Will The Front Four Dominate Again Tonight?

Last week against the Eagles, the Bucs defensive line stood out as they racked up 4 sacks and were applying pressure on the Qb throughout the game. Bucs d-line coach Jay Hayes had the front four humming and the use of the rotation was fun to watch. Robert Ayers and Noah Spence showed flashes of what they can do for this front four this season. Clinton Mcdonald and Howard Jones had big games as well with a sack each and were in the backfield often. The big question though is can the front four do it again tonight against the Jaguars whom have a more potent offense.

The answer is yes, the Bucs D-line has been the best position group throughout this training camp and I expect that to continue tonight. The Bucs finally have a rotation in which they can roll out multiple guys that can be productive and not lose much when the top guys go out. Bucs DE Will Gholston will make his debut tonight which makes this d-line even more stout especially against the run. I think he will show his impact right away and hopefully he can display something as a pass rusher. The key guys tonight will be Noah Spence and Jack Smith whom both should have good games tonight as they have been dominating in the joint practices with the Jaguars this past week. Here is Spence against LT Luke Joeckel via Jenna Laine.

Bucs rookie DE @nspence94 going up against Luke Joeckel one-on-one. Been working on his spin move... #Bucs #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/BFY7CmkEJb

— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 18, 2016

Spence still has work to do in the run game as that is his weakness but is already a natural at pass rushing, I expect him and Jack Smith to be disruptive tonight. The Bucs D-Line is becoming a strength of this team and hopefully they can bring the intensity again and pressure the Qb tonight.

Bucs Finally Have 8-man Rotation at D-Line

The Bucs need more production from the defensive line if they want to improve on defense in 2016. Well so far this off-season the Bucs have added one of the best d-line coaches in Jay Hayes along with adding veteran Robert Ayers and elite prospect in Noah Spence. With these additions, the Bucs will look to have a true 8 man rotation which has been a staple for the d-lines that Jay Hayes has coached in his career.

Projected starters are Robert Ayers, Clinton Mcdonald, Gerald McCoy, and Jacquies Smith which is a solid front four for the Bucs. Then the next four would be Noah Spence, Akem Spence, William Gholston, and Howard Jones which is an impressive reserve group that will bring athleticism to the table. That is pretty good depth for a defensive line that a few years back didn't have anyone worthy coming off the bench or starting outside of McCoy.

All I know is I'm excited to see what these guys can do under Jay Hayes and Mike Smith, both will allow the lineman to play to their strengths which will be fun to see. Also good to know that if someone gets hurt the team has capable depth to step in and pick up the slack. The Bucs have been missing that depth up front for some time now, and to have it on both sides of the trenches is a really good sign. Look out for the defensive line this year, it could be the most improved unit this season.

Would Bucs Take A Chance On Alex McCalister

Former Florida Gator Alex McCalister has been blessed with many athletic gifts but didn't live up to the hype during his time in Gainesville. McCalister has always been an underweight defensive end throughout his career at Florida, going in weighing only 212 lbs. He still is slightly underweight up to 245 lbs but thats still skinny on a 6 foot 6 frame. Given his cons would the Bucs take a chance on him late in the draft?

McCalister lit up the combine, running a 4.80 40, 4 second shuttle, 7.01 3 cone drill and with a mighty arm length of 36 inches. All those numbers mean that he is one lanky quick twitch athlete that happens to play the defensive end position. His body type resembles a lighter version of former failed project Michael Johnson who seemed to only blossom with defensive line coach Jay Hayes, who just happens to be with the buccaneers now. McCalister looks like just the athletic project that a coach like Hayes could fix up to be a real player in the NFL.

He also has a maturity issue that will have him fall farther in the draft as he was dismissed from the Gator team late in the season for violating team rules. If McCalister could be had in day 3 where teams take chances on players I see no reason why the bucs shouldn't take that chance with him. He isn't just an athlete as he does show good functional bend at the hips and stays low for such a tall defender. He has all the tools an edge rusher needs and just needs a great d-line coach to unlock him.

