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In 2003, rookie outside linebacker Yaya Diaby was one of the most pleasant surprises for a team that itself surprised a lot of observers by winning the NFC South. Diaby was a third-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who first and foremost liked the Louisville product for his consistently good work stopping the run. He proved to be quite a bit more than that, moving from a rotational role into the starting lineup my midseason and eventually leading the team with 7.5 sacks.
Firmly entrenched as a starter in his second season, Diaby was expected to lead the Buccaneers’ pass rush and build on that fine rookie sack total. But for much of the season, the sacks didn’t come. Diaby had just one QB takedown in the first game and by mid-December was sitting at 2.0. Most of Tampa Bay’s sack production was coming from the inside, where down linemen Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea and Logan Hall would eventually combine for 20 of them.
Despite that, the Buccaneers’ coaching staff was far from disappointed in Diaby’s performance. High sack numbers or not, he was still putting pressure on the quarterback, and he was always working tirelessly on his game. The Bucs believed that Diaby had, in fact, taking a step forward in his sophomore campaign.
“The thing with Yaya [is] he’s just kind of been treading all along,” said Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Kacy Rodgers on Thursday. “He’s been close several times, this and that, and we’ve talked before like, ‘Sacks come in bunches. Just keep working and just keep working. They’ll come.’ A lot of times guys have great rushes but not the results, then you see guys stuck on the line of scrimmage and the quarterback runs right into their arms. Sometimes it’s just not an exact science but as long as you keep working, good things are going to happen. I couldn’t be more happy for him because the guy works his butt of and I’m glad to see the plays finally coming for him.”
As Rodgers notes, Diaby did in fact finish the season on a tear in the sack category, with 2.5 in the last three games to put his final total at 4.5. He was one of six Buccaneer defenders to finish with four or more sacks, tied for the most employed by any team this season. And he saved his best performance for last, with one sack, four quarterback hits and four tackles for loss in the playoff-clinching win over New Orleans in Week 18.
Diaby said the sacks finally started to come because he eventually just stopped worrying about that column in his sack line.
