The “Duffman” Cometh

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Mark Duffner is acting DC and is ready to get to work and ready to bring an aggressive play style to the Buccaneers, one I know that many fans will enjoy.

“I believe our approach has always been we play defense as aggressively as we possibly can,” he said. “That doesn’t define meaning necessarily all blitz or pressure. That means that you play hard, that you play physical, you play smart – all those words kind of go into that word, ‘aggressive.’ You can play aggressive coverage and be in zone defense. You can play aggressive run defense and not be in a pressure situation, so I think aggressive and physical is what we’ve got to be on defense. Defense has no room for being soft.”

That seems like a shot at former DC Mike Smith there at the end of his statement and I agree 100 percent.

I know that Bucs fans want to see more blitzing and less of the secondary being more than 5 yards off of the opposing receivers and it seems that “Duffman” gets that.

Mark Duffner will bring a whole new philosophy to the Buccaneers defense and it will be one that plays aggressive, but still has a lot of fun. Duffner will bring the best out of every player he can.

“My philosophy is to be upbeat and positive,” said Duffner. “I don’t see what you gain from not being that. Some people choose to do that. We all have that choice. Mine is to – shoot, let’s go after it with gusto whatever we’re doing and I think that you come away from it better after the result.”

Head Coach Dirk Koetter certainly speaks highly of coach Duffner and considering there were multiple options on the team to fill the position, feels he had made the right decision.

“Duff’s done a lot in his career. He’s been coaching a long, long time, and he’s still got really good energy,” Koetter said. “So he’s got a lot of knowledge with a lot of experience. … In both places where I’ve worked with him (also with the Falcons), his players have really liked him and respected him. Respect is more important than like, and he’s a really good teacher. Duff is one of those coaches who, if there’s 40 linebackers at the combine, he’s meeting with every one of them. And he comes away with a relationship with them.”

Koetter also noted that he will not take on a bigger role in the defensive coaching, meaning he trust the “Duffman” to the fullest.

Coach Duffner is not taking any breaks and is already looking at our next contest against the Cleveland Browns, focusing on QB Baker Mayfield.

“I think that first of all I see a guy that’s also energetic. He plays with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of confidence. As far as what we’re going to have to do it comes back to again improving our skills in terms of fundamentals so that we can execute. Shoot, he’s a pro football quarterback, NFL quarterback who’s a first round pick. Wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have things pretty special about him. We certainly have a challenge with that in front of us.”

There is no question that the Buccaneers defense has lacked in a few areas over the past few seasons and Duffner looks to right the defensive side of the ship. Allowing an average of 30.6 points per game and over 350 yards passing, added with close to 440 yards total offense is a recipe for disaster.

Hopefully, the “Duffman” can correct that problem and we can salvage our season.

 

If you would like to check out our new DC’s press conference you can do so by clicking HERE.

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