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Gerald McCoy can do it on his own

By Kevin Parvizi

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Lavonte David was one big-name star to miss the Pro Bowl cut this year, but teammate Gerald McCoy was safely voted in after yet another fantastic season. McCoy’s year was cut short by two games due to a sprained knee, but he still managed to record a solid 8.5 sacks and three passes defended in his 13 appearances. Although he wasn’t quite as monstrous this season as he was last year, you could still argue that McCoy was the league’s best defensive tackle in the 2014 season, and there’s no doubt that he had to overcome quite a bit in order to make it onto the Pro Bowl squad.

Clinton McDonald and Michael Johnson were expected to be massive upgrades to the Buccaneers defensive line and give McCoy two excellent partners, but only McDonald has somewhat panned out. While Johnson has been arguably one of the worst defensive ends in the league this season, failing to make any sort of a positive impact as a pass rusher, McDonald has at least made some plays. That said, he hasn’t played as well as he did last season as an underrated DT for the Seattle Seahawks elite defensive line, though he isn’t quite as disappointing as Johnson, who has been a massive free-agent bust in his first season with the Buccaneers.

Despite the lack of support around him, McCoy has still been able to put up impressive numbers, and it’s difficult to achieve this as a 4-3 DT when nobody else has provided a steady source of pressure. Even David hasn’t been as present on OLB blitzes, putting even more pressure on McCoy to knife his way to the quarterback. The explosive Oklahoma product lived up to the challenge, and the 8.5 sacks only represent the most apparent statistical measurement of his impact on the Buccaneers defense.

McCoy has been one of the NFL’s most consistent pass rushers over the pass couple of years, and he’s continued that trend this season. According to Pro Football Focus, only Buffalo Bills DT Kyle Williams has a higher pass rushing productivity among players at the position. Pass rushing productivity measures a pass rusher’s efficiency when it comes to converting pass rushing attempts into pressure, but it is weighted so that sacks and QB hits mean more. McCoy is among the leaders at the position in sacks, and his 13 QB hits aren’t too shabby either.

While it hasn’t been a banner year for McCoy in run defense, he’s been adequate in that regard and has an additional three tackles for loss with 35 total tackles to show for his efforts in the running game. When you combine that with the second-most efficient pass rushing at the defensive tackle position, it becomes clear that Gerald McCoy was indeed a lock to make the Pro Bowl roster. This still doesn’t account for his lack of help, and surrounding talent on the defensive line can be a big factor; if the other players around the DT are doing better, then the DT faces less double-teams and also has more of a chance at getting an unblocked sack. Kyle Williams is an excellent player, but he also has Marcell Dareus, Jerry Hughes, and Mario Williams helping him out in Buffalo. McCoy, on the other hand, really only had McDonald and some spurts of help from Jacquies Smith.

In most cases, star defensive players on terrible teams don’t get enough recognition, and it’s a rare player like J.J. Watt whose incredible statistics propel them to the national spotlight. Perhaps some voters voted McCoy into the Pro Bowl based on his ridiculously good play last season, but I’d like to think that people were able to see past the weaknesses around him and the not-as-sky-high stats and instead focus on his consistency. Few defensive tackles have as high of a motor as McCoy, who is constantly going after the quarterback.

Even on a team that is winless at home and a toss-up for the No. 1 overall pick, he hasn’t given up on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has done everything to show that he deserves even more money than the extension he took from the Buccaneers. Ndamukong Suh will make monster cash this offseason, but McCoy is the more consistent player and the Bucs sure are lucky to have him. $108.56 million on an eight-year deal isn’t cheap, but McCoy brings more than that to the table for a team that has just two other legitimate stars on defense (Lavonte David and CB Alterraun Verner).

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