Barber soldiers on after slow purge of title team

TAMPA Ronde Barber could only watch as one by one they left - men he played beside, fought beside, and won a championship with. Men like John Lynch, Warren Sapp, and Derrick Brooks. Even Monte Kiffin, the only defensive coordinator he had ever known during his 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is gone.

Only Barber remains, the last starter still with the Bucs from the Super Bowl championship team - a 34-year-old corner in a new system that would seem to put a premium on man-to-man coverage skills that weren't a routine part of the defense he played for all those years prior to now.

There were questions why he survived the purge that swept out many veterans after the four-game meltdown at the end of last season, and he heard them. He chose to keep largely silent before finally agreeing Saturday to a mass interview session following the first practice of training camp.

"It's part of this game, man," he said. "That's a cliché and I hate clichés, but it really is. This team moves on without those guys because it has to, just as one day it will move on without me."

He knows the skepticism many people have, the belief he was a product of Kiffin's "Tampa 2" defensive system and will be ill-suited for the attacking style favored by new coordinator Jim Bates. He is dealing with it the only way he can.

"I kind of just ignored it, you know - tried to anyway. I'm a guy who lives in reality and at the end of the day [thinking about it] wasn't something I needed to do. It's completely out of my control what people say about me or want to write about me. I just go out and do my job and hopefully that speaks for itself," he said.

About that point, Tampa Tribune pro football writer Ira Kaufman asked if Barber felt personally validated by the fact he is still standing in the face of so much change.

"I like your words, Ira," he said. "I can't characterize it any better than what you just said."

Barber has been one of the Bucs' most popular players for years with his penchant for big plays - none bigger than his interception return for a touchdown against Philadelphia that sealed the NFC Championship Game and put them in the Super Bowl. That seems like a long time ago.

It seemed even longer during much of last season, especially when the defense collapsed down the stretch as the Bucs missed the playoffs. Barber actually played well for the most part during that time - he did struggle at times early in the season - but it was a time of many questions and doubt for all involved, no matter their role in how it came about.

However, out of doubt can come resolve and that's where Barber is at now.

"Ronde's at the point in his career where he has been called a system corner. You guys have called him a system corner, the other guys out in the national media have called him a system corner. He's out to prove you guys wrong, man," head coach Raheem Morris said.

"He's not a system corner. If he's a system corner, I don't know any other Cover 2 corners out there with those kind of numbers. Right now he's in a new system and he's out to redefine himself in this system. He's got a great mindset for this training camp, he enjoys being here, and we enjoy having him, and we're looking forward to it."

Barber has a reputation as a thinking-man's cornerback; he studies film and opponents relentlessly. Even the Bucs media guide refers to him as "analytical" but his production over the years speaks also to a gambler, opportunist, and big-play maker. His 12 regular-season touchdowns are the most ever by a Bucs defensive player. He has 23 sacks, most by a cornerback in NFL history. He's the only Bucs corner with four consecutive 100-tackle seasons.

The new defensive system, though, generally calls for the pressure to come up front and frowns on the gambling style that has marked Barber's play since he joined the Bucs in 1997.

"I'm a visual corner; I like to see everything. [Defensive backs coach] Joe Baker is on me every day about my eye control - I've got that guy. I can't look and see if I can steal off the [middle] linebacker - I've got that guy. That's stuff I'll have to get used to," he said.

There's a lot of stuff to get used to now.

The terms are new and many of the faces are as well, but the desire to win and the pride in preparation are the same now as when he first came to Tampa Bay. There were doubts then, too, about his ability to play corner in the NFL, but Barber more than proved himself.

So there's no looking back, no wondering what might have been or anger that it didn't play out differently. He embraces the situation for what it is, along with any questions people might have about why he is still around when other veterans aren't.

"Last season is last season. We are who we are," he said. "They [front office] made those decisions, I'm happy for them. That's where they thought we needed to go and we'll run with them. We elected a black President. Change is good."