Oct. 3, 2011; Tampa Bay FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (93) celebrates a tackle against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers defeated the Colts 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stamey-US PRESSWIRE

Last year was not necessarily the best indication of what the team was capable of defensively, but for as many excuses as you can make for the 2011 Bucs, the facts remain they were just lousy on that side of the ball last year.

The front seven was abysmal, the secondary was regularly victimized and the entire identity of the team was thrown into disarray when the defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense couldn’t start fast enough.

With the bulk of the off-season transactions now in the book, and with a clearer idea of what Greg Schiano is planning for next year, let’s take stock of the Bucs defense and try to take an objective look at just where this unit stands as it heads into the OTA period of the NFL year.

Have the Bucs done enough to improve the defense?

Here’s the rub, despite painting things as bleak, they really aren’t in Tampa.The Bucs could actually have a pretty solid defensive unit in 2012, even without a major overhaul this off-season.

It all just hangs on the health of one man.

Gerald McCoy is the most crucial element on the Buccaneers defense, bar none. Think I’m kidding? With a healthy McCoy last season the same Bucs team that finished a hapless 4-12 and ranked dead last in defense was at one point 4-2 with impressive victories over Atlanta and New Orleans to speak of.

Do you remember that team? It seems like two seasons ago now, but there was a point in 2011 where the Bucs looked like a legitimate NFC contender. There was a game where Tampa smashed Atlanta in its mouth and held Michael Turner to 20 yards on the ground. There was confidence and strength in that defense back then.

Then Gerald McCoy got hurt and the effects were obvious.

Oct 9, 2011; San Francisco, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (93) holds his left leg after an injury on the field against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Talk about a trickle-down impact, every level of the defense got worse when McCoy went out last year. Mason Foster and the linebackers became a lot less effective when they were spending the start of most plays fighting off blockers at the second level. We talked about the importance of the front four in a 4-3 during the draft, McCoy is a great illustration of that.

Mason Foster looked like two different players last season, he was exciting with a great nose for the ball early on. But then I’ve heard some fans go as far as to say he disappeared in the second half. He didn’t disappear, he just got covered up because none of the guys up front could occupy blockers at the point and keep them from bothering the backers.

When McCoy is out there, the entire line is better. Offenses have to focus on the middle of the Bucs line, giving your edge rushers better chances at one-on-ones and keeping additional guys off your linebackers and safeties. The gap integrity improves with McCoy in the middle, helping the run defense play more effectively and the coverage improves because the pressure is better when you have a guy who can collapse the pocket from the middle.

Essentially, Gerald McCoy catches a bad rep because he hasn’t been as flashy as Ndamukong Suh, but in the context of his role on his respective defense he may be even more essential to his team than Suh is.

When Suh is gone the Lions (as they have shown) can still win and play decent defense. The Bucs defense went from a middle of the pack defense to cellar-dwellars without McCoy last season. It was night and day.

For Tampa to succeed this season, McCoy has to stay healthy all year. Aside from being the highest paid guy on the roster, he may also be the most indispensable.

Greg Schiano can fix the locker-room culture, he can add leaders and talk all he wants about the Buccaneer way. What he can’t do is produce an elite NFL defensive tackle from thin air.

In Tampa, as Gerald McCoy goes, so too does the Bucs defense.

Nov 20, 2011; Green Bay, WI, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Mason Foster (59) warms up prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Buccaneers 35-26. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

By now, you all have heard that the Buccaneers went berserk in free agency, spending $140.55 million on Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks, and Eric Wright. And oh yeah, they signed QB Dan Orlovsky to a two-year deal as well. However, there is still uncertainty on the defensive side of the ball. If you watched any Bucs game last season, you probably realized that the front seven had trouble stopping the run.

Now, we can blame the lack of success on defense on many things, the fact that we had a long lockout, Bucs were very, very young on defense, and there appeared to be a lack of will and hustle at times under Raheem Morris’ regime. Oh, and I forgot to mention, Gerald McCoy was sidelined with an injury for the second straight season.

