Benenoch And Playing Guard
December 21st, 2018
“Developing.”
Bucs guard Caleb Benenoch is having a rough year. And he has somewhat become the poster child for the Bucs’ futility this season. But could Benenoch’s main issue be he is out of position?
Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken spoke after practice today and he seemed to hint that is the case.
“He’s a young developing player,” Monken said of Benenoch. “Young is probably a stretch. He’s been with us now three years. Really [this is], his first year playing at guard. It’s completely different than playing out at tackle.
“It’s one thing to rotate in there and in practice [at guard]. I do think he’s continuing to develop and only going to get better.”
Let’s turn back the clock, shall we?
Benenoch made five starts at right tackle to close last season when Demar Dotson was injured. Benenoch wasn’t the next Dan Dierdorf — he struggled in pass blocking — but Benenoch did OK run-blocking. He wasn’t a complete sieve like he has been this year.
During underwear football season after 2018 Pro Bowl right guard J.R. Sweezy was released, the Bucs all but announced Benenoch was the starting right guard and gave him a crash course there.
Maybe, just maybe, Benenoch isn’t cut out to be a right guard in the NFL?
Joe’s not making excuses, but Joe does think Monken is onto something and doesn’t want to be too critical of Beneoch in a public forum.
December 21st, 2018 at 3:12 pm
“LOL, Klueless and Gump
Dumb and Dumber sure likes to move offensive lineman around
consistency? development? LOL”
Kobe Faker
December 21st, 2018 at 3:16 pm
Kobe…a Chihuahua with a keyboard
December 21st, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Wow. And on the reverse of that, many of you have said that you feel Donovan Smith would make a better G than T!! Makes you wonder, lol.
December 21st, 2018 at 3:19 pm
Maybe, just maybe if Licht needs a R.G. he should draft one who played that position in college at a high level for at least three years. When Quentin Nelson was drafted not one football mind said he’d make a great tackle. What is Cappa? Like Marpet he played L.T. at such a small school it was next to impossible to project where he’d play on an NFL line, or if he had NFL talent period. Speaking of Marpet, he’s on his third position in four years, and who knows where he’ll line up for his new coach. As good as fans think he is, he hasn’t sniffed a pro bowl in four years although Licht paid him like one. This team is a mess because Licht doesn’t have a clue as how you build a roster, and the coaching staff is incapable of knowing where to play them. Two years in a row we’ve been rotating R.G.’s with no answer in sight. These clowns can’t be fired soon enough.
December 21st, 2018 at 3:23 pm
I read a mock today with tackles being taken with Bucs picks 1 & 2….yawn…
December 21st, 2018 at 3:23 pm
Hodad, I do believe Ali Marpet was playing at a near Pro Bowl level, when at RG, but of course we moved him. SMH
December 21st, 2018 at 3:28 pm
demon
BINGO!!!….LOL…
i know ive said it plenty of times…
during the draft process every scout said d.smith would project better as a G….which i think he is better suited for….
benenoch was projected to be a RT coming out of college….he played very little football growing up and played RT at UCLA….
but we’ve seen this thru out dirks tenure….players are either playing the wrong position or playing in the wrong scheme….
look at spence….should be a 34LB….
look at VHG….should be playing man…
look at winston…4vert scheme doesnt fit him….
look at r.smith….tried to make him a safety even tho he played 3tears on CB…..
look at marpet….switching him from G to C and then back to G…on the left side….
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!…#ADIOSDIRK!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
December 21st, 2018 at 3:40 pm
this just goes to show this staff cant develop players that arent pass catchers…..
i know some might “roll their eyes” but take byron jones for example….dallas drafted him to play CB….had a rough start there, so dallas moved him to FS where he was still having trouble producing….
dallas hired a coach that can help not only him develop but the entire secondary as well…..that coach was kris richard who is known for developing players not just DB’s….richard convinced the HC that CB was jones best position and he began to coach him up mentally and physically….
now jones and the entire secondary is playing at a high level….
point is, you dont just throw 1st and 2nd round picks out the window….you get someone in that can develop the players you draft……
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!…#ADIOSDIRK!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
December 21st, 2018 at 3:46 pm
The question is, will he be actually playing or just filling a hole?
December 21st, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Great comments above about players drafted at one position, then switched to a new position at the Pro level by the Buccaneers. I know many teams believe in cross-training especially offensive lineman. This is all well and good if you have really good coaching and not an immediate need to throw a player trying to adjust not only to the speed of the Pro game but also a new position entirely. We don’t SEEM to have the really good coaching part in any of the aforementioned key position groups. Drafting merely good athletes with specific “traits” usually only pans out with good coaching. Hopefully the new regime coming in will ALL be on the same page when it comes to the scouting department knowing EXACTLY what types of players fit the team’s schemes. Of course the old school of thought was to “Give me good FOOTBALL PLAYERS, and I’ll build my scheme around their unique abilities.” Maybe I’m too Old School myself. I just hope that WHOEVER the Bucs next coach is, that he is adaptable to the “New NFL” and doesn’t pigeonhole players into HIS scheme even though they are completely not suited for it.
December 21st, 2018 at 4:45 pm
Our RG and RT have been on this team from the beginning but for some reason they either don’t play or when they do they are out of position. Out of all the faults that Koetter has, one is his protecting seniority players and the pecking order rather than playing the youth movement. RT Cappa and RG Liedtke should’ve been inserted ions ago.
