Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 best moments from Week 2 win over Saints
Sep 20, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jacquies Smith (56) pressures New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) in the second quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
It’s Jacquies Smith’s world and we just live in it
We’re just going to leave this right here…
Through two games, Bucs DE @Jachalp3 leads the league with four sacks. Had three yesterday. #Undrafted pic.twitter.com/j7DJb3YNyj
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 21, 2015
It’s only two games, but Jacquies Smith is leading the NFL in sacks after going off on the Saints to the tune of three sacks and two forced fumbles. Throughout the contest, Smith lined up against Zach Strief, who was five inches taller and weighed nearly 70 pounds more than the 25-year-old pass rusher. But where Smith lacked in size, though, he made up for in speed, consistently getting around the edge on Strief.
The ultimate goal for an edge rusher is get the quarterback or put pressure on him. But, if you are unable to take the QB down, you want to, at least, stick your arm out there and hopefully disturb the throwing motion. Jacq did just that on multiple occasions.
If you still have doubts about Jacquies’ ability as a viable pass rusher because Strief looked like a human turnstile all day, keep in mind that, according to Joe Kania of Buccaneers.com, only J.J. Watt and Justin Houston have more sacks than Smith (10.5) since the beginning of November 2014.
Another aspect of the Bucs defense that pops out was pointed out by Bucs Nation. Take a look at the linebackers. Their motor and movement running the Tampa 2 is amazing to witness.
After a previous play which saw only Drew Brees and Chris Conte initially chasing a loose ball (Gerald McCoy started to give chase when he saw Conte), Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David didn’t let another potential fumble recovery opportunity pass them by. And when the ball was picked up, they finished the play with force.
The linebackers corps of Alexander, David and Danny Lansanah is a fast group. Their ability to fly around the field, especially Lansanah on the left, was on full display here. Also, take a look at how they quickly plug the gaps in coverage, preventing Brees to get off some quick hits like Marcus Mariota did in Week 1.