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Keeping Pressure On

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By ROY CUMMINGS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

TAMPA - Most of what happens on a football field on Sunday is rehearsed, even scripted. Most, not all.

There are occasions when a coach suddenly feels the need to draw up something unexpected either right there on the sideline between series or in the locker room between halves.

For Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Sunday's opener at New Orleans could present several such occasions.

It wouldn't be that way if Kiffin weren't so adamant about harassing quarterbacks. Kiffin's Tampa 2 scheme is predicated on getting to the passer, though, and pressuring Saints quarterback Drew Brees requires some innovation.

Even then it doesn't always make much difference, because there isn't a quarterback in the league who does a better job of avoiding sacks than Brees.

Though he threw 652 passes - 74 more than any other quarterback in the league - Brees was sacked just 16 times last season. Do the math on that, and the numbers are eye-popping.

Not only does that work out to Brees being sacked just once per game; it also works out to Brees being sacked just once every 41 times he dropped back to pass. Now you have an idea of what Kiffin is up against.

"He's as good as I've seen at it," former Saints and current Bucs center Jeff Faine said of Brees' ability to avoid sacks. "Some guys just get it. He's one of them. It's like it's second nature to him.

"I mean, he plays poker with the linebackers. He knows when they're bluffing and he knows when they're really coming. Plus, he gets the ball out so quick and sees the field so well; it's just amazing."

It really would be if there wasn't one team that had seemingly figured out the puzzle of getting to Brees. There is one such team, though, and it resides here in Tampa.

While four teams failed to get to Brees at all last year and six others got to him only once, the Bucs got to him five times in two games, including three times in a game in which he threw just 23 passes.

The Saints still blame a lot of those sacks on playing from behind, but the truth of the matter is, only two of the Bucs' sacks came in a game in which the Saints fell way behind early and had to throw to catch up.

The other three came in a game in which the Saints actually held three different leads, including a 23-20 edge with 3:44 left in the game. It seems, then, that the Bucs have found an edge others are still looking for.

Scheme is certainly part of it. One of the Bucs' sacks last year came off a blitz in which Ronde Barber broke in and took Brees down. The biggest part, though, may be quickness and desire.

"You've just got to be quick off the ball and hope the coverage is on point," said defensive tackle Jovan Haye, who was one of two players (Chicago's Roman Harper was the other) to get to Brees twice last season.

"It's really a matter of just being relentless," defensive end Greg White said. "When it's all said and done, with the chalkboard, the scheming, you just have to beat your man."

Including the five times they got to Brees, the Bucs beat their man 33 times last year. That was an improvement from the year before (the Bucs recorded 25 sacks in 2006), but Kiffin still wants more.

And he'd rather not get it from scheming. He doesn't mind drawing up the occasional blitz on the fly, but he'd much rather see his four down linemen apply the majority of the pressure.

"I like blitzing, but I don't want to live by the blitz," Kiffin said. "You can only go so far with the blitz. You've got to mix it up, so I always look hard at the front four. That's where you have to get the pressure from."

If the Bucs can pressure Brees they stand a much better chance of winning Sunday. In the last three years, Brees is just 5-12 when he's been sacked twice or more in one game.

The Bucs, meanwhile, are 2-2 against Brees the last two years, including 0-2 when they fail to take him down. One way or another then, the Bucs need to work a sack or two into their script for Sunday.

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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