Donovan Smith Says Bucs’ Pass Protection Is Too Passive
September 29th, 2026
The Buccaneers’ vaunted offensive line — two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a free agent on his third Tampa Bay season — has been struggling.
It’s hard to accept. Every lineman is 28 or younger, and they’re all healthy. Collectively, Sunday against Minnesota was one of their rougher days in a long time.
Super Bowl Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith is retired after winning a Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes. He’s a voice on the Buccaneers Radio Network, and he weighed in what the Bucs’ O-line needs to do next.
Smith wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops.
“Taking what’s being, you know, given to you — pre-snap reads, alignments and stuff like that with the D-line to give you tips,” Smith began. “And then, just gotta get more vicious and nasty and take stuff more personal,to be honest.
“Pass pro don’t gotta be passive.
“We gotta firm up the pocket in the middle and handle the [pass rush] games, for sure.”
Smith went on to say fixes need to be immediate because opponents will push a line’s weakness until it’s fixed. They’ll see the rough film and make you correct it.
Smith also wants to see more edge to the line.
“And just take things more personal,” Smith continued. “Everybody, you know, too many emotions or whatever the case may be out there. And I won’t even say finger pointing or anything like that, but you know, ‘Who did this or trying to figure out.’ forget all of that. You know what I’m saying? What I’m saying, go out there, be the best you can, don’t try to do too much. Outside of what you know, like what you’re supposed to do and everything will take care of itself. As long as you get everybody on the same page, everything will take care of itself.”
Joe will take the liberty of consolodating Smiths’ words. He thinks the offensive line needs to man up after being too soft, and get on the details and focus on what they already know how to do.
September 29th, 2026 at 7:51 pm
What a great idea!
September 29th, 2026 at 7:51 pm
Sounds to me like poor game planning.
September 29th, 2026 at 7:54 pm
Bucs sign Brett Rypien to practice squad – Pewter Plank says : “If he sees a single snap of game action, it means something went terribly wrong”.
It’s already gone terribly wrong.
September 29th, 2026 at 7:58 pm
It’s starts at the top
September 29th, 2026 at 7:58 pm
I watched every snap from the first half last night, and what it looked like to me was guys just not always adjusting to who is blitzing, in particular when the Vikings did any sort of delayed blitz. When they did so, it looked like the offensive lineman who was left open would help with a block, but then leave open a hole elsewhere. I noted this last night, however, that it’s not all bad – I remember having this exact same thought, that guys seemed unclear on what they should be doing, after week 3 in 2024, when the Bucs got destroyed by the Broncos – and then very next week, they looked completely different and beat the hell out of the Eagles. So I’d love to see that happen again.
With that said, at least in the first half, the offensive lineman were not much of an issue. A much bigger issue was Durham and Gainwell getting blown up trying to block blitzers, they were nearly worthless.
And, the other issue was of course Baker. He actually started out the game looking pretty good, he was getting rid of it quickly, was throwing with velocity, looked confident … then slowly he reverted to the QB he’s been since week 7 of last year. He started patting the ball, started bouncing up and down, started running around in circles – he took one really bad sack where he had two guys open right in front of him. He also missed Godwin for a nice gain, a simple throw, and he missed Bucky for a touchdown – not the easiest throw, but also not a particularly difficult throw either for an NFL QB.
By memory, we saw more breakdowns in the 2nd half, so it will be interesting to see if it was mainly the RB/TE’s getting blown up, which is how I remember it from the TV angle, or if there were more breakdowns on the offensive line. Also, was it Baker just holding the ball and not ripping it when he had guys open.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:00 pm
Go*dd**m! It’s all Mayfield’s fault.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:01 pm
I don’t know if I wanna listen to anything Donovan Smith says. He was always getting called for penalties.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:04 pm
What would we do without all the experts telling us what the Bucs are doing wrong?
September 29th, 2026 at 8:04 pm
Joe, watch the 5-min Gerald McCoy video from today… He explains that his on the dline are being taught the wrong things. And since our guys are so coachable, they are only doing what they are being taught to do by the coaches. And McCoy said as soon as he heard some of the coaching instructions with his own ears, he said to himself ‘that’s not gonna work’. And it’s not working and McCoy isn’t surprised.
That’s pretty damning.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:07 pm
Seems like defenses know what play we are calling……sort of like Reggie WHITE on Jerry RICE
September 29th, 2026 at 8:08 pm
can-we-get-rid-of-licht-now-please Says:
Bucs sign Brett Rypien to practice squad – Pewter Plank says : “If he sees a single snap of game action, it means something went terribly wrong”.
It’s already gone terribly wrong.
******************
If it comes to that I want Bucky, Vita Vea (former RB) and Ted Hurst running an option offense without a QB.
