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It's time for the Bucs to look to the draft

Staff photo by CLIFF McBRIDE

Carolina's DeAngelo Williams gashes the Bucs' defense Sunday. Defense should be in the Bucs' draft plan next year.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2009

Updated: 10/21/2009 09:58 am

TAMPA - When the Bucs traded Gaines Adams to Chicago last Friday, they did more than rid themselves of a visible symbol of futility. Even if that had been all they accomplished with the trade, frankly, it would have been enough. Sometimes you just need to be done with things (see Jackson, Dexter).

In this case, though, the Bucs picked up a second-round pick in next year's draft. Frankly, that's much more than I ever believed they'd get for Adams. Now, the question is what they'll do with that pick - and given recent draft history of this franchise, it's a legitimate issue.

They better get it right, though, because they can't spend themselves out of the quagmire that has them stuck with a 10-game losing streak. The only way out is to build through the draft, and on that front we offer you a rare bit of good news.

The Bucs have been quietly stockpiling draft picks for next season - they have 10 and will be on the lookout to acquire more. Next year's draft promises to be one of the deepest in years, too, particularly on the defensive line.

Say, couldn't the Bucs use some help there? Consider this: Key members of the defensive line include two castoffs from Kansas City (Jimmy Wilkerson, Ryan Sims), a castoff from Minnesota (Chris Hovan), and a refugee from the Arena Football League (Stylez G. White). It's a modern-day Doomsday Defense - just without the defense.

General manager Mark Dominik is coy on just what happens next, but we can guess.

"I'd just like fans to know there is a plan and we're going to stick to it," he said. "We are going through a youth movement right now, and we're going to find the right guys here."

Hopefully some of those guys are mobile, agile, hostile and play on the defensive line. This downward spiral started with their inability to stop the run, and it was that deficiency that led to Sunday's 28-21 loss to Carolina. NFL teams simply can't give up 16-play drives in the final eight minutes of a tie game, particularly when 15 of those plays came on the ground.

But the Bucs did.

Teams know they can line up and blow the Bucs off the ball. It's not the fault of schemes, or lack of effort, or any of the usual sins we accuse teams of when things don't go well. The Bucs simply don't have the beef up front to stand up against running games, and every bad problem they have on defense stems from that.

That takes us back to the good news.

The NFL might face significant labor problems, including a lockout, in 2011. You can bet the amount of money being paid to rookies will be addressed by the owners as part of those negotiations, which I'll bet means you'll see an even larger pool of college juniors than normal declare for the draft after this season.

Right now, the Bucs have three picks in the first two rounds - their own picks, which will be premium, and the one they got from Chicago for Adams.

Obligatory disclaimer: They have to get this right. They have to go defense, defense, defense, and more defense. The draft brought the Bucs stalwarts like John Lynch, Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp and it was the foundation of a championship. It has to be that way again.

Yes, we're talking about the draft because it beats talking about an 0-6 team that is about to fly across the big pond to get waxed by the Patriots. We're talking about the draft because the only thing that matters right now is making the right moves to fix the mess the Bucs are deservedly in.

We're talking about this because we need to see that Dominik is correct when he says there is a real plan in place to return the Bucs to respectability.

That's why the draft pick they got for Adams is so interesting. Now, they need to find anyone with a pulse at One Buc and send them out on the college scouting trail. The Bucs haven't done a whole lot right the past few years, but this is one time they need to be better than anyone else.

The fix won't be quick, but at least the Bucs seem to actually have a plan that can work. As for whether they have a clue, though, we'll know soon enough.

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