Buccaneers: Front seven ranked 22nd in the NFL by Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus showed only modest love for the Buccaneers defensive front, ranking them 21st in the NFL.
We all watched the transformation of the Buccaneers defense in the second half of last year. In short, they were near dominant. Over the winning streak that nearly brought them to the playoffs, the team was at levels comparable to the 2002 championship squad. They were keeping teams off the scoreboard and forcing turnovers. Talk about the offense all you want, the defense also has everything in place to become something truly special.
Anyone who watches the NFL is familiar with the work of Pro Football Focus. They are featured every week on Sunday Night Football. For better or worse, they are known as the standard with grading individual performances. They even go so far as to grade offensive linemen, which is admittedly difficult to do. Whether you love them or hate them, they do give us a grading system to help us understand player comparisons.
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Recently, Louie Benjamin of PFF posted an article ranking each team’s front seven (defensive line and linebackers). Quite obviously, the Houston Texans with J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus top the charts at number one.
The San Francisco 49ers bring up the rear of the group, coming in at number 32. That leaves a lot of room in between, 30 spots to be exact.
Where do the Bucs fit in?
Benjamin ranked them at number 22:
"DT Gerald McCoy may be one of the game’s best interior defenders and DE Robert Ayers had the fifth most QB pressures among 4-3 defensive ends along the right side of the D-line last year. The Bucs also brought in former Redskins DI Chris Baker to draw attention away from McCoy. If LBs Kwon Alexander (22 missed tackles) and Lavonte David (13 missed tackles) can cut down the missed tackles, this front seven unit could certainly rise from 22 next season."
Those missed tackles have to come down. Alexander and David are the two guys people look to as the studs at linebacker. Don’t get me wrong, they are terrific. Kwon Alexander is going to be a great player in this league for a long time, and David will be there along with him. But we want to see these guys take the next step into “elite” status. Doesn’t everyone want to hear Kwon’s name mentioned in the same breath as some guy named Luke Kuechly? Cutting down on missed tackles will go a long way in making that happen.
Take a look at the list, however, and see what you think. To me, it still feels like 22 is a bit low. But who do you move them ahead of? The teams immediately ahead of them are quite good. How would we move them up?
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What do you think? Based on the list in the attached article, are the Bucs in the right spot? Would you move them, and how? Let us know in the comments below.