5 passes a game, 1 WR split out, and an extra blocking OL on every down. Why not have some fun?
September 29th, 2026 at 8:09 pm
Typo above… I meant to say *guys on the dline, not his
September 29th, 2026 at 8:15 pm
Its a locker room problem. All of the sudden there are big money guys and low money guys. And the low money guys have no problem if the bigs get planted.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:21 pm
Rod…the expert broke it down folks
September 29th, 2026 at 8:23 pm
Don’t know how much I care about what Smith or McCoy have to say, but I’m really hoping it’s a coaching/scheming issue. If not, replacing all of these players after recent signings is going to be rough.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:27 pm
Players
September 29th, 2026 at 8:30 pm
Sorry, players play as they are taught. A good coach knows their strengths and weaknesses and coaches accordingly. I use the coen year as an example
September 29th, 2026 at 8:32 pm
When Buc homers like Donovan and Gerald McCoy are calling out both players and coaching staff, it is obviously time to blow the whole thing up and start from scratch with a new coaching staff, trading for future draft capital, even considering changes in the front office. The Glazers let Bowles stay 2 seasons too long minimum and it has poisoned this franchise like a cancer, something has to be done, up to and including holding Jason Licht accountable as well.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:35 pm
Rod, Baker is like a golfer who got the yips. He gets happy feet when he hears footsteps and his play goes down the hopper. Question is, could another QB handle this adversity better? It is unfair to expect anything from J. Daniels but given how badly Baker has performed, there might not be too much of a drop off, depending on whether Zac can dial up a decent game plan that gets the WR involved and if the OL can at least play at a serviceable level which might be impossible at this point.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:44 pm
I expect our points/game to go up by like 8-12 points just by switching to Jalon Daniels. Mayfield is too late or inaccurate on 8 out 10 passes right now.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:44 pm
Hold on – Donovan Smith was know for halfassing it and holding penalties.
With that, he had a great career with 2 rings, so…
Let’s hope our Oline comes together and fires off the ball. I’m thinking it’s taking a while to get comfortable in this new offense, and/or this offense is garbage.
September 29th, 2026 at 8:46 pm
Man, I still would’ve felt A LOT better had the Rays closed that Skubal trade at the deadline. It’s just such a rare season, where this is THE ‘weakest’ AL in my entire LIFE… AND, you kept him away from the Dodgers. The Yankees are only carrying just 10-Pitchers for this ‘possible’ 3-Game Series… That’d make me a little nervous. I’m assuming they wanted Stanton in there, but STILL. That will be interesting to keep an eye on… First time, it’s ever happened. It’s a RISK. The BOSox forced Schlittler to have to throw 22-pitches to get out of the 1st, and ‘touched him’ for a hit… K’ed the final 2-batters on just 7-pitches tho!!!! It’s just SUCH BS that MLB is not at the VERY LEAST, ‘re-seeding’ these teams after the Wild-Card Round. At least. It’s not fair, and makes ZERO Fricking SENSE, WHATSOEVER. Fall is HERE!!!!
September 29th, 2026 at 9:00 pm
I am soooo freaking confused as hell, about WHO to root for is this Series!? It’s CRAZY. I’ve never felt this way before… It’s SO WEIRD. I guess it’s because I hate ‘em BOTH. Seriously, I’ve never watched a game before, where I rooted ‘against’ BOTH TEAMS who were playing one another. It’s VERY Confusing. It’s like, I keep getting both teams mixed-up!? Just SO WEIRD.
September 29th, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Usually, I’ll find a reason to pick SOMEONE to root for!? I guess, it’s prob Boston… Since, they’ve been slumping through September. But, they’d been THE ‘hottest’ team in MLB since June, after the changed Managers, and all of that. And, the Yankees Pitching Staff is JUST STUPID RIDICULOUS. So, GO SOX THEN.
September 29th, 2026 at 9:05 pm
What he’s really saying is the need to get a hold of themselves quickly or they’re toast.
September 29th, 2026 at 9:11 pm
Listen to gerald mccoy yake on pass rush
Says they are not being coached properly
When Bain was playing he was dropping back into coverage at tomes
O line looks poorly prepared for stunts and blitzes
Scheme and coaching are a big problem
September 29th, 2026 at 9:12 pm
Joe this season was over before it started
We gotta start looking forward to available head coaches for next year and focusing on Tanking for Arch Manning
Always remember Bowles really thought this team was good “I like the guys we got our young guys need the reps”
McMillan is made of glass smh
September 29th, 2026 at 9:18 pm
Also when Baker signed that extension
Did he even give his offensive line any gifts?
Rolex Watch? Golf carts ? Electric scooters ? Anything?
