Lovie Downplays Offensive Line Concerns
August 7th, 2014
Too early to fret about the offensive line, Lovie said.
Bucs fans are unnerved by their offensive line. Joe doesn’t remember a day gone by in recent weeks that a Bucs fan hasn’t left a comment on this here corner of the Interwebs about Tampa Bay making some transaction for a guard.
(And, no, the Bucs are not going to get that piece of human debris Richie Incognito. What on Earth makes some Bucs fans think that Lovie would even remotely consider bringing that roided-up dirtbag into his locker room? Remember, this is a coach that got rid of a starter for having a Serta Perfect Sleeper as a lawn ornament.)
Wednesday, Lovie seemed to wave off any concerns fans may have about the offensive line, or at least suggested the hand-wringing is way to premature.
“To me right now, I have concerns about every position on the team,” Lovie said. “I haven’t seen anyone in any live action with our football team. So I’m anxious to see what we have. I know we’ve looked good in drills. Gerald McCoy is a dominant defensive lineman inside. We’ve been judging our guards based on going against him and Clinton McDonald and players like that. And they’ve held their own. Evan [Dietrich-Smith] has been a great addition. [He is] bright. You need someone like that at the center position.”
Bolstering Lovie’s point and giving fans both hope and happiness, to a man, every Buccaneer Joe has spoken to about Gerald McCoy gushes over him. Earlier this week, someone asked Austin Seferian-Jenkins about GMC and he paused, shook his head, mouth agape, and said, “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Veterans, not just rookies like ASJ, pretty much are saying the same thing. So if the interior offensive line, as Lovie believes, is holding its own against GMC, they should be OK against lesser players, which represents most NFL defensive tackles.
As Demar Dotson told Joe yesterday, Friday’s game at Jacksonville will be a great test to see how far the rebuilt offensive line has come and will reveal waht they need to work on to become regular season ready.
August 7th, 2014 at 7:27 am
Is it freaking Friday yet? McCoy as superman, who has a problem with that except game foes. At the guard positions, how about two sturdy potted plants inserted there every play, that should work.
August 7th, 2014 at 7:44 am
It’s not premature to fret about the O-line situation, but since none of us can do anything to improve it the best thing we can do is sit back and see how they play. We should save our energy for more important things such as JBF internet bickering 🙂
August 7th, 2014 at 8:35 am
Can’t wait to pound some Bud Light tomorrow (new 16oz aluminum bottles are amazing) at the local watering hole and watch a quarter (hopefully) of the starters then be drunk by the 3rd and try and guess who is out on the field 😉
Oh and while wearing my new LVD jersey!
No injuries and GO BUCS! 🙂
August 7th, 2014 at 8:39 am
What kills me is I know I have seen people on here begging for incognito to become a Buc despite hating on Johnny Football and praying the bucs would not draft him because of his “off field issues”.
August 7th, 2014 at 8:52 am
“praying the bucs would not draft him because of his “off field issues”.”
Like rolling up bills in bathrooms?
August 7th, 2014 at 9:02 am
I don’t think Lovie is downplaying his concern for the O-line. By his own admission, he is very concerned about a 4-12 team that he has not seen play an actual football game yet. Every day in his press conference, he resists questions that want him over-react to Verner’s hamstring, Herron’s drops, Bowers’ past performance or other team issues that Schiano would be foaming at the mouth about.
This is a different coach with a different mentality. I don’t know if his patience translates into wins, but I certainly wouldn’t think he is not aware or is indifferent to the current status of a team that has under-performed for the last decade. To be clear, I’m not suggesting anyone has said that.
No, I think he is fully aware of the issues, O-Line et al, facing the Bucs. He simply believes he has a proven methodical process for resolving those issues, and as he said in his presser yesterday, he is not going to deviate from it!
August 7th, 2014 at 9:34 am
Joe, your venom towards Richie Incognito is insensitive and baseless. He was asked to play a role and toughen up Martin, and now folks like you have judged him unfairly and have basically black-balled him from the league on a lack of any hard evidence that claims he is a racist, and that he’s out of control. ..and before you say How can the media be responsible for black-balling Richie?
Well, as soon as a team brings him in for a workout the media will turn it into a circus. Short and simple, teams don’t want to deal with the distraction. Ask Boomer Esiason what he thinks about how the media has portrayed Richie unfairly and whether Richie should be able to continue his career. He would certainly strengthen our OL and I don’t think we’d have one player who would object, except maybe the guard he would replace.
If you were willing to draft Playboy Manziel given his past transgressions then I don’t understand your staunch denial of Incognito. Especially when there has been such a lack of evidence and the fact that others were also directly involved that were not punished for doing the same thing Richie was asked to do by his coaches. How do you judge a person on hearsay?
http://www.cbssports.com/video/player/cbssportsnetwork/315175491878/0/richie-incognito-still-without-a-team
August 7th, 2014 at 9:57 am
I hope the Bucs OL play tomorrow leaves a better taste in your mouth than Bud Lite.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:59 am
Ok Joe, I got 2 questions for you:
1. Do you honestly believe that there is a prayer this OL becomes anything less than an absolute disaster next year? (You can just tap once for ‘no’, two taps for ‘yes’)
2. That there is any chance we don’t sign McCoy to an extension?
Happy birthday buddy
August 7th, 2014 at 11:12 am
Why do the Bucs not consider Incognito? He is a Pro Bowl caliber guard that we could get on a 1 year deal
August 7th, 2014 at 11:34 am
The idea that Mike ” house party, mattresses In the yard, knife in thigh,
Door kicked in, multiple speeding tickets” Williams got traded for only mattresses in the yard is a joke.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:30 pm
Why would a team that’s been free of drama and building a good culture want to associate themselves with a guy like Incognito? Why? Is he that good to accept the swarm of media that would follow and possibly make everyone at Buc palace miserable as hell? Not worth it. He was a decent player – but not good enough to take the crap that comes with him.
His rep as the dirtiest player in the NFL might have something to do with it too. He got that rep way before 2013’s garbage started. He just attracts problems.
August 7th, 2014 at 2:02 pm
There’s just a little bit of a difference (#sarcasm) from a guy who enjoys the nightlife and a guy who blows up a locker room, and not just one team (not counting his roid rage in a pool hall and wiping out cars with baseball bats).
There is a reason why the Rams GM did victory laps on national radio shows when he got rid of Incognito.
Joe has personally interviewed face-to-face, one-on-one three of Manziel’s ex-teammates. They loved him. One would be hard-pressed to see such adulation from any of Incognito’s ex-teammates.
August 7th, 2014 at 2:07 pm
Mike10:
1. Yes, but it is awfully thin.
2. Let’s just say GMC will be a Bucs player for the next few years at least. When he signs is really insignificant to Joe.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:11 pm
Hey joe, thanks. Follow up Q if I can. Is there any scheme Tedford could possibly have up his sleeve that downplays the role of the OL?
August 8th, 2014 at 12:09 am
Four tight end set? But that would mean keeping Luke Stocker.