In a recent interview, Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Rondé Barber broke down what he sees as the missing piece Tampa Bay needs in order to be Super Bowl contenders. In his mind, the team needs a 'big-ass truck' on defense -- which is probably the least surprising thing ever.
“I’ve watched football professionally for going on 29 years now, and you can talk offense all you want. It’s nice and it’s pretty. It’s like having a nice new Corvette in your garage, but at some point you need that big-ass truck that’s going to put a stop to anything in its path," Barber said. “They have to find that on defense. That’s what will help separate them and make them an even more viable contender going forward.”
A Hall of Fame defensive player arguing that his former team needs to give more to that side of the ball? While we're at it, water is wet and the sky is blue -- but Barber isn't wrong.
Rondé Barber isn't wrong about the Bucs needing an upgrade on defense
Last year the Bucs struggled mightily on defense, failing to close out games and generally looking like a watered down version of itself. We've seen Todd Bowles' defense play lights out and it's a unit that is routinely near the top of the league in ratings.
That wasn't the case last season, and it showed. Specifically the team's pass rush left a lot to be desired, which is why one of the biggest moves of the offseason was trying to fix that. Haason Reddick was given $14 million to try and supercharge things at edge rusher, but it sounds like Barber wants a little more than that.
Reddick is a massive improvement for the Bucs, but he's not the last big piece the team needs to add on defense. Cornerback depth has been tested in back-to-back years and the team lacks a true No. 2 guy next to Zyon McCollum -- who himself is still sort of unproven.
The NFL Draft will be fertile ground for the Bucs to try and fill some of these holes, and it's thankfully a place the team had historically cooked. Calijah Kancey was a first-round pick two years ago and the team has added guys like Yaya Diaby and the aforementioned McCollum later in the draft.
Whether those guys, or whoever the Bucs draft, turn into the 'big-ass truck' Barber wants to see is yet to be determined. What isn't up for debate is that the team needs to figure things out on defense before another season is wasted in ways it really shouldn't be.
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