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Bucs Beat: Defensive tackle no longer a priority?

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 10, 2009

TAMPA - For longer than they've been without him, the Bucs have been searching for the next Warren Sapp. Finally, their search is over. Not because they've found him. Because they no longer need him.

The role of the defensive tackle in new coordinator Jim Bates' defensive scheme runs counter to what Sapp and any other defensive tackle working in Monte Kiffin's Tampa 2 scheme was asked to do.

Where Kiffin demanded speed, mobility, and the Sapp-like quickness necessary to shoot a gap and sack the quarterback, Bates demands power, strength and the Albert Haynesworth-like bulk necessary to tie up two blockers and stop the run.

Keep that in mind come draft day. Though a lot of draft experts believe the Bucs are targeting players such Peria Jerry of Ole Miss or Ricky Jean Francois of LSU, neither seems to fit the mold of what Bates desires.

Two players who do appear to fit that mold are 334-pound B.J. Raji and 329-pound Ron Brace, both from Boston College, which was coached last year by Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski.

There's just one problem. Raji and Brace may be out of reach for the Bucs, who pick 19th overall. Raji, who was linked to a failed drug test in an si.com report that was later pulled by the website, is projected as a top-10 pick. Brace, meanwhile, is projected to go somewhere in the middle of the second round, where the Bucs are without a pick after packaging it with a fifth-rounder in 2010 to trade for tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.

That may not matter, though. In Kiffin's scheme the defensive tackle had to be a playmaker. In Bates' scheme the defensive tackle is often more of an accessory to the play.

Sure, Bates wants his tackles to be stout and to stop the run, but what he seems to want more than anything out of a defensive tackle is someone who can create playmaking opportunities for others.

In 2002 and 2003, for example, when Bates' defenses in Miami ranked fourth and third, respectively, in points allowed in the NFL, his defensive tackles were an aging Tim Bowens and wholly forgettable Larry Chester.

Though Bowens made the Pro Bowl as a reserve, neither he nor Chester was what you would call a star. Certainly, they weren't stars in the same category as Sapp.

The same may hold true for the Bucs defensive tackles of 2009. The Bucs plans right now call for Chris Hovan and Ryan Sims to man the two tackle spots with youngsters Greg Peterson and Dre Moore in reserve.

None of those players is what you would consider star-caliber. And if the Bucs wait until the later rounds to add to that mix, the newcomer may not be a star-caliber player either.

For the first time in a long time, though, he won't have to be.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: So, let's assume for the moment that the Bucs don't spend their first-round pick on a defensive tackle. What will they spend that pick on? A defensive end? A linebacker? A quarterback?

All are legitimate possibilities, and some of the best known "draft experts'' still have the Bucs taking Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman at No. 19 overall.

The closer the draft gets, though, the more it seems the Bucs plan may be to sit back and wait to see what the NFL's quarterback landscape looks like after draft day before adding that coveted fourth quarterback.

It may not be a bad idea. There's talk that the Seahawks may look to part ways with Matt Hasselbeck if they add a quarterback and that Cleveland's Brady Quinn or Derek Alexander will be available during or after the draft.

New Bucs GM Mark Dominik has proved he's not afraid to take chances or make deals, so his plan may be to make a deal for a quarterback who is not yet available.

And if that fails he can always go back and sign a free agent such as Byron Leftwich, J.P. Losman or Rex Grossman. After all, it's not like the newcomer, whoever it is, won't have ample time to learn Jagodzinski's system.

One of the things we learned from the Bucs' returning players during their recent minicamp is that Jagodzinski's offensive scheme, unlike former coach Jon Gruden's, is easy to learn.

For a team that may not add its fourth quarterback until after the draft, that could prove to be very beneficial.

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979.

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