It has been said that when a coach builds a team in the National Football League, the rule of thumb is to construct a team that matches up well and is competitive within it's division - and in the NFC South, it all starts with defense.
So when Greg Schiano took over the reigns as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was tasked with building a defense that could compete with the high wire acts in Atlanta and New Orleans and the dangerous whatever-that-is in Carolina - and what he's come up with so far should just about do the trick.
And that's a problem for teams outside of their division as well, and if his offense could find a way score on anyone, the Bucs would be undefeated heading into Sunday afternoon tilt with the New England Patriots.
Because the defense that Schiano has built has been up to the task - but, unfortunately, for only 59 minutes per game.
It's a small sample size, but in just two games it is obvious that the offense in running in quicksand - and as they are scoring a measly 12 points a game against the Jets and Saints, it is obvious that the defense is either going to have to limit teams to 11 points a game, or score some points themselves...
...and they have scored, but also have suffered a lapse in discipline in the face of desperate, last minute drives by their competitors that have resulted in two heartbreaking losses - and both in up-tempo, last-gasp scenarios.
A Mason Foster 85 yard interception return for a touchdown against New Orleans last Sunday gave the Bucs a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter which seemed to briefly inspire the offense into a rare lucid moment, driving down the field to the Saints' 29 yard line, where kicker Ryan Lindell promptly missed the opportunity to extend the lead to four points, which would have forced the Saints to respond with a touchdown to win the game.
Drew Brees and the Saints took over at their own 29, and three pass plays later they lined up and kicked the game winning field goal - The week before that in the season opener, the Buccaneers' offense again took the ball with a long field and little time but this time completed their drive on a Lindell field goal that gave them a two point lead with 38 seconds left...
...but a long pass from Geno Smith to Kellen Winslow and 15 yard personal foul penalty after a 10 yard Smith scramble gave the Jets field goal position, which Nick Folk nailed with 15 seconds remaining to send the Bucs to defeat.
So while the offense is struggling and the defense is keeping them in games, in the end the Buccaneers lack the discipline to close out games on both sides of the ball - the issues being correctable, but as fearsome and intimidating as Tampa's defense is, both Geno Smith and Drew Brees found long gains down the field to break their backs at winning time...
...and this is where the Patriots need to look to beat the Buccaneers at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Much has been made of the Buccaneers' secondary, what with Darrelle Revis anchoring a group of defensive backs that include Leonard Davis and rookie Johnthan Banks at corners with bad boy Dashon Goldson and second year man Mark Barron at safety - but it is their linebacking corps that are making the difference.
It is the linebackers that have shown the ability to control a game from the inside out - they are like a good bakery, creating tasty turnovers and providing their own sacks to put them in. Of the team's six forced turnovers, the trio of Lavonte David, Mason Foster and Dekoda Watson are responsible for four of them, including all three interceptions - of the Buccaneers' nine total sacks, these three are responsible for six of them.
In fact, with a half a sack, safety Mark Barron is the sole playmaker in the secondary, while the front seven controls everything else - and never mind the reasons, though one could make an argument that the Buccaneers' secondary is suffering from being vastly overrated as a unit.
Dude, wait...what?
With Revis in this secondary, it has exposed one half of the field as looking as inexperienced as they actually are. Davis is in his second year, as is Barron, and Banks is a rookie - and Goldson, as intimidating as he is patrolling the middle of the field, is just this side of being a liability in coverage.
Time and again both the Jets and the Saints threw against the inexperience, and time and again they found their intended targets in the intermediate to deep zones, Marques Colston against Banks and tight end Jimmy Graham against Goldson - and Revis was relegated a spectator out on his lonely island...
...and with communication seeming to be the main issue affecting the youngsters, the unit can hardly be viewed as cohesive and well blended. Revis is only as effective as the coverage on the opposite side of the field. If Davis or Banks is able to provide solid coverage, Revis serves his purpose - if they can't he becomes an innocent bystander.
Reportedly, Revis has been getting frustrated by the coaching staff not allowing him to play man to man more often, but there's a reason why they are being so conservative.
Schiano knows that he's limited across from Revis island, and being in zone coverage eliminates a lot of the potential communication errors and allows the younger players to get a better feel for their responsibilities and even an ownership of the zone - and as these pups become more acclimated to the overall scheme, in time there can be more man coverage.
But that's down the road. Schiano can't comfortably turn his secondary loose now, even at the insistence of one of the more celebrated corners in the game today - and it's pretty much a moot point at this juncture, as quarterbacks like Brees and Brady can eliminate Revis simply by moving their offensive weapons around in the formation and dictating to the coverage who is covering whom...
