What's Wrong With The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Defense?

For eleven of the past thirteen years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been one of the top ten defenses in the NFL. Today, they sit at 31st.

For eleven of the past thirteen seasons, the one thing you could count on was the Buccaneers shutting down the opposing quarterback. You would see maybe two or three big passing plays of 40 yards or more in a season. Today, they've given up six in just two games.

For eleven of the past thirteen seasons, teams would try to run against the Buccaneers, but find Derrick Brooks and company stuffing the attempts. Today, the Bucs are giving up an average of 168 yards a game on the ground.

For over a decade, the Bucs defense told it's offense, "Give us 17 points, we'll give you a win." The Bucs are now 31st in the NFL in points allowed.

The worst the Buccaneers defense has ever been ranked is 28th (in 1986).

What happened to this once proud defense?

Are the players just terrible? Is the scheme bad? Where did it all go wrong?

The Beginning of the End

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were riding high in 2008. A 9-3 record and coming off a thrilling victory over division rival New Orleans to remain tied for the NFC South lead and with home field advantage in their grasp.

Then, it all changed. The rock at defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, announced he was leaving for the University of Tennessee to coach with his son, Lane.

The Buccaneer players were stunned as they had refused to believe the rumors that were so prevalent around One Buc Palace.

They lost their focus, their drive, whatever it was that made the defense what it was. Players who had been fighting through their injuries like future hall of famer Derrick Brooks suddenly looked much older.

In a crucial showdown against the Carolina Panthers, the Bucs defense was gashed by DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to the tune of 299 yards on the ground. The Bucs were crushed.

The next week the defense again struggled against the running of Michael Turner. their opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, wrung up another 175 yards.

The beatdown was on. The Chargers threw all over them, the Raiders did both and the Bucs went from a team playing for home field advantage to one out of the playoffs.

Raheem the Defensive Coordinator

Raheem Morris, the Buccaneers defensive back coach was tapped to be Kiffin's replacement by Head Coach Jon Gruden. As Gruden evaluated his staff and the changes he wanted to make, Raheem seemed to be an obvious choice.

However, Morris had other opportunities including a chance to be the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos. According to some reports in Denver, the interview went very well and Morris impressed Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. However, Bowlen eventually chose a disciple from the Bill Belicheck line, Josh McDaniels.

The near miss spooked Tampa Bay's owners, the Glazer family, who felt that Raheem was a good backup plan in case Gruden failed to live up to expectations. They didn't expect Morris to draw interest this quickly.

Despite giving him an extension last season, the Glazers ate the remainder of Jon Gruden's contract, firing him and immediately replaced him with Raheem Morris. Since Bruce Allen was viewed as tied with Gruden, Allen was also let go. Young Mark Dominik was tabbed as his replacement.

The Purge

One of the new regime's first acts was to change the philosophy of the franchise. For too long, this team lived on retread veterans to reach eight or nine victories but never truly contend for a championship.

To build a contender, Morris and Dominik decided they needed to build with young players that wouldn't wear down in the December months.

On a dark day in February, they purged the team of older players. Gone were familiar faces Derrick Brooks and Cato June. Starting cornerback Phillip Buchannon left for free agency.

A New Beginning

After thirteen years, the Buccaneers had a new defensive coordinator and his name was Jim Bates. Bates certainly had the resume, creating dominant defenses in Miami and Green Bay. He fit Morris' new aggressive style.

The conservative Tampa Two was no more. Bates system featured man-to-man coverages and much more blitzing. Aggressive techniques designed to take advantage of speed and athletic ability.

The question was did Tampa Bay have the personnel to run this style? Certainly they had the speed—but was the talent there?

The Pass Rush (or Lack There Of)

Without a pass rush, there's no way Bates defense can succeed. The corners are left on an island and if a Quarterback is given time in the pocket, he will eventually find a target.

This is probably the biggest area of weakness for Tampa Bay. Former fourth overall draft pick Gaines Adams has done nothing to dispel the whispers of bust. He has been terrible in run defense and hasn't gotten near opposing quarterbacks.

For a player who was supposed to be Jason Taylor, he's been more Eric Curry—another highly drafted undersized defensive end for the Buccaneers who was too soft to play in the NFL.

The rest of the Bucs starting defensive line are cast offs from other teams. Tackles Ryan Sims and Chris Hovan were busts in Kansas City and Minnesota respectively. The other end, Jimmy Wilkerson never saw the field in Kansas City on defense.

Behind these players, defensive end Stylez G. White was working at a Best Buy as security when the Bucs came calling. Newly acquired Tim Crowder was a bust for the Broncos. Former draft picks Roy Miller, Dre Moore and Kyle Moore have yet to reach their potential.

Obviously, the talent level may not be where it needs to be for the Bucs to consistently apply pressure. It's likely one of the reasons the Buccaneers were one of the top competitors for the services of big Albert Haynesworth, the top defensive line prize of the free agency period.

The Back Seven (Also Known as the Burn Unit)

With youngsters Geno Hayes and Quincy Black taking over for Brooks and June, the Bucs have suffered from inexperience. When time robbed Derrick Brooks of his speed, it was his ability to quickly diagnose plays that were the difference. Hayes and Black look like Brooks did when he first began to start regularly in the NFL.

The talent is there in these two youngsters but the experience is not. The Bucs are paying for it in missed tackles and players out of position.

In the secondary, the suspension of hard hitting safety Tanard Jackson certainly has not helped. Jermaine Phillips and Sabby Piscitelli each have struggled in coverage. It's cost the Bucs in some big plays against the defense.

Ronde Barber has actually played fairly well in the new scheme after a decade in Kiffin's Tampa Two. Aquib Talib and Elbert Mack have had good and bad moments in coverage.

Tenative Play

When you've been burned a few times, it's going to make you a bit unsure of what you're doing. Playing in a new scheme, there's bound to be instances when you're confused or not exactly sure of your responsibilities.

It falls on the coaches to fix that. There's been more than a few occasion when we've seen Buccaneer players looking at teammates, not sure of what to do and that just can't happen in the NFL.

What's even more frightening is in many of the coverage breakdowns, the Bucs were playing Tampa Two or Cover Three, coverages they've been playing forever.

How Can It Be Fixed?

The Bucs have tried to adjust to the personnel they have. Tampa Bay played a lot more Tampa Two against Buffalo than they did against Dallas. The result were less big plays through the air but a larger vulnerability on the ground.

Much of that is due to the delayed recognition skills of the younger core. Could experience help? Certainly, but how do Black and Hayes get that experience on the bench? There in lies your dilemma for the Buccaneers.

You have to let the young guys get their reps but because they're getting their reps your play is suffering.

The Buccaneers aren't going to be able to address the pass rush situation until next off-season. Calling more blitzes will put more heat on quarterbacks but if the young players are confused and out of position it will lead to big plays.

The Bucs simply will need to allow their young players to grow and get their stripes.

By the end of the season, they'll know who to keep and who needs to be replaced. Until then, there's going to be more long afternoons like the past two weeks.