Milla's Buc Report: Morris Has Bucs Defense Backs on Track

For years, the core of Buccaneers winning football has been with dominant defense. Players like Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Ronde Barber, and Simeon Rice have wreaked havoc on opposing offenses and brought a once pitiful franchise a Lombardi trophy. Those days are long gone, defensive guru Monte Kiffin has been gone for two years now coaching with son Lane in the college ranks, and of the above named players, only Barber remains on the team.

When Kiffin announced he was leaving the Buccaneers to join his son at the University of Tennessee, head coach Jon Gruden promoted defensive backs coach Raheem Morris as Kiffin's replacement. Little did Gruden know, just weeks later, Morris would be named his replacement after he was fired following an 0-4 Decembr in 2008 to miss the playoffs.

Morris wanted to change the culture in Tampa Bay; popular veterans were released to make room for youngsters and build a new defense, different from the famous "Tampa 2" that Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin made famous. Former Dolphins head coach and Broncos defensive coordinator Jim Bates was chosen by Morris to run the new defense. One that instead of relying on quickness and zone coverages, relied on physical play up front and more man to man coverage in the secondary.

This new defense installed by Bates was very unsuccessful. In the ten games that Bates served as defensive coordinator, the Bucs defense gave up a horrendous 29.4 points per game, putting together a puke-tastic 1-9 record in those ten games. Following a 38-7 loss at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints, Morris relieved Bates from his duties as defensive coordinator and announced that he would take over the defense himself.

Instead of forcing a new defense on to his players, Morris realized he needed to work his defense around his player's strengths and talents. In the eight games that Morris has run the defense, the Bucs have given up an impressive 15.8 points per game and have put together a respectable 4-4 record, including a win over the same Saints that got Bates fired.


While Morris has changed the defense to better fit his players' strengths, that doesn't exactly mean the team is back to running the old "Tampa 2" that they are famous for. In a radio interview following the Bucs' Week One win over the Cleveland Browns, veteran cornerback Ronde Barber revealed that the Bucs ran the "Tampa 2" defense once in the entire game. The Browns offense was surprised to find the Bucs running multiple styles of defense, including plays where the Bucs ran a "3-4" defense, and even in some points a "3-3-5."

Morris has been able to put together complex defensive packages all while making his young players feel more comfortable in the system they play in. It shows on the field; a year removed from a disastrous start full of missed assignments and big plays, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing great defense and have a 2-0 record to show for it.

While the days of Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice living in opposing backfields while Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Ronde Barber made big plays are gone, Raheem Morris has made the Buccaneers defense respectable once again. With a young core including Aqib Talib, Tanard Jackson, Gerald McCoy, Geno Hayes, Quincy Black, Brian Price, EJ Biggers, Barrett Ruud, and Tim Crowder, the future looks bright in Tampa Bay.

By Milla4Prez66: Jabberhead & SJ Contributing Author, Read more at

http://forums.sportsjabber.net/sjforums/showthread.php?t=65428

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