Cause they block like he ain’t give them anything lol
I thought the franchise qb was supposed to buy the o line something when he gets paid
September 29th, 2026 at 9:25 pm
Watched the 2nd half now on ALL22…
Thoughts…
First off, on the last play of the game, on the hail mary, a Vikings defender literally leg whips and trips Otton at about the 7 yard line, it’s blatant as all hell. I’m so shocked the refs didn’t call it… so very shocked.
OK, more thoughts… Congrats to the Baker Boi(s), I will not credit him with losing this game singlehandedly – although on his last 4th down play where he got hurt, before he did his run around in a circle routine, he had 2 guys open for the 1st down, and instead pulled the ball down and starting running, well, in a circle. Also he flat out missed 3 passes that looked like pretty easy completions. At the same time, he had one play where he held the ball forever, and on TV it looked bad – but on the ALL22 you see what happened, he was supposed to go to Gainwell who fell down. That’s where the ALL22 is great. There were a lot of guys falling down on Sunday, that field appeared to be in pretty bad shape. Do they have water restrictions at the stadium or something? Anyways, Baker wasn’t good by any means, but wasn’t as awful as he’s been lately.
Payne Durham should never see the field again – that guy is a complete bum who can not block. He is terrible blocking, and offers nothing in the passing game. Bench him, or better yet cut him, and bring Culp back since at least he can run fast. Durham whiffed on so many blocks, it’s unbelievable.
Poor Bucky trying to block just wasn’t getting it done, he’s just not big enough. He was in the right place and clearly was giving it his all, but he just doesn’t have the size to block LBs, and the Vikings were blitzing a ton. The issue is Gainwell didn’t look any better, and Tucker has been even worse than Bucky in past years. White is missed badly.
For the offensive line, it’s a mixed bag. A LOT of times, what people thought they were watching live isn’t the whole story. A TON of times, stupid Durham was supposed to be helping with blocks, or taking handoffs on blocks, and the bum was getting beat like he wasn’t even on the field. Anyone that has ALL22, go watch the first 4 plays of this game, then watch the entire second half, Durham is incredibly awful and was just blowing up a ton of plays.
With that said, there was clearly a lot of ‘communication’ issues on the offensive line – late in the 3rd into the 4th, they looked really lost on a lot of plays, just completely out of sync. I will say when the Vikings didn’t blitz, the offensive line really didn’t have too many issues, but when the Vikings were coming from different angles, doing slight delays, or overloads, the offensive line really didn’t seem to know who was supposed to be picking up who.
As for the WRs, it’s hard to say. The Vikings ran mostly zone, and seemed to be in the right zone nearly ever time. Makes me wonder if the Vikings DC has a history vs Zac. Also at times Hurst looked winded to me – or maybe he’s a bit banged up, because he’s supposed to be the fastest Bucs WR, but Godwin almost always looked faster on the field – of course that’s just eyeballing it.
That’s my take – which is the only take that matters.
September 29th, 2026 at 9:31 pm
Part of the problem as well is defenses know what type of play we are going to run by our formations and by motion. The Vikings defense were calling out the play before the snap according to the announcers. If they know what you are doing you have already lost the battle. I agree our O-line looks soft. Our whole team looks soft at times, but Zac Robinson needs to change a few things so our offense has a fighting chance.
September 29th, 2026 at 9:53 pm
Munch, has anyone taken my bet that you have NEVER played a down of football in your life and have no clue what you are watching? I will ask, have you? I just rewatched the game. Durham got beat on 3 plays on 38 snaps . That’s it. Do you know the assignments? I don’t. How do you? He was graded one of the top blocking TEs in the league last year , according to Peele ( not PFF data, which I don’t like, but they graded him high too) but from the position coach. lol, you amaze me with your mindless drivel. Go rewatch again ( for your 10th time) and watch our Guards and Tackles. Then, learn the game. Your credibility is awful. Your quantity of posts does not mean they are quality.
September 29th, 2026 at 10:13 pm
O line is soft! Hope you bums read this!
September 29th, 2026 at 10:21 pm
Great input Rob.
What’s your opinion on Zac’s play calling?
September 29th, 2026 at 10:29 pm
Yup, even an ex-pro sees what I’ve been calling out since week 1. Not excusing Baker’s fumbles in week 1, but even in that game the pocket collapsed almost immediately on impact on most downs. And it’s continued through 3 weeks now, eventually leading to Baker getting hurt on a 4th and 13.
Bruce Arians said he should’ve thrown the ball away, but it was the last chance we had of winning, BA, so that was a bad call by him to say that.
That leads me to something that stumped me big time. Why in the world didn’t we punt when I believe we had 3 timeouts against a team we had forced to punt multiple times? Again, another poor coaching decision in my opinion that led to our starting QB getting injured.
