The problems on the Bucs’ defense continues to pile on game by game. It doesn’t get any easier with a Monday night matchup against the Chiefs at Kansas City followed by short week against the 49ers, who have continuously been a thorn in the team’s side.
The other issue is the Bucs don’t really have any other reinforcements coming in to help this group. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey returned in Week 5 and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. came back in Week 6. Outside of cornerback Jamel Dean, who is on injured reserve for at least the next two games, there’s nobody else walking through that door for Tampa Bay to help the team’s putrid defense. There isn’t a big trade the Bucs can make for a quick fix.
That’s why starting cornerback Zyon McCollum said it best when talking to the media, that the group will have to find it from within if they want to keep their season afloat.
“We have to stick together,” McCollum said. “There’s no pointing fingers. There’s no fighting with each other. The only people that are going to save us, is us.”
Bucs Have A Communication Breakdown On Defense
While Zyon McCollum has played very well this season and has been the best cornerback for the Bucs, the pass coverage as a whole has been poor. The Bucs are third worst in the NFL, allowing 387 total yards per game and aren’t much better in pass coverage with the team ranking 29th in passing yards allowed per game at 255.4. More alarming is the fact that Tampa Bay ranks 28th in points allowed per game at 26.6.
Each week there’s a new problem that comes about and Tampa Bay just hasn’t figured it out just yet.
“I think, for the most part, it comes down to being on the same page and communicating and bringing that film study on to the field,” McCollum said. “It’s being coached up the right way and we’re seeing it and we’re talking about it throughout the week, and we have to be able to carry that for 100% of the plays on Sundays. It can’t be 95%. It can’t be 98%. So us, as players, I mean we just have to do a better job of pushing that communication that we have during the week in the film room and in practice on to the game.”
Communication has become a buzzword of sorts in Tampa Bay. Todd Bowles uses it all the time to describe why they’ve allowed so many big plays. Though Bowles tends to not go into specifics of why a defensive call broke down so drastically, McCollum did his best to explain the situation on why there’s been a lack of discussion.
“I think 100% of it starts in practice and just us doing a better job of – safeties, corners, nickels, linebackers – communicating, all talking, when we’re going through walk-throughs and we’re seeing stuff in the film room,” McCollum said. “We have to be able to call these types of things out and execute in practice over and over again.
“If it’s going to take an extra meeting, if it’s going to take player-led meetings, if it’s going to take extra time and us just talking to each other, then you know, we’re going to have to do anything that it takes to get this problem fixed. But I know everybody is working hard and we’re all on the same page.”
Too Many Different Personnel?
It used to be that the Bucs would just get sliced and diced playing soft zone where quarterbacks could identify where the blitz pressure was and throw a short pass to a player in an open area. But lately, Tampa Bay has allowed the splash plays that Todd Bowles has always feared giving up.
Two weeks ago on Monday Night Football the Bucs gave up a 59-yard pass by Lamar Jackson to receiver Rashod Bateman. Later in the game, running back Derrick Henry exploded through the line for an 81-yard run. Last Sunday, Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts tormented the Bucs by scoring two touchdowns in the game. One was from 36 yards out, the other score was even longer at 49 yards.
“These plays are plays that, like I said, we’ve seen in film study,” McCollum said. “It’s not anything crazy new in particular, we have to do a better job of just flat out focusing. You can play 90 plays perfect in a game and three mishaps or one mishap, and it’s a terrible game. We have to really just harp on focusing for four quarters, understanding, stepping back from the game and realizing what offenses are doing and taking that film study into the game day.”
What might play a role in this outcome is the Bucs having to use several different players in the secondary due to injury. The team is down to their fourth- and fifth-string cornerbacks opposite McCollum with undrafted free agent Tyrek Funderburk, who was replaced at halftime versus Atlanta by Josh Hayes. Christian Izien had to play in the slot with Tykee Smith out. The safety position had to be shuffled around too with Antoine Winfield Jr. missing four games and Jordan Whitehead getting hurt in game at times.
McCollum doesn’t look at this as an excuse and would rather find answers.
“A different lineup means you’re communicating differently,” McCollum said. “You know, not every person is the same. We’re not robots out there, but I mean, the mentality that we have as a defense as a whole, everybody is in there during those meetings. So us, as players, if we’re backing people up or if we’re starting the games, we have to be able to stay locked in at all times. You can’t expect anything to happen, you have to be ready to roll with the punches and so everybody needs to take it upon themselves to be ready for anything that could happen.”
