Dominik Sees A “More Unpredictable” Freeman
March 17th, 2012
Rockstar Bucs general manager Mark Dominik took a brief moment to salivate over his revamped offensive line this week during an interview with “The Blitz” on SiriusXM NFL Radio with hosts Adam Schein and Rich Gannon.
And Bucs fans should join in the drooling. Jeremy Zuttah is a better, more durable center than Jeff Faine, and Josh Freeman makes all the line calls anyway. Plus now Zuttah is flanked by the best guard in the game in Carl Nicks, 6-5, 343 pounds, and Pro Bowler Davin Joseph, 6-3, 315 pounds.
The presence of that trifecta up the gut will let Josh Freeman be “more unpredictable,” Dominik told Gannon and Schein.
Joe can only imagine how much easier it will be for the Bucs to sell play-action with that kind of interior line and, hopefully, an honest commitment to running the football, not the crock of power football BS sold to fans by the previous regime.
Also, in what felt like a backhanded knock on Greg Olson, Dominik said Mike Sullivan is “a big step” in Freeman’s development based on his history with Eli Manning and as a former receivers coach with the Giants.
In Joe’s mind, there’s a lot of pressure on first-time offensive coordinator Sullivan from the opening whistle. Sullivan inherits a young 1,000-yard rusher with unique skills, a quarterback with all the tools and a stunning season (2010) under his belt, arguably the best offensive line in football, plus a legitimate No. 1 deep threat and a proven talent in Mike Williams.
Get the man a dangerous third-down back and Sullivan really has no excuses from Day 1. The man even will have OTAs and minicamps, what some wrongly viewed as the panacea to the Bucs’ 2011 troubles.
March 17th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
3rd down back and LB are the biggest needs on this team. Both can be addressed in the draft.
March 17th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Of course he’ll be less predictable. Olsen is gone.
March 17th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Sorry Joe, Trueblood drags our O-line from being labeled the best. As long as he is the starter, our line is mediocre at best w.r.t to pass protection.
March 17th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
I don’t want a rookie LB, 2nd year LB, and a scrub as our LB corps.
What a joke.
March 17th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
@jonny even with Trueblood our o line is much better than mediocre
March 17th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
This is going to be a killer team, the things that are being out together, the caliber of the staff that’s been assembled, the talent, and the opportunity to continue to add talent and depth…have this team Poised to be immediately competitive and a power for several years to come.
Excellent moves…the ability to commit to the run will absolutely make Freeman more UNpredictable…and THAT will allow him to not only be dangerous…but the talent he’s being surrounded by will allow him to be on the field for portions of his carrier.
March 17th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Trueblood cleaned up his play last yr, regardless this line is far from “mediocre”
March 17th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
@K1ngAdroc lmao! Is that why he led the league in total QB pressures allowed?
March 17th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
I hope Freeman gets help with the mechanics of his play action, his fake is painfully obvious for a man with more than enough girth to tuck and hide the ball.
March 17th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
@Johnny
Saying our line is mediocre is about a dumb as a statement on here as I’ve heard. 3 pro bowlers on the line in Penn, Nicks, and Joseph. Also, Nicks is an all-pro and arguably the best guard in the game. Zuttah is a pro bowl caliber guy and Trueblood showed a lot of promise last year. This should be the best line in the NFL next year, no doubt about it.
March 17th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
Trueblood is a better run blocker anyway, since were going to be pounding the rock anyway might be a really good line.
Still though, at least free can see the pass rusher that got past trueblood.
Eric winston was let go from the texans, could be a upgrade…
March 17th, 2012 at 5:21 pm
“is that why he led the league in total QB pressures allowed”
Getting behind from the get-go, and needing to go to a one dimension offence just might’a had a bit to do with it, not to mention Benn’d around Olson’s stupid play calling. As I recall, even Penn, usually a rock on the left, was beat several times, there towards the end.
March 17th, 2012 at 5:29 pm
I think we should still go defense for the first two rounds. Hopefully we trade down and get some extra picks. Depending on who we trade with we coould still get Richardson and gain another 2nd round pick then pick up CB or LB. Really if we took Richardson at 5, We could spend the rest of the picks on CB,LB,S.
March 17th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
@ HaveANiceDay
Couldn’t agree more!! Olsen might just be to worst play caller I have ever seen, and he couldn’t utilize his players talents for the life of him.
March 17th, 2012 at 5:33 pm
The toughest thing to watch about the Bucs last year other than the penalties and the turnovers was the absolute instant recognition (pre-snap) by the other team on both sides of the ball. That’s why my post seldom criticize the players, other than Black, Hayes and Jones. It’s the responsibility of coaches to put players in position to make plays. Neither coordinator was good enough to do that. Unpredictability will be a difference maker.
March 17th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
@Fritz While Penn did suffer towards the end, he is generally a solid left tackle while Trueblood has steadily gotten worse and worse over the years. Though e is a better run blocker than pass blocker, his run blocking is near the bottom of the league as well.
http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/02/20/2011-pass-blocking-efficiency-offensive-tackles/
http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/02/22/ranking-the-2011-offensive-lines-part-1/
March 17th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
NJBuc- absolutely correct.
