Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Catching Up with Danny Lansanah

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit at the halfway mark of the 2015 season with a 3-5 record, having already eclipsed their win total from 2014, when they tied for the league's worst mark at 2-14.

While most expected Tampa Bay's struggles to come on the offensive side of the ball—thanks to breaking in a rookie quarterback (Jameis Winston) and a work-in-progress offensive line that features two rookie starters—it's been the defense that's had the most trouble. Even in its second year in head coach Lovie Smith's system, Tampa Bay's defense has struggled with consistency in all phases.

There have been flashes of the positive—six sacks in a home win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and two late-game defensive stands to hold victories against the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons—but getting the job done week in and week out continues to elude the Bucs on that side of the ball.

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I caught up with Bucs linebacker Danny Lansanah earlier this week, who told me he feels like the unit is close to turning the corner this season.

"I feel we're (close)," Lansanah said. "We have the tools we need to get it done, we just have to find a way to finish and I think we will get it done."

Just what does the defense need to do to take things to the next level? Lansanah says it's pretty simple.

"Just trust what we are being coached to do," he said. "Also, our coaches emphasize turnovers and taking the ball away. We have to do a better job of that and getting our offense extra possessions to score points."

One popular criticism of the Bucs defense is aimed at the Tampa 2 scheme, which many fans believe is outdated in today's NFL. But while some may believe the scheme is simple to execute—and therefore easy to beat from an offensive standpoint—Lansanah contends there's far more than meets the eye when it comes to the defense's responsibilities.

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"People think it's an easy, simple scheme, but it's not," Lansanah said. "There are a lot of things we have to read. Some of the smallest things an offense does can change our whole responsibility on the defensive play call."

The Bucs defense has dealt with plenty of injuries already this year, which have forced the team to shuffle players around. Many of the younger players have had to take on increased roles as a result.

Lansanah knows all about overcoming adversity.

After a multiple failed attempts to stick on an active roster, the undrafted free agent out of Connecticut had all but abandoned hope of making his NFL dream come true. Lansanah was out of the league for five years after 2008 before getting another shot, landing on the New York Jets practice squad and spending most of the 2013 season with Gang Green.

The Bucs plucked him off that squad in December of that year, adding him to their active roster.

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Lansanah took it from there, quickly establishing himself as one of the stars of training camp for the Bucs in 2014. He appeared in all 16 games and made 11 starts last season for Tampa Bay, notching 82 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

He also proved capable of making big plays in coverage, breaking up eight passes and grabbing three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Lansanah has started six of Tampa Bay's eight games this season on the strong side, tallying 30 tackles and a sack so far.

His winding road to becoming an NFL starter has given him a unique perspective on life in the league. What has the experience taught him?

"That you can really work your way out of the league," Lansanah said. "The things you're told when you're a younger player in the league, like eating right, training hard, staying focused, not becoming a party animal and not taking it for granted...it's really true. You have to stay focused because at the end of the day, this is a high-performance business and everything you do is watched. And if you can't get it done, you are replaceable."

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Looking ahead, Lansanah is not only encouraged about his unit's ability to take its game to the next level, but he's also been impressed by the team's rookie quarterback, No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston.

"Great leader. He has the physical tools to be great in this league. As you can see from the past few games, he just keeps getting better and better, and that's all you can ask for from a rookie quarterback. He is the first one in the building, and he really works at being good, on the field and off."

Lansanah and the Bucs will get their next chance at a victory this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, who are reeling without injured quarterback Tony Romo. The Cowboys have lost six straight games since losing Romo to a broken collarbone.

As the strong-side linebacker, Lansanah often comes off the field on passing downs when the Bucs go into their nickel packages. But with the Cowboys missing their star quarterback but possessing one of the league's most dominant offensive lines, Lansanah should expect to see plenty of action this week as the Cowboys try to grind out a win with their ground attack.

All stats courtesy of NFL.com.

Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.