I thought for a second that had played the cut block well enough to stay on his feet but all of a sudden the sniper got him.

The one thing that always stands out about Roy is his effort though and Saturday was no different. As long as he cleans up his technique on that reach block and remembers to keep his feet up under him, he will be just fine.


Stylez G. White: I like White as a player and I'm expecting big things from him this season. Having said that now I'll say this, he needs to play better.

Don't misunderstand me, he hasn't played bad. In two games I don't think I have seen him doing something technically "wrong". However we need for Stylez to be a playmaker. We need for him to be the bell cow who leads us to where we want to go. We need him to get after the quarterback from the first whistle to the last. And we need him to make splash plays.

So far that hasn't happened.

Now in the first game the field was definitely a factor and its not like he played a ton of snaps. But yesterday he had opportunities and he didn't really make any big plays. One reason is that he hasn't really made an inside pass rush yet. He kept trying to work the edge against the Chiefs and theres nothing wrong with that. He is after all a pretty good edge rusher. But when the offensive tackles are setting for an outside rush and all but putting a sign up inviting you to burn them inside and you don't at least try once or twice, something is wrong.

Im not saying he has to start spinning every other play like Dwight Freeny, but he has to keep the tackles honest. If not they are just going to keep pushing him by the corner and getting pluses from THEIR coaches.

Stylez did have pretty good pass coverage on a running back and he ended up making the tackle. He also ran to the ball well and showed a lot of hustle. But I expect more and I'm sure his teammates and coaches expect more.

Do I have higher expectations of Stylez? Absolutely. Is that fair? Probably not. But when it comes down to it football isn't fair and he wants to go where he has never gone he is going to have to do some things he has never done.

I look at the Chiefs and I see Tamba Hali giving Donald Penn that work. Hali is trying to go get it this year and it shows. At some point we are going to have to see the same thing from Stylez, and soon.

Michael Bennett: Once again this second year guy stole the show. By my count he had 4 tackles including a sack and a caused fumble. He had one play when he was really physical with the tight end and destroyed him on a base block that was just impressive as hell to me. He also looks a lot more comfortable rushing inside than I thought he would at his size.

Bennett stands out from the other left ends in one important respect. He appears to be able to speed rush from the left side which none of the rest of them seem to do well on a consistent basis. Its not that he's just running around guys either. He really uses his hands well and he has a sneaky long arm move that freezes offensive lineman while he beats them to the quarterback. He even looked good doing his pass drops on some zone blitzes.

All wasn't perfect however as he peeked inside on a running play and got reached, and of course the ball ran right in his gap. He and everyone else has to learn that you simply can not do that in our defense. When you do it screws up everyone else and opens the defense to get hit for a big play. Every play is not your play and sometimes you have to trust that your teammate will do their job while you continue doing yours.

Still the guy has had a pretty impressive two games. I know its just the preseason but I don't think my eyes are lying to me.

One last thing. If its true that the best guys will play then the two starting defensive ends in front of Bennett should feel mighty uncomfortable right now.

Just sayin...

Brian Price: Price finally got some action after being held out with a recurring hamstring injury. It was obvious that he has missed a lot of time though because he never seemed to really get his legs under him. He was on the ground WAYYY too much and generally it was on blocking schemes and against blockers I believe he would normally handle well. But you can't miss as much time as he did and expect to come out killing people. Its going to take him some time to get back right and get used to taking on blockers again but once he does I expect much better play from him.

Ryan Sims: I keep saying the same things but they never seem to change with Sims. The guy is a load and hard to move. When he comes off the ball he generally gets good push up the field. But for whatever reason he seems to refuse to rip off of blocks when he is trying to make a play. Whether it be on a pass rush or versus a run block he always does a gets up field and then just reaches his arm out to try to make a play. And generally it doesn't work out well for him.

He did get two tackles against the Chiefs and he looked good on a couple of line movements, but he would make so many more plays if he just worked on escaping blockers. Or maybe he does work on it but he just forgets to do so when the bullets are flying. Either way he is a guy who could be a pretty good player and definitely could contribute to this team if he just starts doing that one simple task of ripping off of blocks. Of course I've been saying that since last year so I won't hold my breath.