Many also point to Mason Foster’s somewhat disappointing season as the starting MLB. However, the aforementioned issues contributed to his “sub-par” play significantly. Foster, as a rookie, was forced to start without much preparation time, and he was also given the burden of calling the signals on defense. That’s tough for a rookie, there’s no question there. That being said, I think he handled it quite well. Foster finished the season with 84 tackles and one interception.

So, where do the Buccaneers go from here? Well, I have a feeling that the Bucs will have to address the linebacker position in free agency. I know, I know many of you have been lobbying for Curtis Lofton to come to Tampa. However, I don’t see that happening, unless he lowers his asking price. But, the man did have 147 tackles in 2011, which is substantially higher than Foster’s 84.

I have been an advocate of bringing in Stephen Tulloch, the former Lions LB. Tulloch is seen as a cheaper version of Lofton. Tulloch had a 111 tackles for the Detroit Lions in 2011, and would bring leadership to this group of young linebackers.

Moreover, the front four need to find a way to stay healthy. Adrian Clayborn had 7.5 sacks as a rookie. He really did play well in 2011. Da’Quan Bowers, another rookie, also had a solid season, though only finishing with 25 tackles and 1.5 sacks. The interior needs to stay healthy. Gerald McCoy can’t catch a break. He only played in five games in 2011. Also, the Buccaneers offered Michael Bennett a tender, which will keep him in Tampa Bay unless he refuses to play under those terms.

In conclusion, whatever the Buccaneers do with Foster, it appears he will only improve over last season. He will have a full offseason to prepare, and he will already have an NFL season under his belt.

You can follow Max Luckan on Twitter: @MaxLuckan, or check out his blog: NFL Inside Track

Before the 2010 season the Buccaneers picked McCoy 3rd overall, gave him a mega-deal (as was standard) and hoped he would be the answer in the middle of the line.

Gerald McCoy made a lot more progress last year than we gave him credit for. (Matt Stamey-US PRESSWIRE)

I wasn’t impressed with his rookie year, I don’t think many people were. The knock was he skated by on athleticism in college and that looked like it caught up to him in year one. To his credit he did kick it into form and pick things up his last few games but ended the season on IR.

Last year though he came back strong, he was a much better defensive tackle and quite frankly the Bucs were never the same after his injuries. I didn’t see it as much the first half the season, I admit I was anxiously watching the ends and occasionally checking up on Mason Foster in the middle. My attention was not on McCoy.

But when things turned bad I blamed him, and then when he came back and tried to play hurt I did notice him and not for the right reasons.

I’ve been pretty vocal in my criticisms of McCoy, called him overrated, said he might be a bust, even invoked the boy named Suh.

But then I went back and started watching old game film. I started watching the way McCoy was utilized, how he handled his responsibilities, how his technique had improved and he was playing with a nasty streak like he had at the end of 2010. McCoy was a much better tackle in 2011 than he was in 2010. Everything from his pass-rushing repertoire to his leverage was much improved and he came back from the off-season stronger. There was nothing wrong with McCoy when he was healthy in 2011, he actually was anchoring the middle of the line.

Before McCoy got hurt early in the game at San Francisco the Bucs had gone 3-1 and their defense was showing signs of promise. They had held a very potent Falcons offenses to just 13 points two weeks earlier. Then he went down. They dropped the 49er game without him, got absolutely obliterated on the line. Then they proceeded to go 1-11 the rest of the year.

McCoy's injury was a huge setback for the Bucs. (Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE)

McCoy rolled up an ankle against the 49ers, he was fortunate not to break it but he got the always unenviable high ankle sprain for his trouble. Those don’t heal quickly and he was out a couple weeks. When he came back it was clearly not 100%, you can see it clear as day on the film. Then he tore his bicep to ice the cake.

It was frankly an inauspicious ending to a year that McCoy deserves more credit for. He did his part in the off-season, put in the work and came back better. He was a leader on the team.

And I have been wrong about that. I was wrong about his impact and wrong about his example. Without him the Buccaneers defense was far worse.

It’s still going to be up to Greg Schiano to turn McCoy into a dominant defensive player and get a high return on the nearly 35 million in guaranteed money Tampa is paying the former Sooner, but that will have more to do with keeping him healthy than performing magic.

It turns out McCoy is a pretty good NFL defensive tackle already.