Bucs' best defense was quite elementary Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 18 September 1989 Anyone stunned at the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense stuffed the San Francisco 49ers most of Sunday afternoon may be even more surprised to find out exactly how they did it. “We used a high school base defense, for the most part,” said nose tackle Curt Jarvis, who had one of the Bucs' four sacks in the 20-16 loss. “Nothing fancy at all. We just kept it simple, man-to-man. Line up against the guy, whip him and then look for the ball. All we had to do was react. When we got our game plan on Wednesday, there was hardly anything on the sheet and a few of us were kind of laughing. We said, `This is it?”' The elementary defense worked. Tampa Bay limited the 49ers to 63 yards rushing, San Francisco's lowest total on the ground in 31 games. The 49ers rushers, who led the league with an average of 4.8 yards per carry last season, gained only 2.1 yards per rush Sunday. Those numbers were a far cry from the ones the Green Bay Packers came away with in the Bucs' 23-21 season-opening win. The Packers gained 103 yards on 17 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per rush. They also converted 85 percent of their third downs, compared with 33 percent by the 49ers. “What the Packers do scheme-wise forces you to do a lot of thinking, and that's not real good when you're playing defense,” said defensive coordinator Doug Graber. “We did cut things down somewhat for the 49ers because of their offensive style. They basically beat people with execution and aggressiveness, so there's no need to get all involved with schemes and looks. It's more a matter of reacting to the ball.” The Bucs' game plan stifled the pass, too. Quarterback Joe Montana had to work for most of his 266 passing yards. He was flushed out of the pocket all day and dirtied the seat of his pants more than usual. In addition to the four sacks, the Bucs pressured Montana 16 times. “We put a lot of duress on him,” said Graber. “We knocked him down a lot, but he still got it done in the end. I have a lot of respect for the guy. What he did wasn't easy.” The Bucs' pass rush, nearly invisible the first few games of last season, is better than average thus far. Tampa Bay defenders have combined for six sacks in two games. Last year, it took seven weeks to get that many. In fact, the team had no sacks until the third game of the 1988 season. If the Bucs continue at this rate, they'll have 48 sacks after 16 games. Last year, their sack total (20) was second-lowest in the league. As for pressures, the 1989 team leads the 1988 team 28 to 15 so far. Jarvis said an improved pass rush was the No.1 priority since the first day of training camp. “We knew we could stop the run, but we needed to do something about the pass rush,” said Jarvis. “We've been working real hard on our technique. We're not doing anything different, just better.” Graber said better pass coverage has been a big factor in the stronger pass rush. Consider this: The Bucs have intercepted 18 passes in the past nine games, including five in two games this year. They had 18 interceptions in their previous 21 games. Only Cleveland, with seven interceptions, and Philadelphia, with five, have picked off as many passes as the Bucs going into this season's third game. Defensive success has made it difficult for No.1 draft pick Broderick Thomas to break into the lineup. Sunday, outside linebackers Winston Moss and Kevin Murphy combined for 16 tackles and three sacks. “Broderick is very hesitant out there right now,” said Graber. “He hasn't had the time and reps to learn the system. The thing he does best - being a turn em' loose player - is being negated right now. It's an impossible situation for the kid. But he'll be fine. He has the ability. It's just a matter of when he'll be ready.” The most popular question around One Buc Place on Monday was “What do you think of the holding call?” Cornerback Donnie Elder was penalized for defensive holding on tight end Wesley Walls nine yards from the Bucs' goal line with 51 seconds remaining in the game. He had been called for the same penalty six plays earlier. The second penalty set up Montana's four-yard game-winning touchdown run. “That was an amazing call right there,” said Graber. “There was no holding of any kind. He was in the legal jam area. He did it perfect. I don't know what to tell the kid. The first call on Donnie was a good one, but that second one was not a legitimate call. Perkins said: “It was a very poor call. The other one was a good one. The guy never even got five yards downfield and the rule says you can jam for five yards, unless the rules changed for a second. I think we've got too many rules. I don't think there's an official that steps on the field that knows all the rules.”