Youngsters cross the line

As defensive linemen Gaines Adams, Greg White mature, the defense can start to take on its old form.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
Published November 22, 2007

Bucs defensive end Gaines Adams, rushing the passer against Atlanta's Quinn Ojinnaka, is starting to find his footing in the pro game after a somewhat slow start to his rookie season.
	[Brian Cassella | Times]

TAMPA - Gaines Adams could no longer get by with just his athletic ability. What the Bucs wanted to see from their first-round draft pick was accountability.

So shortly after starting defensive end Greg Spires went down with a torn calf muscle Oct. 28 against Jacksonville, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin issued a challenge to Adams and defensive end Greg White: Grow up.

"Gaines wasn't ready to start before that," Kiffin said. "He started right when he needed to start. You don't throw a guy in there before he's ready to start. ... He had to learn how to work a little bit harder, but he's done that. He was getting closer before Greg Spires got hurt. You could see him getting better and better. But then there was a point when he had to step up."

Playing on a retooled line that includes Jovan Haye, 25, and Kevin Carter, 34, Adams and White brought the heat on Cardinals and Falcons quarterbacks in the past two games.

Adams has 31/2 sacks and forced a fumble last weekend in Atlanta that originally was ruled an interception by nose tackle Chris Hovan. White had two sacks and forced two fumbles, including one that was returned for a touchdown by cornerback Ronde Barber. Haye hit quarterback Byron Leftwich, leading to an interception by linebacker Barrett Ruud.

The result is a two-game winning streak and the second-best scoring defense 15.1 points per game behind the Steelers (14.5).

"I think reality kind of hit (Adams) when Spires got hurt. Everyone turned and started looking at him," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "Even Greg White. It was, 'Okay, time for you guys to really step up.' And I think he's done the best he can to accept it. I think it's a matter of continuing to build each game. Some things you're just going to have to learn at playing. ... So each week he's going to start getting a little more confident the more he plays.

"You really kind of started seeing it at practice the past two weeks. ... You could start seeing the practice reps started meaning a little more and they started to prepare a little more seriously and Sunday they did a good job of bringing pressure the whole ballgame."

Adams said he felt a new sense of urgency and responsibility as soon as he stepped in the huddle with the first-team defense.

"I really didn't have an opportunity to run with those guys being a second-teamer, but now being a first-teamer, it's totally different," said Adams, 24. "Different in game speed and how they practice."

Carter, who is in his 13th season, said he has watched Adams and others push through the "rookie wall." White, 28, the Arena Football League defensive player of the year for the Orlando Predators, has survived 24 games in 2007.

"The rookie wall hits around Week 9 or 10," Carter said. "You see some guys start to kind of wilt a little bit mentally because the college season isn't quite as long as ours. Now that they've persevered through it and they're on the other side, I think they're actually really improving. ... There's evidence of them actually starting to buy into what's going on. How to be a professional and the standard that we set on defense. They want to hold the standard high as well."

The best sign of maturity might have come during the game's biggest turnaround play against the Falcons.

Adams, who had struggled to add some variety to his outside speed rush, used a spin move to flush Leftwich from the pocket, leading to the sack-strip by White that resulted in a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

"Oh, yeah, that's all in the game," Adams said of his unselfishness. "That's why we have 11 men on the field, so I can make an inside move and maybe Greg can come across and get a strip. You never know how that's going to play out. That's why it's a team sport."

Now that the young defensive linemen have stepped up, they can't take a step back.

"Now that's just going to be the foundation," Brooks said. "We're going to expect more this week. They're going to understand it, and I think they're going to respond."

Rick Stroud can be reached at stroud@tampabay.com.

[Last modified November 21, 2007, 20:58:50]