Offense has all the weapons.
Now- is first time OC up to the challenge?
I realize dozens of posters will say that he is.
Buuuut, they, like I, have no idea at all if Sullivan can do it.
None.
That’s the problem with hiring a first time coordinator- as opposed to an experienced coach
But, having done my research, I have confidence in Sullivan, and most of the offensive staff
Still worried about both defense, and defensive staff.
Have to see about that one
March 17th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Claiborne hands down is the most valuable player the Buc’s can draft with the 5th pick, it is light years harder to find a shutdown corner then it is a Trent Richardson who in my opinion might not be as great as people think. Richardson is a risky pick @ number 5, while Claiborne is as close to a surefire star we are going to find with the 5th pick.
March 17th, 2012 at 6:45 pm
@ CaptTim
With Butch Davis coupled in the mix with Schiano (both defensive minds), I’m not too worried about the defense at all. From I see, I see Schaino and Davis constructing the defense. Sheridan in my opinion is the extra set of eyes there on game day and I’m sure he will add some of his flavor to the Buc’s D as well.
March 17th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
I know this is a little off topic but are the Bucs going to trade Josh Johnson?
March 17th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
@CannuckBuc
he can’t be traded, he’s a free agent.
March 17th, 2012 at 7:29 pm
What does the eric wright signing really mean?
Draft claiborne, dump talib, wright #2?
Keep talib, wright #2 draft another position?
What??!
March 17th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Lion,
Agreed. I love Richardson and it’s exciting to think about, but Clairborne is the pick.
March 17th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
I believe Sullivan will be fine. Remember he isn’t alone up there at OC. He has the Offensive Assistant in Rayne to tap for knowledge if needed among other resources.
March 17th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
The Browns are going to take Richardson at #4 now that they dumped Hillis.
They need a RB. We will take Claiborne unless we get a good offer to trade down but it would have to be a good one because Claiborne is a valuable player to have in this conference. Look for us to go after Doug Martin as a 3rd down back. He’s a more complete back than LaMichael James and still has the speed to break a long one off. With him in the backfield on third down the offense will be less predictable than with James in the backfield. James is not a blocking back.
March 17th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
@Bobby
Not so Fast. They may very well go with Blackmon giving McCoy at least something to throw at. Which would Give us the Richardson/Claiborne issue again :p
I want both/either it don’t matter. Whoever is picked will seriously help the team in their respective roles.
Trent gives us an offense unlike any other in Football right now. The Making of a power house nothing in our division could stop. *pending everyone takes a step forward instead of backwards this year.
Claiborne helps us solidify what was a evident weakness PRE Free Agency. Giving us insurance encase, A. Talib goes to jail/suspended/who knows. Or B. Rhonde doesn’t re-sign( or even worse he finally hits the wall “of age”)
It’s pick your flavor. Either position we will be able to fill with a quality player in a later round. A bunch of top talent this year and we our pick is in very good spot through out.
March 17th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
LMJ ran a 4.29 at his pro-day 🙂
March 17th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
@have a nice day – your right… shows you how bad he was in 2010. He is the weakest link, but with decent coaching this O line will do well IMO
March 18th, 2012 at 1:56 am
a) It makes me laugh when people actually blame the Benn’d Around for our offensive failures last year. The play was only run 1-2 times per game…sometimes not at all. There are plays on the best teams that fail frequently. No one play in a playbooks issue responsible for complete offensive failure. It started out as a joke, but now some people really think it’s to blame.
b) Anyone that doesn’t think the lack of an offseason did not contribute to the collapse last year (Joe?) is not looking at the whole picture. Go ahead and point out the teams that had no problem with it…they all had a stronger veteran presense.
c) Everyone is recited with Nicks and Jackson added to the offense…with good reason. But Trueblood is not the only weakness on that offensive line. He’s getting the blame…all of it…but who was next to him? How many times was Freeman hit from his blind side as well? Wouldn’t it be a downer if, after all these expectations build, Zuttah anew up sucking as a full-time center?
I’m not hoping for failure just so I can be right, I’m just reminding people there are still weaknesses on the offensive line. The guestion on my mind is whether they can be corrected by coaching. I think they can, but in one off season?
d) Which brings me to my final point. I’m not trying to be a “debbie-downer” here, but I saw the same expectations piled on last year. Heck, as soon as thing got bad, a lot of people disappeared that are here right now. Not the usual people…I mean the people that appear each off season to voice excitement and pretend they buy tickets.
Having a positive attitude is a good thing. But is it real?
What will happen if the Bucs have a mini losing streak at the start of the season? Will you turn on the team, players or coaches because your lofty expectations are not met?
This is a good time to evaluate our personal behaviors as fans. It’s easy to be positive right now. But we need to look within ourselves and ask if we can be positive if the new regime struggles out of the gate. If they lose games, how many will it take to break you positive outlook?
Take this time. Explore your fandom. Strengthen it.
Can’t get season tickets? Get a single game ticket. Got the spare funds? Treat your neighbor to a seat next to you at a game. Don’t buy tickets second hand…they do nothing to lift blackouts.
Plan.