Concerns About Pass Rush, SirVocea Dennis, O-Line

Bucs OLB Haason Reddick – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: The Bucs’ pass rush is still lacking. It’s very concerning. Can they do anything to add to the pass rush?

ANSWER: At this point of the season? Not really. There is an old saying in NFL personnel departments: “There aren’t any saviors on the street in September.” The Bucs added a practice squad pass rusher in Mohamed Kamara, whom the team liked coming out of Colorado State two years ago, but he flamed out in Miami without much production. Tampa Bay is seeing if outside linebackers coach Larry Foote can salvage anything from him or if he was just a good, undersized college edge rusher like former Buccaneer Jose Ramirez was.

I will say this, the defensive starters played literally a couple of series in Pittsburgh in the second preseason game. That’s it. Sunday, in the 23-20 win over the Falcons, that was the first real live action the starters got together when it comes to pass rushing. Teams can only do so much in practice to simulate pass rush and pass protection and can’t truly go 110% because of the fear of friendly fire accidents that can injure teammates. Look no further than former Bucs guard Aaron Stinnie blocking Logan Hall into center Ryan Jensen and effectively ending Jensen’s NFL career on the second day of training camp in 2022.

So don’t look at the Week 1 pass rush and think this is a finished product by any means. The more Haason Reddick learns Todd Bowles defense, the more comfortable and effective he’ll be. Reddick brings speed off the edge, and the faster he can play, the better. And with Yaya Diaby rushing more off the right side in games than the left, he’ll become more comfortable there and learn how to play opposite Reddick and perhaps cash in on some clean-up sacks that are forced his way.

Remember, Bowles likes to blitz and didn’t throw every blitz at the Falcons in Week 1. He has plenty of other pressure packages to deploy in the weeks to come. He’ll blitz Tykee Smith and Antoine Winfield Jr. from the slot. And he’ll blitz SirVocea Dennis and Lavonte David from the linebacker level, as well as sending Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean with an occasional cornerback blitz. Let’s be patient and judge the Bucs’ pass rush after a few games and see how it performs as the season goes on.

QUESTION: Great win. Are you as disappointed as me in the front four? Still can’t get home. What needs to change?

ANSWER: I answered this for the most part in the first question of Bucs Mailbag. But I can expand here as it pertains to the front four specifically. I was a bit disappointed in defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who didn’t win enough one-on-ones against Falcons Pro Bowl guard Chris Lindstrom. That was a tough task to begin with, but Kancey didn’t show up on the stat sheet at all.

Pro Football Focus gave Kancey a 41.8 overall grade for Sunday, which was among the bottom five on Tampa Bay’s defense. I take issue with PFF’s grades from time to time. They’re not perfect, but this one feels right. I think Kancey will have better games in future weeks, so I’m not discouraged by his play against the Falcons.

I’m not a big “pressure” guy in terms of statistics. Some football analysts and journalists put more of an emphasis on pressures versus sacks. And I agree, sacks can be schemed and a bit fluky at times. Quarterbacks can scramble right into sacks on occasion – even if a defender didn’t truly beat his man one-on-one up front. Defensive players can also register pressures on quarterbacks who wind up throwing for first downs or touchdowns. So what good is a pressure then when it didn’t result in winning the play for a defense? Like sacks, not all pressures are created equal.

Tampa Bay had two sacks on Sunday. One of which was a nice twist by Yaya Diaby that resulted in a 14-yard loss. But it got called back due to a penalty. Haason Reddick did get a big sack on third down in the third quarter to kill a potential touchdown drive and Atlanta had to settle for a field goal. Sacks always trump pressures because they create a negative play for the offense and a positive play for the defense.

Yet it was encouraging to see Reddick finish with eight pressures, according to PFF, with Diaby contributing four. I think the front four did an okay job in Atlanta and I’m expecting more from this unit as they continue to play together. I think this front four needs to stay healthy and continue to work on their pass rush chemistry. No changes needed for now. Give it time.

