Final Buccaneer Breakdown: Defense
By Patrik Nohe
In week six the Buccaneers allowed 475 total yards of offense to the New Orleans Saints in an embarrassing 31-6 loss at Raymond James stadium. On Sunday, in week 17 at the Superdome, the Bucs defense showed how far its come (despite a rash of injuries) and limited the Saints to just 305 in a 23-13 win in New Orleans.
This Bucs defense is still a work in progress, still far from the dominant force it was in the late 90’s and early oughts, but it’s improving. It sure is improving. This defense, especially with the injuries it faced, wasn’t going to outright stymie a team the caliber of the Saints. But the Bucs did manage to contain them and force turnovers in opportunistic situations. I’ll take that in lieu of dominance.
The biggest problem the Bucs had on Sunday was just getting off the field. Drew Brees and the Saints are masterful at prolonging drives and the Bucs seemed to face numerous situations where a solid first two plays in the series were squandered by a third down reception or a draw that got away. Still, when it mattered the defense stepped up and forced turnovers, twice taking away the ball in the Saints redzone (well, one from the 25).
Larry Asante, the rookie corner out of Nebraska grabbed his first career interception on a Drew Brees throw at the Saints five. On the play Lance Moore fell down, but Asante caught the pass. Why is that relevant? If you’ve been subjected to any games from our neighbors down south you would have probably seen the Dolphins defense drop one of their league record 35+ interceptions. That’s right, the Dolphins could have had an extra 35 picks had their corners just been able to catch. Imagine if Asante drops that easy pick, the Saints score on that possession. Possibly a touchdown, at least a field goal. Sometimes being opportunistic just means making the play in front of you.
Of course sometimes it also means making a play that wasn’t just laid in your lap. Barrett Ruud made arguably his best play of the season on Sunday when he stripped a fumble inside the Saints 10 to keep them out of the end-zone. I’ve been as hard on Ruud as anyone, I feel he needs to be more vocal as a leader. But that play on Sunday is the type of play you see a defensive leader make, that’s what you get from a Ray Lewis in a big situation with points on the line. I don’t know if that will be Ruud’s last game as a Buc, but it was a nice note to go out on if it was.
It may have also been Ronde Barber‘s last game, which is sad, but it’s worth noting that even in week 17 of what may be his final season Barber was still a very effective defender, defending three passes and coming up with two big tackles for loss.
It was not a banner day for the Bucs defense but it was a good day. The D limped in to New Orleans and played it’s tail off, limiting the playoff-bound Saints to just 13 points and 300 yards. Next year this defense will look to improve even more, but they began 2011 on a great note.