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Bucs Defense The Standard Bearer

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2008

CHICAGO - There was that one misstep a couple of years ago, when Simeon Rice was on his last legs, Anthony McFarland was on his way out the door and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin's staff was in flux.

Even with that blemish, the run the Bucs began 11 years ago ranks as the most consistent stretch of defensive excellence since the AFL-NFL merger nearly four decades ago.

Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain, Minnesota's Purple People Eaters, Dallas' Doomsday Defense — none had a stretch in which they ranked among the league's top 10 in total defense and fewest points allowed 10 times in 11 seasons.

Only the Bucs, who slipped just once in 2006, when they finished 17th in yards allowed and 21st in points allowed have done it. And their remarkable ability to regenerate themselves has made it possible.

The generation of Chidi Ahanotu, Hardy Nickerson and Donnie Abraham gave way to Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch. Ready to step forward are recent draft choices and rising stars Gaines Adams, Barrett Ruud and Tanard Jackson.

"There's a code that we have, and it's been passed down through the years," tackle Chris Hovan said. "We call it, 'Putting it on tape.' That's the saying, and what it means is, if you're going to be good, don't talk about it; put it on tape. That's what's happened here for 12 years. We've put it on tape."

The tale of the tape will show that since the run began in 1997, the Bucs have made nearly three dozen changes to the defensive starting lineup and overhauled the defensive coaching staff three times.

Even Kiffin's scheme has changed. He still uses the zone-principled Cover 2 as the base, but he leaned more on the man-to-man of Cover 4 last year and is blitzing more this year. Through it all, the Bucs have maintained a standard of defensive excellence that's on a par with Tiger Woods' putting stroke.

And like Woods, the success has not come by accident. It is the result of a process refined over time, one that begins in darkened offices at One Buc Place, where scouting directors Mark Dominik and Dennis Hickey pore over reels of tape looking for the pegs that will fit perfectly into Kiffin's scheme.

"That's really important," Kiffin said of the scout's efforts, "because some guys don't fit what we do. But Mark has been here since before I got here and Dennis came in with me, and so they have a real good feel for what it is we need. They can look at a guy and know right away if a guy works here or not."

Even those who do fit won't produce if they aren't refined a bit. That's where Kiffin and his staff of teachers step in. That's right, teachers. Their job title is coach, but the key to Kiffin's ongoing success is not so much coaching as it is teaching.

"You can't just go out there and holler at the guys and tell them what they did wrong," Kiffin said. "You've got to show them things that are going to make them better. That's how you get their attention. So, what I want here are guys who can teach."

What the Bucs have always taught under Kiffin are fundamentals. Each day's practice starts with Kiffin's staff drilling the basics, everything from general positioning within the scheme to individual techniques such as hand placement for defensive ends or backpedaling for defensive backs.

It's a tedious process, one the players have a tendency to get bored with, but Kiffin sees it as a necessary evil. The idea is to make every aspect of the game second nature so that by the time a player takes the field on Sunday he is accustomed to doing things the right way.

"That's the real key to their success," former Redskins and Texans general manager Charlie Casserly said. "Monte's done a great job adapting his scheme and they've done a good job bringing in personnel there, but he's a great teacher and that's what his assistants are, they're all great teachers."

Phillip Buchanon is evidence of that. The veteran cornerback came to the Bucs two years ago with a reputation for being a disinterested if not incompetent tackler. After two years with Kiffin's tutors, however, he has completely erased that reputation from the scouting reports.

Against Atlanta last week, he ranked second on the team with seven tackles. That was part of a bounce-back effort by a Bucs defense that stumbled in the opener against New Orleans but turned in an outing against the Falcons that suggests the torch has been passed to yet another generation of players.

With linebacker Derrick Brooks — the only remaining member of the 1997 defense — playing sparingly because of a hamstring injury, rookie cornerback Aqib Talib and second-year safety Sabby Piscitelli nabbed interceptions, and second-year ends Adams and Greg White combined for 3.5 sacks.
The leading tackler, meanwhile, was Ruud, a second-year starter at middle linebacker who may epitomize more than anyone the Bucs' seemingly uncanny ability to plug new players into their lineup and maintain the same high standard of play.

Ruud spent two years behind veteran Shelton Quarles, rarely seeing the field except on special teams. When Ruud finally took over as the starter last year, the change was seamless. Ruud led the team in tackles with 169 while forcing three fumbles, recovering three and intercepting two passes.
That, though, was typical of what happens here. And it has as much to do with the players' desire to maintain the standard as the scouting and teaching. No one, it seems, wants to be the guy who doesn't uphold the standard.

"It's selflessness," safety Jermaine Phillips said of the final phase of the process. "It was John Lynch helping me with my hitting and defense and Dexter Jackson helping me in coverage. Those guys didn't care that I was behind them. It was a matter of us trying to win and trying to keep this tradition alive."

Tanard Jackson, who last year was the first rookie to start all 16 games for a Kiffin-led defense since Regan Upshaw in 1996, said upholding the standard is something he heard about even before he became a Buccaneer.

"They talked about it with me in the draft meetings," Jackson said. "I mean, you come in here knowing it's a new system and it's the NFL and that you have to step your game up, but you also know that you have a standard that you have to maintain."

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

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