Bucs head coach Todd Bowles announced a little over a week ago that Tampa Bay has no options to back up starting linebacker KJ Britt following the loss of linebacker Sarvosia Dennis, who is currently on injured reserve. He said it was very limited.
When Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times asked if there was anyone else who could fill in for Dennis if he was injured, Bowles replied: We’ve been preparing all along, but we weren’t ready when he got hurt. I wasn’t ready at that time. [or] He could do what he could. Some of the things he can do change a lot of what we can do. ”
Bowles later named practice team player Vi Jones as the player most likely to fill Dennis’ role.
As such, Britt has played a much bigger role in the Bucs’ defense than Bowles and the team imagined heading into the season.
Bucks ILB Servosia Dennis – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
However, this statement leaves many questions open.
Backup linebacker JJ Russell has been part of the Bucs’ defense for the past two seasons, spending time on both the practice squad (last year) and the 53-man active roster (this year). The Bucks have said numerous times over the past two years that they are cross-training players to be “multiple.”
What Russell didn’t know or didn’t have that at least prevented it. I’m trying To play the role of Dennis, which Britt has proven unable to fulfill?
When Bowles insinuates that Jones is faster and more athletic and that Russell is similar to Britt as an athlete, I can’t find a reasonable answer to try to guess other than Bowles believing it.
Bucs looking for more athletic linebacker
Since entering the NFL, no one has accused KJ Britt of being the most athletic linebacker or even some kind of athletic linebacker.
KJ Britt was selected with the 176th pick in the 5th round of the 2021 draft class. He received a RAS of 4.7 out of 10.00. This ranked 1144th out of 2155LB from 1987-2021. #RAS #buccaneers pic.twitter.com/TVLb9D9P5j
— Kent Lee Pratt (@MathBomb) May 1, 2021
When you compare him to Dennis, there’s no comparison in terms of pure athleticism.
But behind those two, the athletic traits disappear as soon as you get to Russell. Although he does not have an official relative motion score by Kent Lee Platte, I found his relative motion score. pro day numbers since he graduated from university.
Using Platte’s RAS calculator, Russell’s RAS score was found to be an unofficial 6.58. This is certainly a step up from Britt, but not quite as good as Dennis. The Bucs, or Bowles himself, may be viewing athleticism in a “pass/fail” system. A RAS score of 7.0 is probably the limit. I don’t know. This is complete speculation on my part.
However, I do find it interesting that Vi Jones had a RAS score of 8.87 out of college.
Vi Jones is a LB prospect in the 2022 draft class. He received a RAS of 8.87 out of 10.00. This ranked him 274th out of 2419 LBs from 1987-2022. #RAS pic.twitter.com/ivfF6qRo3Y
— Kent Lee Pratt (@MathBomb) May 2, 2022
Interview skills that go beyond athletic ability
Here’s the problem. There is no guarantee that a fast player who moves quickly will be a good coverage player.
can’t believe it? I wouldn’t have been a Bucks fan from 2019-2023. At the time of his graduation from college, Labonte David’s RAS was 7.21. Bills linebacker Matt Milano has a 6.95 and is one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL. Being able to move smoothly through a space is certainly helpful, but not required.
Bucs ILB JJ Russell – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Russell had limited NFL experience before this year. He played well in his first professional game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13 last year, but entered last week playing just 18 defensive snaps in the first eight games of the year. For some reason, Bowles never believed in Russell taking on the role of Sir Vossia Dennis.
But what I don’t understand is that while Russell likely isn’t as good as Dennis in pass coverage, that shouldn’t be the hurdle the Bucs were asking him to clear. Dennis was injured and was no longer the benchmark. The benchmark at that point should have looked like this: “Is he better in coverage than KJ Britt?”
And while sample sizes were and still are extremely small, the sample size of KJ Britt’s play on long downs and late downs was large enough that trying other options was not only a viable option; It was also a wise and prudent choice. Still, through eight weeks, Bowles and the Bucs continued to take Britt down one down after another as a nickel linebacker.
I didn’t understand what it meant.
What did JJ Russell learn last week?
In Todd Bowles’ own words above, apparently J.J. Russell learned something last week that he hasn’t learned in the past 18 months, as he finally saw the defense play overtime against Kansas City. On Monday night, he played 30 snaps. And you know what? He played pretty well.
Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage grade of 69.2 on 16 coverage snaps. I saw all 16 snaps and I felt like he played well. Do you need someone to run the pole in Cover 2? He executed that drop pretty well.
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) November 9, 2024
The Bucks were having a really hard time getting anyone to properly pick up seam routes in Cover 3. Russell has shown he can execute on that promise by walling routes and passing properly.
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) November 9, 2024
Russell held out in several matches against Travis Kelce.
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) November 9, 2024
Raise the floor even if it’s not the ceiling
Bucks ILB KJ Britt and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
JJ Russell is not a panacea. He’s certainly not a player the Buccaneers want to develop for the future.
But now…Right now…Looks like he’s a better pass option than KJ Britt on obvious downs.
And Todd Bowles should lean into it. An improvement in on-field production on the defensive end would be a monumental improvement considering the stakes and talent and production on the offensive side of the ball. JJ Russell could help improve that.
And the Bucks I’m running out of time ignore that fact.
