Better Secondary Play is Due to Coaching

Last year there were too many times where opposing receivers had open space and separation from Bucs defenders leading to big plays every Sunday. The root cause of this was mainly due to the secondary having no clue where to be on the field most of time, too much thinking going on instead of reacting and playing fast. The Bucs had three secondary coaches last season which is way too many and there were just too many voices in the room causing confusion and leading to guys doing things they are not comfortable with on the field. The Bucs had talent in the secondary last year but failed with poor communication and not being detailed in where to be on the field.

Going into this off-season, the Bucs secondary improved just by hiring secondary coaches in Jon Hoke and Brett Maxie respectively. Jon Hoke is one of the more respected defensive backs coaches out there in the NFL, and Brett Maxie helped developed some good corners when he was with the Titans including Bucs CB Alterraun Verner. Now the Bucs did add talent to the secondary by adding Brent Grimes, Josh Robinson, Vernon Hargreaves, and Ryan Smith which has brought more speed and athleticism to the group. However, the Bucs also kept pretty much the same group from last year which was quite telling that the coaching staff was not doing a good job with the secondary.

Just by re-watching the Eagles game from last week, I could tell the players on defense were more comfortable and every player was in position and able to make plays on the football. It was assignment football as guys got to their spot and everyone was working together on the field. It also helps to have smart football players like Vernon Hargreaves watch below.

Fun to watch Vernon Hargreaves move. Carries into one zone, releases back into his assignment. https://t.co/fjIU1HlBAn

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) August 14, 2016

This is perfectly executed as he drives the wideout to his teammate's zone then gets back into his area and cuts off the open option for the Qb. This is what we call team defense and on Thursday it was fun to see that again. Players understanding their jobs and going out on the field and actually doing them was refreshing. Still long way to go as it is just preseason, but I saw a lot of positive signs from the defense in that first game.

Most Consistent

Dirk Koetter was asked today who he thought was playing the most consistent in these first 5 days of camp and of course he gave the big names like McCoy and Lavonte David but he also gave some names that you wouldn't have thought.

Alterraun Verner and Brent Grimes at corner, Chris Conte at Safety. On the offensive side of the ball Demar Dotson, Right Tackle, off to a fast start. Cameron Brate, Tight end, fast start. Doug Martin and Charles Sims, fast starts.

Its great to hear him name drop players like Verner who had an off year last year and Dotson who is coming off of an injured season. Its also good to see Cameron Brate's name in there, showing that he has improved and is showing that on the practice field. Its still really early in camp but getting the attention of the head coach is a good sign. Time to keep improving and getting better day by day.

What Does Koetter Think About Short Corners

The Bucs roster is mostly filled with smaller more quick twitch athletes at corner in Brent Grimes, Alterrraun Verner, Josh Robinson and Rookie Vernon Hargreaves but that doesn't seem to bother head coach Dirk Koetter as he gave one of the best quotes ever about his smaller guys. Via Greg Auman Tampa Bay Times.

"They're not going to grow, alright? So we've got 5,000 stories out there about short corners. You can't bitch about your players. They're the ones you've got. These guys aren't going to grow."

Koetter is a straight shooter and obviously doesn't beat around the bush. If a guy can play he can play and obviously by collecting all these guys with similar traits means that's the type of corner that fits this defensive scheme. Koetter went on to describe the research of the ratio between shorter and taller corners.

"There's plenty of research both ways about size and corners. There's some misnomers out there," Koetter said. "There's just as many corners that are 5-10 that have been successful as corners that are 6-4. So the guys are who they are. We're happy with our guys and we're going to keep working with them."

All that matter's is who is on your team right now. You work with what you got and you make the most of it and that seems like what Koetter's mind set is. Looking at the roster right now the only corner above 5'11 is Jonathan Banks (6'2) so who is the outlier? The bucs seem confident with the height of their corners right now, lets see if that confidence shows itself on the field come game day.

What Will Happen With Jude?

Last year the secondary was down right embarrassing and Lovie would throw anyone and everyone out there to see who could play the best. That when number 38 was thrown into the fire. A guy with a name no one could pronounce and could barely fit on his jersey. The guy was practice squad rookie Jude Adjei-Barimah out of Bowling Green State.

Jude's background is in soccer and he didn't even start playing football until his freshman year of high school. When he was thrown into live action he looked just as bad as everyone else in the bucs secondary but he did show flashes of athleticism and hustle. He ended up playing in 13 games and starting in 7 of them as well as totaling 41 tackles. He was targeted often due to being a no name rookie but it seemed as if he never shied away from it and took it as a learning curve.

Looking at the roster now, the bucs have loaded up on corners in hope to fix the mess that was our secondary last year. That means Jude will have stiff competition to make the final roster in 2016. With Grimes and Verner getting the early first team reps and top pick VH3 likely to win the nickel position where does that leave Jude? He will have to compete with veteran Jonathan Banks and free agent pick up Josh Robinson to make the roster. Luckily for Jude it seems like the bucs defense values smaller quick corners and that fits Jude to a T.

He no doubt caught the eye of Jason Licht and I will never doubt Licht's talent evaluation based on his recent draft decisions. It's all up to Jude now to prove he's worthy of a roster spot and most likely will have to shine in special teams to make the team.

What Will The Bucs Do With Alterraun Verner?

Now that the Bucs have a new found depth at the cornerback position with the addition of Vernon Hargreaves in the draft, what will the Bucs do with high priced Alterraun Verner? Many Bucs fans are pushing to cut Verner since he is due 6.75 million this year, yet only 2 million of it is guaranteed. In my opinion that is a pointless move.

