Jeremy Trueblood Not Practicing
September 13th, 2012
The Bucs offensive line is thin, thanks to the season-ending injury to Pro Bowl right guard Davin Joseph suffered in the preseason.
But word comes out of One Buc Palace that his linemate on the right side, tackle Jeremy Trueblood, is not practicing, per WDAE-AM 620 Bucs beat reporter Tom Krasniqi.
@TKras: #Bucs RT Jeremy Trueblood riding the bike today and not taking part in team drills…His left leg was wrapped
This is not good news in the least. Is Trueblood the best right tackle in the league? No. But there is a reason he is starting.
Now, it’s very possible that the Bucs could be facing the most fierce defensive front line with backups starting at both right guard and right tackle.
This is not something the Bucs want nor need.
UPDATE: Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger reports that not only does Trueblood have a sleeve on his leg, he was limping.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Looks like its Keenan Thompsons time to shine
September 13th, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Demar Dotson.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
This is good news. Not saying Demar Dotson is better btw, but he definitely can’t be worse than the worst pass blocking RT of the league. Now there is hope with Dotson.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
True is in the top 15 RTs in terms of just straight run blocking. Demar is going to have to step it up in the run blocking department big time if we don’t want to see a drop off with Jeremy out.
September 13th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Jonny:
Problem is, the Bucs are a run-oriented team. This is not good, no matter how you spin it. You think Schiano would start a guy who is worse than his backup? He has no allegiance to Trueblood; he didn’t draft him.
September 13th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
@Joe: We don’t know anything about Schiano’s tendencies yet. Trueblood’s contract could be one of the reasons (Dominik) or his experience or may be he is just better. But none of us know for sure why Trueblood is still a starter in the league after time and time he has proven to be pathetic against speed rushers. I chuckle when ever rockstar Dominik says “protecting Freeman is the top priority”.
September 13th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
probably nothing…..and given the thin O line, schiano is probably taking every opportunity to get the back ups some reps with the 1’s
September 13th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
That position on the o-line is actually the only one where I feel totally comfortable with the backup (Demar Dotson). He looked really good in preseason and from what I’ve read he also looked good in training camp. This might be Dotson’s breakthrough. We’ll see.
September 13th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
He does have two more days to heal until game day. Hopefully his leg will be good to go by 1:00 pm Sunday. We’ll need our top players against that defensive line for sure.
September 13th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
This could be Dotson’s chance to finally make a breath through and earn a starting spot.
September 13th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Joe, I was making a funny. Demar and Keenan look uncannily alike
September 13th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Next man up. I’m hoping for this to be Trueblood’s last year, anyway.
September 13th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
One positive for Truebllod last Sunday…….zero false starts…..zero holding calls
September 13th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Do you think Kenan tells girls he plays in the NFL or Demar tells girls he was in goodburger and on SNL?
September 13th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
True played good last year, until they all decided to fold up shop that is.
September 13th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
This is not a bad thing. Trueblood is a pretty good run blocker. He drives well off the snap (when not false starting) and has pretty good strength with his base underneath him. Problem is his footwork (which is why he’s so bad at pass blocking) and he gets off balance moving backward.
With the Giants DL and the speed rushers they have, subbing in Dotson may be the best thing. We’ll lose a little in run blocking, but protect Free better in the pass game. The holes the OL opened last week weren’t gaping holes, hence the “3 yards and a cloud of dust” that we saw. If we can maintain those 3 yard rushing bursts, AND slow down JPP, this could work well. Not saying it’s an “every week” thing, just might be best THIS week.