Defense keeps big plays rolling

White, Rice, Allen and Co. have clutch stops for the win and defensive title.

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published January 2, 2006

TAMPA - Poor Dewayne White. The Bucs defensive end didn't know being a playmaker would prove so tough.

Against the Falcons last week, he made a game-saving play with a block of a potential game-winning field goal. And Sunday, against New Orleans, White stripped quarterback Todd Bouman, recovered the fumble and darted 34 yards for a game-sealing, division-clinching touchdown.

Now, he has to decide which is the bigger play. So far, it's not going too well.

"Man, it was the best feeling I have had," White said, speaking of his touchdown against the Saints. "It was that, or the blocked kick last week. I don't know which one was the best."

In the end, both proved critical to the Bucs winning the NFC South. They also were an important factor in the Bucs sewing up the title of No.1 defense in the NFL for the third time in franchise history. After the Bears yielded 34 points and 396 yards to the Vikings, the crown went to the Bucs.

And Tampa Bay got to the top on the strength of plays like White's "splash plays," as linebacker Shelton Quarles later put it.

And there were others. There was Simeon Rice exploding off the line and hunting down Bouman on a fourth-and-3 play in the fourth quarter. Rice's second sack of the afternoon slammed the door on the Saints when they were one touchdown behind and had driven to the Bucs 32 .

And backup safety Will Allen, playing for injured Jermaine Phillips, took his turn in the first quarter, intercepting Bouman on a fourth down from the Bucs' 34.

Sure, there was the issue of the Saints totaling 306 yards and threatening late. But when players make game-swaying plays, it has a way of making the big numbers sting a little less.

"That's the game," said Rice, who finishes the season with 14 sacks after his third multisack game of 2005. "That's football. Sometimes you're going to get opportunities. It's how you take advantage of them. You have to make good."

White sure did.

In keeping with Rice's statements, White said he saw Bouman in the pocket with the ball exposed. That's the opportunity. Then, White took a swipe at it and got the perfect bounce. That's taking advantage.

"We needed to put some more pressure on the quarterback," White said. "We put it on ourselves in the two-minute (offense) to be able to get some pressure and get some sacks."

The career backup has practically made a career of the past two games. It's all pretty overwhelming.

"When I knocked it down, it seemed like I was just calm, like I had all day to pick it up and run," White said. "It all was so slow for me. It was like, "Oh man, there's the ball!' It'll hit me later."

So will this: the Bucs are a top-10 defense for the ninth straight season, tied for the second-most since the NFL merger in 1970. The Los Angeles Rams also had a 9-year streak, and the Cowboys once posted a 10-year streak for the NFL record.

The big play got them here, and it's the big play that can take the Bucs beyond this point. That will be one of the keys to advancing in the playoffs, Rice said.

"You have to remember what you're playing for and you have to play with reckless abandon," he said. "If you have ambition to win, you're going to do it. If not, then you're going to go home and have a nice little offseason and say, "Wow, we got in the playoffs."'

[Last modified January 2, 2006, 02:30:25]