Bucs’ defense needs more “dawgs” like Tykee Smith.
Aside from Antoine Winfield and before Father Time caught up with Lavonte David, name a Bucs defender who regularly blasts people into the middle of the week?
Tykee Smith and Jacob Parrish, maybe. That’s about it.
All weekend long, Joe saw defensive players on various playoff teams hit, swarm to the football, create turnovers, let offensive players know their ribs will be hurting if they catch the ball or try for a first down. Shoot, the Texans-Patriots game yesterday was one of the hardest-hitting games from two defenses laying the wood, play after play, that Joe has seen in a while.
The Bucs do not have that.
Joe is convinced the hand-wringing by Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio is off the mark; he claims teams cannot tackle because of NFL practice rules. Go back and watch every game from this past weekend and try to tell Joe you didn’t see good tackling, hard hitting and game-changing blasts by defenses.
And these teams practice following the very same NFL rules the Bucs do. All teams have cameras at their facilities, where the NFL’s prying eyes make sure teams practice the right way, the legal way.
It’s all about desire and mentality.
A few years ago the Bucs in the draft made a concerted effort to select quicker players. The Bucs believed they lacked team speed. They weren’t wrong and that has been addressed. But in doing so, it seems the Bucs got away from a physical defense. You can find players who are both quick and physical.
Lord knows this team needs inside linebackers in the worst way, especially if David retires. The Bucs have to know this. So, hopefully, when they do pick linebackers, whether in the draft or free agency (preferably both), they don’t overlook someone who will put the fear of God in offenses, letting them know they’ll have to pay dearly to gain real estate.