LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- One is a former first-round draft selection and the other returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the Super Bowl, so it isn't as if strongside linebacker Dwayne Rudd and cornerback-turned-free-safety Dwight Smith, respectively, are just callow interlopers in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' star-studded defense.

But as the two new starters in a defense that statistically ranked as the NFL's top unit in 2002, and which is widely regarded as one of the most dominant in league history, Smith and Rudd figure to be treated by the media as novelty pieces for a while. Which is fine by the two veterans, both acknowledged as the Bucs began training camp over the weekend, except for one fairly significant detail.

Each has been on center stage, survived the pressure of the NFL crucible, and feels more than comfortable mingling in the kind of company the Tampa Bay high-profile defenders provide. Make no mistake: The two new starters are hardly newcomers and they consider themselves neither accidental tourists nor easy targets in the Bucs defense.

	Dominating defense
	Since the NFL adopted the 16-game schedule in 1978, only seven defenses have surrendered fewer than 200 points in a season, including the Bucs dominating unit of last year. Here is a look at those seven defenses:
	Points	Team	Season
	165	Ravens	2000
	187	Bears	1986
	191	Titans	2000
	195	Steelers	1978
	196	Bucs	2002
	198	Bears	1985
	198	Broncos	1978

"Oh, I'm humbled and thankful to be a part of all this because I truly believe that this is a dynasty in the works," said Rudd, a six-year veteran who was signed as an unrestricted free agent to replace Alshermond Singleton, who defected to the Dallas Cowboys. "Being here is something I'll remember my entire life. On the other hand, it isn't like I'm some guy who just walked in off the street. I mean, it's not like I crashed the party, you know?"

Fact is, there are some people around the league who believe (and perhaps fear) that Rudd and Smith might actually upgrade the Tampa Bay defense, if that is possible. Certainly no one on the Bucs staff or front office, which overcame some severe salary cap limitations to hold together the core of the championship roster, believes these two players represent any kind of slippage.

A defense ratcheted up another notch or two? Given the speed that Rudd and Smith bring to the lineup, and the return of tackle Anthony McFarland, who missed six games in 2002 with arm and foot fractures, and who may have surpassed Warren Sapp as Tampa Bay's best player at the position, the unthinkable is certainly possible.

Oh, yeah, management also made brilliant defensive coordinator and resident live wire Monte Kiffin the highest paid assistant in the NFL to preclude him from interviewing for the San Francisco 49ers head coaching job.

So any foe looking for telltale signs of chinks in the armor can direct the microscope at some other facet of a team that believes, to a man, that it must repeat its Super Bowl win to leave behind a legitimate legacy. Good organizations, especially in the era of the salary cap and free agency, react prudently when starters exit to another club.

When Singleton signed with the Cowboys and Super Bowl most valuable player Dexter Jackson found an offer from the Arizona Cardinals too attractive to ignore, Tampa Bay didn't have to look very far for one replacement or very long for the other.

Taking nothing away from Jackson -- who had three regular-season interceptions and who Kiffin strongly suggested gave the club its finest overall free safety play in a lot of years -- but Smith might actually be a better player in the long run.

Star cornerback Ronde Barber suggested the Bucs veterans have "a ton of confidence" in Smith, a third-year veteran. That said, absolutely no one has more confidence in Smith than Smith himself, a third-round pick in the '01 draft and a player who exudes a healthy dose of hubris.

The former University of Akron star was one of the best value selections in the '01 draft, slipping into the third round because of a lack of size (5-feet-10) and the ill-advised belief of some scouts that he might not be physical enough. Imbued with a big-play mentality and a love for "press" coverage situations, Smith took a year to assimilate the trademark "cover two" schemes of the Bucs, but has proven to be a quick study.

As the team's "nickel" corner for much of the past two years, he had four interceptions. But indicative of the manner in which Smith plays even bigger in big games, he has three additional thefts in four postseason appearances.

"Let's just say," conceded Smith, a street-tough kid from a hardscrabble neighborhood in Detroit, "that I like being challenged. When people say to me, 'Man, you can do that,' it really gets me going. I set my sights pretty high. I don't want to be just good at playing free safety, you know? I want to be, like, Brian Dawkins kind of good or Darren Sharper kind of good. That's what I'm shooting for."

An offseason incident, in which he was charged with brandishing a handgun in what police authorities feel was a case of road rage, embarrassed Smith and there seems no limit to his public pronouncements of contrition. On the field, he has not allowed the arrest to become a distraction and has stayed steadfast in preparing for his new role.

