As I quickly wrote the main site story on the signing of Jamie Winborn, I calculated the number of ex-Buccaneers defenders now in the orange and blue ranks:

Winborn … John Lynch … Simeon Rice … Ian Gold … Nate Webster … Keith Burns (on the coaching staff as special-teams assistant).

“Broncaneers,” I uttered.

Looks like someone beat me to it. So, in the absence of further evidence, let’s give credit for that term to the Thin Air blog. “Brown-cos” yesterday, “Broncaneers” today. All part of the free-agency/salary-cap era of the NFL, where these groups of former players from teams seem to migrate jointly like enclaves of immigrants settle in communities based around the nation they left behind.

Of course, in the cases of Gold, Burns and Winborn, their sojourns in Tampa were brief. Gold and Burns’ primary identities are as Broncos; their Gulf Coast stay was a stopover. It’s much different for Lynch and Rice, whose names became famous as Buccaneers. Lynch, however, has authored a compelling second act along the Front Range; Rice might be on his way to doing the same after a strong opening game at Buffalo.

If you’re going to try and build an outstanding defense, it doesn’t hurt to nab key parts from one of the best of recent times. Assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates has expressed admiration for the Bucs’ defense of the last 12 seasons; now, under his watch, are some of the reasons why it flourished.

Tags: Jamie Winborn

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