Gerald McCoy - The Key To Our Defensive Success

As Gerald McCoy goes, so goes the Bucs Defense.  This mantra has been mentioned numerous times throughout the 2 year career of our young Defensive Tackle.  Two season ending injuries; tears to both the left and right biceps, have temporarily derailed his quest to become one of the league's more dominant players at one of the most important defensive positions in football.  Both of his seasons with the Bucs have been cut short due to these injuries.  He missed the final three games of his rookie year, then followed that by missing the final ten games of last season. 

No one position in football is more unforgiving than the DT position.  There's no way around it.  This position endures play-by-play double, and sometimes triple teams.  Add to that a, lead-blocker coming through and chipping the tackle, while a tailback is following, trying to run through and past the area platooned by a DT.  Any player who mans this position should never, ever, have his toughness questioned.  That is why the interior line is referred to as "the trenches".  There's nothing more physically demanding in football than playing inside the interior line.

With that being said, in an interview today Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Gerald hinted that the past season-ending injuries he suffered, may have been partially due to him not playing as hard as he should have been.  While speaking of the injuries, he stated, "They are going to make me play harder because people get hurt when you slow down,'' McCoy said. "People going full speed usually don't get hurt, so to prevent injuries, I'm going to go harder.''

Arm tackles such as this have been costly for Gerald. 

McCoy was drafted 3rd overall because he was a special, rare talent at the position.  His combination of size, speed, and motor, has drawn comparisons to Bucs future Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, and deservedly so.  When Gerald has been on the field for the Bucs, his presence is glaring.  He is a disruptive force that causes commotion and confusion for opposing offenses. 

He has been a vocal member of the team, and always seems to say the right things when interviewed.  What he seems to be lacking, is his ability to stay focused on every snap, of every play.  Anybody who has played the game of football knows that arm tackling is frowned upon and seen as the laziest way to bring a ball-carrier down.  Anybody who has played the game also knows that sometimes, in the heat of the battle, an arm tackle can be the only way to make a play on a ball-carrier as well.  Especially in the NFL.  The speed of the game is inconcievably fast for a person who has never played at that level.  In McCoy's cases though, there were hints by coaches, pundits, and talk-radio personalities that these injuries were caused by Gerald himself, not playing as hard as he should have. 

McCoy arm tackling Colts QB Curtis Painter

Former Bucs Head Coach Raheem Morris openly chastised McCoy during his sports talk radio show on 620 WDAE after his second season-ending injury was caused by an arm tackle, just like the year before.  “It goes back to Pop Warner.  All of your Pop Warner coaches tell you, ‘Don’t arm tackle.’ And that’s exactly why you gotta put your chest on people. You gotta have your eyes up. Sky your eyes and do the right thing all the time, or it’s going to happen in football. You’re going to get hurt.”


If the Bucs hope to have a winning season this year, Gerald McCoy must stay healthy, and remember to go 100% every single play he's out there on the field.  He must remember to keep his head up, shuffle his feet to get into proper tackling position, and finish his plays with the power and ferocity that we know he possesses.  He has the ability to not only affect a play, or just a game; he has the ability to affect an entire season and be the driving force of our turnaround on defense.  He's been saying the right things on the microphone his entire career.  Its time that he does the same on the field as well.  We're not questioning his effort by any means.  It just seems that with the physical demands he goes through at that position, it is possible to suffer mental lapses here and there, and forget to do every small thing that is required on every single play.  And that includes going all-out on every single play. We here at BuccaneerTalk.com are believers in his ability to be a dominant force, and we believe this is the year that he blossoms into one of the league's most formidable players.  This is going to be an interesting season to say the least.  Go Bucs!