Jacquies Smith Blossoming as Deadly Pass-Rusher Buccaneers Desperately Need

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed a well-traveled defensive end by the name of Jacquies Smith three days after the regular season officially started, there were very little expectations for the second-year defender. But Smith exceeded all expectations and quickly developed into the team's top edge-rusher over the past month. 

Smith's journey is another rags-to-riches NFL story. 

The 6'4", 264-pound defensive end from the University of Missouri wasn't drafted in 2012. Smith signed as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins, but he didn't make it through the final preseason roster trimming. Smith then spent three months in Canada as a member of the CFL's Hamilton Tigers-Cats with little to no fanfare.

The defensive end eventually signed with the New York Jets as a member of their practice squad for the remainder of the 2012 season. He was cut by the Jets the following August before he became a member of the Buffalo Bills. Smith played well for the Bills during preseason, but he became a roster casualty once linebacker Nigel Bradham was activated to the roster. 

Smith finally found a home in Tampa Bay when the Buccaneers signed him Sept. 10. 

The well-traveled defender discussed his journey with Buccaneers.com editor Scott Smith: 

"

Everybody has a story in this league. It doesn’t really matter how you get here—it’s what you do when you get here when you’re given the opportunity. You’ve got a lot of guys buying into what the coaches are talking about and they’re comfortable in the playbook and things of that nature. Once you get your opportunity, you just have to go out there and do the best you can with the opportunity. Guys are making plays.

"

And Jacquies Smith is making plays after being given an opportunity to play a bigger role in the Buccaneers defense. 

Over the past four games, the Missouri product registered three sacks and 11 quarterback hurries. Among defensive ends with over 100 pass-rushing snaps, the Tampa Bay edge-rusher is rated as the sixth-best at applying pressure, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Jacquies Smith manufactured a sack, quarterback hit or hurry on 15 percent of his pass-rushing snaps this season. 

The defensive end told the team's website he's gained confidence with each passing game: 

"

Once you have success you get a lot of confidence. It’s just not only me having confidence in myself; I want my teammates to have confidence in me, and the coaches. They put me out there on the field and just hopefully I’ll go out there and fulfill the role that they give me.

I just do whatever those guys upstairs tell me to do. If they put me out there 20 snaps, I have to make the most of those 20 snaps. If I get out there 40, I have to make the most of those 40. So basically just doing whatever the coaches tell me to do.

"

His play has proved to be a boon for an organization that wasn't getting much production from its defense. The Buccaneers are tied for 20th in the NFL with 20 sacks. If Jacquies Smith's recent production was excluded, the team would drop into a tie for 25th overall. 

While Lovie Smith's defense is no longer strictly a Cover 2 scheme, the Buccaneers head coach still prefers to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks with his front four rather than blitz. 

Cliff McBride/Getty Images

In an effort to provide the coach with the level of pass-rusher he prefers, the organization signed Michael Johnson to exorbitant five-year, $43.75 million contract during free agency. The former member of the Cincinnati Bengals was expected to take the next step in his career and become a dominant pass-rusher. Instead, Johnson has been nothing short of a disappointment.  

The veteran defensive end has been limited by injuries this season and only managed three sacks and 11 quarterback hurries through eight games. 

Jacquies Smith, meanwhile, has been as productive during the past four games and is coming off his best effort of the season. Against the Washington Redskins, the defensive end provided two sacks and a pair of quarterback hurries.

What Jacquies Smith displayed during the Redskins contest was a quick first step and the ability to convert speed to power. 

During the his first sack of the afternoon, the part-time pass-rusher was able to get upfield and threaten an outside speed move in an attempt to get to Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. 

As seen on the screen capture below, Jacquies Smith is nearly two more yards upfield compared to Johnson during an obvious passing situation. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

With the threat of the speed rush already established, Redskins right tackle Tom Compton took a deep pass set to compensate for the defensive end's quickness. 

Jacquies Smith correctly countered by swatting Compton's hands, which knocked the right tackle off balance, and took advantage of the underneath pass rush to sack the quarterback. 

The left defensive end was on Griffin so quickly that Johnson never even had time to disengage from his blocker (see: below). 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Even when Johnson got his only sack of the afternoon, it was set up by Jacquies Smith, who beat Compton with a similar move only to let Griffin through his grasp. Johnson cleaned up the play to register the sack.  

Jacquies Smith's recent production shouldn't be seen as a replacement for Johnson, though. The late addition to the roster should prove to be the perfect complement at defensive end.

Obviously, the Buccaneers invested heavily in Johnson. Opponents tend to slide their blocking scheme toward him due to his immense talent. With Jacquies Smith on the other side, the Buccaneers now have a legitimate edge-rusher who can make teams pay after allotting Johnson too much attention. 

Jacquies Smith saw the most playing time of his career Sunday. The young pass-rusher rewarded his team with a strong performance, and he was awarded a game ball afterward, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Greg Auman. 

After playing in 48 of 77 possible snaps, the defensive end is expected to receive even more playing time as the season progresses, per SportsTalkFlorida.com's Jenna Laine. 

And Jacquies Smith deserves an expanded role. 

First and foremost, the young pass-rusher has played as well as some of the top 4-3 defensive ends over the past four games. In fact, his play was comparable or better in certain areas than those ranked among Pro Football Focus' Top 5 at the position. 

Player	Team	Overall	Pass rush	Run defense
Jacquies Smith	Bucs	6.4	7.6	-3.5
Cameron Wake	Dolphins	9.2	7.0	2.5
Robert Ayers	Giants	7.0	11.6	-5.1
Mario Williams	Bills	10.2	12.6	-1.4
Olivier Vernon	Dolphins	12.4	11.4	0.9
Michael Bennett	Seahawks	1.6	3.8	2.1

Even in a limited capacity, Jacquies Smith is still graded as the 20th-best 4-3 defensive end by the website. Only one player, the Dallas Cowboys' Anthony Spencer, has played less snaps yet has a higher overall grade. 

It may be a small sample size, but Jacquies Smith is producing and playing very well for the Buccaneers when he's on the field. 

The defensive end's emergence is very important to the future of the Buccaneers too. With Gerald McCoy as the team's tone-setter in the middle of the defense and the additions of Johnson and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald during free agency, the inclusion of a budding star like Jacquies Smith could round out the team's defensive line for the foreseeable future. 

Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht could then address other pressing concerns during the offseason. All it took was one shrewd free-agent pickup after the season started for the Buccaneers to find one of the team's true bright spots this season.

After years of trying to develop Adrian Clayborn, Da'Quan Bowers, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, William Gholston and Scott Solomon at defensive end, it appears the franchise finally found its answer in Jacquies Smith. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.