Gaines Adams is changing his positioning and studying Jason Taylor's (football) moves.

Great read from Yahoo Sports today on Gaines Adams and some of the changes to the Bucs’ defense.

“I’m lined up on the left tackle’s shoulder now rather than nose to nose … 18 inches and cocked,” Adams said. As a result, he’s gone from being lined up approximately five inches away from the left tackle to the 18 inches. “It takes all the thinking out of what we have to do up front.”

Instead, that extra space gives Adams enough room to make a move – or at least let the left tackle think there’s going to be a move. It allows the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Adams to take advantage of his athletic ability, to ultimately make him more of a weapon and, as the Bucs hope, a leader.

“This was a lot of the thinking that went into what we’re doing on defense with these changes,” Dominik said. “We wanted something that fit with the players we had and what they’re capable of to see if they can become what we expect. When we were interviewing Jim Bates, it was important that he run a certain defense that fit that profile.”

Now Joe can’t help but be curious about this “profiling” during the interview process for a defensive coordinator.

So should fans believe this is Raheem The Dream and Mark Dominik’s defense, as constructed and interpreted by Jim Bates? Or is it Bates’ defense that just happens to fit the Bucs’ in-house talent?

While, of course, all that counts is what happens on the field, Joe can’t help but wonder why all the players “we had,” as Dominik said, were not a fit for Kiffin’s defense. Isn’t that the defense they were hand-picked to play?