If you look at the Bucks defense, there are some familiar names. Defensive tackles Vita Vea and Kariya Kanshi will anchor the front line. Inside linebacker Lavonte David is still getting things done despite approaching 35 years old. Cornerbacks Zion McCollum and Jamel Dean are a solid 1-2 duo. Safety Antwon Winfield Jr. is one of the best to patrol the field when healthy.
What stood out most in Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak was how other players impacted the game. Injuries at both the inside linebacker and safety positions required an effort from the entire group to shut down opponents.
The offense generated a lot of easy points for head coach Todd Bowles and his defense, but Bowles’ own creativity shouldn’t be underestimated.
Todd Bowles needed to ‘get more in the bag’
Bucks HC Todd Bowles – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Out of necessity, head coach Todd Bowles experimented on the fly and tinkered with the defense over the past few weeks. His defense has been plagued by injuries all year, but it has started to hurt in some areas in recent weeks.
When inside linebacker KJ Britt went down early against the Panthers, JJ Russell took his place and recorded five tackles. And the following week, with Britt and Russell out, the team had to rely on Vi Jones, who played 40 snaps in his first major action in an NFL game, in a 28-13 win over the Raiders. Ta.
When Russell returned against the Chargers, he played most of the snaps and did well against the run and in coverage. He finished with a defensive rating of 80.4 by Pro Football Focus, the highest among defensive players.
Safety Ryan Neal also had a good performance with a run inside the box. In spot duty, Neal made the most of his opportunity to return, finishing with the third-highest defensive rating of 78.1. Here he made a key open field tackle that could have saved him some points.
Panthers WR Adam Thielen and Bucs ILB JJ Russell – Photo courtesy of USA Today
This speaks to Bowles’ ability to engineer ways to get the most out of players that no one expected. For that 6-1-4 defensive package Where the boxes were loaded against the team I liked moving heavy personnel.. This week he talked more about it.
“It takes away the inside cutback lane, so to speak,” Bowles said. “They’re a team that runs inside, so the more guys you cram inside, the less likely they are to run inside.Ryan. [Neal] He’s a very good box player. He was a very good scraping guy when he was here, so that’s what he’s good at, what he can do, and we’re just trying to maximize what we can do. ”
Injuries have made this possible, but co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote said Bowles likes the challenge.
“That’s true,” Foote said of how injuries spur creativity. “So, in a crazy way, I think Coach Bowles likes it because he can experiment more. He can get in the bag more. He’s coming up with great plans and probably [to] Our advantage is that they don’t know who they’re going to play next week or they don’t have the time to play. [think]“Hey, what is that person’s weakness? How can I attack that person? ”
Bucks DT Logan Hall – Photo Credit: USA Today
“It serves our interests [and] Just talk to your instructor. you know, [Antoine] Winfield Jr. – He was ejected – [Jordan] Whitehead, but they do the coaching and teaching there, getting young players ready to play. The more you can do, the more we’re going to use you. [If you] If you have the skill set, we will put you in a place where you can win for us. ”
With Winfield and Whitehead out, backup safeties Kayvon Meriwether and Christian Isien filled their roles admirably. After having coffee on the Lions’ practice squad, Meriwether returned and earned the “vast majority” of defensive snaps. He played well, recording his first NFL sack against the Raiders and recording his first NFL fumble recovery against the Chargers.
Another hidden player worth mentioning is defensive tackle Logan Hall. While he may not be participating in the sack bets on who will finish this season with the most sacks on the team, Hall has a career-high 4.5 sacks, including 1.5 against the Chargers. be. He has become a more consistent defensive cog in recent weeks.
“Logan was playing really well,” Bowles said. “[I] I love seeing him running. He also incorporates pass rush into his arsenal. He helped us a lot this year. ”
Bucks now ‘used to’ injuries
Bucks HC Todd Bowles – Photo courtesy of USA Today
This month has been the exact opposite of the previous month for the Bucks. After a four-game losing streak, they head to Dallas to face the Cowboys, who are on a four-game winning streak. During that time, they allowed only 15 points per game, a significant improvement from earlier in the season. Even when frustrated, the captain kept the boat steady.
“It starts with the head man, Coach Bowles,” Larry Foote said. “We haven’t lost him. [He] I was irritated, [there was] There are many injuries. I was sharing it with Cris Collinsworth the other day and I’m pretty used to it now. everyone [are] Players are going to get injured, players are going to get injured, we’re going to take players off the practice squad, we’re going to bring players back, and then the players. our expectations [are] If you’re there, we expect you to play at a high level.
“Everyone stuck together [which] It speaks to our leadership, we didn’t lose any of our guys. It’s especially frustrating because I think it’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve been so fired up on defense at the beginning of the year, so I like how our guys have responded and we’ve got to keep doing that. ”
Coach Bowles opted to rest his players during the bye week, and he and his defensive coaching staff took some time behind the scenes to assess the players’ current status. Did that lead to any coaching adjustments?
“Actually, not that much,” Foote said. “We just had to reset. I understand after losing to the 49ers, [Coach] Just set the bowl straight [and] “Hey, our playoffs are about to begin.” That was my message to the players the other day. “Hey, we’re in the playoffs, [we] I can’t lose. ”
The Bucks have a very real chance to take that message to heart and make a move in the standings, winning their final seven games and finishing 11-6. They’ll hope to get a win in the Lone Star State first, then return home for Christmas and finish the season at home against the Panthers and Saints.
If all goes well, it’s a product of crime and The defense plays complementary football and overcomes adversity to make the playoffs.
