“Still Fiddling Around” At Left Guard
December 26th, 2013
Greg Schiano weighs in
The leader of the New Schiano Order worked on Christmas Day honing the Bucs-Saints gameplan, but he didn’t settle on a starting left guard for Sunday.
Gabe Carimi, Carl Nicks, Ted Larsen, Jeremy Zuttah and Jamon Meredith have all gotten the call there this season.
Meredith was yanked in the first half last weekend in St. Louis after starting for half a season. Fourth-year man Larsen came in for the rest of the game, but Schiano didn’t see seen enough to be confident.
“Good chance [Larsen starts], I wouldn’t, you know, say that for sure yet,” Schiano said today at One Buc Palace. “I’m not sure we’re going to make [the change to Larsen]. That’s more speculation than anything.
“Obviously, no one has seized the position, otherwise it would be locked in. It would be done. Right? In week 17, the fact that we’re still fiddling around kind of speaks to that.”
Left guard/center definitely has been a failure for the Bucs this season. The team knew Carl Nicks had issues coming off major offseason surgery, but they couldn’t nail down a solid backup.
Reluctantly, the Bucs moved Zuttah to left guard earlier this year after Larsen and Carimi failed. Zuttah had played left guard successfully in previous years, including for about half a season in 2012. But it seemed the Bucs didn’t like what they had in Larsen at center, so they moved Zuttah back to his starting slot there.
The move to Meredith to left guard seemed to spark the running game for a few weeks, but now he’s out, and they’re back to Larsen.
There are changes coming to the Bucs offensive line. At the very least, Joe would be stunned if Meredith and Larsen wear pewter and red next season.
Nicks never did land on injured reserve. That means there’s debate swirling on how to classify his injury. Joe’s no expert on the NFL labor agreement, but if the Bucs claim Nicks has a non-football injury, that could greatly affect the terms of his potential release.
December 26th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
is that george W with a fiddle?
December 26th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
I was wondering why Nicks was never placed on IR…..it cost us a roster spot each week he remained on the roster. I guess we don’t care about roster spots because we carry 4 FBs.
So, with Nicks, I presume there was a potential financial reason not to place him on IR.
As for the O-line….I would restructure or cut Nicks, Joseph & Penn
December 26th, 2013 at 4:32 pm
This Staff has wasted a lot of talent. From day one they have tried to form players to fit their playbook instead of using players strengths to establish a playbook. We have seen talent walk away freely, allowed others to be traded for peanuts and seen them be very successful in other organizations. Until we have a staff that can feed off of player strength there will be no improvement. Other teams have taken our player and struck gold with them.
December 26th, 2013 at 4:42 pm
No one has seized the position because no one wants it bad enough. Larsen sucks and he’s another big fat joke on a terrible line.
December 26th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Schiano needs to do less fiddling around at LG and more fiddling around at OC and DC.
#FireSullivan
#FireSheridan
December 26th, 2013 at 4:46 pm
Most football writers and pundits agree that the 49ers have the best O-Line in the NFL. They have 2 1st round picks and 2 2nd round picks on that line. Just sayin’
December 26th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
“They have 2 1st round picks and 2 2nd round picks on that line.”
That can only give you a good Line if you are capable of correctly evaluating how good your potential picks are… Just sayin’
December 26th, 2013 at 5:19 pm
Maybe one of the reasons Nicks was never placed on IR was because of the way the Bucs handled the Lawrence Tynes case. Tynes came down with MRSA and couldn’t kick, so the Bucs placed him on the non-football injury list instead of IR and he files a grievance for it saying he contracted it from the Bucs. And the Bucs don’t want to make themselves look stupid by placing Nicks on IR for the same reason. In any case, him not being on IR or PUP or the non-football list suggests that he’s healthy, which is obviously not true.
December 26th, 2013 at 5:27 pm
Meredith with be at LG. Schiano is fooling nobody.
#FireSchiano
December 26th, 2013 at 5:41 pm
So Schiano is Bush Jr., Schiano fiddled unsuccessfully with a touted O line. Bush fiddled successfully with attacks on our constitutional freedoms.
December 26th, 2013 at 5:46 pm
I hope Schiano finds us two guard studs in the draft on the cheap.
December 26th, 2013 at 6:07 pm
just something else to talk about to take the attention away how horrible a coach he would be on the high school level. everyone has had a bad game and no one was good enough to fill in for at guard until meredith showed up, davin joseph, donald penn have both been average at best this year so why is he picking on jamon meredith? to use that as another excuse why the glazers shouldnt give him the axe…..we make coaches walk the plank here, he deserves the guillotine
December 26th, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Have to remember that Meredith is a tackle playing guard. So how do you come into an NFL season with no depth to the O-Line? They have only lost 1 starter, it’s not like the whole starting line is gone. Just over-paid and over -hype players in terrible offensive system
December 26th, 2013 at 8:44 pm
And Gabe Carimi is 3rd string and can’t get playing time? I remember when we picked Carimi up from Chicago and it was made out like we stole Payton Manning off Denver’s practice squad. Some steal if Carmini can’t get playing time at this point…
December 26th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
Have my fingers crossed we drop down with our 1st draft pick, get another pick in the 2nd, 3rd move up and spend 2 high draft picks on Offensive lineman. Draft a DE WE or TE, CB S QB. Bring in FA’s who are able to play, not just a big name..
I hope we do not have another coaching change and we hit reboot on these young players we have. With new coaches, come new players. I want to have players play hard and be successful as Buccaneers, I want to be able to wear their Jersey with Pride with as little explanation as to why do you like this or that player. It makes it very hard to go out and buy a jersey of a player to have them bottom out or get traded. Homegrown is always best.
December 26th, 2013 at 9:30 pm
@ Rusty
Not having 3rd or a 6th right now looks HUGE
December 27th, 2013 at 3:15 am
Didn’t Vjax have two 1000+ seasons? Sure he drops some balls IF YOU THROW TO HIM ALLTHE TIME.
December 27th, 2013 at 2:49 pm
schiano has never gotten what the team paid for out of that interior line. joseph’s season ended almost before it began in 2012 and this year he has basically been rehabbing on the job. nicks picked up a chronic injury about 2 weeks into his buc career and then defied incredible odds by being one of only 3 people seemingly in the entire NFL to contract MRSA this year. coaches can’t be blamed for injuries, especially the rare freakish ones (torn ACL with no planted foot, disfiguring toe injury, MRSA) that these guys incurred. what they and the GM can be blamed for is thinking that the backups we had were ready to be long-term starters if the recovery of both injuries wasn’t perfect
December 27th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
1976Buc Says:
December 26th, 2013 at 4:32 pm
This Staff has wasted a lot of talent. From day one they have tried to form players to fit their playbook instead of using players strengths to establish a playbook. We have seen talent walk away freely, allowed others to be traded for peanuts and seen them be very successful in other organizations. Until we have a staff that can feed off of player strength there will be no improvement. Other teams have taken our player and struck gold with them.
…..Well said brotha!