There is, in fact, positive news for Buccaneers fans. The team reached their bye week at 1-5, so spectators had a week off from witnessing another atrocious performance by this shell of a football team. It was just a few weeks ago that Tampa Bay pulled of a stunning upset in Pittsburgh that had fans optimistic, but the following two Sundays have proven any conjecture that the Bucs had found their way, including the sentiments of yours truly, to be a fallacy.
The Bucs blew an eleven point, third-quarter lead to the New Orleans Saints a week after their first and only win of the season, and followed that up by getting completely decimated at home by the Baltimore Ravens. It's undeniably too early to jump off the Lovie Smith bandwagon, but there are clearly a surplus of problems with his team that don't appear to be improving. A closer look reveals that the root of these issues begin with the big men up front.
Their last match, against the Ravens, is a perfect example. The stats show that it was Tampa Bay's porous secondary that was the most glaring weakness on the defensive side, but that might not be entirely correct. The front seven, and specifically the defensive line, failed to get any pressure on Joe Flacco whatsoever, and also had a hard time stopping Baltimore's run game. In reality, it was the lack of disruption created by the Buccaneer pass rush that left an injury-riddled secondary to suffer the consequences, and they were severe.
The Bucs were torched for 475 total yards by a less-than-explosive Baltimore offense, and their lack of depth was unmistakable. Lovie Smith prides himself on his consistently ferocious defensive fronts, but truthfully, this one plays soft. As much praise as they received for their excellent performance in Pittsbugh, and the decent job they did in New Orleans, this group took a major step back last Sunday, validating any concerns about their consistency prior to the contest.
There is no doubt that the talent is there. Gerald McCoy is arguably the best defensive tackle in the game, and the pieces that the organization brought in during the off-season were supposed to complement him nicely and create a dominant force. Unfortunately, it just hasn't worked out to this point. One of the biggest acquisitions for the Bucs was the signing of defensive end Michael Johnson, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals. So far, Johnson has done little to prove he was worth the big-money contract that Tampa Bay gave him.
Considering the constant double-teams that McCoy has to deal with, it's been up to Johnson especially to step up and make his presence felt. Johnson has had difficulty just winning a one-on-one match-up with the opposing left tackle, resulting in a defensive line that's severely underperforming. Obviously it's not all Johnson's fault, but he's the player that could make the difference moving forward. His emergence means not only more sacks for him, but also more opportunities for McCoy to find favorable match-ups.
The other side of the ball hasn't been any better though, especially against the Ravens' stout defensive front last Sunday. Mike Glennon's offensive line consistently gave him little-to-no protection throughout the afternoon, and the Bucs were unable to make any adjustments. Doug Martin and Bobby Rainey had very little success in the run game, and Glennon being under constant pressure from the opening snap limited his ability to establish any semblance of an aerial attack.
It is nearly impossible to run an effective offense with a shaky offensive line. This was an area of weakness for Tampa Bay a year ago, but this new-look line was supposed to be much different this season. Logan Mankins, acquired from New England, has been solid at left guard, but that's not the case for most of his line-mates, especially the man to his left. Anthony Collins looks like a shadow of his former self and has to step his game up. His consistency with Cincinnati warranted a healthy new contract from the Bucs, but the 28-year-old tackle has not delivered.
Once again, it's unfair to point the finger at just one player, but Collins plays a crucial position and across from some of the best pass-rushers in the game. His poor play has stood out more than anyone else. In reality, both the offensive and defensive lines have to improve as a whole, but more substantial contributions from the two former Bengals would go a long way.
For Tampa Bay, the objective is clear. There's so much talent on both sides of the ball, but nothing is going to change for the better until the play in the trenches improves. No matter how athletic and fast your team is, if you're being dominated up front, you won't win consistently in this league. It can be the difference between explosiveness and mediocrity.