“Right Side Of Our Offensive Line Is A “Hot Mess”
November 2nd, 2018
The left side of the line is criticized by a former player, as well.
A man on the Buccaneers payroll just delivered brutal honesty about the Tampa Bay offensive line in a public forum.
It was an ugly picture pained by Buccaneers Radio Network voice and former Bucs tight end John Gilmore this morning on WDAE-AM 620.
Gilmore said a drop in physicality from Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet has been evident the past two games. And, Gilmore said, noting he wasn’t happy about expressing it, the “right side of our offensive line is a hot mess.”
Joe appreciates the candor from a man who spent 10 years in the NFL, including three (2008-2010) with the Bucs.
As far as Smith and Marpet, Joe will again point to both of those guys emphasizing talking about the value of teammates like J.R. Sweezy and Ryan Jensen because of their toughness and how that can rub off on others. Marpet even went to so far as to say that aspect of Jensen was needed.
To that, Joe simply asks, ‘Why?’ Why would you need another player to raise your toughness game?
On the right side of the line, Caleb Benenoch has struggled all season. As offensive coordinator Todd Monken noted yesterday, the right guard won’t get better without more playing time. Demar Dotson is Demar Dotson.
Still, Joe can’t throw a lot of stones at the offensive line. The pass blocking has been excellent (see leading the NFL in passing yards per game) and the run game is better than last year.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:17 am
If opponents are committed to stopping the run….there’s not much you can do. Strategically its the best approach for anyone playing us….Stop the run and force Winston to throw…He’s 4-12 in his last 16 games with god knows how many turnovers. Until we show consistency at executing in the passing game, teams will keep rolling those dice that we’ll eventually self destruct. That’s how the NFL works.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:23 am
I am a big Ali Marpet fan… and so….. that comment does not sit great with me.
Ali, with your long term deal in hand, it is YOUR time to take this bull by the horn and to lead those guys. I definitely believe you can do it… so DO IT.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:25 am
The pass blocking has been excellent (see leading the NFL in passing yards per game) and the run game is better than last year.
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Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Honestly, I see no reason why I can’t be a paid buccaneer analyst I’ve been talking about the right side of the oline for months now. Caleb Smith is going to get someone hurt.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:29 am
Let me be the first to comment on Licht’s ineffectiveness at team building.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:30 am
I really think, as much as i like Barber, we need an RB that is a duel threat. We need to torch people when they play nickel which is why Rojo has been so disappointing.
Also, i really thought we would see more out of the two TE sets. It would be interesting to see stats on how many times we run out of that formation and our success rate.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:39 am
Another reason dirk will get fired, he’s delusional and asks as if everything is fine by playing the same garbage guys who can’t get the job done. Meanwhile licht you drafted an o lineman who can’t even get on the field to replace to garbage players in Evans and Benenoch. Completely embarrassing because they won’t even activate the guy on game day. Both of them are gone sorry licht there were a lot of questionable draft picks made worse by the horrible coach you hired
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:39 am
They should let me be GM because Ive said this all season. And wouldn’t have taken a Kicker in the 2nd. Am I saying I could do better? Yes absolutely.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:44 am
@Joe … “Still, Joe can’t throw a lot of stones at the offensive line. The pass blocking has been excellent (see leading the NFL in passing yards per game) and the run game is better than last year.”
OK, who captured the Joes & made them write that? Through 7 games, Bucs have given up 21 sacks and Jameis/Fitz together have 15 INTs & 6 fumbles. That’s 3 turnovers/game average and 3 sacks/game average, not to mention the obvious QB pressures Jameis & Fitz have been continually subjected to. Our overall running game sucked last year … that’s nothing to be comparing this year’s bad running game to.
It’s not JUST the right side of the OLine that’s a ‘Hot Mess’ Joe. It’s the whole enchilada. Dotson & Benenoch are jokes, and Smith & Marpet aren’t playing much better. Jensen I’d give a big thumbs up to, but the rest? Meh.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:46 am
You can’t tell me there isn’t a better RG on the open market walking the streets right now than what we have now. Caleb has been an embarrassment and Smith hasn’t been much better.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:53 am
It is a bit of a mess but theyre still scoring enough to win games. The dang d needs to hold someone under 30. Probably gota hold Carolina under 24 with their d. If the d doesnt click soon they wont beat anyone else, even scoring 30 a game.
November 2nd, 2018 at 9:53 am
Once Bucs get to 7 losses, they should start Cappa since we know Benenoch and E. Smith are horrible. Keep JW on the sidelines and play Griffin at QB and let everyone else audition for next year.
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:01 am
Pass blocking has been excellent? 21 sacks is excellent?
