Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense Will Hinge on Defensive End Play in 2015

Once upon a time, the Tampa 2 defense was the calling card of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It can be again under head coach Lovie Smith, but one thing stands between the Bucs and a potential defensive renaissance: the defensive end position.

The Tampa 2 defense didn't get its name by accident. This variation of the Cover 2 zone defense rose to prominence under head coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin when they coached the Bucs in the late '90s and early '00s.

A vital element of the Bucs' success with the Tampa 2 was the personnel. Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks and defensive tackle Warren Sapp were instrumental both as playmakers and as pieces of the Tampa 2 scheme.

Today, the Bucs have some of the right players to make Lovie Smith's Tampa 2 hum. All-Pro DT Gerald McCoy and LB Lavonte David bring similar elite playmaking ability to the Bucs defense that Sapp and Brooks used to put Tampa Bay on the pro football map.

The biggest difference between these two Bucs teams is a game-changing defensive end. When the Bucs won the Super Bowl in 2002, their pass rush was nigh unstoppable with Sapp and DE Simeon Rice terrorizing quarterbacks.

The Bucs today have no such analogue to pair with McCoy. Without a viable edge-rusher, the 2015 Bucs defense may not be much better than the previous year's iteration.

The Tampa 2 Defense

The Tampa 2 defense is a paradox. On one hand, it is schematically simple, a far cry from the complex, blitz-heavy defenses so in vogue today. On the other, the Tampa 2 requires so much more of the players manning it that it cannot be mastered in a single offseason.

To get an idea of what the Tampa 2 involves, look no further than Bleacher Report football guru Matt Bowen's introduction to the Cover 2 in his NFL 101 series. Bowen breaks down the architecture of what makes the Tampa 2 both unique and effective.

The Tampa 2 requires three elements to function: athletic linebackers who can cover, physical, opportunistic defensive backs, and, most importantly, a defensive front that generates pass rush with just four linemen.

Linebackers

In a Cover 2 scheme, linebackers cover the underneath throws to tight ends and running backs. As the entire back seven drops into coverage zones, Tampa 2 linebackers have to be rangy to maintain zone integrity and still defend the run.

The middle linebacker in particular drops deep down the middle of the field, deeper than a traditional Cover 2, to create what Bowen refers to as a "three-deep look."

The Bucs have most of the necessary personnel in this regard. Like Derrick Brooks, David is the total package. He can cover sideline to sideline without missing a beat in run defense.

Lovie Smith got his start coaching Bucs linebackers for Tony Dungy. No doubt instrumental to Brooks' development, Smith has a veritable clone of Brooks in David. He even challenged David to join the "55 club," signifying a standard of five interceptions and five sacks each season that makes a linebacker great, per ESPN's Pat Yasinskas.

The only question mark at linebacker is former Cowboys LB Bruce Carter. While he nabbed five interceptions last season, he also gave up three touchdowns and didn't play much middle linebacker for Dallas, according to Pro Football Focus. While the Cowboys run a similar defense, it's unclear how Carter will acclimate to his new role.

Defensive Backs

Second, the Tampa 2 requires defensive backs unafraid to tackle or go for a pick. The year they won the Super Bowl, the Bucs tallied 20 interceptions from their defensive backs. Last season, the Bucs defensive backs managed only 10 interceptions while allowing opposing quarterbacks a 97.4 passer rating and a league-worst 68.7 pass completion percentage.

Cornerback Alterraun Verner told Pewter Report in April that he had higher expectations for himself, especially when it came to turnovers:

"

My expectations for myself in the defense based on them signing me was to be a playmaker. Looking at [what] Charles Tillman, Tim Jennings and Ronde Barber were able to do in the past in this defense, that’s what I had envisioned. Creating a lot of takeaways by forcing fumbles and getting interceptions. The interceptions were the main thing. I was expecting to have a real, real high interception total. I thought our pass rush was going to be awesome with Michael Johnson, Gerald McCoy and Clinton McDonald and there would be so many opportunities because of that.

"

Verner also admitted that he found Lovie Smith's Tampa 2 scheme to be a difficult adjustment, requiring greater "responsibilities and discipline" than he was accustomed.