William Gholston Is on the Rise

Last season, a case could be made that Bucs defensive end William Gholston was the best and most consistent player on defense. Now that's not saying much as the unit was poor throughout the season, but it was good to see massive growth in the big defensive end. Gholston was 4th round pick in the 2013 draft, and was only 20 years old in his first season so definitely needed time to mature as a player.

Well it look like it all came together for Gholston in year 3, putting up over 60 tackles, and 3 sacks and at times was a force on the field. Still young as he is only 24 heading into his fourth season, so still has time to grow even more as a player which is great news for the team. Gholston came on as run defender doing a better job with his run contains and shedding blocks to be disruptive consistently. His pass rush game still needs work as his moves are very inconsistent and typically goes with his bull rush the most which is average at best.

That's where new defensive line coach Jay Hayes comes in, as he has had success with guys that are similar in size to Gholston. For instance, Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson whom both are over 6'6 280lbs and have put up double digit sack seasons under Hayes as their coach. Now Lets hope Hayes can mold Gholston into his best form and be a consistent 8 to 10 sack type guy. Gholston is on the verge of breaking out as a player, and hopefully under Hayes, he can reach his true potential.

Bucs looking at Emmanuel Ogbah

The Bucs search for pass rush continues as former Oklahoma State edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah states the Bucs are taking a peek at him, Per Profootballtalk.com

He said the best advice he’s gotten is to know when to say no. Fortunately he didn’t say no giving us a few minutes of his time.
During those few minutes of his, Ogbah said he has visits lined up with the Bears and Buccaneers.

Ogbah has the measurable's standing 6'4 273 with a 4.63 forty and was super productive in college as well with 26.5 sacks in 3 years. What's confusing is that Ogbah didn't display that speed in game tape. Here at realbucstalk.com we aren't big fans of Mr. Ogbah's show on the field as he doesn't have many pass rush moves and often gets lost during plays. I view this as the Bucs not leaving any stone unturned and making sure that they don't over look talent. Also with having such a great D-line coach in Jay Hayes, maybe he sees something in Ogbah that he can bring out as he did with Carlos Dunlap and Bucs favorite defensive end (pure sarcasm) Michael Johnson. As of right now Ogbah should be looked at as a 2nd round talent, nothing more.

Bucs Send Jay Hayes To See Spence

Today was the Pro day of prime edge rush prospect Noah Spence. Jason Licht and Koetter didn't attend yet they still had maybe the next best pair of eyes on him in Jay Hayes, per Greg Auman

Bucs had defensive line coach Jay Hayes at EKU today for Noah Spence's pro day. He ran the defensive line drills -- potential pick at No. 9.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 4, 2016

 New Bucs D-line coach Hayes has an eye for talent and has shown over the years he can get the most out of what he is given. Hayes even ran all the drills so he could see first hand the ability Spence has and would be able to give his own input once draft time comes. Licht is known for communicating with coaches as to see what type of players they like, so any added information Hayes can get from todays Pro day can only help. Reports also came out that Spence improved on his 40 times from the combine, per Tony Pauline

Update on Noah Spence workout coming shortly. 24 Teams in attendance, high 4.6's to mid 4.7's forty in miserable conditions.

— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) March 4, 2016

Spence seems to be a perfect physical specimen but does his checkered past drop him in the draft. Better believe Licht and all of the front office have done their homework on Spence just as they did with Winston last year.

Going Big at De?

A few days ago, I wrote about Deforest Buckner and how he isn't a fit due to his lack of quickness and inability to change direction from east to west. Buckner is a great 3-4 end and could be a good 4-3 defensive tackle, but the Bucs need a force around the edge. I think if the Bucs do want to go with size at DE, they should look no further than Baylor's DE Shawn Oakman, who stands at 6'9 275 which is just insane. Oakman is probably not the best of fits for this defense but I like his traits more than Buckner because he already has a great first step and a non-stop motor which you cant teach.

