Some players switched positions, some switched roles as life without Sapp and Lynch begins.
By ROGER MILLS
Published September 12, 2004
TAMPA -- During a meeting of defensive linemen early in training camp, tackle Ellis Wyms couldn't help but notice the silence.
Without tackle Warren Sapp, a man whose mere presence spoke volumes, things were decidedly different. But, Wyms said, the meeting went on.
And so must the Bucs.
With Sapp in Oakland and safety John Lynch in Denver, the Bucs enter their first season in nine years without two of their defensive cornerstones.
And while innumerable challenges lay ahead on the field, the biggest for now is learning to play without them.
"The good thing is, with the exception of maybe one or two guys, all the guys are being replaced by guys who have been here; like Dwight (Smith) the year before when Dexter (Jackson) left, and now Jermaine (Phillips) has been here for three years," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "So it's not like we're getting all these new parts from the outside. We've built from within. Guys know each other, and the ones we don't know, we're learning about them."
The return of familiar faces will affect that learning curve. The truth is the Bucs return 10 players who started at some point last season. Yes, Sapp and Lynch are gone, but seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks is still there. Barber and defensive end Simeon Rice as well. Tackle Anthony McFarland is moving to Sapp's old spot, and cornerback Brian Kelly is healthy again.
Add free agent linebacker Ian Gold, and it looks like the Bucs defense has rediscovered some of the swagger it had during the Super Bowl run.
"They get more excited about humiliating me and sending me home with my tail between my legs than just about anything," coach Jon Gruden said. "They try to kill me on the golf course. They have a great competitive spirit. We've added to that. Don't think for a minute Jermaine Phillips (who replaces Lynch) isn't a heck of a player.
"We're going to miss Lynch, no question. We're going to miss Warren Sapp. I know I will. But it was impossible to make any other additions to this football team if we had kept those salaries where they maybe were deserving to be."
But with two icons gone and newcomers such as cornerback Mario Edwards expected to play important roles, the Bucs defense will have to come together as a unit. More now than ever, its chemistry is crucial.
"Chemistry is important,"Brooks said. "It's the thing you lean on to bring you out of trouble. It's that thing that we were missing. When we reached to get that foot in the door, the door got slammed on our foot because we didn't have it (last year) as much as we did the year before.
"Even when we were 1-7 in 1996, we were still together. I remember in 1995, we were 5-2 and we couldn't have been any more separate."
Considering the implosions that occurred last year throughout the locker room, harmony on both sides of the ball is what the Bucs need.
"I think the chemistry of this team last year was bad," general manager Bruce Allen said. "It was nationally known that it was bad. What happened with certain issues here must have been very tough on a lot of people."
Brooks, whose leadership might be the heart of the Bucs defense, said veteran defenses develop chemistry from fighting through difficult situations, from struggling through offseason workouts, training camp and the preseason games.
"I believe that chemistry is going to develop by playing," Brooks said. "It's going to develop by guys being here. Situations we're in are going to make our chemistry."
The Bucs defense finished fifth in the NFL. But previously known for its ability to finish games, the Bucs routinely gave up late leads and never seemed to recover from the 21-point collapse against the Colts early last season.
Playing with chemistry is one way to help prevent a repeat performance.
"No, it's not overrated," Barber said. "You have to have guys who want to play for each other. You can never do it by yourself. One player can be great. He can dominate the whole game, but he has to have people play around him. We have to play for each other. That's what it's all about. That's how you win games out here.
"It's difficult when you get a whole bunch of new players, but that's what the (organized team activities) are for. That's what training camp is for.
"That's why you have to believe in your coach and believe he has the right plan. I don't think it'll be an issue. Guys come in. And there still is a standard we have here, and they have to play to that standard. That's how we build our chemistry. We all play to one standard."
