Camp 2010: The Secondary could be the primary line of defense.

The very basis of the Tampa Two defense as described by it’s co-creator Tony Dungy is an 4 cylinder engine known as the defensive line. The Bucs made a history of providing pressure from their front four without blitzing, thus everyone had a job to do and knew where they had to be to do it. With Two rookies probably starting in the interior of the 2010 Bucs D-line, its a good bet that unit will take a little time before it gets cranking on, well, all four cylinders! That means defensive backs will have to hold their man a little bit longer, perhaps as long as 6 or 7 seconds if its bad, and that means the secondary could become the primary line of defense. Now some will say “The Bucs don’t always run the Tampa Two” but we are talking about the secondary part of the equation. Bucs ran cover 3, cover 1, quarters, you name it, but the base part of the Tampa Two is Cover Two, which is what they are named after. What is a cover two? Simply put, the Safeties take the field and draw a line down the half and cover each side. The Middle linebacker is what makes a cover two a Tampa Two, as he takes the deep middle all the way down the middle of the field. The Corners play up to cover the flats along with the outside linebackers. So corners in the Tampa Two MUST be sure tacklers, and the Safeties must be able to cover. Ronde Barber is a perfect corner for the Tampa Two, as he’s as sure a tackler as you’ll find. So how does the secondary look to stack up in 2010? Not too bad actually. Its probably the most stable piece of the puzzle, with little to no turnover, only one rookie may play a roll, the outlook should be quite positive. On the Corners, you have the last player left from the Super Bowl, Ronde Barber. Barber knows the defense as well as anyone, he came in under Tony Dungy’s second year, joining the Bucs the first years of the Pewter uniforms and turn around. He has double digit sacks and picks, Barber can do it all, and probably will. Then you have Aqib Talib, who is now in his 3rd season and coming into his own as a defensive player. This will probably be a make or break year for Talib at least as far as being an elite corner in the NFL and being a Pro Bowl caliber player. Tanard Jackson is right on the cusp of being a Pro Bowl player too, and this might be the year he gets the accolades. This full season in the same system will really tell us more about our defensive stars. The other safety spot is where all the heat is. Sabby Piscitelli is going up against 28-year-old veteran Sean Jones who in some eyes has already beaten Sabby for the starting strong safety job on Sundays. The wild card here is rookie Myron Lewis and Elbert Mack, last years nickel corner. Myron Lewis will be groomed to replace Ronde Barber, and 2010 is the last year under #20’s contract, and this probably is his final season. How many wins will the Bucs get? You can safely assume to get an extra 2 or 3 wins for each half second you can shave off 1/2 a second the DBs have to hold their man.