Tall order, in bulk
Massive RB Brandon Jacobs will challenge the Bucs defense.
By JOHN ROMANO, Times Columnist
Published January 4, 2008
TAMPA - Big man, Barrett Ruud. A couple of inches beyond 6 feet, weighs more than 240 pounds, shaped like a middle linebacker should be.
And, technically, smaller than a running back.
Substantial guy, Derrick Brooks. Broad-shouldered and thick. Muscles in all the right places.
And he, too, is smaller than a certain power tailback.
Huge fella, Gaines Adams. Tall as a power forward, pushing nearly 260, a defensive end still growing into his body.
And, yes, lighter than a New York running back.
When Tampa Bay's starting defense hits the field Sunday afternoon, as many as eight players will weigh less than 264-pound Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.
Which brings us to one of the more interesting subplots of this first-round playoff game:
Can a defense designed for speed handle a running back built for power?
"We're not the biggest group of guys, but we've got a lot of fight," defensive tackle Jovan Haye said. "Even though we're, quote-unquote, undersized, we pack a good punch."
For more than a decade, Tampa Bay has operated under the philosophy that speed is more important than size on defense. That lithe and swift is preferable to big and bulky. So the Bucs have linebackers smaller than some NFL defensive backs, and defensive linemen smaller than some NFL linebackers.
That's why, for years, teams have assumed the way to beat Tampa Bay is by pounding the middle of the defense. Go north and south against the Bucs because you won't beat them on the edges or through the air.
So is that true?
Yes and no.
The Bucs have been hurt more by plus-sized backs such as Deuce McAllister and Fred Taylor, than by scat backs such as Warrick Dunn and Reggie Bush. But it's not as if the defense falls like Tokyo when Godzilla arrives.
Tampa Bay has faced 254-pound T.J. Duckett 10 times, and he has averaged about 42 yards. Corey Dillon, Willis McGahee and Antowain Smith are all larger-than-average backs who have had success in the league, but have been effectively shut down by the Bucs in recent seasons.
Size may not even be as much of an issue as the style of an opposing offense. Teams with bigger backs tend to run between the tackles, which is probably the safest place to attack the Bucs.
"I don't think the size issue has ever affected the run game," Ruud said. "More than anything, the reason they sometimes say our team doesn't do as well against the run is because we play a lot of two-deep coverage, which takes an extra defender out of the box. I don't think the size vs. speed thing is the big issue."
Still, there is something disarming about seeing a back the size of a defensive end running at you. Jacobs has faced the Bucs only once in his career, but he left an impression. And probably a few cleat marks.
The Bucs bottled up 2006 Pro Bowl running back Tiki Barber 26 carries for 68 yards and a 2.6 average but had trouble stopping Jacobs (seven carries for 41 yards and a 5.8 average) when they met in the Meadowlands last season.
A year later, the Giants haven't missed a beat with Jacobs replacing Barber as the featured back. New York has actually moved up in league rankings behind Jacobs, placing fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (134.2), and tied for third in average gain per carry (4.6).
"He's scary. He's a big, powerful guy and the impressive thing is he's got a burst of speed," defensive line coach Larry Coyer said. "I don't know if our size makes us susceptible, but we're going to have play our butts off. You play guys like that, your whole team had better be physical. Because they're going to make it a physical game."
The irony is the biggest players on Tampa Bay's defense - Adams, Haye, Chris Hovan, Kevin Carter - are not going to get many shots at Jacobs. They'll have their hands filled engaging the Giants offensive line, which means the 241-pound Ruud, the 235-pound Brooks, the 227-pound Cato June and a handful of even smaller defensive backs will have to bring down a running back bigger than all of them.
"Most definitely, they're going to come at us. They have a good offensive line and a big running back, so why wouldn't they," Adams said. "They're coming, and we're going to have to handle it."
John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com.