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A weekly look at what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must fix:  Back in the Buccaneers’ glory days, the Tampa Two defense was the root of success.
These days, it’s not nearly the same. As the Bucs get ready to play at Pittsburgh on Sunday, they can be secure in the knowledge that the Steelers have analyzed the tape of Tampa Bay’s Thursday night loss to Atlanta. It's safe to assume Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is excited about facing the Bucs. You can bet the Steelers noticed you can throw deep on the Buccaneers. The Falcons were playing without injured receiver Roddy White, yet they still managed to shred Tampa Bay’s secondary. Julio Jones caught five passes for 120 yards on balls that were thrown at least 15 yards downfield. Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan completed six of eight passes for 139 yards and a touchdown on throws of at least 15 yards. Atlanta showed Tampa Bay’s secondary is vulnerable. Cornerback Alterraun Verner is the only member of the starting secondary who has played well. But the problems with the deep ball stem from more than just the secondary. More help from the pass rush would be a big boost for the defensive backs. But the Bucs, who had just one sack against Atlanta, haven’t shown many signs they can rush the passer with any consistency. Until the Bucs can pressure the quarterback, this defense is going to have problems stopping the deep ball.
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