After twelve
seasons and 122.0 sacks under his belt (12th in all-time list at the moment of
his retirement), Rice left the NFL after the 2007 campaign. In just ten years
the game has changed a lot in his opinion. "The major differences that I
see in the game of football are physicality because of the injury protocol I
truly believe the game as it has been diluted. This have resulted in
enabling offenses to score more points. I always understood the game of
football and his inherent dangers that you took on by playing the sport."
Not only has the league changed in the purely sporting aspect.
For Rice, the explosion of social media on the Internet has a tremendous
impact. "Social media has changed the game by giving the voice and face to
small market teams and individuals and what could be even more impactful than
that the chance for fans to reach out and touch their favorite players by the
push of a button. Players and fans interact so fast now many players design
their brands by the requests of their fans. Which brings me to speaking on
marketing. Several players have brands that can be seen dollars and cents to
marketing companies because of social media."
A historically
losing franchise, such as the Buccaneers, managed to clinch the title in 2002, but
since then has been unable to win merely a playoff game. That does not nullify
Rice's optimism for the current team. "These Buccaneers are poised for a
historical run for the Super Bowl because of the offense they have put together
under Jameis Winston and his crop of
receivers, and their defense lead by Noah
Spence and company.
"The best
defensive end in today´s NFL, in my opinion, is JJ Watt because of his mix of power and speed as well as his consistency." Rice is clear who is today´s best player in the position in
which he shined so much. What does he thinks of this year´s No. 1 pick in the
draft, Myles Garrett, who looks poised
to become the league's next dominant edge rusher? "I think if Myles
Garrett plays to his talent I truly believe he will be a franchise player. I do
not know how many times, but if he works hard and matches his capabilities he can
at least go to a few Pro Bowls. "
In June the NFL
is in "vacation mode", but that does not mean it stops generating
news. We have recently seen the change in the regulation of the overtime period,
from up to 15 minutes to a maximum of 10. For Rice "the new rule change
with the overtime should improve the timing of the game, so I'm in favor of
it" .
For the next
two weeks NFL teams will report for their mandatory minicamps. Deep in
contractual disputes, some players threaten not to attend these training sessions.
In fact it is something that they did during the OTAs ('Organized Team
Activities') in May. "OTAs are valuable to an organization, although I
personally hardly took part in them in my NFL career. It is truly
more important for the organization to see there team and what kind of product they're putting on the field."
Rice did not
need the OTAs to become one of the best pass-rushers in the competition. The
key to his success? "My favorite move to the quarterback was any move that
would freed me up and allowed me to become one of the best to ever don a helmet
and pads. However, my ‘go to’ move was a speed rush up the field coupled with
an inside move as a change up. I call it the art of deception. "
Our lead
analyst, Ruben Ibeas, has immersed
himself in the tape of the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers' historic defense to study
Simeon Rice´s play:
His main virtue
was speed. The get-off at the snap was outstanding. In addition, his quickness
of feet made him a headache for OLs, generally heavier than him. We can see this
in the following video, a forced fumble in the 2002 NFC Championship Game.
The first step
is very explosive to win the outside corner with the speed rush. He bends his hips, plays with good leverage (stay low) and turns the corner at lightning speed to get to
the quarterback. When the opposing QB played 5-7 step dropbacks, Rice had a
good chance of getting to him. The longer the pocket was made, the better for
the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer. His long arms also helped him to contact the quarterback even if he was not around, causing quite a few fumbles. This virtue also
served to keep the blocker away from him, avoiding getting caught.
This speed was
used to create panic in his rivals. The fear of the blockers to his
explosiveness was used by Rice to play inside moves. When the OT tried to gain
depth to prevent Simeon from going over the edge, Rice took advantage of that
open interior gap to change direction. His hands were also fast, and coupled to
his long arms, he could win that inside after contacting the offensive lineman.
The spin move
was another weapon in his arsenal that he used best to play inside. All of this,
as always, was based on explosiveness and quickness out of the ordinary. It was
true that he was not too heavy, but he was able to improve on the bull-rush and
add it to his arsenal.
His motor was
another pro in his game. He was tireless in the pass rush until he reached his goal.
He chased the quarterback, or the runner, to exhaustion. This shows us his
passion for the game. Whit that speed, if you add his long arms and motor, you
have an elite rusher.
In this video,
we can see how, despite having two OLs fighting with him, he is able to have a
very explosive get-off, getting rid of the LT with the hump move, hitting the
LG and continuing to move his feet until he hunts the quarterback. When he came
out of those spots (wide 9 or 7-tech) it was when he became more dangerous
because he could use his speed to gain the edge on the outside. And when the OT
wanted to close that path, he came a mortal turning inward direction. Here is
another example of how he won the interior, again with the hump move, to close
a victory over Brett Favre and the Green
Bay Packers in 2002.
Another factor
to emphasize in his game were his eyes. He always kept his head up, which
allowed him to know, at all times, where the ball was. Also, when he had to
fall into some coverage (rarely, but he had to do), he was able to be close to
the pass target, and close to the ball, in case there was a reception.
Simeon Rice
deserves all the awards he had playing in a legendary defense such as the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers from the start of the century. His style was unmistakable,
starting from that 3 point stance (with the arm, that was not in the ground, extended back and slightly raised), which it is one of the images of that generation.
Few, very few,
managed to counter this simple but effective tactic. In Rice's words, "I
really think the best offensive tackle I faced in my career was Walter Jones
because of his quickness, power and balance."
Rice is still
training hard today, allowing him to remain in an enviable physical shape. In
his post-NFL career he has made adventures in the music and film industry, even
directing and writing the film "Unsullied." In addition to all this he
is the number one fan of his son Jordan
Caroline, a basketball star in the Nevada college team.
“Thank you for
asking me these intriguing questions and taking an interest in my favorite
sport of American football.” Many thanks for your time, Mr. Rice!
