Heads Up Their Printers

January 21st, 2016
The spreadsheeters are at it again.

The spreadsheeters are at it again.

It isn’t just Bill Belicheat who thinks the numberscrunchers at Pro Football Focus are out to lunch. So, too, does Joe.

The grading system that outfit has is something that shouldn’t be read unless you’ve had no less than three vodkas consumed. Joe made the mistake of being totally sober last night when clicking on the following:

That outfit’s grading of offensive lines has the Bucs at No. 23. Naturally, they go after rookie left tackle Donovan Smith as if he’s some junior grade Kenyatta Walker.

Summary: It was always going to be hard for the Bucs’ starting two rookie linemen, and then losing their starting right tackle at the beginning of the year amplified the issues. All things considered, this could have been much worse, and you’d expect improvements in 2016, given the lumps they had to take this year.

Joe has just one word to say about this nonsense: C’mon!

Initially Joe was angry ,and when Joe writes angry, it is much more entertaining.

The numbskulls who crapped this nonsense out of their backsides apparently were unaware this alleged garbage offensive line — they would have you believe — was tied for the fourth-fewest sacks in the NFL! These porcupines would have you otherwise convinced the Bucs couldn’t block a cool breeze, yet the Bucs were fifth in the league in rushing — fifth!

So someone must explain how the hell a team can be No. 4 in fewest sacks allowed, No. 5 in total yards rushing, and have feces of an offensive line? Riddle Joe that, statgeeks?

For 2014, these inventors of the game at Pro Football Focus had the Bucs rated No. 25. Anyone, and Joe is saying anyone, who watched the damned games knows how dramatically better this offensive line was from 2014. It was night and day.

Anyone, that is, who can pull his head out of an Excel program.

11 Responses to “Heads Up Their Printers”

  1. Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Says:

    And, our so called “POS” Offensive Line was responsible for Doug Martin nearly winning the NFL Rushing title.

  2. MadMax Says:

    Just sign Martin….its coming together and he’ll be a part of it and will continue to play hard for us.

  3. stvcl Says:

    Very happy with our offensive line, Hawley and Cherilus were very welcome surprises…Bucs need some big help on the other side of the ball though. Hopefully Coach Smith will see what’s needed to fit his scheme and has enough influence to draft (or sign free agents) accordingly.

  4. James Walker Says:

    This why that Cowherd moron showed his lack of basic common sense when he ripped into Koetter for using his eyes and not a spreadsheet. If spent enough time and cherry picked my criteria I could us a spreadsheet to argue that the Titans were the best team in football.

  5. buc4life1979 Says:

    When considering that PFF’s “analytics” starts with the root word Anal…should say it all right there…Of course they put out nothing but sh!t, it’s inherent in their very own terminology.

  6. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Look at it this way….if we have that much room for improvement, imagine how good our line will be when we are ranked 10th….

    I will say this….and, I’m not being negative here, Jameis was pressured considerably on many occasions forcing him to throw inaccurate passes and throw the ball away avoiding sacks. Some of this wasn’t the line…it was due to receivers not getting open. I expect this to improve greatly next year.

  7. Jeff Says:

    It’s amazing what a competent coach can bring scheme wise to get the most out of the talent that is on the roster . Look no further than to coach Dirk for the bucs success on the o line. All scheme

  8. LargoBuc Says:

    Why is it that with Jameis, the line looks above average and the year before with Mccown under center, our line was one of the worst in the league? Solid play under center can make an olinne look far better than they would with crap at qb. Leading up to last season, I repeatedley stated that the best qb’s make those around them better, mone more so than the o line.
    Dont get me wrong, Ali Marpet was an absoloute steal in the late second round. We can build around him for hopefully the next 10 years. And Donovan Smith was alot better than some want to acknowledge. And of course Joe Hawley, at 28, must be resihned! He brought stability at center and ultimately the entire oline. I love how much progress our o line has made! All im saying is that when you have a so so oline, a solid qb can make them look above average. Our oline, with two rookies, undoubtedley benefited from Jameis.

  9. StPeteBucsFan Says:

    Some of this wasn’t the line…it was due to receivers not getting open.

    Agree with that TBBF. In addition as great a rookie year as #3 had..it was still a ROOKIE year. He learned a lot including when to give up on a play and when to extend it. Sometimes he simply got greedy but again it was his FIRST year in the league.

  10. Barmorej Says:

    That’s not even that critical…

    JBF loves to pimp PFF stats when it gets them page views, but God forbid they point out that the Bucs started to rookie OL. 23rd is a fair ranking for this OL, and while they were improved, were still far, far from the top. They even talk about how they expect us to improve in 2016.

    OL was our weakest unit going into 2015, and even though they improved, they still have a long ways to go. Their low sack numbers and high rushing totals are a credit to Jameis getting rid of the ball and Doug getting so many yards after contact.

  11. salish_seamonster Says:

    So, if we know these rankings are crap, why continue to bellyache about ’em? We know all these ranking systems are inherently flawed. Who gives a crap?