The Bucs have roughly 14 million still remaining in cap space this year and can still look to sign or trade for other high priced players, so the fact of his contract shouldn't matter. Verner is also a past pro bowler who knows what it takes to play at a high level and now is reunited with his old CB's coach from the Titans who made him that pro bowl corner. Another point to note is by looking at the current corners the Bucs have collected all look very similar to Verner in stature, as they all are smaller and quick in space.

Just because he has a high price tag doesn't mean he can't fit somewhere on this roster. If the Bucs have the luxury of cap space then use it. Let him play until that cap number needs to be fixed but until then let iron sharpen iron and let him compete with all of our corners.

Bucs Secondary Has Quality Depth Now

With the selection of CB Vernon Hargreaves at 11th overall, the Bucs have quality depth at the cornerback position for 2016 and beyond. The Bucs added free agent corners in Brent Grimes and Josh Robinson whom both bring athleticism, playmaking ability, and toughness to the position. Don't forget about last year's group in Alterraun Verner, and Johnthan Banks whom both should be way better in Mike Smith's aggressive defensive scheme.

Now with Hargreaves on board, the Bucs can be very flexiable in their schemes and can be more creative with their corners. Grimes, Verner, and Hargreaves all have the ability to play outside or inside which allows the Bucs to play more dime and nickel packages which means 5 dbs or more. With the corners that have been added, it looks like Mike Smith is looking to bring a mix of press man coverage along with some off zone which plays to the strengths of the corners mentioned. 

Bucs are definitely more athletic and quicker in the secondary than they have been in past years which should lead to more interceptions. The Bucs only had 2 interceptions last year from their corners which is unacceptable, expect a higher total in 2016. The Bucs secondary now has solid depth, better coaching, and could be a strength for the team this season.

Back End Help

It's still early in the process to be guessing what players teams will be drafting but its still fun to see what people think the Bucs will do. One interesting mock draft was on NFL.com where Daniel Jeremiah, a past college scout for multiple NFL teams gave his two cents on the Bucs selection. He decided on Vernon Hargreaves CB out of Florida and here's his reasoning.

The Bucs need to add a playmaker to the back end, and Hargreaves has very good ball skills.

 Its true the Bucs do need a playmaker in the back end of the defense as the team only had 11 interceptions last year and 5 of those were from Lavonte David (3) and Kwon Alexander (2). Half the time the secondary looked lost last year, along with no consistency of keeping the same guys out there. Yes, the defense was a complete mess. Now was that due to no playmakers in the back end or players not being utilized correctly? On many accounts last season players would argue at each other due to not knowing where they were supposed to be. If Mike Smith has his way, he will study up on the secondary that he currently has and learn to use them the right way as he stated during his introductory press conference.

Put your players in the best position you possibly can

Put them in a spot they can be successful and be the best versions of themselves

 Obviously these guys didn't understand the zone schemes Lovie installed and couldn't execute them on the field. Lets see if Smith can find ways to simplify the defense to the strengths of his players. There is talent on this team with Alterraun Verner who was a pro bowler in 2013 and Jonathan Banks who has shown flashes in the past. Use what you have on the roster first as there is more talent in the back end than in the front line where Gerald McCoy is by his lonesome. The kicker here is Jeremiah had Noah Spence going one spot behind the Bucs, to the Giants at pick 10. To me pass rusher is the biggest weakness on this team and I'm sure Jason Licht knows that as well and will be searching high and low to fix it.

Should Sterling Moore Be Re-Signed?

The Bucs signed Sterling Moore last off-season on a 1 year deal with the expectation that he would be the nickel corner like he was previously with the Dallas Cowboys. Moore started the season slow where he didn't play much as he struggled when on the field which led to being demoted to fourth corner. Then came week 8, where the Bucs decided to insert Moore as the starting corner due to poor play from Jonathan Banks and Alterraun Verner, and Moore took full advantage. He went on to put up 45 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 1Int, and 6 pass breakups, which is a decent season for only starting 9 games out of 16.

The good news for the Bucs is that they should be able to bring back Moore for pretty good value if they want him back. I think they can get him back fairly cheap due to the fact he is only 26 and really hasn't put up much production in his short career. Moore coming back would provide great depth to go along with Verner, Banks, and young rising corner in Jude Adjei-Barimah. Plus, the Bucs are expected to add to the secondary this off-season, but I expect more changes to occur to the safety position than at corner.

It will be interesting to see what the Bucs do with Moore, as I expect him to be back, but new defensive coordinator Mike Smith might have something different in mind. We should find out soon enough as Free Agency is only 5 weeks away.

Return to Form?

The Bucs signed Alterraun Verner in 2014, expecting him to play at pro bowl level like he has done in past years with his former team the Titans. In his first year with the Bucs, he had a decent year with over 70 tackles, 2 int, and 9 pass breakups. However in 2015, his play suddenly declined as he made only 6 starts, and was demoted to playing nickle back. Verner needs to find his 2013 form where was outstanding, putting up 23 pass breakups to go with 5 ints.

So Verner is still a good player, you just don't go from putting up all-pro numbers to being a average player playing half of the time. I think there were two issues that cause the decline in Verner's play. One was too many voices in the defensive backs room, the Bucs had three secondary coaches which is just insane and it obviously caused confusion because the secondary was terrible. Second issue was scheme fit, where Verner was asked to play off coverage which is not his strength and needs to be in more press coverage.

Good news is both of those issues look to be solved with the Bucs hiring Verner's former coach in Brett Maxie, who coached Verner when they were at Tennessee.  Also Mike Smith will provide a scheme that fits the players strengths which is good for a lot of the players on defense. Hopefully with coach Maxie on board, Verner can return to 2013 form and the Bucs can worry less about their defensive backfield.