Suh or McCoy? For Bucs, it's debatable

Most everyone has had a debate such as this tossed into his or lap at some point.

Beatles or Rolling Stones? Ginger or Mary Ann? Letterman or Leno?

If you follow sports, you've probably wrestled with this strain of argument more often than most.

Gretzky or Lemieux? Mays or Mantle? Bird or Magic?

Seldom has anyone had to weigh the true consequences of their choice. That, though, is what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have to do when it comes time for the third pick in tonight's NFL draft.

Suh or McCoy?

More than a few draft analysts envision a scenario in which the Bucs are left to choose between two potentially game-changing defensive tackles: Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy. If so, then what?

Who would the Bucs choose?

"You're talking about two dynamic guys, and two guys who bring dynamic aspects to the game," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said recently. "You're talking about two guys who are slightly different but are both dominant."

The St. Louis Rams are expected to take Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford first overall. Though the defensive tackles are tempting, some believe the Detroit Lions will take an offensive tackle to protect the blind side of franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford, last year's No. 1 overall pick.

Either way, one of the two standout defensive tackles should be there for the Bucs. But is one a better fit? Do they like one so much more that they would consider trading down if he is gone?

Well, it depends on what the Bucs are looking for in a defensive tackle, a position that is among their greatest areas of need.

If it's a dominant run stopper, then Suh, the University of Nebraska standout, is probably the choice. If it's a pass rusher, then McCoy, the Oklahoma product, is likely the man.

Or is he? Though most analysts believe McCoy does a better job of penetrating the line of scrimmage and getting after the quarterback, Suh's production says otherwise. During the 2009 season, Suh recorded 12 sacks, 11 pass deflections and 41 quarterback hurries, while McCoy had six sacks, one pass deflection and 18 hurries.

Still, most draft analysts believe McCoy is the better pass rusher.

"When I try to get people on that topic, I ask them two questions," former Washington Redskins and Houston Texans general manager Charlie Casserly said. "I ask, 'Who's the better athlete?' and 'Who's the better pass rusher?'

"Usually, McCoy's name comes up more. So, I kind of have McCoy as 1A and Suh as 1B. But really, when it comes to those two guys, it comes down to who best fits your system."

The Bucs' system is something of a hybrid. It's based primarily on the Tampa 2 scheme that former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin ran for more than a decade, but it incorporates more blitzes and secondary coverages.

The constant is that the linemen play a one-gap scheme, which means one player is responsible for all that happens within a single gap between, say, the center and a guard or a guard and a tackle.

That's the type of system McCoy played in at Oklahoma. While some scouts question his aggressiveness, intensity and hand use, most agree he is the epitome of what a team running a one-gap scheme wants in a tackle.

"McCoy is your classic one-gap defensive tackle," said former Bucs coach Jon Gruden, now an ESPN analyst. "He's a lot like Tommie Harris, who came out of the same school, Oklahoma, a few years earlier."

That doesn't make him the automatic choice for the Bucs, though. Suh, who played in a two-gap scheme at Nebraska, is widely considered more versatile, a player who easily could adapt to a one-gape scheme.

"He reminds me of Richard Seymour," Gruden said, referring to the former New England Patriots and current Oakland Raiders defensive lineman who has played tackle in a 4-3 scheme and end in a 3-4 scheme.

"It's a tough call," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "Both guys are big and fast, and both are high-character guys and are highly productive. There's just a lot to like about both of them."

There's also an inherent concern in drafting either one. As Gruden pointed out, the draft's recent history is filled with defensive tackles that were selected early, but failed to pan out.

"You go back and you look at Dewayne Robertson who went (fourth overall) to the Jets (in 2003) and Glenn Dorsey, who was a No. 1 pick (fifth overall) of the Chiefs (in 2008) and I don't think we've heard from them," Gruden said.

"So if you really look at it, there are some concerns there as to whether or not that defensive tackle can come in and electrify your fans and your football team like Warren Sapp did."

Sapp is the standard, of course, especially in Tampa Bay. The Bucs have been looking for a player even remotely close to the seven-time Pro Bowl pick and potential Hall of Fame inductee since he was allowed to leave as a free agent after the 2003 season. They haven't found one yet.

Or have they? No one is ready to compare Suh or McCoy to Sapp, but both are considered - by far - the best defensive tackle prospects to come out of college since, well, Sapp.

"When you can add players to your football team like that, you like those opportunities," Morris said. "With guys like that you just let them go and be productive. I don't want to make a zebra a horse. I want to let that zebra be a zebra and be the best zebra he can be. Either way, I'd like having the opportunity to coach either one of them."

Come the third pick in the draft, Morris just may get his wish.