TAMPA — Chris Hovan is a self-proclaimed "old guy" on a defense that is becoming increasingly younger.
The 31-year-old Bucs tackle will never be accused of being a track star, but that doesn't mean he can't recognize and appreciate speed when he sees it. Thus, talking about his young teammates making tackles in waves of four and five and running with abandon, Hovan can't help but smile.
"That's great," he said. "It doesn't matter what defense you run here. The code of the Tampa 2 is hustle and hit. That's it. You can play a 3-4 or whatever you want. The motto is always going to stay the same. No matter what happens — good play, bad play or indifferent — get your a-- to the ball and cap off on those guys."
Those young defenders are taking the message to heart, running with abandon and gang tackling the way Tampa Bay used to. And it's evident that the lessons first taught by Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin, the ones who put the famous Tampa 2 scheme in place in 1996, are still having a tangible effect long after their departure.
That, coupled with substantial turnover on a defense that now has seven starters 26 or younger, has helped the Bucs bring back their trademark speed.
"They're swarming to the football," coach Raheem Morris said.
Though the defense is less experienced than last season, there has been a considerable upgrade in speed. Whereas left defensive end Kevin Carter was rock-solid against the run, current starter Jimmy Wilkerson has injected athleticism and quickness at the position, which should help the pass rush.
Where Derrick Brooks is arguably the best player in franchise history, he wasn't nearly as fast at 35 as he once was. Geno Hayes, while not the all-around player Brooks was, has been a sideline-to-sideline presence at weakside linebacker. Role players such as rookie linemen Kyle Moore and Roy Miller also have added speed.
But this is not just a simple matter of outrunning opponents. Besides, speed is a prerequisite in the NFL. This also is about playing with aggression and attitude.
"Playing defense, at least the way I've been brought up, is about running to the ball and getting as many (men) to the ball as possible," linebackers coach Joe Barry said. "You want it to be a frenzy going to the ball and be like a bunch of piranhas when we get there. That's the way I coach. We force them to do it in practice.
"Most everybody in this league on defense can run. But it's about the way we preach it. The job is to get 11 guys to the ball every damn snap."
One might think that's a philosophy taught all around the league, but apparently it isn't universal.
"It comes from a great coaching staff and, really, just Bucs philosophy," safety Sabby Piscitelli said. "Since I've been here, all I've heard is run to the ball. I talked to a friend the other day who plays for another team, and he said they don't preach getting to the ball like we do here. That's going to show up in a game."
Part of "playing fast" is being confident in your command of the scheme. Though this defense is new and quite aggressive, it's not overly complex.
"I think (young players) know what they're doing," cornerback Ronde Barber, 34, said. "I think we've done a good job during the offseason and preseason of getting this defense put in and getting used to it. That's what made Monte's defense so effective. It was simple enough that anybody could pick it up and you just played fast as a result. That's still the mentality now. Know your assignments and your job and you can play fast."
The result is the blur Hovan said he saw against the Dolphins last week — a host of hungry tacklers swarming the ball carrier.
"As a running back, if you have one guy tackling you, that's one thing," Barry said. "But if you have four, five, six or seven guys pummeling you on every snap, that takes its toll in a 60-minute ball game."
Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@sptimes.com
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