Bucs' Morris making impact on defense

Bucs coach Raheem Morris had no idea what a thrill it was to run an NFL defense until he relieved Jim Bates of the responsibility and seized it himself in November.

"I always thought I got a real good natural buzz just coaching my defensive backs," Morris said. "That was a thrill for me. But then I started calling our (defensive) plays and I just couldn't believe it.

"When you call a play and the guys execute and everything happens the way it's supposed to, it's just the most uplifting thing. That's why I don't ever see myself not calling the defense again."

Some may wonder why Morris didn't choose to call defensive plays in the first place. He called them for a year at Kansas State, and the Bucs named him their defensive coordinator before they named him head coach.

After taking over the latter job, though, Morris did some thinking and decided he probably would be better off if he surrounded himself with a more experienced defensive play-caller such as Bates.

"My buddy out in Pittsburgh, (former Bucs assistant and current Steelers coach) Mike Tomlin, did it that way, but I had just come from a situation with (former Bucs coach) Jon Gruden where it was the other way around," Morris said.

"Jon had an offensive coordinator but he pretty much did everything himself, and what I noticed was that Jon sort of lost a part of the team on the defensive side of the ball that way and I didn't want that. I wanted to make sure I had the whole team's attention right from the start here. I wanted my team to hear one voice that they knew controlled everything we do as a football team."

Morris realized rather quickly he'd made a mistake following Tomlin's lead. Not only was Bates not giving him what he wanted from his defense, but also Morris himself was feeling disconnected from his team.

He fixed both situations with that one bold, controversial move, demoting Bates after 10 games and taking control of the defensive design and the play-calling duties.

It's hard to argue with the decision. Since Morris started calling plays and working directly with the defense, the Bucs' defense has played significantly better.

In the first 10 games under Bates, the Bucs allowed 378 yards and 29.4 points per game. In the final six games under Morris they allowed 344 yards and 17.6 points per game.

That trend has continued into the preseason. In three games, the Bucs have allowed their opponents to gain an average of 322.6 yards and score an average of 14.6 points.

"Raheem is so much more involved with the defense now and I think that's really a good thing for us," middle linebacker Barrett Ruud said. "Last year, we literally didn't know what was going on sometimes.

"But now, the defense just revolves around what he says. He's directly involved with it and he's so much more hands on, and I think that's what's best for everybody. It just seems to work so much better that way."

It's working for Morris. He believes he's closer to his players this way, and with experienced coordinators such as Greg Olson running the offense and Richard Bisaccia the special teams, is not overwhelmed by the added responsibility.

"Look, I realized that no matter who was calling the defense, it was all going to fall back on my lap at the end of the day anyway," Morris said. "So I decided to call it, and I'm glad I did.

"Hey, I want to be known as a guy who runs into the fire, not away from it. I'm always going to stand up and try to drive the boat instead of jumping off of it, so it was the right thing for me to do."