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Bucs expect LB Crowell to make impact

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By IRA KAUFMAN

ikaufman@tampatrib.com

Published: April 9, 2009

TAMPA - Angelo Crowell is a Buccaneer today because he aced his film tests.

New head coach Raheem Morris was won over by game tapes of Crowell's angry work at linebacker for the 2007 Bills ... but mere highlights weren't enough.

Tampa Bay's medical staff then had to sign off on the 27-year-old free agent after examining X-rays of Crowell's surgically repaired left knee.

"Angelo Crowell can fit any defensive system in this league," said Dick Jauron, his former coach in Buffalo. "If he stays on the field, he will help Tampa. Obviously, we had planned for him to start for us for a long time. It just didn't work out."

It just didn't work out.

That's Jauron's polite phrase for a sudden disconnect between an organization and one of its cornerstone players.

After Crowell posted a team-high 140 tackles in '07, despite a knee that never stopped aching, the Bills figured he would continue to play through the constant pain.

They figured wrong.

"I made it through the OTAs and training camp, but it was bad," said Crowell, who figures to open at strongside linebacker in pewter this fall. "I told them I needed to get my knee scoped. Originally, I was only going to be out for three or four weeks."

The Bills were so stunned by the timing of Crowell's decision - a few days before the 2008 season opener - that they promptly placed him on injured reserve.

"It was crazy how it all went down, but God has a way of working things out," said Crowell, a three-year starter in Buffalo. "Once that happened, it was like, 'I'm out of here.' I stayed positive and supported the Bills all season, but when free agency came around, I visited Tampa and Detroit. The Bills wanted me back, but I wanted a change of scenery."

At 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds, Crowell packs a wallop. New linebackers coach Joe Barry is glad to add a hitter with Crowell's size and experience.

"I knew quite a bit about him, going back to when he came out in the draft, and Buffalo has been running the Tampa defense the past few years," Barry said. "The big thing is he went out and got the knee fixed. Angelo's hungry and eager to get going."

Crowell said he has long admired the success of the Buccaneers defense and cited the enthusiasm of Morris as a key factor in the recruiting process.

"When I met Raheem, that sealed the deal," Crowell said. "I liked his philosophy of where the team was and where it's headed."

That troublesome left knee is almost 100 percent, said Crowell, who changed his original plan and opted for more extensive surgery in September.

He didn't practice during last week's voluntary minicamp, but Crowell said he is primed to participate in the initial OTA sessions May 12-13.

"When he was healthy, Crowell was a real load in 2007," Morris said. "We love that tape. We want that guy, and we think we're going to get that guy."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833.

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