JerseyBorn
All-Star
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense Preview
Defensive Ends
This a position where the Buccs has quite a bit of depth at. Robert Ayers is the veteran of the group and this is his first in Tampa. He had a career high 9.5 sacks in 12 games last season with the Giants and will now be one of the top pass rushers on this Tampa defense. William Gholston, the fourth year man out of Michigan State, is slated to start on the other end. He has a career high of 3 sacks last season but he's more of a run stopping defensive end anyways. Jacquies Smith and Howard Jones were second and third in sacks on the Buccaneers last season but this year will be competing for backup jobs with 2nd round pick Noah Spence and the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight, George Johnson.
Defensive Tackle
Gerald McCoy. Simply the best defensive player on this team and one of the best defensive tackles in the league. McCoy led the Buccaneers with 8.5 sacks in 15 games last season and is poised to be a huge threat for opposing offenses yet again. However, Tampa runs a 4-3 defense and next two players on the depth chart aren't anything more than a stop gap. Clinton McDonald will likely be the second starter. This is McDonald's third year in Tampa and last season he only played in 6 games but the previous year he started 12 games. He still has 2 more years, including this season, left on his contract but there's no guarantee he starts in the final year of his contract. Akeem Spence is the third string defensive tackle and he's not much more than a stop gap. Could find himself some playing time if injuries happen or in certain formations but he's nothing to be excited about.
Outside Linebackers
This team has two great outside linebackers in Lavonte David and veteran Daryl Smith. David was their leading tackler last season and he's definitely a key piece to the defense as a unit. Smith is in his first season as a Buccaneer as he spent the last three with Baltimore but was released in May. The 34 year old veteran is here to provide more than leadership though as he's still a quality linebacker in the league. There is a problem with depth for the outside linebackers since after Smith and David it drops down to Jeremiah George and Devante Bond. George was claimed off waivers by Tampa last season and played in 15 games but only recorded 4 tackles. He's got good enough speed to be a decent 4-3 linebacker but he's still very raw. Bond. Devante Bond is a rookie who was selected in the 6th round by Tampa and is quite similar to George. He's got good enough speed but he's also very raw. If Smith or David end up missing any games, these are the guys that will take their place so they could surprise people or it could go very wrong.
Middle Linebackers
The Buccs do run a 4-3 defense so they only have one middle linebacker on the field which is lucky for them as this is another position where they have depth concerns. Kwon Alexander is a second year man out of LSU and is a solid linebacker but his backups have the same issues as the outside linebacker backups, they're extremely raw. Adarius Glanton, Micah Awe and Cassanova McKinzy will all be competing for that second stringer spot. Glanton was acquired of Carolina's practice squad last season and played in 5 games but didn't record any tackles. Awe is an undrafted rookie out of Texas Tech and he's impressed coaches in training camp so far. He's very athletic and can really lay down the hammer. If he can work on his instincts and ability to shed blockers he could very well surprise a lot of people. Cassanova McKinzy, despite having a great name, is a long shot to make the roster. The undrafted rookie out of Auburn hasn't been impressive in training camp and it's obvious he's a step behind everyone.
Cornerbacks
Tampa's corner group is led by veteran Brent Grimes. Grimes was cut by Miami which produced a lot of talk about his outspoken wife's tweets but he ultimately ended up in Tampa to lead a young group of corners. Vernon Hargreaves III was the Buccaneers first round selection and he's slated to be their second corner. The former Florida Gator has coaches raving abilities on the field as they're very impressed with how the rookie handles himself. Josh Robinson and Alterraun Verner will duke it out for the nickel and dime corner positions. Right now Robinson, who's in his first season with Tampa after spending the last four with Minnesota, has the edge on Verner for the nickel corner spot.
Safeties
Like I mentioned in a previous article, the safeties aren't anything special. Bradley "Scottish Thunder" McDougald is listed as the starter at free safety and Chris Conte is at strong safety. Major Wright and Keith Tandy are decent backups and this position has more depth than the linebackers but the starters aren't going to blow anyone away with how good they are. Chris Conte is probably a stop gap at the strong safety while McDougald has the best chance to stick around as a starter for multiple seasons at free safety.
Stay up to date with the Buccaneers all season long on The Plank and don't forget to follow "BuccsPX1" on Twitter for updates as well!