Time for focus to shift to future Bucs

Buccaneers defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was still in the process of getting to know some of the players who will be a part of the Bucs' 2012 defense on Wednesday when his attention was suddenly diverted to a group of players who could be a part of the Bucs' 2012 defense.

The occasion was the start of the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins in earnest today at Lucas Oil Stadium and is the first of two necessary diversions that will temporarily take Sheridan and the rest of the Bucs coaches away from the job of getting to know the players already on hand at One Buc Place.

The other is free agency, which will start March 13 and which Sheridan and the rest of the Bucs coaches will mostly ignore for now as they focus on how to make the best use of their allotment of 2012 draft picks, which includes the fifth selection overall.

"Right now we're concentrating on getting ready for the combine, and then when we come back free agency will be a priority,'' Sheridan said during his introductory news conference Tuesday.

"At that time, (general manager) Mark (Dominik) and (head coach) Greg (Schiano) and I will start talking about defensive needs and our current roster and where the needs are and how we'll address free agency.

"But our biggest sense of urgency now is to go down to Indianapolis and try to make the best use of the four or five days we're in town there and evaluate the draft prospects.''

It is a critical evaluation process. Though Dominik has vowed to be "more active'' in free agency than he was a year ago, when his biggest outside signing was punter Michael Koenen, the Bucs are still a team dedicated to building through the draft.

Schiano said as much during his introductory news conference last month, when he said he believes in drafting and developing players and offered some hints as to which way the Bucs could go both in the draft and free agency.

"On the field, what is it going to look like? We want to play great defense, win the special teams battle and be a physical offensive football team that takes shots down the field,'' Schiano said.

"It is very hard to (put together) 12-, 13- and 14- play drives. So we want to run the football physically and take shots down the field. As long as you play great defense and win the kicking game, that formula works.''

Schiano's emphasis on running the ball physically already has led some such as NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper to predict the Bucs will spend their first pick on Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

Others, though, consider the possibility of losing Ronde Barber to retirement or free agency and the possibility of losing Aqib Talib to a jail sentence or NFL suspension and say they'll take LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne.

There is also a chance the Bucs will trade the fifth pick and move down in the draft order in an effort to acquire more premium picks. After a 4-12 season last year, anything seems possible, because the Bucs have plenty of needs.

There's a need, NFL scout and analyst Mike Mayock said, for a vertical threat at wide receiver, improved play at outside linebacker and safety and depth along the offensive line and running back.

Which areas the Bucs will consider priorities come the start of free agency and draft day are decisions the Bucs will start to make during their stay in Indy this week, when Butch Davis could be a prominent figure.

Davis, the former University of Miami, North Carolina and Cleveland Browns coach who was hired as a special assistant to Schiano, said he'll have a role in the evaluation process here at the combine.

"I am going to be in the room (when we conduct our interviews with the prospects),'' Davis said last week. "How intimately involved, that will be decided by Mark and Greg.''