When I watch Oakman I see a guy who hasn't figured it out yet but shows glimpses of greatness when he does the right move or technique. With Jay Hayes on board, I could easily see Oakman improve his consistency with his technique and be able to dip his shoulder which would enable him to beat his man more often. Most people don't know Oakman has only been playing football since his junior year of High School, so the game is still new to him and he is very raw as a player. Oakman would be a solid pick in the third round as he is your ultimate boom or bust player, as he has massive potential if he can apply more consistency and technique into his game. That's a big If, but if he can do it the opposing 31 teams would be in trouble dealing with a freak athlete like Oakman every Sunday.

Oakman put up 17.5 sacks in three years at Baylor with his best year in 2014 with 11 sacks which is pretty good for a guy that was constantly double teamed throughout his career. Overall, Oakman is a freakish specimen who needs to learn how to convert his quick first step to more power which will allow him to take shorter paths to the QB. If the Bucs do draft him, he will be in good hands with coach Jay Hayes, who has coach big De's like Carlos Dunlap and Margus Hunt.

What Did We Learn?

Ok now that the Super bowl has been played what can we take from the game? Yes, Defense wins Championships!

Anyone who watched the game will remember one thing and that's how much Cam Newton was rushed, hurried and sacked. Denver's defensive ends completely abused Carolina's Offensive line. Von Miller and Demarcus Ware dictated the game based purely on their ability to rush the passer.

So given that, what was the weakest area of the Bucs defense this year? Was it the secondary or was it really the defensive line?

It all starts up front and obviously if the quarterback has all day to throw any secondary would look bad. Other than Gerald McCoy who had 8.5 sacks, which is phenomenal from the defensive tackle position, the Bucs have no true pass rushers. Jacquies Smith with 7 sacks and Howard Jones with 5 sacks were serviceable yet not good enough to provide a consistent pressure. Considering the amount of times Gerald McCoy is double and even sometimes triple teamed someone else should be able to break free and capitalize.

The #1 priority this offseason for the Bucs should be to find a pure pass rusher from any place they can look. That starts with free agency where there could be a couple that may hit the market in Bruce Irvin (Seahawks) and Olivier Vernon (Miami). Another route may be the draft where Noah Spence looks like a pure natural pass rusher that is shooting up draft boards.

Jason Licht has already done half the battle by bringing in possibly the best Defensive line coach in the NFL with Jay Hayes, the rest is bringing in the talent to be used. Jason Licht has proved he knows how to draft with home runs in his first two draft with the Bucs, lets see if he can finally hit a home run with free agency as well.

Jay Hayes Will Bring Production!

What is there to say when it pertains to the Bucs defensive line other than it has been pretty pathetic for a while now. Haven't had a defensive lineman with double digit sacks since Simeon Rice in 2005 which was a decade ago. The Bucs have a star in defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who has averaged over 8 sacks the past three years, but have yet been able to find someone to pair with him. I could list the names but it just brings disappointment to my face, however the constant change with defensive line coaches is interesting. 

From 2010 to the present, the Bucs have had 5 different dline coaches with Todd Walsh, Keith Millard, Randy Melvin, Joe Cullen, and now Jay Hayes. The past coaches have failed to produce any consistency with the pass rush, however one could argue the talent has been subpar except for McCoy during this time. But let’s not dwell on the past, the present is what matters and new defensive line coach Jay Hayes is going to bring production to this unit.

Jay Hayes comes from Cincinnati where he was the dline coach for the past 13 years, and has developed that unit into one of the league’s best. The Bengals dline accounted for 37.5 of their 42 sacks on the season, with Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins leading the way with both over 10 sacks on the year. Jay Hayes will make this Bucs dline tough and physical, and relentless which every dline should process.

 I can see Hayes making guys like Jack Smith, Howard Jones, William Gholston, and even McCoy all better players which hopefully leads to an more consistent attack for the dline. Jay Hayes will be a fan favorite if he can bring the production that he had with Cincinnati, and it will lead to more wins which is what really matters.