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Bucs

The Bucs' new Best Player Ever

By GARY SHELTON
Published January 7, 2006

The best Buc of them all, as you might recall, had a gentle soul and a quiet voice.

The best Buc of them all, as you will remember, also had a fire inside of him that every now and again caused his blood to boil.

The best Buc of them all, as you reconsider, helped to reinvent the perceptions of his team. He was a humble man with an unbeaten chest, a defender with high standards and unrelenting pride. He came to the Bucs when they were nothing, and he helped forge them into something worth remembering.

No, the best Buc of them all is no longer Lee Roy Selmon.

The best Buc of them all is Derrick Brooks.

Somewhere along the line, the face of a franchise has changed. Somewhere along the line, Brooks' body of work has surpassed even that of Selmon, long considered the definition of excellence when it came to the Bucs.

It is a difficult thing, measuring a new legend against an old one. Peyton Manning or Johnny Unitas? Brett Favre or Bart Starr? Brian Urlacher vs. Dick Butkus?

This is harder. For years, Selmon was the franchise's only stake in greatness, and because of it, he is revered around here. He is in the Hall of Fame, for crying out loud. He has an expressway named after him. His restaurant serves a mean pulled pork sandwich. Until Brooks, no team ever had a clearer Best Player Ever.

Yep, Selmon was great, all right.

Brooks is even better.

As the Bucs enter the playoffs today against the Redskins, there is no better time to acknowledge it. As much as Selmon did, Brooks has done more. As big an impact as Selmon had, Brooks has had a greater one.

Granted, everyone will not agree. To be fair, Selmon did not have as many great players around him as Brooks has had. At times, he was unblockable.

On the other hand: Selmon went to six Pro Bowls. Brooks is going to his ninth.

Selmon played in three playoff seasons. Brooks is going to his sixth.

Selmon led his defense to the No. 1 ranking once. Brooks has done it twice. Selmon was the best the Bucs have had in tackling quarterbacks. Brooks has been the best the Bucs have had in tackling everybody.

In the greatest era of the Bucs, Brooks has been the greatest player. Warren Sapp used to say it all the time. Reporters would gather around Sapp's locker, waiting for the quote of the day, and Sapp would point to Brooks as the best player in the locker room. Ever, he could have added.

In some ways, perhaps it is odd to recognize Brooks in such a manner now. He spent much of the season battling injuries, and there were times the defense missed those head-snapping tackles where no one had to check the jersey number to see who was responsible.

That has always been the thing about Brooks, however. To appreciate him, you have had to watch him, to watch the way he moved, the way he tackled, the willingness he had to play while injured. After Lawrence Taylor, observers started to judge the greatness of linebackers by the number of sacks they have. That has never been Brooks' gift. He is a flier, a player who races from sideline to sideline and mutes the best athlete the opponent has to offer. A highway patrolman, Sapp once called him.

Even now, at 32, an age where people start counting your steps to see if you have lost one, Brooks remains the essential Buc player. How are the Bucs going to do in the playoffs? Depends on how the defense does. How is the defense going to do? Depends on how Brooks does.

Brooks believes that, too.

In an age of locker room soliloquies and end zone choreography, his voice rarely carries volume. Inside, however, Brooks believes as firmly as the rest of us that the other players look to him, that that is where excellence has to begin. Even now, even after all of these tackles, he can be sensitive to perceived criticism.

That's how greatness works. Every day, every game, you pick up a pebble, and after a while, someone finally notices your stack is bigger than anyone else's.

Even Lee Roy's.

[Last modified January 7, 2006, 01:15:51]