December 21st, 2018 at 5:19 pm
jean
i agree…
those 2 played well…..i can only imagine what they couldve developed into if they got more reps….i really like liedtke at LT tho….
LT- Liedtke
LG-D.Smith
C- Jensen
RG- Marpet
RT-Cappa/Benenoch
gotta go with the youth movement….
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!…#ADIOSDIRK!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
December 21st, 2018 at 5:23 pm
Stop the J-hate today!!!
December 21st, 2018 at 5:36 pm
Sweezy is starting for Seattle, btw.
December 21st, 2018 at 5:50 pm
Too much of this position switch stuff by the GM – its scotch tape and bubble gum to patch a hole by spending wildly at one position and not evening out your signings – could have had a RG for Unrien or Allen money, didnt need to sign two DT and draft one while moving WG inside too
Or maybe we shouldn’t have drafted MJ Stewart when we have VHIII and Elliott at Nickel already
Or maybe we don’t waste picks to move up and take a kicker or to move up and grab a project player no one else was targeting
He drafts like Phil Krueger….and no kids, not Freddy….but similar results
HORROR!!!!
December 21st, 2018 at 5:54 pm
Can’t we just be like the good teams draft stud linemen from the Big Ten and the SEC that dominate all these small schools lines – and I said stud lineman, not DSmith been lazy since high school lineman, or Pac 12 stiffs….Caleb…we need roadgraders!!!
Want to watch Jamies flourish, give him a real ground game and let him run a play action offense with 3 big targets…simple as THAT!
December 21st, 2018 at 6:18 pm
Man WTF. How are you gonna have a player for three years and not know his pisition? Are these guys professional coaches? Everything they done on the Oline looks amatuer to me.
December 21st, 2018 at 6:21 pm
I will not be surprised one bit if a better coach comes in here and gets better use out of some of the “scrubs” we have on that Oline. Simply by putting them in their proper positions.
December 21st, 2018 at 6:46 pm
This is straight from the Dirk Koetter school that OLineman should be somewhat interchangeable. Pamphile.. was a right tackle.. He even played some left tackle for the Titans before moving to the right side then going to the IR. Apparently, the only player that isn’t moveable is Donovan Smith, tho he looks way more suited for the interior as speed rushers just kill him.
Benenoch didn’t look special at right tackle, but he never looked like a guard. The offensive line should be the #1 priority of the offseason. It has to be. Decision has to be made on LT (D Smith not under contract), RG and RT (Dotson is ok for maybe one more season but as it sits, Cappa and Benenoch project as RT) 3 of the 5 positions are up in the air. It all starts up front.
December 21st, 2018 at 7:08 pm
Here’s a wild thought: MAYBE some of the OLinemen drafted by Licht really aren’t very good, and MAYBE they’ve been made to look even worse by playing them out of their natural positions. Another wild thought: LOTS of winning teams stock their trenches with top picks, and for good reason. Bucs seem to insist on trying to find diamonds in the rough down in the lower picks. Might hit one once in awhile, but more often than not they’ll bust … and in the process cost you valuable reps & coaching time. It’s nice to blame coaches for not being able to develop players, but danged folks, you’ve got to give the coaches something to work with to start with. The fact that our OLine & DLine has struggled for so long should tell us something about where to look for the REAL CAUSE.
December 21st, 2018 at 7:36 pm
He’s turned into a Benenock-knock joke.
December 21st, 2018 at 8:27 pm
Benenoch was a turnstile at tackle(remember the cowboy game) and he is a turnstile at guard.He needs to go
December 21st, 2018 at 9:08 pm
@813. Yes. Exactly with that O Line. Even if it’s not Liedtke at LT, for the love of God get Marpet back to where he can be of most value and plays best at RG, D Smith plays more like a guard. Right now he’s just a durable decent LT. Might need to draft that LT.
December 22nd, 2018 at 8:33 am
He is absolutely playing out of position. He should be behind the wheel of a UPS truck!
December 22nd, 2018 at 12:43 pm
I heard this one and thought it was funny (more like sad I think) : Caleb I-can’t-block. Seriously though, I am among those who believe that really good position coaches can TEACH players with NFL traits to play at a high level given a little time. Sometimes it takes a while to UNTEACH some bad habits players pick up. Often times these guys have gotten by on sheer athletic ability because they were just bigger and stronger than the guys they lined up against. But they can’t get away with that in the NFL because they aren’t always the biggest and the strongest. I look at teams around the league and some teams (like New England) have a relative few high draft picks on their O-lines. But Kansas City (for instance) has loaded their O-line with high draft picks. Let’s hope whoever comes in has the ability to identify whether we have sufficient talent on hand to work with or the line needs a major (or just a minor) overhaul. But we all seem to agree on ONE thing : This O-line GOTTA GET FIXED!
December 22nd, 2018 at 6:22 pm
Excuses, alibis. Somethings never change. Bennoch sucked when he played tackle & whats D. Smith’s excuse. He’s playing his natural position or at least pretending. Get rid of both of them.
December 22nd, 2018 at 8:41 pm
Well with the exception of Benenoch, ya’ll have actually been making excuses for the o-line for 3 years now…
Worst run game in the league for multiple years, but the o-line gets zero blame.
🤔🤔🤔🤔