James Lee In The Spotlight; Trueblood Done?
October 31st, 2010
The band-aid offensive line the Bucs will trot out today is quite a crew, sure to make any defensive coordinator drool.
From left to right: Donald Penn, Ted Larsen, Jeremy Zuttah, Davin Joseph and James Lee. …Ouch.
It’s third-year man Lee’s first start, one more than the rookie Larsen. Lee was on the field for the winning drive last week after Jeremy Trueblood left with a knee injury, and Lee got the job done pass blocking.
Starting, though, is another story. Lee’s got everything to prove. But Lee has been with the Bucs since September 2008, so at least he’s had veterans to learn from and a couple of O-line coaches.
Last week Donald Penn, in a chat with Joe, summed up his opportunity that emerged in 2007, after Luke Petitgout got hurt. “I got in the game. I never got out since,” said Penn, who makes his 51st consecutive start today.
Former Bucs defensive end Steve White has been a fan of Lee for a while, and White takes a look at Lee’s opportunity on his blog, including this take from Lee’s play in a preseason game.
I couldn’t give James Lee a good this week because he was beaten a couple of times on pass rush. But the more I see of the guy the more I like. He actually reminds me of Penn in that he has a nasty streak. You see him blocking guys all the way across the formation. Pass blocking that is. Other times you see him finishing guys off with pancake blocks. I have a feeling that we will see more of him in the years to come.
In Joe’s mind, Trueblood is undoubtedly a player the Bucs are considering replacing in 2011. He had a second-round tender placed on him in restricted free agency this year, and there were no takers outside the Bucs. Combine that with his penchant for stupid penalties and the Bucs’ sad running game, and he’s surely on the hot seat.
Joe would love to see Lee emerge as a viable replacement at right tackle. Heck, Ted Larsen apparently played so well last week the Bucs felt comfortable cutting their starting left guard, Keydrick Vincent.
Possibly, Bucs fans may have seen the last of Trueblood.
October 31st, 2010 at 10:14 am
Wouldn’t it be awesome if Lee and Larsen looked great today? Sure would be a load off. I’m not expecting it by any means, but it sure would be awesome. I’ll be happy if they don’t get 10 penalties again. Stadium is a dome and will be super loud. Good luck Bucs!
October 31st, 2010 at 10:25 am
And we just keep younger and younger. And next year well be younger. I’m glad were winning but at some point it’s going to get real ugly and I hope Dominic has a plan.
October 31st, 2010 at 10:42 am
If Steve White likes him, that’s good enough for me. It really has got old seeing Trueblood called constantly for stupid penalties. He has cost Tampa plenty of times.
October 31st, 2010 at 11:12 am
Think you are spot on, Joe! No matter how sucessful the team is this year, the Glazers and Management still view this as a rebuilding/ assessing year. I think they are looking to see if we have possible Line replacements already on the Roster, or if they are quality back-ups. I think we will see all the young linemen over the next few weeks. Which is fine with me, they can’t do much worse than some of our starters!
October 31st, 2010 at 11:28 am
I would not be surprised if the Bucs have their best runnig game of the year.I have a good feeling this young line will open up some big holes.
October 31st, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Look at it from the player perspective. This is a HUGE opportunity to show that they are the future by having a great game. The team is young and hungry, I like our chances today. It isn’t like Larson was horrible, he actually played well. Here is another chance to play even better. Same with Lee.
October 31st, 2010 at 12:37 pm
I agree with you guys, it will be interesting to see what we have in some of our younger guys…..we already know what we have in Trueblood, I think he is average at best.
Like I said in a previous post, I really think this is the week that our offense gets on track!
October 31st, 2010 at 3:05 pm
I am thinking that “if” Dotson didn’t get hurt he would be playing RT, with Trueblood on the bench… or gone.
As for Lee & Larson I am glad to see them coming out filling in and doing well. I also think we will see Carter in the O- line as well this year, which is good. Not really a fan of Zuttah good depth player yeah but he seams to me as hesitant instead of aggressive. Not something good in a Guard, he has looked good to me at center. or Joseph (1rd) would like to see him with a better RT beside him and his game might change.
I keep “hearing” how good he is and see moments of it, but not consistently.
These “practice squad” players are putting guys on the ground when blocking them. and I have not seen Zuttah or Joseph do this as often as I think they should as our starters. Composition is a good thing.
October 31st, 2010 at 3:07 pm
competition….
October 31st, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Penn and Joseph have always been good and Zuttah appears to be doing ok at center. I think Trueblood has done ok over the years but hasn’t been anything phenomenal.
October 31st, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Just a thought….any word on Arron Sears status with his personal issues? He’s a free agent right now and I really believe his departure was one of the main things that hurt our O-line. If he’s getting his life together, we should consider bringing him back.
October 31st, 2010 at 4:15 pm
By the way, happy Halloween all ^v^v^