Quiet, sure, but Bucs still are at work

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© St. Petersburg Times
published April 22, 2002

TAMPA -- The television in the general manager's office is operating without volume. Thus, it has much in common with the team's draft.

There is no din to speak of. No commotion to shout above. Just the kind of questions for which there are no real answers. If a draft pick falls to the seventh round and no one is watching, does he make a noise?

This is the way the Buccaneers completed their draft Sunday. Without fanfare. Without impact. And, yet, not without expectations.

There is a proper way to look at Tampa Bay's offseason. That is from a distance. Far enough back to see the picture is larger than this time frame.

What the Bucs acquired this past weekend was a long list of potential role players. A third receiver. A situational running back. A kick returner. Maybe a nickel back or a long snapper.

The key is not to forget the players acquired in the previous weeks through free agency. A starting tight end. A starting running back. A starting guard.

Which brings us to Rich McKay's office, where ESPN is on mute and the Bucs' draft is temporarily on hold.

The circumstances of the draft -- the lack of first- and second-round picks -- ensured the Bucs would do the bulk of their shopping in free agency. Which, as it turns out, McKay says would have happened anyway.

"We would rather retool the offense through a combination of free agency and the draft," he said. "But you must ask, 'Where are you as a football team?' And we're a pretty good football team. So it becomes difficult to retool through the draft because it will take us three years to get those guys ready, and the expectations we have as a franchise are high right now.

"It kind of led us to say, 'If we're going to retool on offense, let's go through free agency.' Not with big splashes, not with $10-million signing bonuses, but trying to be smart with some younger players we can have success with now and also have success with in three years."

So Ken Dilger is what you get instead of a rookie tight end in the first round. Michael Pittman is better than your average second-round running back. And we're not including guard Kerry Jenkins and receiver Joe Jurevicius.

It often is said a team will take a step backward before moving ahead with a new head coach. For a number of reasons, including the free-agent class, the Bucs believe this can be avoided.

No. 1, their defense returns virtually unchanged. The crew of assistant coaches is the same, as are 10 of 11 starters. The Bucs lack depth at some positions, but still have time for more free-agent searches.

No. 2, even with a restructuring of the offensive system, the Bucs hardly can be less effective than 2001.

"We don't feel like, in any way, shape or form, we'll take any steps backward this year," McKay said. "We feel like we'll be a better defensive football team and that gives us a chance to absorb the growth curve on offense. If there is a little time lag, if it does take a little while for the offense to come together, we should be okay."

This is where Jon Gruden comes in. Of all the offseason acquisitions, his playbook may be the most critical in 2002.

Neither Pittman, nor Dilger, nor any speedy free-agent receiver the Bucs may choose to chase in June will have a greater impact.

It will be the formations. The shifts. The misdirections that will produce the rare Tampa Bay commodity known as an open receiver. Instead of the tiptoe offense we have come to expect, the Bucs should hurry downfield as if they know exactly where the end zone has been hiding.

For this reason, the free agents and draft picks add up to a greater whole than their parts. None of the additions should be looked upon with as much expectation as Keyshawn Johnson, Brad Johnson or Simeon Rice in the past.

Instead, with Gruden's vision of the offense in mind, the Bucs have chosen players with particular talents to share.

The past three offensive coordinators could not figure out how to utilize Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn in the same backfield. Gruden already has situations planned for Pittman, Alstott and Sunday's fourth-round pick, Travis Stephens. Much like a hockey line shift, Gruden will have offensive combinations for any and all situations.

"You watch for them, and they'll come in in a lot of different groupings," McKay said. "You'll have a pair come in under one circumstance, and the next play it's going to be a different group. They'll, by and large, stick together."

This is not a strategy a team can employ every season. Free agency can complement the draft, it may even be more important in a single offseason, but it never will replace the draft.

Free agents often are nearing or waving goodbye to their career peaks. The Bucs already are laden with 30ish Pro Bowl players. By foregoing first-round picks in 2002 and '03, the Bucs are taking a hit for the future.

So there is only one way to look at this.

The future, for Tampa Bay, is now.

The Bucs better be ready to make some noise.

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