Tim Crowder: This was not one of Crowder's better games. One thing I noticed is that he is starting to stand up when he comes out of his stance which slows down his speed rush. A lot of times guys will do this when they are guessing the blocking schemes or if they just haven't worked on keeping their pads low. What ever the reason may be I hope he works on it because otherwise he is going to continue to look slow coming out of his stance even when he gets a good get off.

Crowder also got put on skates one time by the tight end and tackle and it wasn't pretty. He also got swatted up field a lot farther than he should have on a draw play. One thing you can normally count on with Crowder is really good technique but I didn't see it against the Chiefs. Or rather I didn't see what I am used to seeing from him. He did have a nice speed rush on a third down and he had one tackle by my count. He is another guy who didn't play bad but whom I felt like could have and should have played better.


James Ruffin: I'm smiling while I type this because Ruffin went straight old school on us. You will rarely see a defensive lineman trying to grab an offensive lineman's jersey at the shoulder, pull, and rip or arm over anymore. One of the principle reasons is that most offensive linemen these days have their jersey tailored to where its almost impossible to grab there. Another reason is that when you try to make that move you basically give the offensive lineman a free shot to punch you in the chest.

Well evidently Ruffin didn't get the memo because he used the grab, snatch, and pull technique to great effect against the Chiefs' right tackles. He had at least two pressures, one of which lead to an interception and he was generally unblockable from left end.

No, seriously. Go back and watch it. It was as dominant a pass rushing peformance as I've seen in a long time, even in preseason.

Now obviously I doubt whomever the guy blocking him was will make the Chiefs roster (at least their quarterbacks better hope not) but you can't let that take away from Ruffin's play. He still went out there and beat the guy like a drum over and over and over again.

I gotta tell you, if he is doing well on special teams also Ruffin HAS to be a strong candidate for at least the practice squad. If he keeps that up though there's a chance that somebody else might scoop him up for their active roster. I don't think we have enough room to carry im on our 53 but he is still making the most of his opportunities.

Carlton Powell: Did the Bucs sign a new guy??? I swear man the Powell against the Chiefs looked NOTHING like the guy who got pwned last week against the Dolphins. I don't know who lit a fire under him but the difference was like night and day. He was flying around to the ball. He got a couple of tackles and an assist. He looped around on a pirate for contain like he was supposed to. And it appeared that he ran a TOM game with Dre Moore and ended up getting a pressure on the quarterback.

He wasn't perfect of course (he was still on the ground a few times) but he at least looked like he belonged on the field. He still has a long way to go and its an uphill battle for him but I have to tip my cap to the guy. He went out there and decided that he was not going to look bad on film again. And he didn't.

Dre Moore: After last week I thought Dre Moore had turned a corner and was ready to contend for a roster spot. Then yesterday against the Chiefs he seemed to regress in my opinion.

At first he played ok. Nothing earth shattering but he seemed to be where he was supposed to be. But as he got more and more reps he seemed to shut it down a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he was tired at the end of the game because the Chiefs quarterback was running around a lot and they were throwing a lot of passes. But nobody seemed to be brother in lawing it as much as Moore. I kept waiting to see a get off, a pass rush move, some hustle to the ball. But instead he kept getting worse.

Now look, I know how it is when the monkey jumps on your back. Hell I've been there. But you can't allow fatigue to get to you to the point where it doesn't look like you are even trying anymore. And that, to me, is what Moore looked like at the end of the game.

The plain and simple truth is that that amount of opportunities for a third string guy to impress are extremely limited this time of year and its only going to get worse. Dre Moore had better wake up to that reality in a hurry or he is going to find himself on the outside looking in.

Erik Lorig: Lorig continues to impress me with his effort and ability. He doesn't necessarily look the part but the guy is pretty athletic. Athletic enough that when he was in and the defense ran a 3-4 he was one of the stand up guys. He even made at least one tackle from that position folding inside after taking a pass drop on a draw play.

One of the plays that impressed me most was when he got knocked to the ground on a cut block but got up immediately and got in on the tackle on the running back.

He played more on the right side this week instead of the left and while he played ok from there his pass rushing needs a lot of work from that side. He pass rushed one time from the stand up 3-4 position and ended up going inside and losing contain on the quarterback who ended up taking it outside for a nice gain.

I don't know how many defensive lineman we are keeping this year but it would seem like Lorig is going to have a hard time making the active roster. Still he should be a prime candidate for the practice squad where he can develop a little while longer.

That's all for now. Hope everyone enjoys the breakdown. See you in the comments section.