Chomping furiously on a piece of gum out of which he had long since sucked every scintilla of flavor, Rick Venturi sat in his office ignoring the droning Wolf Blitzer on the big-screen television.

Looking for a better way to successfully match his "X" doodles with the "O's" across from them on the play sheet, the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator scribbled away, plotting and scheming, seeking any edge he might be able to offer his charges.

For a season when the Saints could have as many as seven new starters on the defensive side, the always-manic Venturi wants his unit to be quicker, to locate the ball with more efficiency, to assimilate the technique changes he had implemented, to tackle sounder, to force turnovers, to create scoring opportunities.

To, well …

	Foes might imitate their schemes, but lack Bucs playmakers like Ronde Barber, left.

"Well, to be kind of more like Tampa Bay, you know?" conceded Venturi, as he finished off the practice script for the following morning's workout, and hustled down the hall to the copying machine. "You know what I mean."

In a copycat league, one in which imitation isn't only the sincerest form of flattery but is typically regarded as the most expeditious way to close the talent gap, coaches tend to be fairly shameless in "borrowing" a play or scheme they have watched succeed elsewhere. There may well be, as the adage suggests, nothing new under the sun. But in the NFL, if something looks fresh and it works, it moves from trifle to trendy in quick fashion.

And since the reigning Super Bowl champions generally dictate fashion, usually setting the standard for the NFL's ever-morphing version of tres chic, it should come as no surprise that, in 2003, everyone wants to be like the Bucs of 2002. Which is why there is now such a preponderance of "Cover 2" defenses, more offensive passing trees that emphasize inside basketball-type picks and screens, more head coaches scrunching up their faces and turning beet red at the first sign of displeasure.

OK, so that last element isn't quite true, since no one could possibly emulate the facial contortions of the rubber-mugged Jon Gruden.

But the very thought that teams around the league would now be conspiring to steal off with the Tampa Bay blueprint for success is actually mind-boggling to some players who were with the franchise during its dark years. Remember, this was a team that between 1983-1996 never had a winning record and posted a dozen straight campaigns of double-digit defeats. Weak-side linebacker Derrick Brooks recalled early in camp that, when the Bucs went 7-9 in 1995 to snap the streak of 10 or more losses per season, "it was like you wanted to pop the cork on the champagne."

Hard to believe that, over the past seven seasons and under the stewardship of owners the league tried hard for years to keep out of the fraternity, the Tampa Bay franchise has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime. Once viewed as less than mundane, the Bucs are now a model franchise, the team their competitors aspire to become.

Certainly the credit for consummating the dramatic makeover must go to Gruden, and to vice presidents Joel Glazer and Bryan Glazer, for remaining steadfast in their pursuit of a head coach with a winning percentage even higher than his profile. Ridiculed for what appeared to be their ham-handed handling of the coaching search after dismissing Tony Dungy following the 2001 season, the sons of owner Malcolm Glazer were labeled as "Tweedledum" and "Tweedledumber" by their critics.

No one was laughing at them in San Diego seven months ago, though, as they hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

That said, the turnaround for the franchise actually began under Dungy and with general manager Rich McKay, the men who plotted the course out of the NFL wilderness.

"Taking nothing away from the people who are there now, but when (Dungy) came in, he changed a lot of the ways that we did things," said former Bucs personnel director Jerry Angelo, now the Chicago Bears general manager. "From top to bottom, he forced us to rethink our systems, to see if there was a better way. We thought we were organized but he made us take things to a new level."

	“	Often imitated but never duplicated. I'm sure there are people on the outside who look at us and think: 'Hell, they aren't that good. We have (players) as good as their guys. We can line up with them.' But we have things going for us that you can't draw up on a chalk board, you know? ”
		—DT Warren Sapp

There is no doubt that players and systems win championships. But no one should ever overlook the significance of organization, of a solid management flow chart, one where everyone's responsibilities are precisely delineated. The addition of Gruden, who wields a bit more clout than Dungy might have and who certainly has the ear of ownership, might have skewed the Tampa Bay flow chart a little. That said, the gang that couldn't shoot straight for much of its existence is now a franchise that is departmentally strong, with McKay directing one of the league's best front offices.

McKay clearly is one of the NFL's most respected administrators, a man who might well have more sway in league circles than within his own team's complex, in some ways. The scouting and personnel department -- where personnel chief Tim Ruskell, college director Rusty Webster and pro director Mark Dominik hold fort -- is top-shelf. Ownership, for the most part, stays out of the way. And the coaching, from Gruden on down, is superb.

Over the last couple years, there have been times when the coaching staff and personnel department have disagreed on veterans players (bet the mortgage McKay isn't thrilled by the workout Gruden afforded wide receiver Andre Rison on Tuesday morning), and there has been much speculation concerning perceived frictions. But insiders insist that the two entities have smoothed over some of the rough spots.

"Look, no team is ever going to have everything peaches and cream, OK?" said a league official with excellent insight into the Bucs inner workings. "But they make it work. And there are franchises out there who would kill to have what the Bucs have right now."

Added defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin: "Organization can get you a long way in this league. And we've got organization. Of course, we've got players, coaches and direction here, too. It's a tough combination to beat."

Indeed, while other franchises might have their gazes fixed on the Bucs, the Tampa Bay players are once again eyeing the prize. From the first day of training camp last month, defensive tackle Warren Sapp was preaching the importance of legacy, of repeating the Super Bowl victory and not just settling for being another one-year league wonder. The Bucs have done a terrific job of bringing in players who realize the sum is bigger than the individual, guys who buy in quickly to a grueling work ethic.

Tampa Bay has struggled some with the cap, because it has so many high-profile players, but has also done nicely in filling holes with modestly-paid veterans like left offensive tackle Roman Oben. If there is the kind of financial pettiness that has torn apart some other Super Bowl champions, Tampa Bay has done a good job camouflaging it. Its blueprint, part common sense and part football sense, might seem relatively facile to copy, but that isn't necessarily the case.

"Often imitated but never duplicated," crowed Sapp early in camp. "I'm sure there are people on the outside who look at us and think: 'Hell, they aren't that good. We have (players) as good as their guys. We can line up with them.' But we have things going for us that you can't draw up on a chalk board, you know?"

Leave it to Sapp, of course, to put things in perspective.

Around the NFL, coaches like Venturi have worked hard to simulate some of the elements of the defending champions, and will likely succeed in a few areas. But to the players in the Tampa Bay locker room, everyone else is just a poseuer, little more than a pretender to the crown. Just, well, Counterfeit Bucs, if you will.

"You can't just put this team on a Xerox machine, hit the 'print' button and expect the same thing to come out from the other end," Sapp said. "The last time I checked, the only guy around with a twin is (Ronde) Barber, and you can't clone what's here."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.