September 29th, 2026 at 10:31 pm
Would not take anything this chump has to say as gospel.with that said, he’s probably right.
September 29th, 2026 at 10:50 pm
This team, including the O line, is SOFT. We’re a reflection of our head coach. Thanks Glazers for keeping him one more season (hopefully).
September 29th, 2026 at 10:53 pm
I’ve never seen a Bucs team look so foolish since I was a little kid in 1976. But even then they had a decent excuse. “Excuse” being the key word for this regime. Keep ’em coming Jason and Todd.
September 29th, 2026 at 10:54 pm
Dudes! When they’re well coached they play well. When not…
September 29th, 2026 at 10:55 pm
ROD-BUTT-MUNCH – to illustrate how stupid you are with your comments, I literally ( for you) rewatched the game. I have it recorded so can watch every play a million times. Here is Durhams first half plays …by series..
1 Blocked his guy out wide, flared him out
2 To 2nd level LB blocked
3 Flared out on a route
——————————
1 driven back by edge but Mauchs man beat him badly to pressure baker . I would say Durham beat here too.
2 flare blocked his guy to the outside for baker to step up and throw to 88 complete
3 drove the DT down inside for pancake
4 pulled with Otton to the left and blocked wide . Not much but guy didn’t affect play . Both he and Otton did the same to their guy.
5 picked up blitz on hurst TD
——————————
1. Motion and kicked his guy outside for RB to cut up
2 ran a flare route to right
——————————–
1 ran route to left
——————————–
1 pulled left and stuffed LB. RB cut up for a gain.
2 didn’t do anything , was on backside of play. Man didn’t effect play
3 pass blocked his man for baker to throw to 88
4 was on backside of play and cut blocked his man to the ground.
5 ran route to left
6 set up to pass block, no one came, leaked out on route
7 ran route to right
——————————–
1 in backfield led the play drove his man out wide
2 ran route to left
That’s the entire first half. Not even going to watch 2nd. Ive proved my point you’re a babbling idiot. Especially when you said we would have won our last 8 games if “ Baker played better”. Lol. Moron
September 29th, 2026 at 11:54 pm
We don’t need long drawn out analysis to figure out what is wrong with the team.
It’s really quite simple if you choose to use your eyes and brain.
The same guy that brought you 2-7 down the stretch has you at 0-3 in 2026.
Almost as if 2025 is still going on strong.
As Bowles said we’re 0-3 and one game out of first. #Titletown
September 29th, 2026 at 11:55 pm
He got a holding call while making this statemen
September 30th, 2026 at 12:00 am
MelvinJunior, the Yankmes won 9-0 so now as Rays fans we want to see the BoSox come out big in game 2 and force a game 3. Hopefully the game will go extra innings to wear down both pitching staffs. That said, the Yankmes will probably be the Rays opponent and hopefully Kevin Cash and his crew will be up for the challenge. Rays up, beats thinking about how pathetic the Bucs are under Baker and Bowles.
September 30th, 2026 at 12:17 am
I think we are apt to see improvement with a more decisive quarterback.Unfortunately Baker dances up and down the pocket then squirts out and has defensive players swarming him, then he makes a play but it is called back because of O-Line holding. This crazy backyard football sht works for Baker but it does not work for the the big guys on the line. They are getting penalties and injuries with this crazy sht.. Maybe it worked in 2024 but things have changed. Last night Bears game was so controlled and effective. Baker and the Bucs look soo discombobulated and penalties are out of control–it is not working.
September 30th, 2026 at 1:26 am
Zero interest in anything Smith has to say, dude is the definition of soft lol. Something that’s getting overlooked is the fact the Brian Picucci left to go join Coen in Jax this past offseason. Very possible his loss is being felt more than imagined, the results certainly suggest so.
September 30th, 2026 at 5:44 am
Duh.
September 30th, 2026 at 7:17 am
If only there were millions of dollars to throw at these issues, personal mentors to objectively help these adults improve 8n their jobs (like coaches), a state of the art facility where they can hone their craft with like minded individuals seeking the same goal, and 8f only they got paid a liveable wage so they weren’t distracted by life and could focus on their craft.
Oh wait, these men children have all of these luxuries at their disposal and still can’t manage to lock in and do their jobs. This product (NFL) is starting to have the pretense of a Roman collapse. Bring on the AI driven robots to do the job for these fat fnckers
September 30th, 2026 at 9:14 am
Wasn’t this the guy we cut because he had so many damn penalties?
September 30th, 2026 at 10:43 am
yo, they gotta play it better……then maybe the coach will coach it better…! 🙂
i can join in an do my part as well, by ordering at the concession stands in a more streamlined manner…
and piss in the urinals in a more streamlined fashion as well…
heck we can all do more…thank you big donnie for getting me focused man