Behind in the sack race, Bucs nose tackle's value is gauged in other ways.
By RICK STROUD
Published November 30, 2003
[Times photo: Toni Sandys]
Anthony McFarland only has one sack this season, but his prime role for the Bucs is as a disruptive presence.
Anthony McFarland has posted some impressive numbers this season.
Just ask his accountant.
On the other hand, after signing a $34-million contract extension in August, the Bucs nose tackle has recorded only one sack.
It came in Game 7 when he dropped Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter for a 2-yard loss. That was 18 quarters ago.
This season, McFarland has flown under the radar longer than Air Force One.
Simeon Rice leads the NFL in sacks. Warren Sapp needs two more to pass Lee Roy Selmon on the team's all-time career list. When it comes to tackling quarterbacks, McFarland has been so silent you can almost hear crickets chirping. In a game of onedownmanship, defensive end Greg Spires still is looking for his first sack.
But if you think McFarland's value to the Bucs can be measured in statistics or salary, you need to spend more time studying the NFL. Or you could just ask defensive line coach Rod Marinelli.
"Every now and then, somebody will come up and say his numbers aren't as good as they should be," Marinelli said. "You never give a man an excuse. I don't do that. But it's too hard to go out and sit there with you and explain everything he's doing.
"He does so many more things with the nose. Last week, people don't realize he did a great job for us dropping in coverage and created a couple sacks for us because they wanted to throw that little check down and he came back into the middle and took it away. The last play of the game, we had a sack because he bought some extra time for the other guys. It's the part people don't see. You think he'd rather be rushing then?"
McFarland, 25, is amused by all the chatter. He can't turn on a radio without hearing someone suggest that maybe an eight-figure bank account has extinguished the fire in his belly.
"I don't worry about it. The thing is I know what I've done to earn my contract, and I know I continue to do the same things," McFarland said. "The numbers will come. They always have. I don't worry about those things. The only thing I worry about is when I come in and put the tape on. What does the tape say? Am I getting better as a football player? Those are the things I concern myself with.
"The sack numbers and those things are what you want for yourself. But the only stat I'm concerned with is the W's and L's and making sure I do what I need to do to be a part of that and make an impact on that."
How refreshing is that? A highly paid player who is more concerned with W's than W-2's?
A closer look at the numbers shows that with 39 tackles, McFarland is only four behind Sapp and Rice, who lead the Bucs' defensive linemen.
What has happened to McFarland - and the Bucs defense for that matter - is that opponents are keeping their quarterbacks clean this season by running the football.
Last season, the Bucs recorded 43 sacks. This season, they are on a pace to finish with about 35. Meanwhile, running backs Stephen Davis, Garrison Hearst, Deuce McAllister and Ahman Green have had success on the ground.
"They're running the football," McFarland said. "They're trying to pound us and run the football and keep it out of the quarterbacks' hands. The easiest thing to do is make a 180 degree turn and hand it off. That's what a lot of coordinators want to do because it keeps their quarterback from getting beat up. It keeps them from getting sacks, picks and things of that nature."
What's important to understand is that in the Bucs defense, nose tackle is not a position from which sacks are generated. McFarland gets double-teamed on most running plays and some play-action passes.
"There's what we call a bubble guard sitting right beside him and you're going to get doubled a lot," defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "Even if the guard starts to come out and there's nobody there, he'll come back and double the nose because that's the guy he's closest to."
McFarland has nobody to blame but himself for the enormous expectations. In 2000, his first season as a starter, he recorded 6.5 sacks. Since then, he has not had more than 3.5 in any season. Last year, McFarland played in only eight games because of a broken forearm and then a fractured foot.
If the Bucs don't re-sign Sapp, McFarland probably would move to the undertackle position. From that spot, coaches believe he could be as productive as Sapp, who has 77 career sacks.
"People who know football, who understand football, they understand what a defensive lineman's techniques are all about," McFarland said. "And do I want to play better each and every week? Sure I do. Everybody on our defense wants to continue to get better and play better. I'm no different. But at the same time, I understand what it is for me to play well.
"You may not see me in the boxscore and in the numbers, but put the tape on, you'll say, "Okay. You affected the game.' Those are things that I look at, Rod looks at, Monte looks at. Those are the things we talk about."
