My how things change.  In fact, is anything the same? 

The Buccaneers game, for more than a decade, has been defense.  Plain and simple.  They live and die by it.  Not by a quarterback, a loudmouth wide receiver, or by great halftime speeches.  By defense.  And the man who helped create the Bucs legacy, its patented Tampa 2 defense.  Well he’s gone this offseason also.

Monte Kiffin, the defensive mastermind, who great Buccaneers like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks went to war for.  The nice old man who use to go on jogs in 100 degree heat after two a days at Pepin Rood Stadium. Waving to fans all the way. The man always at work left to support his son Lane Kiffin in his new venture as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers.

So now, the hopes of continued success on the defensive side of the ball fall on the shoulders of the teams new coordinator, Jim Bates.  He will rely on help from Barrett Ruud, who has emerged as a team leader and the leading tackler for the Bucs the last two seasons.  Bates will also look to cultivate obvious talents like first rounders Gaines Adams and Aqib Talib, and another defensive back, Tanard Jackson who flies to the ball and hits like a Mack truck.

Tampa Bays defensive legacy is by no means small.  Since 1996, the team finished in the top ten of total defense 11 times, and were the top defense twice.  Bates, in a five year stint as defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, posted a top ten defense a five years. So he is no stranger to success.

Bates and the Buccaneers defense have a chance for a fresh start.  A new legacy.  The front office made tough decisions in the offseason.  Releasing a slowing Derrick Brooks and Cato June, to free space for young linebackers like Quincy Black and Adam Heyward to make a name for themselves. The defense is now faster again, and younger.

Training athletes in Florida’s sunburnt summers is something only learnt with time.  Time and knowledge that Jim Bates earned in Miami.  So now the Bucs move again to see the new faces,  learn the new names, make the new stories, and hopefully fill the seats at Raymond James for another season.  Summer is coming for the Buccaneers defense.  A fresh start might be just what they need.

Many say that the Bucs lacked help on the interior defensive line more than anything.  Just as many say that the last thing we need is another quarterback, now with 6 on our roster. One thing is for sure, no quarterback the Bucs have has the ability to be a franchise leader for years to come with the exception of last years 7th round pick, Josh Johnson.  Not Brian Griese, not Luke McCown, and not the newly signed Byron Leftwich.

New head coach Raheem Morris was defensive coordinator for the Kanas State Wildcats in 2006, Josh Freeman’s freshman year.  There he watched Freeman take over the program and eventually start 8 of 13 games. 

A YouTube search for Josh Freeman will show many videos displaying his intangible skills.  He is big, strong, highly mobile, and has a very strong arm.  Skills that Raheem Morris saw first hand at Kansas State, and why the Bucs have been leaning Freeman’s direction since the conclusion of last season.  The more film I watch, the more excited I am about the pick.  Of the countless QB’s the Bucs have had over the past 10 years, not one of them has had the serious chance to be the face of the franchise for years to come like Freeman does.

The Bucs did add the help they needed on the defensive front.  With their second pick, they selected Roy Miller, a 6’1″ 310 lb DT from Texas in the third round.  Of whom, I have heard nothing other than he is huge, and as hard of a worker as any.  Then we selcted Kyle Moore, a DE from USC, in the fourth.  Other selections were Xavier Fulton (T),  E.J. Biggers (CB), and Sammie Stroughter (WR)

Below is the Associated Press Photo of Josh Freeman, on stage with Commissioner Goodell at the 2009 NFL draft.