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Bucs Secondary Still Seeks Improvement

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By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 3, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Few would have thought last year's assemblage of defensive backs could revitalize Tampa Bay's downtrodden secondary.

Tampa Bay was hoping to rebound from a dismal 2006 season with Ronde Barber, who was a year older; Phillip Buchanon, a castaway most NFL teams had given up on; Jermaine Phillips, who was coming off a down year, and Tanard Jackson, a rookie switching from cornerback to safety.

The Bucs' combustible mixture of discarded players successfully blew up any belief they would struggle again.

Tampa Bay's unit ranked first in pass defense last season, giving up 174.9 yards per game, and the Bucs finished second in total defense.

While last year's performance seemed unrealistic to outsiders before 2007, those cynics might have a hard time swallowing this year's expectations.

With Barber, Buchanon, Phillips and Jackson back, plus safety Sabby Piscitelli healthy after a season-ending foot injury in 2007, the free agent acquisition of Patriots defensive back Eugene Wilson, and rookie cornerback Aqib Talib, Tampa Bay's unit is expected to be better than last year's.

It could be better than Tampa Bay's Super Bowl secondary.

"It is athletically, without a doubt better than 2002 unit," Barber said. "As far as the players go, I don't know. It's pretty hard to top that '02 team that we had. Dexter Jackson and John Lynch and BK Brian Kelly and Dwight Smith.

"Those were some good players, but talent-wise across the board and depth-wise, we've never been better. I don't think there's a question about it."

The biggest question is how Tampa Bay turned around its defensive backfield.

Tampa Bay finished 4-12 in 2006, and its secondary was ranked 19th in the NFL. The starting cast of Barber, Phillips, Juran Bolden and Will Allen were part of a defense that yielded an average of 209.6 passing yards, plus 26 touchdowns.

After rehiring defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, who left Tampa Bay in 2006 to become a defensive coordinator at Kansas State, the Bucs brought in Buchanon, who was barely hanging on to his NFL career. They also drafted Piscitelli in the second round of the 2007 draft to eventually replace Phillips, while Jackson was selected in the fourth round to play in front of Allen.

Last year's gathering of desperate players with something to prove worked.

"I think it really boils down to, as a unit we said, 'Look man, we want to be the best. We got to prepare in practice to be the best.' That was our whole focus," Buchanon said.

Barber finished with 87 tackles, 16 passes defended and two interceptions. Buchanon had 63 tackles, 11 passes defended and three interceptions. Phillips had 120 tackles and four interceptions, while Jackson added 78 tackles and two interceptions as the duo established reputations as two of the NFL's hardest hitting safeties.

"I knew the talent we had. It was just a matter of putting everything together and coming together as a unit," Phillips said. "If you look back at '06, on the field, we didn't look together. That's the difference from last year. We were together and everybody was on one accord."

Everyone on this year's unit agrees they will be better than last season.

Buchanon and Jackson are more familiar with Monte Kiffin's defense, while Piscitelli has looked so good during training camp, Coach Jon Gruden has suggested Tampa Bay could occasionally play three safeties at once.

In addition, Wilson has experience, while safety Donte Nicholson and undrafted cornerback Elbert Mack, who played at Troy, have grabbed the attention of Tampa Bay's coaching staff.

"When we say best secondary, right now, we're talking about top to bottom," Morris said. "We're talking about E-Mack being better than the fourth corner or sixth corner was in any year we've been here. You're talking about Donte Nicholson being better than any fifth safety or fourth safety we've had here in the past."

Tampa Bay's secondary might be good enough to be the best unit in team history.

"It definitely has the potential to be the best ever," Phillips said. "The thing that you saw in '02 when I was here is the togetherness, everybody playing together and everybody looking at different coaching points and taking it. And we definitely have the athletic ability to do great things. It's just a matter of us coming together and doing them and not being satisfied."

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425 or arichardson@tampatrib.com.

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