Gerald McCoy has slowly but surely turned into an All-Pro player and a leader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For the second straight week, McCoy leads The MMQB's Pressure Points ranking for interior rushers. On the season only J.J. Watt's ahead of him, and Watt plays largely a different position, often playing on the edge against offensive tackles. McCoy's play has been nothing short of spectacular the past three weeks as he's put up four sacks and a ridiculous amount of pressures despite being hamstrung by the scheme at times.
Not only that, but McCoy has increasingly become the on- and off-field leader for the Tampa Bay defense. He went to Greg Schiano to get the defense to cut down a little on the stunts and blitzes three weeks ago, and has four sacks and a much more effective pass defense as a result. He consistently leads pre-game chants and huddles, has been shown relaying messages from Schiano to the rest of the defense on the sidelines and constantly pops up whenever sidelines footage makes it out.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their top dog, and his name is Gerald McCoy. He's an All-Pro on the field and a leader off of it. He's the kind of player you build a defensive line and a defense around. He's the kind of player that can lift your defense to new heights. He's the closest thing to Warren Sapp have had since the big man's departure -- now hopefully, McCoy can provide the same kind of spark for this team.