This year, Verner and third-year CB Johnthan Banks are drawing raves in Bucs training camp. Banks especially looks like the ball-hawking corner the Bucs missed since Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly roamed the perimeter:

"

First play of 11-on-11 for Bucs, Jameis Winston goes deep, looked like INT for Johnthan Banks. pic.twitter.com/ykUAlmAGno

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 7, 2015"

Banks could be primed for a breakout season, as could other Bucs defenders, but only if the final and most important element of the Tampa 2 proves better than last season.

Defensive Line

In a Tampa 2 defense, the entire scheme hinges on the front four players generating pass rush. In turn, the 2015 Bucs defense hangs on one element in particular: the defensive ends.

The doubt in the Bucs defensive ends contrasts the confidence in their defensive tackles. If the front four fail, the interior linemen are not likely to be the cause.

Where the Bucs found their new Derrick Brooks in Lavonte David, they also have a Warren Sapp analogue in Gerald McCoy. McCoy has already proven himself to be among the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Pro Football Focus currently ranks him second only to Houston's J.J. Watt:

"

@Geraldini93 check out who's 2nd best interior defender in football: pic.twitter.com/jr2am26W5G

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) August 12, 2015"

Defensive tackle is easily the Bucs' deepest position. Besides McCoy, the Bucs boast two former Super Bowl ring-bearing Seahawks, Clinton McDonald and Tony McDaniel, as well as former Bears and Cowboys standout DT Henry Melton. The Bucs interior pass rush looks to be truly fearsome in 2015.

Because the defensive tackle position is so strong, the defensive ends look that much weaker by comparison. While a strong interior pass rush should aid the edge rush, failure by the ends to capitalize on their strength would spell doom for the pass rush and the Bucs defense generally.

Unlike the tackle group, the Bucs defensive end position lacks established starters and reliable depth. Only three of the defensive ends have starting experience, and even they only contribute a total of 26 starts.

Jacquies Smith and George Johnson are slated to start. Both enjoyed breakout seasons in 2014, notching six sacks apiece and more than Michael Johnson's four sacks for the Bucs.

That's the bulk of their experience. Their combined experience pales in comparison to the defensive end who helped push the Bucs defense over the edge to become Super Bowl-caliber: Simeon Rice.

Rice might be one of the most underappreciated Buccaneers of all time. The NFL's 17th all-time sack leader, Rice has 122 career sacks, 61.5 sacks in six years with the Bucs. He joined the Bucs in 2001 and resumed the yearly double-digit sack habit he began with the Cardinals.

Smith and Johnson aren't Rice, certainly not individually and maybe not collectively. What they and the rest of the defensive ends must be is exploitative.

Last season, the Bucs defensive tackles tallied 18.5 sacks, eclipsing the 15 sacks the defensive ends notched. Johnson was a big reason for the ends' poor performance, wasting countless snaps with uninspiring work off the edge.

Of the two starters, Smith has the most experience both as a starter and with Lovie Smith's defense. His 6.5 sacks were a revelation for a Bucs defense desperate for pressure off the edge.

However, he collected all of his sacks between Weeks 9 and 15 last season. He all but disappeared in the two games after Gerald McCoy was placed on injured reserve.

Johnson's production was more even across the season, but he played 531 snaps, fewer than half of Detroit's defensive plays, per Pro Football Focus. Smith played even less at 470 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

Both could be more effective with more snaps, but there's no way to be sure. What is certain is how much trouble the Bucs defense is in if either Smith or Johnson are lost to injury.

Backup Will Gholston is stronger in run support and is more effective setting the edge than getting to the quarterback. T.J. Fatinikun is undersized and unseasoned. Larry English and Lawrence Sidbury are unaccomplished veterans who may not even make the final roster.

What separates the Bucs defensive ends from nearly ever other defensive unit is the uncertainty. The linebackers, cornerbacks and defensive tackles are all mostly set for starters and have some depth.

The only other defensive unit with similar issues is the safeties, namely the lack of proven or untarnished starters. However, the importance of the defensive ends outweighs that of the safety position. A persistent, effective pass rush is much more likely to cover up mediocre safety play than the other way around.

So much of the Bucs' 2015 fate rests on the performance of the defensive end position. If the Bucs hope to rise out of their long defensive funk, the defensive ends must transform their uncertainty into the consistency that led Tampa Bay to its first title.