Hoping For Progress

August 16th, 2014
It would be a good sign if the Bucs offensive line can keep Miami defenders off QB Josh McCown tonight.

It would be nice if the Bucs offensive line could keep Miami defenders off QB Josh McCown.

As Joe has stated before, he hates preseason football. Joe watches Bucs preseason games, of course, because it is his job. You won’t catch Joe watching one play of preseason another team. Preseason football, well, it’s garbage.

So Joe understands how many Bucs fans, giddy after a too-long offseason, giddy after all the teasing practice stories, sat down all fired up on the couch to watch the first glimpse of the remodeled Bucs… only to end up searching for a poisoning remedy after much of the Bucs front line morphed into turnstiles.

Josh McCown was running to save his skin on each and every play. It had to be a galling shock to Bucs fans. Another person who was appalled was prickly Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com, who typed Bucs general manager Jason Licht must do something to keep McCown in one piece.

The Tampa Bay guards are awful. The team knew there was an issue inside, but it really showed up against Jacksonville. Oniel Cousins and Jamon Meredith really struggled to handle the Jaguars’ inside players. Sen’Derrick Marks looked like the best defensive tackle in the league against them. He’s good, but they were bad. The Bucs have to do something to address that position and they started by demoting Meredith and inserting second-year player Jace Daniels, who signed as an undrafted player last year.

There is no telling if Jace Daniels or Patrick Omameh are answers, or if an answer is currently on another roster, which is entirely possible. That will be determined in the next two or three weeks.

Remember, the Bucs did not gameplan last week. They wanted their offensive linemen to go one-on-one with the Jacksonville defensive line to see who needs work or who shouldn’t be on the field. Joe believes Lovie Smith likely has his preliminary answers.

So tonight, let’s monitor offensive line. Don’t expect them to transform into the 1976 Oakland Raiders offensive line, but improvement would be nice.

6 Responses to “Hoping For Progress”

  1. jo_mama Says:

    Pre-season is garbage?

    It’s preseason, a time to evaluate talent and to see what else is out there.

    There are only 16 games plus playoffs.

    There is only one garbage game ever played and that’s the pro bowl.

  2. buc4lyfe Says:

    Well technically no one knew the offensive of last year would be as awful as it was and we had 4 games of preseason to critic

  3. The_Buc_Realist Says:

    Speak for yourself buc4lyfe. Everyone watched Freeman get exposed the last part of 2012 ( Dec meltdown again). Then with everyone talking a playoff run. Some new that Freeman was going to fold like a lawn chair!

  4. BucsQcCity Says:

    I’m so tired of all these talking heads. Let L&l assess the players on this team. Preseason is the right time for that.

    I’m looking other preseason teams and I was looking at the Jags. Bortles looks like the real deal so far..

  5. kktrillionaire Says:

    Well, good thing we still have a 4-game preseason. Situations like this, which inevitably happen for teams across the league, reveal the folly of the 2-game proposals.

  6. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    “As Joe has stated before, he hates preseason football.” – Joe

    I don’t. Well, I hate watching it at times. But I also think it is a much needed tool.

    I just don’t think the starters should play at all in game 1, 2 or 4.