QUESTION: Okay, SR. What did you see this preseason where you think good ol’ No. 8 was any good – let alone the next great MLB for this team? SirVocea Dennis was absolutely terrible. Missing tackles, getting roasted over and over. He was downright terrible.

ANSWER: I tend to disagree. As I wrote in my 2-Point Conversion column, I thought it was a mixed bag for SirVocea Dennis in his first start. He finished with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops. I thought Dennis was a menace in run defense. His pass coverage needs some work obviously, and an uber athlete like Bijan Robinson, who was a Top 10 pick in 2023, is going to make just about any linebacker look silly one-on-one as a receiver.

I think Dennis would be better as a spot dropper in zone coverage where he can use his instincts, his eyes and his football I.Q. to jump routes and make plays on the ball rather than playing man coverage against elite running backs out of the backfield. Still, this was a good lesson learned for both Dennis and head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles about what the third-year linebacker can and can’t do on the football field.

Dennis did have three missed tackles. That’s a valid point and something that needs to be cleaned up. Again, this is Dennis’ first NFL start at middle linebacker. He played 72 snaps in Atlanta, which is the most he’s ever played in an NFL game on defense. In three and a half games last year while platooning with K.J. Britt, Dennis played a total of 104 snaps. As a rookie playing spot duty on defense, Dennis logged a total of 103 snaps in 2023.

The Pitt product is a smart player. He’ll learn from Week 1 and get better. He’s head and shoulders above where Britt was last year, so he’s already an improvement. I did write in last week’s SR’s FAB 5 column that he’s possibly destined for greatness, and I still believe that. Will he ever ascend to a Derrick Brooks, Lavonte David or Hardy Nickerson level? That’s rarefied air.

Can Dennis be another Shelton Quarles or at least a Mason Foster or Barrett Ruud? I think that’s more attainable right now and would be welcomed. Remember, Luke Goedeke was deemed to be a bust early in his career too, and Zyon McCollum couldn’t tackle as a rookie. Let’s give Dennis some time to get some on-the-job training and show improvement before we bury him.

QUESTION: Why are Graham Barton and Ben Bredeson playing positions they normally don’t play for the loss of Tristan Wirfs, who is one guy? So now you have three guys playing positions they aren’t normally playing when you factor in Mike Jordan, who played right tackle in the preseason.

ANSWER: It does seem like a lot, right? To shake up the entire left side of the line just because the team doesn’t quite trust Charlie Heck to fill in at left tackle for Tristan Wirfs. But protecting Baker Mayfield’s blindside is that important. And the Falcons did have some good athletes in rookie outside linebackers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., both first-round picks, and veteran Leonard Floyd, to rush against Tampa Bay’s left tackle.

So the team experimented with putting center Graham Barton, who was an all-conference left tackle at Duke, back at his natural position because of his athleticism and quick feet. Ben Bredeson played both guard and center for the New York Giants, so he was the choice to fill in for Barton over backup Elijah Klein, who hasn’t played in the regular season. Then veteran Mike Jordan replaced Bredeson at left guard. He’s a more natural guard than he was as a right tackle, which is where he played in the preseason.

It was a super stealth move for Week 1 that caught the Falcons – and the Tampa Bay media – off guard. And for practicing just two weeks together, that unit performed quite well. What turned out to be a backup emergency plan the team was practicing for in case something happened to Heck in Week 1 turned out to be the preferred way to go for offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and offensive line coaches Kevin Carberry and Brian Picucci. Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo did an excellent job in this detailed article explaining what went into the change and how it ultimately worked out.

Tampa Bay’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack. Baker Mayfield was sacked on a blitz from nickelback Billy Bowman Jr., who was an extra rusher on a play. Walker and Pearce combined for just three tackles and one quarterback hit. The O-line only surrendered three QB hits all day. It was a gamble for sure to reshuffle the deck at offensive line, but the bet paid off on Sunday in the team’s 23-20 win.