Recently, Bucsnation stated something amusing in a recent article called "The 2016 Bucs Defense was Awesome when Pressuring the QBs":

But the Bucs only managed to pressure the quarterback on 24.7% of passing plays, which ranked 25th—well behind the number one ranked Denver Broncos, who got pressure on 32.2% of plays. That's the biggest reason why the Bucs defense struggled: a lack of pressure. You would expect that this would lead the Bucs to really prioritize getting a quality pass-rush going this year. You would be wrong, as the Bucs really only added a nose tackle in Chris Baker—he can add some pass rush in specific situations, but he's not going to be making the difference between a good and bad pass rush.

Earlier in that article, it denoted that Football Outsiders (FBO) ranked the Bucs' the 2nd best defense when getting pass pressure and 8th best without pass pressure. Also from FBO, the Bucs' pass defense was ranked 6th overall.

The 24.7% statistic counts the total passing plays (619 pass plays) and of those passing plays, how many were pressured (153 pressure pass plays). What that statistic does not take into account is quality, which is where I build context.

Let us recap, the Bucs have a top-6 ranked pass defense, a 2nd ranked pass pressure when applied, and an 8th rank pass pressure when not applied. What the Bucs' pass rushing defense is getting docked on is inducing more opportunities. Bucsnation editor regurgitates the results that the Bucs lacked pressure and did not address it this past off-season.

I completely disagree. The Bucs are great at getting to the QB with and without pressure. It is the opportunities of said pressure that is of worry.

Third Downs

The Bucs ranked 1st overall in defensive third down conversions. Recall, they possess the 6th best pass defense as well. The problem here is that they had the 3rd fewest third down opportunities in the league with 195 third down attempts.

Denver was the best at inducing QB pressure with 201 pressures, or 48 more pressures than the Bucs. Denver had the 2nd most third down opportunities last year with 236 third down attempts, or 41 more third down attempts than the Bucs. Therein lies where the Bucs need improvement - more third down opportunities for the pass rush to take advantage of their prowess.

Rush Defense

Premium pass rushers are difficult to come by, let alone become free agents as they are either re-signed or franchised by their current team.

Tampa Bay ranked 24th overall in rush defense, according to FBO. The Bucs gave up 102 rushing first downs, tied for 26th worst in the league. The best defense that allowed the fewest rushing first downs was the Tennessee Titan with only 70 conversions. That is over 30 rushing first down events difference!

What he Bucs did address this past off-season was the deficiency at the run defense. In free agency, they signed a DT better than Dontari Poe at 62.5% of Poe's salary given to him by Atlanta. Then in the draft, the Bucs picked up Stevie Tu'ikolovatu to compete with Sealver Siliga. All three players are very good run stoppers. Baker add an extra dimension as a pass rusher inside.

Conclusion

The imperative for the Bucs was to improve the deficiency in the run game. That would give the Bucs defense the highest return on production for their defense. Tampa wants to dominate the trenches as was seen when they dominated the Seahawks and the first Saints game. When those two teams were lacking their starting centers, then the trench warfare belonged all to the Tampa defensive line. It forced the opposing offense to be one dimensional. Seattle could only muster 47 yards rushing, not including QB Russell Wilson's scramble runs. The Saints generated one less yard than the ‘Hawks with 46 yards total rushing. For the second meeting with the Saints, they got their starting center back as well as their run game when they trampled for 123 yards on the Bucs' defense.

The Bucs are not the Denver Broncos. They do not have to be constructed like the Denver Broncos. What Tampa needs to produce is to induce more third down opportunities like the mile high team. Tampa can do that by stopping the run better and giving up fewer rushing first downs. Force teams into third and long plays into the Bucs' hands of a top-6 ranked pass defense, a 2nd ranked pass pressure when applied, an 8th rank pass pressure when not applied, and the best third down defense under the shield.

Stopping the run induces more third downs. More third downs increase the chances of pass rushing pressure. Third down and long definitely increases the likelihood of pass pressure opportunities.



