There's more to Bucs center Jeff Faine than just talk

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
In print: Saturday, March 22, 2008

Jeff Faine signed a six-year, $37-million contract.

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TAMPA — There probably is not a more scrappy player on the Buccaneers roster than nose tackle Chris Hovan. He considers former Saints center Jeff Faine his toughest opponent, which might explain why Tampa Bay was willing to open its free-agency checkbook.

Last season at New Orleans, the guy really got under Hovan's skin.

There was pushing, shoving, trash talking and accusations of cheap shots. And that was what happened after the whistle.

"We got into some really good battles, me and (Hovan)," said Faine, who became the highest-paid center in the NFL when the Bucs signed him to a six-year, $37-million deal that included a $12-million guaranteed bonus.

"It got really chippy the last time we played. But it was fun. And that's the thing I was trying to tell him because it got kind of personal. I'm a competitor. I like to play hard. & When I first saw him when I got here, he said he'd rather I be here than have to play against me."

This is not to suggest that Faine, the 21st overall pick of the Browns in 2003 from Notre Dame, is more mouth than muscle. At 6-3, 291 pounds, he is not the biggest player at his position and has never made a Pro Bowl.

But he is aggressive, athletic and a technician when it comes to blocking. He also is smart enough to quickly learn coach Jon Gruden's offense, which puts the responsibility for protections on the center.

"The things that were kind of left on the quarterback in other places is placed on the center here," said Faine, a Bucs playbook under his arm. "I like it. It gives me a sense of more control. I can control what's going on before it even gets out of my mouth."

It might be fair to suggest the Bucs overpaid for Faine. He was the best center in free agency, and Tampa Bay wanted a more physical and athletic presence than what they got from 33-year-old veteran John Wade, who was not offered a contract. At 26, Faine has an opportunity to grow with the young offensive line that last season started a rookie and two second-year pros.

Gruden telephoned Faine in the wee hours of March 1, the first day of free agency and made a midnight confession.

"He expressed adamantly that he loves the physical play that I bring," Faine said. "He wants me to keep it up and the extra stuff that & I love to do. Some people might say it's cheap shots. I wouldn't say it's cheap shots; it's finishing."

Faine sometimes takes it to another level. For instance, when verbally sparring with the Bucs' nose tackle, he referenced one of Hovan's boyhood friends from Cleveland.

"There was something said after the game. I don't know if it's proper to be put on paper," Faine said. "I tried to cool the situation after the game and say, 'It's just the game. I'm just playing.'

"It got real personal. I know some of his friends from back home in Cleveland, and I was using everything I had. I knew one of his very personal friends that he grew up with. We were actually teammates at Notre Dame. & It wasn't a lot of stuff from his past, just a lot of general talk."

The talk about Faine will not center around his enormous contract. But being the highest-paid player at his position will bring attention and expectations.

"I don't really think about the money now," he said. "Of course you want as much (money) as you can get while you can. It's a short, limited career. But I'm here now, and the pressure is what it would be if I was making the league minimum.

"The pressure is to win (and) get results. I play for more. I play for the respect of my teammates and fans and coaches. At the end of the day, that's what I want more than anything."

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