A special appreciation for the special teams The Bucs view special teams unlike some NFL squads. Many coaches view special teams as a proving ground for offensive and defensive players, while players see special teams as their stepping stone to becoming a starter. Tampa Bay's admiration for special teams is so high, players and coaches do not refer to that unit by its proper name. In fact, the Bucs have their own title for special teams: We-fense. "We-fense represents the whole team and everybody is involved," said Maurice Stovall, a receiver and special teams standout. "If you're able to play and contribute, you do." The concept of we-fense was started in Tampa Bay by special teams coordinator Richard Bisaccia. Although Bisaccia does not take credit for inventing we-fense, it was a concept he instituted after joining Tampa Bay's staff in 2002. Bisaccia envisioned having a unit in which starters on offense and defense combine to make special teams into a highly successful unit. "We are an offense and defense dominated sport, but when you return a punt or cover a kick, a lot of times there is a linebacker next to a tight end next to a fullback next to a wideout next to a defensive back," Bisaccia said. "We need all of us in order to do that. When you think about it, there are 45 guys dressed on game day. You can't use the quarterbacks, so you're down to 43. We-fense helps us with that. For us to play well, we need all of us." This year's results arguably have been the best of Bisaccia's career. Tampa Bay leads the NFL in blocked kicks (5). Starting right guard Davin Joseph blocked a field goal against Carolina, while starting left tackle Donald Penn and cornerback Ronde Barber blocked extra point attempts this season. In addition, Tampa Bay has not allowed a punt or kickoff to be returned for a touchdown this season. The Bucs lead the NFL in opponent kickoff return average (18.7 yards), while they are fifth in opponent return average (8.3 yards). "You take pride in contributing to your team and that's not just offense and defense, but being able to play on special teams and being selected to play," Joseph said. "It's quite an honor in Tampa." Signed by Tampa Bay on Nov. 3, Connor Barth tied an NFL record with three field goals of 50 yards or more against Miami last month. After playing for Kansas City and Miami, Barth said the Bucs approach special teams differently than any team he has seen or played for. "You see how much more prepared people are in the meetings," Barth said. "They have their pens with them. They have their highlighters. They are in there studying special teams like they are any other position. "When I've been on other teams, guys kind of come in and say they're paying attention, but they don't. These guys study. They take pride in special teams like they do their regular position." When it comes to special teams, we-fense is a regular position for Bucs players. "There is no play on offense that covers more yards than a punt," Bisaccia said. "It's the fastest and quickest way to change field position and give your defense a chance to play well to rechange field position. When I first came here, my conversations with (former Bucs) coach (Jon) Gruden were about who's available to play on special teams and which coaches would help me on it. In his mind, everyone was available but the quarterbacks. "If you look back over our history, defensively we've been so good, we thought anytime we had the ball inside the 15-yard line and we had a three-and-out, we were going to get great field position for our offense. Maybe even score. If you look at what we've done when we've had the ball, we've done those things." Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune 27 December 2009