Tampa Bay has very little pass rush

Question

Cam Newton and the Panthers have already destroyed two teams with no pass rush, the Giants 38-0 and the Vikings 35-10.

Tampa has two sacks in their last 3 games and 14 on the season which is tied for 7th worst in the league.

Tampa had a terrible pass rush and pass defense last year and they did very little to address it in the offseason and on top of that they lost their best pass rusher from last year Michael Bennett to free agency. Bennett had 9 of their 27 sacks last year.

Tampa has allowed 3 TD's and almost 300 yards to both Matt Ryan and Nick Foles the last two weeks.

Cam Newton has been playing very well since the debacle in Arizona where he got sacked 7 times. He's completed 80% of his passes the last two weeks (35 of 43) and had QB ratings of 136 and 143. He also got sacked 6 times against Buffalo and they lost but actually should have won that game. Buffalo and Seattle who the Panthers also lost to are tied for 4th in the league in sacks with 23 each. He was also under a lot of pressure vs St Louis last week a game I watched but he still completed most of his passes. Newton can run also, I'm sure all of you know.

Carolina has a very good defense although I admit they looked pretty shaky in the first half against the Rams last week.

Tampa is starting a backup running back and a backup QB. The QB isn't bad but the running back from everything I read is not as good as Doug Martin.

Bottom line is I'm jumping on Carolina Panthers -6.

Good luck on your wagers

Greyhound · Answer

Cam Newton and the Panthers have already destroyed two teams with no pass rush, the Giants 38-0 and the Vikings 35-10.

Tampa has two sacks in their last 3 games and 14 on the season which is tied for 7th worst in the league.

Tampa had a terrible pass rush and pass defense last year and they did very little to address it in the offseason and on top of that they lost their best pass rusher from last year Michael Bennett to free agency. Bennett had 9 of their 27 sacks last year.

Tampa has allowed 3 TD's and almost 300 yards to both Matt Ryan and Nick Foles the last two weeks.

Cam Newton has been playing very well since the debacle in Arizona where he got sacked 7 times. He's completed 80% of his passes the last two weeks (35 of 43) and had QB ratings of 136 and 143. He also got sacked 6 times against Buffalo and they lost but actually should have won that game. Buffalo and Seattle who the Panthers also lost to are tied for 4th in the league in sacks with 23 each. He was also under a lot of pressure vs St Louis last week a game I watched but he still completed most of his passes. Newton can run also, I'm sure all of you know.

Carolina has a very good defense although I admit they looked pretty shaky in the first half against the Rams last week.

Tampa is starting a backup running back and a backup QB. The QB isn't bad but the running back from everything I read is not as good as Doug Martin.

Bottom line is I'm jumping on Carolina Panthers -6.

Good luck on your wagers

Greyhound · Answer

And another thing about Mike Glennon is that he has very little running ability.   He&#x27;s a pocket passer.    The Panthers had problems getting to Russell Wilson and EJ Manuel because they have good mobility.   They lost both those games.

Greyhound · Answer

Tampas&#x27; sacks this seasonWk1 - Geno Smith - 5 timesWk2 - Drew Brees - 4 timesWk3 - Tom Brady - 3 timesWk4 - Carson Palmer  - 1 timeWk5 - Nick Foles - 1 timeWk6 - Matt Ryan - 0 timesRyan had his best game of the season vs Tampa last week, and Foles looked like a superstar two weeks ago against Tampa and then looked horrible last week vs the Cowboys.

Greyhound · Answer

They had 12 sacks in the first 3 games. The 5 sacks against Geno Smith came because he's a rookie playing his first regular season game and was holding the ball too long.

"Geno started a bit slow Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He held the ball too long and took a couple of sacks, but he eventually found his rhythm and led the game-winning drive that notched his first career win."

In Wk 2 I don't think the Saints O-Line was playing very well at the beginning of the season. (10 sacks given up in the first 3 games) Jahri Evans (Pro Bowler) was struggling with a hamstring injury at the time. Article below.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1785165-new-orleans-saints-offensive-line-personnel-struggling-with-soft-play

User358183b · Answer

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Greyhound · Answer

Yep, I watched the Arizona game and the St Louis game and Newton was under a lot or pressure both times.   He handled it against the Rams but didn&#x27;t against Arizona.     But that&#x27;s the whole point of this thread,   I&#x27;m predicting that Carolina O-Line is going to have an easier time against Tampa and Newton is going to have a big game.   Tampa piled up some sacks early this year but Geno Smith was part of the reason and the Saints were having problems with their O-Line.   Tampas&#x27; pass rush was awful last year.   And it&#x27;s bottom quarter of the league again this year despite the good start.And not having a running game is a serious problem against a good defense whether James or Leonard are able to match Martin&#x27; stats or not.   I&#x27;m just saying I read some articles and James doesn&#x27;t have the skills that Martin has.    But you plug new players in and sometimes good things happen so I get you point there.

