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Bruce Arians has given the Bucs their identity back, on defense

Tampa Bay has the NFL’s top run defense, the league’s leading sacker and the most passes defensed by any pair of cornerbacks
 
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (90) brings down Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) for a sack in the third quarter Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019 in Tampa.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (90) brings down Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) for a sack in the third quarter Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019 in Tampa. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Tampa Bay Times ]
Published Dec. 22, 2019

TAMPA ― Turnovers should be the big topic when discussing the Buccaneers under Bruce Arians. The ones they have created on defense, that is.

Forget all that stuff about whispering to quarterbacks. Turns out the biggest contribution Arians will make in 2019 will be restoring a once-proud defense in Tampa Bay.

The Bucs are tied for fourth in the NFL with 27 takeaways.

That’s not always enough to overcome Jameis Winston’s mistakes with the football. But if you’re looking for reasons to believe Arians has the Bucs pointed in the right direction, it’s on the side of the football he doesn’t necessarily coach.

What defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has put together should give Bucs fans the most hope for next season.

The Bucs are not only the NFL’s best defense against the run going into Sunday’s games, allowing 72.9 yards per game, but their young secondary has learned to play with heart and hustle.

“You can feel the energy from each and every one of the guys you’re playing with,’’ rookie cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting said. “We all play with high confidence. We all play with high energy and so it just translates over to each and every one of us. I can feel C.D. (Carlton Davis) playing his heart out. I can feel (Jamel) Dean playing his heart out. I can feel Lavonte (David) playing his heart out. You want to play with guys like that all the time and just feed off of them and feed off each other.’’

It’s a remarkable turnaround. After his first preseason game at Pittsburgh, Murphy-Bunting looked overwhelmed coming from tiny Central Michigan as a second-round pick.

Arians did nothing for his confidence when he passed by his seat on the team charter flight home.

“That was funny, too, because I remember when I got on the plane, I want to say after maybe it was the first or second game, he said to me, ‘Did you even play?’" Murphy-Bunting said. “I was like, whoa! All right. What’s changed for me? I would say just the confidence level, honestly.

“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what was going on. I was just out there playing, honestly. I wasn’t like I need to back up so I can beat this guy here. I was out there playing. So throughout the season, you process and learn, the ins and outs of it, the timing, like I said earlier. I just got comfortable, I got used to playing in certain situations and I just built my confidence off a lot.’’

That confidence has been on display the past two weeks. Murphy-Bunting sealed the win at Detroit with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown. He leads the team with three interceptions. On Saturday, he added his first career sack and forced fumble in the Bucs’ 23-20 loss to Houston.

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Dean made his first start at Seattle and was burned for three touchdown passes. But when he replaced a benched Vernon Hargreaves against the Cardinals, he made the key interception that led to the game-winning drive.

On Saturday, Dean made a leaping interception of a deep pass to Kenny Stills and returned it 31 yards to set up a tying touchdown before halftime.

“Dean, he always makes plays like that,’’ Murphy-Bunting said. “He has a funny thing he says to us. He says, every time he drops an interception in the game, he says, 'I always catch the next one.’ So after he dropped the first one at the goal line when they called a holding on him, I knew he was going to catch the second one."

In fact, Davis and Dean are second and third in the league in passes defensed with 18 and 17, respectively. That’s remarkable, considering Dean did not become a starter until Week 10rkable.

“I think, defensively, all year the sudden change defense has been incredible,’’ tight end Cameron Brate said. “Countless times we’ve kind of put them in terrible situations, and it seems like when that happens either they turn them over or they hold them to a field goal. ‘’

The strength of the defense has been the front seven. Defensive tackles Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh anchor the run defense. Outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett entered Sunday leading the NFL in sacks with 16.5, tying the club record held by Warren Sapp since 2000.

On Saturday, Jason Pierre-Paul had three sacks to give him 6.5 sacks despite missing six games with a cervical fracture. Outside linebacker Carl Nassib has six sacks. The Bucs are 10th in the NFL with 41 sacks, an improvement of three over 2018 with one game remaining.

“We could be better,’’ Pierre-Paul said. “Trust me it can be way better than what it is."

Of course, there are big challenges ahead. Barrett, Pierre-Paul, Nassib, Suh and defensive tackle William Gholston can become free agents in March.

Whether the Bucs reach a long-term deal with Barrett or apply the franchise tag to him, he will eat up about $16-, to $18-million on the salary

Had he not missed a few games with a knee injury, linebacker Devin White would be a defensive rookie of the year candidate and Lavonte David shows no signs of slowing down in his eighth season. He is one career tackle shy of 1,000 to go with 22.5 sacks and 14 fumble recoveries.

“That’s our mindset defensively, and I tell them all the time that we’ve got a bunch of dogs in our defensive room,’’ David said. “Those guys play like it every time.”

Arians wanted to change the Bucs’ culture. Turns out he gave them their old one back.

Contact Rick Stroud at rstroud@tampabay.com. Follow @NFLStroud