Noah Spence Logs Best Game of His Season
Noah Spence had his best game in a Buccaneers uniform on Sunday against the 49ers and helped slow the bleeding after an early 14 point deficit.
On Sunday the Buccaneers traveled west to play the San Francisco 49ers and came away not only with a victory, but also an encouraging performance from rookie defensive end Noah Spence. With Robert Ayers out once again the Buccaneers were starved for pass rush and turned to their second round pick for a spark. Despite an injured shoulder, Spence answered the call and displayed the burst and pass rush acumen that the Bucs sought him out for in this years’ draft.
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Despite being a second round pick Spence has been unable to make much of a splash or impression on the Buccaneer defense. Defensive ends can often take a bit of experience in order to get their bearings at the professional level, and it can be especially difficult for those coming in with only one advanced skill set. Those with pass rushing chops like Noah Spence can only get snaps when the game flow allows for it, and Sunday’s game against the Niners allowed for it.
Similar to last season versus the Eagles, Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense managed to score quickly on the Bucs and after a Jameis Winston interception the team suddenly found themselves in a 14-0 hole. Despite it looking like another game spent playing catch up, the Bucs managed to turn the tide and put the 49ers on their heels. With no running game and a rapidly deteriorating lead, the Niners were forced to pass and Noah Spence took advantage.
Spence totaled just one tackle officially but registered a sack, a batted pass (first of his career), and beat Niners left tackle Joe Staley on multiple occasions to put pressure on Colin Kaepernick. On one play in particular Spence beat Staley and got his hands on Kaepernick, forcing him into a near interception from fellow rookie Vernon Hargreaves.
Head coach Dirk Koetter talked about Spence’s game on Monday following the game:
"“Noah played 47 snaps, got a sack there at the end. I would still say Noah – we’re happy with him and he entered the season as kind of a specialist, more of a pass rush specialist, but he’s having to play more [as an] every down defensive end because of our injuries. I think he’d still fit in the ‘learning’ category. He still makes some mistakes that a young player is apt to make, but he likes to play ball and he gives really good effort. And as long as he keeps learning and keeps improving, the future’s bright for him.”"
As Koetter said, Spence is still very much a work in progress. His ceiling remain limited for the most part because of his shoulder for the rest of the season and once Robert Ayers is healthy we’ll more than likely see Spence’s snaps scaled back a bit. However it’s encouraging to see Spence show the same plus skills he had in college; the speed, the array of counter moves, the hustle and passion for football.
Next: Week seven grades for Bucs win over 49ers
Regardless of Robert Ayers’ status this week, Noah Spence will get another heap of pass rushing opportunities against a Raiders team that is 7th in pass attempts. In what should be one of the marquee matchups this week, Spence will take on former Buccaneer left tackle Donald Penn who has continued his high level of play from his Tampa days.