| "We ready! We ready!"
shouted a victorious Warren Sapp to a thrilled group of Buccaneers faithful who bravely
trekked north to Chicago in January. Finally the Bucs’ ship has come in, as they
won the NFC Central Division title for the first time since 1981 and put an end to the
second-longest division drought in the NFL. However, it wasn’t clear sailing from the
start. A stingy, fast, physical defense helped turn a 3-4 record into a franchise-best
11-5.
The Buccaneers finished the regular season giving up an NFC-low 87.9 rushing yards a
game.
"We’ve been trying to eliminate the running game and turn it into a
throw-catch, rush-the-passer situation," said Sapp, who led all NFC defensive tackles
with 12.5 sacks. "We feel good about our pass defense. That’s what we want to
do: take away the running game, get a lead and go after ’em."
That’s just what the Buccaneers did against the Bears in their regular-season
finale, limiting Chicago to 71 yards on the ground and 0-for-12 on third-down conversions.
In sweeping the season series against the Bears, Tampa Bay did not allow a touchdown in
either game.
"We play good defense, and believe me, they’re not building any rockets over
there on offense," said the outspoken Sapp, referring to Chicago offensive
coordinator Gary Crowton’s passing schemes.
Of the Bucs’ six Pro Bowl players (which tied with St. Louis for the most players
selected from any NFC team), four are on the defensive side of the ball. OLB Derrick
Brooks, ILB Hardy Nickerson and Sapp all are making their third consecutive appearances.
John Lynch will be the starting strong safety.
A cohesive defensive unit to be sure, Brooks, Nickerson, Sapp, Lynch, DE Chidi Ahanotu
and NT Brad Culpepper have all played together for all of Dungy’s four years with
Tampa Bay.
"Hey, give the architect all the credit. Tony put it all out in front of us and
told us how to go out and get it done," Sapp said. "He’s always steady, and
every guy on this team has bought into his system. It’s ’70s style and a winning
formula."
Brooks emphasized team unity. "The one thing they can’t take away from this
team is our togetherness," he said. "We’ve always maintained that through
thick and thin."
And until recently, it had been mostly thin.
"When I got here in ’95, I likened it to being in the Third World," said
Sapp. "Now we’re 21st-century first-class citizens. I got a hat on that says
I’m a division champ. It feels better than I imagined."
Shortening his ever-present smile momentarily, Sapp reflected. "This doesn’t
happen every day. We all understand that. That’s one of the best things about this
ballclub. We understand opportunities like this don’t come around very often. Now
it’s just a matter of if we can punch it two more times and step up on the biggest
stage in the world."
Doing his best Mr. T impression, he added, "I pity the fools that got to come in
to Raymond James Stadium."
Meshing the Pewter Curtain defense outside the spotlight may be the Bucs’ prime
pewterer. Granted, he has excellent alloys to work with, but some Tampa Bay players feel
defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin does not receive the recognition he deserves.
"With Tony being the defensive guru that he is, Monte doesn’t get too much
recognition," Ahanotu said. "He’s one of the best defensive coordinators
I’ve ever played for, and I’ve played for a lot. He knows his stuff and gets us
going and keeps us loose. He should get more credit for being one of the great coaches in
this league."
Sapp agreed. "Monte kind of gets hidden in there. But we know who he is. Monte
makes the calls. He’s always been able to turn the dogs loose and let us hunt."
With the playoffs set to begin, the Buccaneers’ defense is hunting for big game,
hunting for sacks, hunting for postseason victories, hunting for a Super Bowl berth.
It’s ready. |
