It seems, fairly or unfairly, Bucs offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah’s performance in his two years with the team mirrored the entire offensive line’s play.

As a rookie, he filled in for injured Davin Joseph at right guard and did a fabulous job. Rarely was Zuttah’s name mentioned, which is the highest honor an offensive lineman can receive.

Last year, when Arron Sears when AWOL, Zuttah again filled the role of replacement, this time playing left guard. However, Zuttah didn’t quite play to the level he had when he filled in for Joseph the previous season.

How much of this had to do with a new coaching staff or learning zone blocking, Joe isn’t sure. But like Zuttah taking a step back in 2009, so too did the Bucs offensive line as a unit.

Fielding a question from Bucstats on his Twitter account, Stephen Holder, of the St. Petersburg Times, explained what Zuttah is trying to do in the offseason to bounce back from a disappointing year.

I think he’ll be better in his second season as a starter. I think he’ll spend a lot of time this offseason working on strength, which should help him. It’s too early to determine what these offensive linemen are going to be. We need to seem them in training camp with pads on to know whether there’s a concerted difference. No matter what anyone on the coaching staff says, I’ll reserve judgment until then. In any case, I totally agree with your argument that Zuttah was a weak link on the line last year and needs to step up.

Zuttah was the weak link only to the extent that he was not even projected as a starter. There was a reason he was a backup. Sure, the Bucs, remembering Zuttah’s play the previous season, had high hopes when Zuttah replaced Sears, but Zuttah played more like the backup he was projected to be.

Some players just play better on specific sides of the ball and that may be the case with Zuttah. Joe doesn’t think it’s unfair to suggest if Zuttah has a solid year, so too may the Bucs offensive line as a whole.