I'm not sure who rushes the passer more in Tampa right now, Rueben Bain or Keionte Scott.
The Bucs went to Dallas on Thursday night and won, two of our favorite Canes were on the field for it, and I came away frustrated anyway.
"They're dropping Bain as if he is Deion Sanders," he said. "It's the craziest thing to me."
He figured that in Todd Bowles' defense Bain would be a pure rush guy, or in the worst case bump inside a little.
Instead he's backing out into the flats.
If you're going to drop a lineman, you drop the longer one, and he could see that argument for a guy built like Akheem Mesidor. Bain's size and build are the opposite of that.
Every defensive coach I talk to says the same thing, that fans always complain about it, everybody does it, and you have to have it in your bag.
Here at UM it was a changeup. In Tampa it's close to every other play, which makes it a core part of the scheme. He doesn't have the length, he isn't the fastest guy in the world and he's never played off the ball.
"I feel like it would be so simple," Ahmmon said. "Let Bain rush the passer. Let your cornerbacks play. If you want to bring an extra guy in the box, you got Keionte Scott. Let the four guys rush, man. Stop dropping this dude in the flats."
I'd still be patient with Bain. We got frustrated with him at times too, and his sack numbers came in the playoffs more than the middle of the season.
He's fast, he tackles and he plays well in space, and he's already starting and making impact plays. Ahmmon expects him to keep getting better as the game slows down for him.
Rousseau was already good in Buffalo. Then the Bills brought in a new defensive coordinator and I don't think it's a crazy statement to say he might be the best defensive player in the league through the first five weeks.
He's leading the league in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles. Add in what he does against the run and it's Myles Garrett type production.
Ahmmon, who is close with him, said Rousseau is playing that Florida State game from 2019 just about every week now. Nobody can block him.
"It takes a great DC or a great coach to get the best out of his players," Ahmmon said.
Some coordinators didn't know what they had in Rousseau either. I'm hoping the same thing happens for Bain.
Where it really dropped off, quite frankly, was Mark Richt and Manny Diaz.
Ahmmon's own class is the one that gets me. It could have been one of the best in program history, and the decommitments killed it.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was committed to that class. So were Jawaan Taylor, Josh Uche, James Pierre, James Wiggins and Zack Moss. Then Ahmmon and Malek Young, two guys who were headed to the league, had their careers ended by injuries. Put all of them together with what Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney gave us and that's something like ten NFL players in one class.
"Sometimes things have to happen for what we're seeing right now to be here," he said. "Maybe in some alternate universe those guys come, Coach Richt is still coaching and Mario's still at Oregon. You never know."
I'll take this universe. The program is in a great place, the development is real and there are Canes worth watching on Thursday nights again. Now somebody in Tampa needs to let Bain rush.
Watch the full conversation below and subscribe to the CanesInsight YouTube channel.
The Bucs went to Dallas on Thursday night and won, two of our favorite Canes were on the field for it, and I came away frustrated anyway.
"As if he is Deion Sanders"
Ahmmon saw the same thing I did."They're dropping Bain as if he is Deion Sanders," he said. "It's the craziest thing to me."
He figured that in Todd Bowles' defense Bain would be a pure rush guy, or in the worst case bump inside a little.
Instead he's backing out into the flats.
If you're going to drop a lineman, you drop the longer one, and he could see that argument for a guy built like Akheem Mesidor. Bain's size and build are the opposite of that.
Every defensive coach I talk to says the same thing, that fans always complain about it, everybody does it, and you have to have it in your bag.
Here at UM it was a changeup. In Tampa it's close to every other play, which makes it a core part of the scheme. He doesn't have the length, he isn't the fastest guy in the world and he's never played off the ball.
"I feel like it would be so simple," Ahmmon said. "Let Bain rush the passer. Let your cornerbacks play. If you want to bring an extra guy in the box, you got Keionte Scott. Let the four guys rush, man. Stop dropping this dude in the flats."
I'd still be patient with Bain. We got frustrated with him at times too, and his sack numbers came in the playoffs more than the middle of the season.
Scott is doing exactly what he did here
Seven tackles, all over the field, and he never came off it down the stretch. For a fourth-round pick, that's a great start.He's fast, he tackles and he plays well in space, and he's already starting and making impact plays. Ahmmon expects him to keep getting better as the game slows down for him.
What a new coordinator did for Greg Rousseau
This is why I'm not panicking about Bain.Rousseau was already good in Buffalo. Then the Bills brought in a new defensive coordinator and I don't think it's a crazy statement to say he might be the best defensive player in the league through the first five weeks.
He's leading the league in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles. Add in what he does against the run and it's Myles Garrett type production.
Ahmmon, who is close with him, said Rousseau is playing that Florida State game from 2019 just about every week now. Nobody can block him.
"It takes a great DC or a great coach to get the best out of his players," Ahmmon said.
Some coordinators didn't know what they had in Rousseau either. I'm hoping the same thing happens for Bain.
It's been a while since Thursday nights looked like this
Think about the generations. Butch Davis and Larry Coker stocked the league with Pro Bowlers you saw every week. Under Randy Shannon and Al Golden the picks weren't as high, but a lot of those guys made rosters and lasted.Where it really dropped off, quite frankly, was Mark Richt and Manny Diaz.
Ahmmon's own class is the one that gets me. It could have been one of the best in program history, and the decommitments killed it.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was committed to that class. So were Jawaan Taylor, Josh Uche, James Pierre, James Wiggins and Zack Moss. Then Ahmmon and Malek Young, two guys who were headed to the league, had their careers ended by injuries. Put all of them together with what Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney gave us and that's something like ten NFL players in one class.
"Sometimes things have to happen for what we're seeing right now to be here," he said. "Maybe in some alternate universe those guys come, Coach Richt is still coaching and Mario's still at Oregon. You never know."
I'll take this universe. The program is in a great place, the development is real and there are Canes worth watching on Thursday nights again. Now somebody in Tampa needs to let Bain rush.
Watch the full conversation below and subscribe to the CanesInsight YouTube channel.
