Offensive Line May Not Be Worst
January 8th, 2015
Don’t laugh at the notion the Bucs’ offensive line may not be the worst in the NFL.
You would be hard-pressed to find a Bucs fan that doesn’t think the broken dam of an offensive line the Bucs had this past season is not the worst lot in the NFL.
From the complete and total turnstile that was Josh Allen, to the flag-happy Garrett Gilkey and the failed experiment with Oniel Cousins, to the benching of Anthony Collins and to the bruises all over Josh McCown’s body, it sure seemed like the Bucs had the NFL’s most inept front line.
Well, the spreadsheeters disagree.
The crowd over at Pro Football Focus have opened up their Excel programs and determined that, no, the Bucs did not have the worst offensive line. In fact, per Khaled Elsayed, seven teams were worse.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pass Blocking Ranking: 26th, Run Blocking Ranking: 10th, Penalties Ranking: 32nd
Stud: Credit to Demar Dotson who flipped between left and right tackle and maintained a positive grade.
Dud: Any time you’re forced to start Oniel Cousins it’s unlikely to go well. Suffice to say it didn’t work out for the Bucs either.
Breakdown: The decision to get younger at left tackle backfired with Anthony Collins struggling as Donald Penn flourished. Logan Mankins was a vital pickup given what they had at the guards spot but you’d be hard pressed to figure out what this line will look like next year.
Joe admits he didn’t watch every game of the Dolphins or the Lambs or the Dixie Chicks, but it would be hard to visualize the nightmare those offensive lines must have been, if they were worse than the Bucs.
This just in: If the Bucs do not dramatically improve their offensive line this offseason (adding players does not mean improvement, as was proven this past offseason), it’s hard to fathom the Bucs having a winning record in 2015, no matter if Jameis Winston or Josh McCown is the starting quarterback.
January 8th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Hmmm, the Falcons and Dolphins both had worse offensive lines but far better offfensive production? Interesting, it wouldn’t be because they have competent QBs behind center is it? Come to think of it, Joe Thomas made all-pro, again. That Browns offensive is definitely something special.
January 8th, 2015 at 12:56 pm
Penalties = 32nd. It was those drive killing penalties I remember the most
January 8th, 2015 at 12:57 pm
“no matter if Jameis Winston or Josh McCown is the starting quarterback or not.”er
You deliberatly are stoking 50% of JBF readers who chose option three….Marcus Mariota.
You could have said ” whoever the QB is” but no…not Joe….
I appreciate and respect your opinion on who should be QB and you are certainly entitled to write what you want ….but you are driving a wedge between Buc fans that will probably continue beyond the draft.
January 8th, 2015 at 12:58 pm
Did I read this correctly – run blocking rank is 10th? No way! In what world did the Bucs have the 10th ranked run blocking? If that is what their spreadsheets pumped out, then they need to get different geeks.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:00 pm
@ Bucfish
I agree….if that is true, we have the absolute worst RBs in the NFL…..
January 8th, 2015 at 1:01 pm
Run Blocking…10th??? Really??? They DO realize that the Bucs had a franchise LOW in rushing yards this year, right? Then again, it’s the same bunch that said Anthony Collins was a stud in 2013! Nothing that comes from them will henceforth be treated with any credibility!
January 8th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
that run blocking stat can not be accurate. wow. I doubt Josh McCown’s body agrees with these rankings.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:10 pm
TBBF….driving a wedge between Buc fans? LOL
Isn’t that what Joe does all the time anyways?
Joe LOVES it when we fight…right Joe.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
P.S. Now go get you’re shine box….ha ha ha.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
This is why PFF is bit of a joke. That and saying Bridgewater was the 2nd best QB in the entire league the final 8 games (LOL!). But yeah, the Bucs who were 29th in rushing yards and 24th and YPA are not even close to the 10th best run blocking line.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:14 pm
as whole maybe not the worse but individually damn they didn’t have to watch gilkey, cousins and Collins week in week out so what do they know
January 8th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
@87
The problem for me is that I am fully aware of what Joe is doing…..but there are probably many who are strongly influenced by him and if Lovie, Licht & the Glazers make another choice….then most of the huge Winston fans will hold that against them.
I think there are probably many like me that would be happy with either QB but when pressed to choose one……chose one.
Any fan who truly has empathy for the Glazers could understand their dilemma,,,
January 8th, 2015 at 1:29 pm
Not sure how they manipulate their statistics Joe, but I was at all but one of our home games and the OL looked pretty pathetic. I suspect that, at the most, only three will be on the team next year (Dotson, EDS and Mankins).
My guess is Lovie and Licht will fill one remaining hole through free agency, and the other through the draft (finding two starting O-linemen through the draft seems to be pretty rare).
What we do for depth, however, is anybody’s guess. We’ll need at least 3 more quality backups.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:30 pm
Joe is pretty convinced he has zero influence on Lovie.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:35 pm
Stats are for losers… oh wait!
