By design, Bucs rookie Myron Lewis is no Ronde Barber

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't given up on the idea of finding the next Ronde Barber. They've just changed their approach.

Instead of looking for someone who looks and plays like Barber, they've decided to look for someone who looks and plays like Aqib Talib. And they think they've found that in third-round draft pick Myron Lewis.

Look at the tale of the tape. Talib, the Bucs' starting left cornerback, and Lewis both stand 6-foot-2 and weigh about 200 pounds, and both have long arms, can run with most anyone and can follow and snatch a ball out of the air.

That's not a coincidence. The Bucs have slowly come to the realization that in order for their defense to work best, the next Barber should be a player who, on the field at least, resembles their 2008 first-round draft pick, Talib.

"I used to always look for the short guy with the short-space quickness, but now I'm starting to fall in love with these long guys that play quick, have elite balls skills and top-end athleticism," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said.

"The thing is, the bump-corner (playing in a cover 2 scheme) has changed a little bit. So when you look at Lewis, you do see in him a lot of the same things you see in Aqib.

"You see a big, tall, physical bump-corner. You see a guy with pretty good feet who can play off coverage, but who's also got good ball skills you want and the ability to go up and get the ball."

Lewis did a lot of that during his college career. He had 10 interceptions and 26 pass breakups during his last three years at Vanderbilt, where he regularly wowed scouts with just about every aspect of his game.

What wowed them most, though, was Lewis' ability to hang with a receiver. The reason is that most cornerbacks who stand 6-foot-2 or more tend to struggle when they have to turn and run with a wideout.

That's never been a problem for Lewis, though. He's always been very agile, and when you combine that with his size with his physical approach to the game you've got precisely what the Bucs want in Barber's replacement.

"Part of what we wanted to do in this draft was build a bigger football team and we did that with this selection," Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said of Lewis, a Pompano Beach High product. "We're excited about him."

Lewis has reason to be excited, too. The Bucs' plan is to throw him into the fire right away as the right cornerback on the obvious passing downs in which Barber moves to the slot. Lewis says he's ready for the challenge.

"I'm a smart player," he said, "and I fit in real well in the Tampa 2 system. We're focused on rerouting receivers in this system and being a tall, rangy guy, that works perfect for me.

"As long as I understand the system and the plays I can go out there right away play fast and just be a football player and make plays. That's the key to it all, just knowing what you're doing."

That may not be the only key. Though he used to do it primarily while preparing for a test, Lewis has occasionally prepared for a game by cranking up his iPod and listening to a little - Barry Manilow?

"I got that from watching 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,'" Lewis said. "He was on the show a few times and I just kind of got into it after that. I wouldn't say it's a regular part of my regular pregame ritual."

That's probably a good thing. After all, it's one thing for a team to look for big physical corners with good ball skills and agility. It's quite another to look for one who has all those traits and also listens to Barry Manilow.

"Yeah, they're probably aren't too many guys out there listening to that," Lewis said.