craftysiince84 · Answer

Good thread greyhound...very informative

Greyhound · Answer

Here&#x27;s an article that talks about what the Buccaneers were hoping would happen with their defensive line this year.https://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/50419/buccaneers-want-improved-pass-rushAdrian Clayborn who had 7.5 sacks as a rookie in 2011 was hurt last year but they were hoping he would pick up for the loss of Bennett.   So far Clayborn has 2 sacks in 2013.There were also hoping that DaQuan Bowers could become a starter after being only a situational player.    So far Bowers has ZERO sacks in 2013.The article also mentions Daniel TeoNesheim and Trevor Scott.    TeoNesheim has 1 sack, and Scott has ZERO sacks in 2013.Pro Bowl Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has 2 sacks in 2013.   McCoy had 5 sacks last year.   Akeem Spence, a rookie,  the other starting defensive tackle has 1 sack in 2013.Lavonte David a linebacker has the most sacks on the team with 4 in 2013.So far it looks like the Bucs gamble to promote from within and improve the pass rush is failing.Michael Bennett the lineman the Bucs lost in free agency to Seattle has 4.5 sacks so far this year.

Crocker35 · Answer

BOL Greyhound, very informative. Thanks!

Greyhound · Answer

Here&#x27;s another good article from todays Tampa Tribune that says the same thing I&#x27;m saying in this thread.    https://tbo.com/sports/bucs/pass-rush-needs-more-push-20131024/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A&#x2B;tbo%2Fbucs&#x2B;(TBO&#x2B;%3E&#x2B;Bucs)Found this paragraph below on another site.    "The Tampa Bay offensive line has been disappointing this season, especially at the interior positions of guard and center. The Carolina defensive line has been incredible this season, That spells a great day for sacks.Pro Football Focus uses a statistic called &#x201C;Pass Rush Efficiency&#x201D; which measures how often a pass rusher gets pressure on the quarterback. This includes QB hits and QB hurries. The Panthers have two of the top five 4-3 defensive ends in this statistic. (Charles Johnson and Greg Hardy)   Defensive tackle Kawaan Short is among the top 10 among interior linemen.In other words, watch out Mike Glennon.Glennon has a slow drop back and a tendency to hold onto the football too long, which will lead to sacks. Plus, he hasn&#x2019;t proven to be particularly great while under pressure, throwing accurate passes on only 44 percent of the plays he drops back to pass and experiences a pass rush (According to PFF). Only Thad Lewis is worse in that statistic.So the Panthers will earn sacks, and likely hold the Bucs to a limited amount of yards and points."I don&#x27;t have access to Pro Football Focus but that site is mentioned in tons of NFL articles all over the internet.   I guess they have people watching every play by every player of every game so what they say means something.

Greyhound · Answer

Tweet from Pro Football Focus 10-23-13Highest adjusted accuracy % when pressured Philip Rivers (75.9%). 2nd P.Manning (72.1%) &amp; 3rd Cam Newton (72.1%). Lowest for Vick (46.7%)https://twitter.com/PFF/status/393033938886590464Mike Glennon is 44% as mentioned above which is lower than Vick but maybe he doesn&#x27;t have enough starts to qualify for the above list.

FeedMeCappers · Answer

Should the fact that Tampa Bay having little pass rush hold much weight tonight given the fact that only 48% of the plays Carolina runs are designed passes which ranks them 30th in the league?  I think this would be a great stat for teams like Denver or NO who love to throw it, but Carolina ranks top 3 in number of running plays ran per game.

FeedMeCappers · Answer

That probably could have been worded a little better but you get it... hope to hear a response

Greyhound · Answer

Carolina is averaging 28 pass attempts per game and 33 runs per game.    Are you saying almost half their offensive plays don&#x27;t matter if they win or not?    And they have scored 10 TD&#x27;s passing and 5 rushing.   They have gotten 66 first downs passing and 52 first downs rushing.

FeedMeCappers · Answer

[Quote: Originally Posted by Greyhound] &#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;Carolina is averaging 28 pass attempts per game and 33 runs per game.    Are you saying almost half their offensive plays don&#x27;t matter if they win or not?    And they have scored 10 TD&#x27;s passing and 5 rushing.   They have gotten 66 first downs passing and 52 first downs rushing.&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;&#xD;&#xA;[/Quote]&#xD;&#xA;Not really sure I understand that.  I was just wanting your viewpoint on that aspect.  The thread is titled a weak pass rush for TB but they are going against a team that ranks 30th in the league in pass attempts per game.

FeedMeCappers · Answer

Good stats I just wanted your opinion... Thats all... Ill leave now

Greyhound · Answer

They might be ranked 30th in the league in pass attempts but it's still almost half their plays on average that Tampa Bays' ability to rush the passer is going to matter.

And also most offensive coordinators call the plays according to what they see going on on the field. If they see that they are gaining huge yards with run plays, they will continue to run. If the QB has all day to throw and is gaining big yards passing they will continue to pass.

Wizard41 · Answer

This is the best thread i have seen on covers in 5 years. Thx!!!

jcasebolt · Answer

Great thread and Information. I was on the Panthers but was having second thoughts, taking them all the way now. Newton seems to be coming around and playing better the past two games, hoping he can carry it through here. Bol

nuggins · Answer

I don&#x27;t have &#x27;# of sacks O/U" yet but compelling cases here  ... anyone have the line?

nuggins · Answer

And good thread grey... BOL

Tampa Bay has very little pass rush

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