Bucs Want Speed on the Edges

One thing is for certain after the draft concluded, the Bucs want speed on defense, especially on the edges. The Bucs added athletes in Vernon Hargreaves, Noah Spence, and Ryan Smith all of whom have outstanding quickness and speed. Spence runs a 4.60 40 when healthy to go along with a 1.62 ten yard split which is extremely quick for a defensive end. Hargreaves and Smith both run 4.40's and both have great short area quickness allowing them to be aggressive on the ball. The point is the Bucs are adding speed to the outside of the defense allowing them to be multiple and very aggressive.

In free agency, the Bucs added defensive backs in Brent Grimes and Josh Robinson both are very athletic and have great short area quickness plus great speed. To me this shows the Bucs are serious about showing 3-4 looks this season due to the changes in personnel. The Bucs already have great speed at defensive end, linebacker, and in the secondary now with the new additions. The Bucs already had pretty good speed at defensive end with Howard Jones and Jacquies Smith, and now adding Noah Spence only makes it that much scarier.

The Bucs could easily play a 3-4 look with three man line of Gholston, A.Spence, and McCoy, having Spence and Smith playing as the standup rushers. This would allow new DC Mike Smith to get very creative with his pressures and allow the team to play a more attacking style. The team now has the speed in the secondary to play more aggressive coverages which should generate more pressure on the Qb, due to more blitzes being called. Not sure how much we will see of this, but it obvious the Bucs want speed on defense, and will be attacking much more this year than in previous seasons. One thing is for certain, the Bucs defense is much faster than it was last week.