Ron Borges

Although coach Jon Gruden is supposed to love the pass, he seems to be preparing to run more of a ball-control offense this season, perhaps to protect young quarterback Chris Simms.

Gruden drafted offensive linemen with his first two picks in April even though he had all five starters returning. This group was suspect when last season began and allowing 41 sacks didn't help its reputation in the passing game. What did was the presence of Carnell "Cadillac'' Williams, the rookie running back who crashed his way to 1,178 yards, most of it behind the left side of the Tampa offensive line.

Williams' durability is in question even though he carried 290 times because he missed two full games and was hurt in three others, but he may very well be the player on offense. Even though much pressure will be on Simms, Williams and that offensive line are the only guys who can reduce the demands on a young and inexperienced quarterback. If the defense continues to perform like one of the best in the league (eighth in fewest points allowed last season), Tampa can try to survive much of the time on the running of Williams and Michael Pittman (6.2 yards-per-carry but with only 70 rushes) and the occasional deep ball to Joey Galloway, who at 34 is coming off a career season in which he caught 83 passes for 1,287 yards and 10 scores.

As Gruden's confidence grows in Simms, he will give him more and more of the offense to run, but early on it's likely he'll have him handling off to Williams at least as often as he throws the ball to Galloway or anyone else and probably more. That's why the play of the offensive line will be so important.

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Gruden brought in several free agents as well as the two top draft picks to create competition among those offensive linemen, not satisfied simply to retain the five starters of a year ago and assume they'll improve. Rookie guard Davin Joseph and No. 2 pick Jeremy Trublood, a tackle, as well as veterans like 350-pound free agent guard Toniu Fonoti and 315-pound Torrin Tucker are here not only to give the group depth but also to challenge for starting positions. Joseph won the right guard position to open the season. Nearly all of them are better run blockers than pass blockers and that would seem to be another indication of what the Bucs intend to do. They will rely on their running game and defense first, in the same way division rivals Carolina and Atlanta do.

Hot seat
Jon Gruden. When is this offensive genius going to put together an offense as competent and potent as the defense he inherited from Tony Dungy? That's a question that's going to have to be answered soon because the defense is aging, especially at the key linebacker spot. Gruden dumped Brian Griese, who was 5-1 as a starter before being injured, to saddle his team's future to young Chris Simms, who has yet to prove he's a big player in big games either in college or the NFL. If Simms can't carry the load, they'll start to wonder in Tampa if Gruden is what they thought he was when he first arrived in town.

Overheard
The Bucs' defense was first overall last season and sixth against both the pass and the run, the kind of dominance and consistency that has become commonplace under coordinator Monte Kiffin. But there is a lot of age here at linebacker, where Derrick Brooks has begun to slow and Shelton Quarles is on the wrong side of 30. Speed at that position is imperative for the Tampa cover 2 scheme to be effective because deep drops are required. Slippage by these two would create problems not even Kiffin might be able to solve. Tampa Bay has essentially the same players on defense this year as the ones who were the best in the league last season.

That may well be a good thing, but whispers have begun to be heard that this group is growing a bit long in the tooth. The loss of defensive line coach Rod Marinelli and secondary coach Mike Tomlin won't help either but the biggest concern is at least five starters are past 30 and there is no one waiting in the wings to take their jobs.

Outlook
For the Bucs to beat out the Panthers and Falcons you have to trust that Simms is ready to lead them through a whole season. This is his first full year as a starter and he'll undoubtedly have growing pains.

With a defense that is aging and lost some talent both on the coaching staff and on the field, those pains may hurt the Bucs enough to keep them from returning to the playoffs unless the running game is a Cadillac in more than name only.

Prediction
Third.

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