Sports: Small Buc puts up big numbers

Small Buc puts up big numbers

Barber learns sack trade, nears league record for a defensive back.

By ERNEST HOOPER

TAMPA -- Like a child running out of the forest, 5-foot-10 Ronde Barber emerges from a pass rush of behemoths to drop the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.

Before the play starts, Barber will creep toward the line. On the snap, his No. 20 disappears amid a sea of 99s, 92s and 75s, only to come out on the other side, threatening an unsuspecting quarterback.

It's a thing of beauty for the smallest Bucs cornerback, who has become the secondary's biggest sack artist. Before all is said and done, he may be the NFL's all-time sack master among cornerbacks and safeties.

With 51/2 sacks, Barber needs two more to break the league's single-season record (seven) for a defensive back set by former Bears safety Dave Duerson in 1986, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Green Bay's LeRoy Butler is second on the list with the 61/2 he recorded in 1996.

"A friend of mine was asking me (about the record) the other day," said Barber, who also has six hurries. "If the opportunity presents itself, it'll come. I like it that way. We definitely have it in every week. The blitz package changes every week, but the ones we've had in since training camp are in."

The Bucs coaches always have viewed Barber as one of the best secondary players to bring on a blitz, but the timing has been perfect this season. The timing of the calls by defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and Barber's timing. The fourth-year corner has an uncanny ability of darting through those trees to get to the quarterback.

"He has a knack, especially if he gets one-on-one with a back. He slips those guys pretty good," secondary coach Herman Edwards said. "He's got a feel for it. Some guys have a feel for sacks and how to beat guys and he has it."

Barber had never been a big sack guy in high school and college, and his blitz bonanza only began in the past two seasons with the Bucs. He had three in 1998 and one in '99.

"I got to say it's instinct," Barber said. "I do it in practice, and it ends up being the same way in games. You get a feel for it. The cadence, the count and the situation; if (the quarterback) has to get the snap off quick or if he's got time to give you some hard counts.

"You throw it all in the mix and you get your timing down. But I don't know why I've become so good at it."

A desire to vary the team's attack against quarterbacks has made Barber a bigger factor. Tampa Bay is known for going primarily with a four-man rush, but zone blitzes have become a big part of the package.

Barber gets a lot of his sacks when he lines up as the nickel back. The Bucs bring in a fifth defensive back and Barber moves to the inside to cover a slot receiver. When he blitzes, he in essence becomes a strong-side (or Sam) linebacker, the player who comes off the field when the extra cornerback is added.

"I wish I hit like a Sam linebacker," Barber said. "That's basically the premise. Instead of having a linebacker in there on a receiver in the slot, they bring another defensive back in and move me inside. We basically have the same reads. They don't ask me to tackle or fill the gaps like the Sam does, but I still have some responsibilities when it comes to the run."

Unlike a linebacker or defensive linemen, Barber knows all too well the difficulties his secondary mates are dealing with when he blitzes. Cornerbacks like Donnie Abraham and Brian Kelly are left to cover the league's best receivers with little help from safeties.

"It becomes a risk if they're picking it up consistently," Barber said. "It kind of leaves your corners out there on an island for a while unless someone beats their guy or the quarterback makes a bad decision or a hot read. But if he takes his time getting back in the pocket and it's blocked up, then yeah, it's one less guy in coverage.

"Looking out there sometimes when I'm getting block, I'm like, "Man, I hope these guys have got them locked down. If they get both of us or if I'm late on the blitz, then we're hanging them out there."

Edwards and Kiffin both said Barber will have a shot at the record, but they are quick to point out schemes will dictate how often Barber can be used. "He has a chance, realistically, to maybe get 10 if we dial it up right," Edwards said. "I know he would like to get 10, that's a heck of a number for a secondary guy."

* * *

BUCS VS. PACKERS: 4:15 Sunday, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.

TV/RADIO: Ch. 13; WQYK-AM 1010, FM-99.5.