New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Kansas City – all 10 sacks or less – that is excellent.
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:07 am
Even Stevie Wonder knows Bennenoch is horrid and Dotson is show signs of wear
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:18 am
first, the only way to get tough is to run the ball…..
second, the team as a whole lack physicality….teams take on the personalities of their HC and that’s exactly whats going on….dirk aint tough so the team aint tough……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:29 am
As always with Bucs fans trying to find blame somewhere else. Two years ago we didn’t have any weapons now we don’t have a line and the coach sucks, GM does too. Not saying they don’t. But that’s what we do year after year. Let’s fire everybody let’s rebuild. Sure that works great doesn’t it?
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:36 am
Caleb Benenoch should not be playing.
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:41 am
^^ Wesley, I think you have hit on a statement that ALLLLL BUCS fans finally can agree on. 😉
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:47 am
They need to quit moving Marpet around he is a RG not LG or C. Jensen is average, Caleb is aweful & Dot is old. This team has 0 hope of playoffs and they will be beaten like a drum this weekend. Dub city is right… I think any of us could have drafted better! Starting with not taking Vea, Ronald Jones & MJ Stewart. Why trade up to draft Koppa if he can’t even dress, if the GLAZERS can’t see this they need to hire a real football mind to be VP. PLEASE CALL DERRICK BROOKS… or sell the team please!!! Weapons don’t matter if you can’t block would have much rather seen D JAX money spent on O line… He’s awesome at what he does but needs to be paired with a confident veteran QB which we did not have…
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:50 am
This ship is not sinking.
We are truly only a few key players and coaches away from being great.
Sure we lost to Chicago BAD.
New England even lost 1 game bad last year to Kansas City and still went to the Super Bowl.
I’m not comparing us to NE, by any means, just pointing out that even GREAT teams lose bad every once in a while.
Even great QBs have bad games too.
D Line will be healthy and should get Mitch Unrein back in the next couple weeks. Buckner named him the greatest surprise before he got hurt.
Beckwith back soon too.
This team is getting better, and I believe the season is still alive.
Houston just won 5 straight.
Let’s do the same
November 2nd, 2018 at 10:54 am
Sidenote: I wonder how many draws we have tried this year.
Isn’t that how good coaches help weak RGs who keep getting out rushed.
Just seems like every team out there has some weaknesses, but Tampa doesn’t do a good job of playing towards our strengths enough.
November 2nd, 2018 at 12:21 pm
“dirk aint tough so the team aint tough”
Marvin Lewis would beg to disagree completely. Lewis played LB at BSU when Koetter was QB. He pointed out that the Vandals had a horrible OL and Koetter got beaten up every game and never whined about it. Took the beating like a man.
Far too many people…in sports and politics ..mistake BIG MOUTHS with toughness. Koetter is not that vocal…neither was Tony Dungy which is why fans(including me I can admit my mistakes) gave up on him. They loved Chucky because he’s an arrogant loudmouth…a real “tough” guy.
November 2nd, 2018 at 1:04 pm
“The pass blocking has been excellent (see leading the NFL in passing yards per game) and the run game is better than last year.”
Excellent??? C’mon Joe. We all have eyes ya-know.
If you see “excellent” pass blocking from the Bucs OLine – I’d sure hate to see what mediocre or poor looks like…
Both of our QBs are better than average at avoiding pressure.
Fitz usually just looks to escape and run when heavily pressured and with no pocket to step up into. He’s quicker than you think and quite good at getting 5, 10 or 15 yards out of a busted pocket as long as he finds an opening with some open space in front of him.
Winston scrambles to buy time when his pocket collapses – always looking downfield for a receiver to come open before running for what’s available as a last resort. And Jameis is truly “excellent” at that. One of the best in the league at scrambling/avoiding pressure/buying time/making plays downfield from a broken and abandoned pocket.
Put a Mike Glennon/Ryan Griffin type QB back there who has low mobility and he gets killed behind this OLine.
As far as run blocking goes – yea maybe the Bucs run game is just a tad bit better than last year. Not much though and it seems like Barber always grinding and leaning forward for positive yards is more responsible for the minor running improvements vs last year’s results than the Oline. Its not like these guys up front are opening big holes regularly. Hardly ever in fact…
I give the OLine a “C-” for overall results so far in 2018 and frankly – that might be a tad generous. Save for the Saints game and some sporadically decent play sprinkled throughout various games – a D+ is more realistically the grade for this “improved” OLine.
Jensen was a good pick up and has played well for the most part.