...which is exactly how Colston and Graham were wide open down the field in crunch time while Revis was running downhill to make plays on Darren Sproles just yards from the line of scrimmage.
It's all about dictating matchups, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the best that's ever been at making adjustments at the line to create mismatches. Brees did it, and even the rookie Geno Smith did it, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels should recognize this game as an opportunity to take advantage of the poor communication and relative inexpereince by going up tempo and forcing the defense to react.
As soon as the first play of the series is whistled dead, get the players immediately to the line, identify the sweet spot in the coverage, then rotate the receivers to create certain matchups - hold the defenders in their stance for another 10 seconds, then go.
This strategy is effective at all three levels - it slows the pass rush by keeping them in their stance for an extended amount of time rendering them increasingly off-balance and worn down as the game progresses, the linebackers start to hint at their intentions and the corners get locked in and if Brady and the receivers are on the same page, they can gain separation off the line.
Brady is not a rookie. He can control the matchups at the line of scrimmage to his advantage. The one thing that's been holding the offense back is that the receivers are rookies and were still unsure as to whether they are to zig or to zag when they see a particular coverage - that said, these past nine days have been the most important period of time that the rookies will encounter this season...
...even Julian Edelman, who has had the mantle of #1 receiver thrust upon him by default, because as confused as the Tampa Bay secondary has looked at times, so has the receiving corps for the Patriots.
One could reasonably expect that Brady, Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Zach Sudfeld and Edelman have become fast friends in the past week and a half, and have spent many hours tweaking their craft and fine-tuning a game plan - and we can expect a much sharper performance from these kids on Sunday afternoon.
What we can not expect is to know is how it all comes together, and anyone who tells you that they know is full of shinola. There are many variables involved in indoctrinating brand new players into an offensive philosophy, and none more intriguing as to how all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski will impact the game plan should he be able to suit up.
Nothing need be said about Gronkowski that hasn't already been mentioned - his presence changes the entire dynamic of the offense. Gronk wears many hats, but he is at his best in the passing game when chipping the defensive end and floating out into space to become Brady's safety valve - sometimes his primary target, especially in the red zone...
...which is a strength of the Bucs' defense thus far in the young season - so it is imperative that in such situations Brady can call upon the 6' 6" Gronkowski, teamed with the 6' 7" Sudfeld and the 6' 3" Dobson as back of the zone targets with Edelman and Thompkins taking care of the underneath stuff.
In the running game, he makes all of the difference between a tiny seam and a gaping hole, as he is the most accomplished run blocker on the team, regardless of position. This is actually the area most affected by his absence, and the thought of him dictating a strong side running lane all the way to the second level has to have both McDaniels and Belichick drooling.
Popular speculation appears to be that Gronkowski will not be playing against Tampa Bay, but this speculation does not take into account that he has not played a meaningful snap in nearly 10 months, and a 15-20 snap workload could go a long way to getting him up to game speed before entering a difficult stretch starting next Sunday night in Atlanta.
If he can't play, the offensive line has the push and the talent to both protect Brady in the pocket and to open seams in the running game, though it has been harrowing at times to start the season Both the Jets and the Saints challenged the middle of the Bucs' stout defensive line, and both failed - but both found limited success running off tackle, exactly where Gronkowski would be lined up...
...and whether it would be running back Stevan Ridley's explosion through the hole or former Bucs' runner Legarrette Blount floating through, either can get to the second level quickly. Getting the running game going is paramount to freeze the linebackers and defensive backs on the play action, giving Brady both time to throw and open targets to throw to.
Defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and rookie Akeem Spence are brick walls against the run and, of course, are backed up by the turnover baking linebacking corps, while ends Adrian Clayborn, Da'Quan Bowers and Daniel Te'o-Nesheim form a quick and athletic pass rush rotation.
What the Patriots offensive line must be particularly aware of is the propensity for Middle linebacker Foster and weak side backer Davis slicing up the middle in gaps created by the tackles, which is how they've gotten the five sacks between them in two games - so the trio of guards Marcus Cannon, Logan Mankins and center Ryan Wendell need to be well anchored.
But in the end, it comes down to pace and Brady creating mismatches to put the rookie receivers in position to succeed. It means making the Buccaneers defend the entire field, even taking shots in the direction of Revis to keep him honest.
Otherwise the defense is dictating to Brady and the offense, and that's a bad way to fly.
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