'Next man up' becomes Bucs' rallying cry

Bucs coach Raheem Morris isn't afraid to admit it. When the Buccaneers claimed defensive end Michael Bennett off waivers from the Seahawks last year, Morris didn't know much about him.

In the 14 months since, Morris has discovered that Bennett not only is talented but also versatile.

Good thing, too, because the Bucs are going to need Bennett's versatility.

With rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy out for the season with a torn biceps that will require surgery, the Bucs plan to lean on Bennett to fill what Morris describes as the "premier'' position on his defense.

It's not the ideal solution, but with fellow rookie Brian Price out for the season - and second-year tackle Roy Miller even more unfamiliar with McCoy's position than Bennett - it's the best option Morris seems to have.

"The thing with Bennett is, he hasn't played inside since (the 2009 preseason) when he was with the Seahawks,'' Morris said. "But we have seen (the quickness we want at that position) on tape from him.''

They've seen it in a game, too. The Bucs turned to Bennett in the second half against the Redskins on Sunday and his play at under tackle was one of the reasons Tampa Bay escaped with a 17-16 victory.

"In order to get the quickness that we lost from Gerald,'' Morris said, "we put Mike Bennett in there (at under tackle) at halftime and he was really productive for us and he really did a good job.''

So did everyone else. After allowing the Redskins to rack up 272 yards of offense - including 174 on the ground - in the first half, the Bucs allowed just 52 total yards their first four series of the second half.

That's why Morris remains confident the Bucs can stay competitive down the stretch despite the fact they've now lost six defensive starters to either injury or suspension.

What should give Morris cause for concern is that his depleted defense also allowed the Redskins to move to within a botched extra-point attempt of tying Sunday's game.

That happened late in the fourth quarter, after the Bucs also had lost starting strongside linebacker Quincy Black to a season-ending broken forearm, which will force Morris to do even more lineup shuffling.

As he did when Black missed time earlier in the year with a sore ankle, Morris will make do by platooning veteran special teams standout Adam Hayward and rookie Dekoda Watson at strongside linebacker.

Morris may even wind up platooning at under tackle, where Bennett will compete with third-year pro Frank Okam, a Texas product whom the Bucs signed to their practice squad less than a month ago.

That's what it's come to for the Bucs. At several spots on both sides of the ball, they are starting players who weren't on their roster when the season began. Morris refuses to use that as an excuse, however.

"We talk all the time around here about the next man up,'' he said. "So all our guys know that they're one snap away. Practice-squad guys, guys we may have cut in the preseason, all of those guys are prepared and ready to come back.''

Bennett says he's ready. Even though he hasn't played regularly at under tackle, he says he's worked there enough in practice to continue playing as well as he did against the Redskins.

"It's a lot different than playing end, but it's just football,'' said Bennett, who has 13 tackles, including three for a loss, a sack and four quarterback pressures in limited playing time this year.

"I mean, I feel like I played well against the run (against the Redskins) and I held up OK against the pass. And now I'll have more time to prepare, so that should help.''

The thing that should help Bennett the most, Morris said, is maturity. A raw talent when he reached the Bucs last year, Bennett has grown as a player to the point he now can make an impact for them.

"He went from being a guy who had a bunch of talent to a guy who made some mistakes but started to correct them and started to make some splash plays within those mistakes,'' Morris said.

"And the other thing is he's become a multiple (position) guy. Rather than a guy you have to protect, he's become a valuable asset with some of the things he's able to do, and that's really helped us out a bunch.''

There's no question they could use some of that help now.