Marpet is not wowing anyone. A few good plays here and there – but also some ugly mistakes. No where near a pro-bowl level yet – but he’s getting paid in that range…
Donovan Smith – Meh…. Need I say more. Way too inconsistent. He’s not doing a very good job in a contract year of showing why he should get paid more than $7-8M per year – which is exactly what #16>#20 LTs in the NFL make right now. Would anyone care to make an argument that Smith is better than the 16th best LT in the NFL?? Didn’t think so…
Dotson – Not playing well. Offseason surgery may still be hampering his effectiveness. And/or father time is catching up quickly at 33. Either way Dot is a bit of a liability out there this year and needs replacing ASAP.
Benenoch – Woof… If this dude doesn’t improve a good bit- and quickly – he’s got to go. Major liability on the field. Worst “starter” on the team. Hopefully Cappa is a quick study. Hard to believe he’d look worse than Benenoch has thus far…
November 2nd, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Wait so the whole group is not made up to All Pros???? News here.
November 2nd, 2018 at 2:33 pm
stpete
being a tough player vs a tough coach are 2 different things….sort of like being a good player in the nfl vs being a former player coaching in the nfl….just because a player was good in his day playing doesn’t mean he’ll be a good coach…..
if he was so tough, why did baker come in and run the locker room?….why didn’t he have the balls to fire smitty or tell him to switch things up?……why has he let djax become the next baker?…..
when I say tough, I mean a coach who wont stand for BS and sets a certain standard…..that does not describe dirk….the only standard dirk has set is passing the ball…..he’s a passive coach that lacks the toughness to led men….
you cant compare dirk to tony….lol…tony was the same no matter what….dirk wears his emotions on his sleeve….joe likes him because he’s candid….you can always tell if we won or lost by dirk body language and the way he carries himself during his post game PC……
schiano was a tough coach who was trying to set a standard but we had too many mentally weak player crying because they thought he was a meany…..
BB is a tough coach who isn’t a loud mouth…..bill obrein…..mike zimmer…..doug Pederson….andy reid…..all tough coaches who aren’t loud mouths….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
November 2nd, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Couldn’t agree more. That soft mentality is pathetic.
Wow, I’m starting to sound like tmaxipadd over here.
November 2nd, 2018 at 3:56 pm
Is it “tmax”, is that the word that is not allowed to be said?
y tho?
November 2nd, 2018 at 4:49 pm
The offensive line played lights out the first two games of the year. Even I was thinking wow what an improvement from preseason. Alas it was just a mirage.
November 2nd, 2018 at 11:29 pm
Fitz can get rid of the ball pretty quickly. He’s played good defenses before so who knows. GMC and Curry need to really step it up big time. The Bucs D line can decide this game. If they really come to play the way JPP does, they can get in Cam’s head, the Bucs have a shot at turnovers and possibly a win. I wouldn’t say it’s likely though, because it’s been a while since the D line as a whole has performed well…… for 4 quarters.
November 3rd, 2018 at 10:45 am
Yes Cappa would be better than Benenoch if trained at RG by a competent OL Coach. However, instead of training Cappa at RG Warhop got a retired All Pro to train Cappa to play Center at a time we had a veteran backup Center in Evan Smith. That tells you that Warhop has no skill to train a rookie OLineman and no sense in training Cappa hiring a retired player at Center when he was supposed to be training Cappa to play RG and RT in terms of what Koetter said in his public statements; so don’t hold your breath that Cappa has been trained to play RG. But Warhop also has Liedtke who is a Guard who played LT for Turnstyle D. Smith in preseason without giving up a single sack against First String Sackers, but Warhop has preferred all this time to start Benenoch at RG instead of trying Liedtke there. Benenoch could get cut here and be trained by a competent OL Coach with another team and end up a starter. Just look at Omameh who now starts at Guard with the Giants but Warhop couldn’t teach him the position properly here and cut him. Warhop sucks and is the CULPRIT for our continuous poor OLs since he was hired here, but Koetter still hasn’t figured it out even yet and canned him to save his job!
November 3rd, 2018 at 11:04 am
Since Licht used to be an OLineman himself you would think he would have easily figured out how incompetent Warhop is in developing the OL talent that Licht got for him, and would have blown the whistle on Warhop to Koetter, because Warhop is making Licht look bad. The fact is that Cappa was a star at the Senior Bowl easily blocking with aggression the top DEs from the SEC, ACC, and Big Ten Conferences; so forget that he played in a small conference like Marpet. He should have been easily trained to play RG and RT in the NFL by even a half wit OL Coach. Remember Jensen was Coached well by the OL Coach with the Ravens and despite his being only a sixth round pick he became a star at Center in one year when pressed into replacing the starting Center at the start of last season. Now we are paying Jensen big bucks and he is earning that money!