2013 Buccaneers Stats Roundup: Recap of the Best and Worst Defensive Statistics from Last Season

Nov 11, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Lavonte David (54) is congratulated by teammates after he forces a safety against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

If you haven’t check out part one of the Stats Roundup, check it out here.

The 2013 season came to an end for the Buccaneers in disappointing fashion, as the 4-12 record overshadowed any other accomplishments the team or players had achieved over the course of the season.

But now that the season is over, and the winds of change have swept through One Buc Place, let’s take a look back at some of the important statistics from 2013. Which players had memorable numbers, and which ones posted stats they’d rather forget?

Let’s start with the good news, which means we’ll kick things off with the defensive standouts.

The Good News

Since sacks and tackles haven’t always been recorded officially, it’s tough to say anyone holds an NFL milestone in those categories in an “all-time” capacity, but we can at least compare to players who have played in the modern era when those numbers were kept.

And since sacks became an official statistic, only eight players have ever recorded five interceptions and five sacks in a single season. One of those players is Lavonte David.

David’s 2013 campaign becomes even more rare when you consider his tackle total, as well. David’s five interceptions and six sacks combined with triple-digit tackles place him alongside Rodney Harrison in 2000 as the only players to reach those milestones.

And just to get incredibly specific, Lavonte David is the only player in NFL history (since these statistics were recorded) to post over 100 tackles with at least six sacks, five interceptions, and two forced fumbles.

Then when you take into account advanced statistics, David’s resume only gets better.

According to Pro Football Focus, David held a healthy lead over any other 4-3 outside linebackers in their grading system, finishing with a 26.4 overall (among players who played at least half of their teams’ defensive snaps, which eliminates Von Miller, who actually had a higher grade than David).

PFF lists David among the leaders among this qualified group of outside linebackers (18 in total) in the following statistics:

• Sacks (1st)
• Tackles (2nd)
• Stops (1st by a wide margin. Stops are defined as a tackle or sack which causes an offensive failure.)
• Interceptions (2nd)
• Quarterback Rating Against (3rd)
• Passes Defended (3rd)
• Pass Rushing Productivity (1st. This measures how often the linebacker turns a pass rushing opportunity into a pressure or sack.)
• Run Stop Percentage (1st. This is the ratio of run snaps to stops, as defined above.)

He had a dominant season in every area, and is more than deserving of his All-Pro nomination.

But he wasn’t the only Tampa Bay defender to have a good season.

Gerald McCoy was one of only three defensive tackles to finish with nine or more sacks on the year. His final total of 9.5 sacks are the most for a Buccaneer since Simeon Rice had 14 in 2005, and the most for a Tampa Bay defensive tackle since Warren Sapp’s 16.5 in 2000.

Johnthan Banks’ three interceptions rank third-best among Buccaneer rookies all-time, behind only Donnie Abraham and Aqib Talib.

And just to put to rest the rumors of a “down year” for Darrelle Revis, the former All-Pro corner coming off of ACL surgery was the second-least targeted corner in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.Only Richard Sherman was thrown at less.

When teams did throw at Revis, they quickly found out why they shouldn’t. Despite being credited with allowing four touchdowns (per PFF), his passer rating against was still 81.4, which would finish 26th in the NFL among quarterbacks (if a player were to earn that passer rating).

The Bad News

The bad news begins in the defensive backfield, where highly paid safety Dashon Goldson was nothing short of a disappointment. The personal foul penalties were more than frustrating on their own, but his performance in general left a lot to be desired.

According to PFF, Goldson finished 62nd out of 67 safeties who played 50% or more of their teams snaps at the position. And while his penalties were certainly a part of his negative grade, his pass coverage and run coverage grades were poor as well, leading to an overall total of -14.6. That’s just higher than Chris Conte of the Bears, for some perspective.

He was in the top-10 among safeties in missed tackles, and posted a QB Rating Against of 121.4. It was a season to forget from Goldson, to be sure.

But he wasn’t even the worst player on defense according to the graders at PFF. That honor would go to Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, who finished with a -29.0 grade despite playing only 616 snaps. For reference, Goldson’s -14.6 grade was earned on 826 snaps.

Te’o-Nesheim wasn’t good against the run or pass all season, posting similar numbers in sacks, QB hits and QB hurries to linebacker Mason Foster, despite Foster rushing the passer 90 times all season, while Te’o-Neisheim rushed 328 times.

But Goldson and Te’o-Nesheim weren’t alone in the negatives for Tampa Bay. Overall, 19 of the 28 players graded by PFF wound up in the negatives. The only players to finish above a +5.0 grade were the aforementioned McCoy, Revis and David along with linebacker Dekoda Watson.