2-14 and on the verge!
Yay!
January 8th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
Joe can we get a daily trade our first overall pick for Johnny Football? You lost credibility last year with that please listen to your readers and at least include a real Heisman winning QB.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:43 pm
@ Joe
“Lovie, Licht & the Glazers”
“Joe is pretty convinced he has zero influence on Lovie.”
So, do we take it that you do have influence over Licht & the Glazers or were you just being brief?
January 8th, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Joe…
By many are “influenced by him” I am speaking of your readers…..
January 8th, 2015 at 1:50 pm
The 2014 Bucs sucked in so many areas. The OL is just glaring. QB glaring.
Lack of discipline and stupid penalties glaring! Choking in their failure to make several big plays that could have won games. Glaring!
But it is the NFL. Things turn in a heartbeat. We get Mariota/Jameis trade up into the first with our high 2nd round pick and land a franchise tackle to go with our franchise QB and then grab at least one NFL starting quality guard with the 3rd-4th round pick.
The team would have immediate credibility if the OL had a good coach and time to jell. The QB would be good, running back capable, receivers good and the defense is improving.
We could actually make the playoffs in our crappy division. It’ll be one and done but it could be the foundation of something good with a franchise QB and a franchise LT for the next ten years.
January 8th, 2015 at 1:56 pm
@ St Pete
“We get Mariota/Jameis”
Congrats to you….an avid Mariota supporter but are still willing to accept that Winston may be the choice….then move on to fixing other problems….
I salute you for that!!! And wish others would have the same respect for the pending decision.
January 8th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
Football Outsiders has the Bucs offensive line ranked 32nd for run blocking, mostly because they have the highest percentage of rushes that are stuffed either at or behind the line of scrimmage. FO’s ranking seems more reasonable.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol
January 8th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
OK, now this is just silly. 10th in run blocking? There is no way that is even remotely possible considering there were practically zero holes created by the running backs to run through, if you go back and look at the tape you will notice that even when there was a hole for the RB, as soon as he hit it – it was almost immediately closes, sans for a few decent runs.
January 8th, 2015 at 2:02 pm
TBBF…Many Buc fans are already not happy with the Glazer kids.
This might be their last shot to make many of those fans happy. So I get your point, because I’m one of those fans.
I’ve already stated if they pass up on either QB and both go onto shine in the NFL, while our team continues to suck, that will be the dagger for me.
I won’t jump onto another team. I just won’t watch the NFL anymore at all.
They better do right by us with this pick….I’m tellin ya now.
January 8th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
But, I agree with what Brandon was saying. Drafting an o-line man so high would be detrimental to this team. Prime example are the Browns with Joe Thomas. I don’t see anyway that we don’t pick a QB. How often do you have the number 1 pick and have 2 QBs on the board that are worthy of that pick. Its a slam dunk type of situation.
January 8th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
@ 87
That’s what I’m talking about…..their dilemma…..they choose Winston….and many, many fans will be upset…..they choose Mariota and many, many fans will be upset….They trade the pick for a boatload of draft picks and many, many fans would be upset.
They would almost be in better shape if we picked 2nd and didn’t have a choice!!!
January 8th, 2015 at 2:25 pm
during the season I commented that all great nfl QB’S chew out their 0-line when they stink up the field. I also said mccown needed to do this. yesterday steven a. smith was telling skip bayless on the first take espn2 tv show that several players have told him tom brady really yells at his 0-line players and curses at them when they cause penalties or don’t block.
JOSH MCCOWN are you reading this!!!!
January 8th, 2015 at 5:05 pm
10th in run blocking????????? B.S!!! Our line SUCKED!!!!!!! But with Mariota at QB next year he will ale our line look so much better on paper.
January 8th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
“Run Blocking Ranking: 10th”
So much for PFFs credibility. Our run blocking was absolutely horrible. Practically the worst I have ever seen.
January 9th, 2015 at 12:56 am
Of the teams ranked behind the Bucs you can bet that all had significantly better play from their qb (even the Lambs) and TE positions. You put a 25th ranked OL with a 30th to 32nd ranked qb/TE and a below average running game coupled with the 32nd ranked OC in the NFL in Arroyo and you end up with a 30th ranked offense despite having a stud rookie wideout in Evans and a decent but aging and drop happy former #1 wideout in V-Jack….
BTW StPeteBucsFan has good idea/template of how the draft should ideally go: qb in 1st, trade up for a OT not rated much lower then Peat or Scherff by trading the 34th pick overall (2nd pick of 2nd round after Titans as the 2 teams will alternate picking first having the same dismal 2 win records) to get into the late 1st round and then using the 1st pick of the 3rd round and the 2nd overall pick of round 4 on a Center and ready to contribute Guard…. But will Lovie neglect the D for 2 straight drafts?????