Ironically, it was the departed Jackson's performance in Super Bowl XXXVII which helped to fuel the white-hot craze for safeties with excellent coverage skills. Every club now covets a safety with range, a guy who can do more than simply walk down into "the box" and create an eight-man front, an interior defensive back with at least a hint of cornerback skills. Having such a hybrid player, Bucs coach Jon Gruden agreed following a Saturday morning practice, is now imperative.

"So many teams use the 'open' formations now, and then you play a team like the Saints, who will motion (tailback) Deuce McAllister out as a receiver, you have to have a safety who can go out there and cover those guys," Gruden said. "We feel like Dwight Smith has the ability to do that."

The only caveat is that Smith was such a standout "nickel" cornerback that the Bucs may have a difficult time replacing him in that essential role. The coaches are hopeful that one of the young corners, Corey Ivy or Tim Wansley, will win the "nickel" job outright. If they don't, the Bucs may have to shuffle on third down, with Smith moving up into the "nickel" job and either Jermaine Phillips or John Howell playing free safety.

Since the cornerback position is still obviously in his blood, Smith noted he would love such a scenario, then relented and admitted in might be better for the Bucs defense if he didn't have to split time between the two positions. And, he said, he needs all the snaps he can get at free safety, since he hasn't yet reached a comfort zone at the position.

"As much as I learned about (free safety) in the offseason, I came here to camp kind of like a blank slate," said Smith, whose touchdown returns in the Super Bowl were for 44 and 50 yards. "This is where the foundation really gets laid. I'll learn something new here every day. Like, for instance, I can't just (burst) to the ball like I did at cornerback. Your reactions at safety have to be a little more deliberate. You have to be sure of what's going on in front of you before you make a move. But I still think I've got enough quickness to get where I need to be."

	“	This is, by far, the hardest I've ever worked in an offseason. But you have to, just to keep up with these guys, because they push you every day. They are about as demanding a bunch as I've been around. You've got to do everything perfect. You have to know your role and everyone else's, too, on this defense. This defense, it strives for greatness, and I don't ever want to be known as the guy who let it down. I'm not going to be the weak link. ”
		— Dwayne Rudd, Bucs linebacker

Given that no defense is built more around the old speed kills premise than that of the defending Super Bowl champions, the imported Rudd figures to be as good a fit as is Smith. A first-round choice of the Vikings in 1997, the former University of Alabama star didn't play for Kiffin in the past, but he played in the scheme the Bucs coordinator left behind when he departed Minnesota in 1994.

Just like Smith, there is a skeleton Rudd would prefer to bury for good, since he is the player who tossed his helmet on what should have been the final play of the Cleveland Browns' 2002 season opener. In one of the season's most bizarre sequences, a resultant penalty extended the game and allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to kick a winning field goal. Rudd, 27, was castigated in Cleveland and, at one point, became reclusive, staying at home most evenings as radio talk shows ripped his indiscretion.

Rudd didn't even try to dodge recollections of the incident, when it was dredged up on Saturday morning, but he spoke more of how the Tampa Bay defensive design dovetails so well with his individual skills. Having played both outside linebacker positions in the past, Rudd offers the Bucs even more versatility, and he is simply a far better all-around player than Singleton, and should author more big plays.

Of course, like all Tampa Bay defenders, Rudd can run.

There have been some suggestions, in fact, that Rudd is even faster than weakside 'backer Derrick Brooks, the Buccaneers star who won the NFL defensive player of the year award for the 2002 season. Those suggestions have been lowered to whispers for fear the claims might upset Brooks, generally assessed the league's fastest backliner.

For his part, Rudd wants no part of anything even resembling a simmering controversy, and he was adamant Saturday that he was misquoted when he allegedly said this spring he might well be the fastest player on the Tampa Bay defense. What has impressed his new teammates even more than his speed, however, is a work ethic that mirrors that of the Bucs holdover defenders.

Coincidentally, that work ethic, and the Bucs' collective hunger for a second consecutive Super Bowl title, is what has most impressed Rudd about his new brethren.

"This is, by far, the hardest I've ever worked in an offseason," Rudd said. "But you have to, just to keep up with these guys, because they push you every day. They are about as demanding a bunch as I've been around. You've got to do everything perfect. You have to know your role and everyone else's, too, on this defense.

"This defense, it strives for greatness, and I don't ever want to be known as the guy who let it down. I'm not going to be the weak link."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.