Logan Mankins For M.I.P.
May 11th, 2015
Once upon a time, the last time the Buccaneers were a good football team, two no-name rookies and a dude named James Lee were dominating on the Tampa Bay offensive line.
This should bring a glimmer of hope to the Bucs faithful.
Of course, Joe’s talking about 2010, when guards Derek Hardman and Ted Larsen were blowing holes open for LeGarrette Blount, who scampered for 1,000 yards in three-fourths of a season.
Those rookies had Pro Bowlers around to mentor them. And with Donald Penn (one of those Pro Bowlers), he was on the field alongside Larsen while Davin Joseph was getting healthy and helping Hardman.
This brings Joe to barbecue-yearning Logan Mankins, the Bucs’ 33-year-old left guard and Patriots icon. Tampa Bay is paying Mankins about $7 million this season to not just protect Jameis Winston, but to guide rookie left tackle Donovan Smith and rookie guard Ali Marpet, the projected right guard starter from Division III Hobart College.
Mankins might be the most important person, the M.I.P., in the Bucs locker room this season.
Even Marpet, via notes from a Twitter chat with Bucs season ticket holders posted on Buccaneers.com, revealed he plans to have his ears dialed into Mankins’ every word.
Joe’s rooting hard for Mankins. He has such vital roles, in addition to his spatula duties. And there’s nobody behind him on the depth chart.
May 11th, 2015 at 10:31 am
I hope Mankins brings his heart along for this season.
May 11th, 2015 at 10:39 am
7mil for a 32 year old guard with no knees who does not want to be here. Wow! We have an offensive line coach don’t we? Yes, he is the most offensive line coach in the NFL.
May 11th, 2015 at 10:40 am
they should have some damned good BBQ recipes by years end.
and with JW laid up eating BBQ he’s more likely than ever to resemble jamarcus russell
May 11th, 2015 at 10:46 am
I really hope that Mankins coaches and mentors these rookies. Cause he sure is not bringing it on the field!
May 11th, 2015 at 10:59 am
he’s not mentoring anyone. He’ll be putting in his required hours until his final paycheck.
nothing against him. but ask yourself, what would you do.
your final year
don’t want to be here
job all but guaranteed based on the lack of experience around him
tampa is not even his team/love. NE is!!!
I am a workaholic, but given that circumstance…….I sure as hell would not care to stay after and answers bunch of questions and explain stuff to a rookie with no clue. his cell will be off once his day work is complete. his cell will be turned off after he leaves OBP, as would mine.
May 11th, 2015 at 11:03 am
Cpt Doom
I really hope you are wrong but I think your absolutely right.
May 11th, 2015 at 11:07 am
This year….Mankins better be MIP and NOT…MIA!!!
May 11th, 2015 at 11:07 am
Captain Doom
What a great name! It suits you perfectly. Obviously Mankins or any other sentient human being would be less than excited by moving from a Super Bowl Champ to the worst team in the league. But that was last year!
How many of you would rather live in Mass. than Florida. Mankins may have totally acclimated to his new home and team by now. He’s probably excited by the draft and being part of building something from the bottom up is frequently far more exciting than simply being another cog in a well worn championship team that grinds out title’s like sausage.
I think Mankins will warm to this challenge. He has a chance to actually leave a mark and be an important part of a franchise, as opposed to beingh another nondescript cog in Tom Brady’s team.
May 11th, 2015 at 11:23 am
@stpete
pffft
the whole line could turn out as pro bowlers and no one would credit mankins.
warhop and lovie would be redeemed as genius’ with maybe a mention of mankins by a player or two
your opinion of mass vs. FL is completely biased and does not take into account his wife and 2 children who surely have their own lives in NE
I was at the beach all weekend, and I can assure you, when he hits the 110 degree football field the last thing he’ll be thinking is “boy am I glad I am out of that cool change of season in MA”
May 11th, 2015 at 11:42 am
Captain Doom,
I admit my own bias from my own life experiences. I’ve been to several broadcast operations, some of them at the bottom and some at the top. It was always more fun to work in a situation that was improving than just being part of a winning team. NOBODY wants to play for a loser! But if the team is improving and has light at the end of the tunnel that changes everything.
As far as trying to debate Florida versus Mass that’s pretty much a joke. Yes we have some of the most crooked corrupt politicians in the land but after that it’s all good. I rarely go to the beach, that’s for tourists. But I hike all around our great area. And I NEVER EVER shovel snow…I never take 30 minutes to dig out my car, scrape windshields and I no longer worry about sliding around on the ice and damaging my car.
But the bottom line is what I told an obnoxious Flyer fan sitting next to me at the Lightning game. Flyers were winning and he was obxnoxious and so midway through the third period I let him have it!
I told him OK Flyers have scoreboard your team is better. But Tampa has scoreboard over Philadelphia as a city!!! You don’t see thousands of Floridians migrating weekly to Pennsylvania or Boston…not they come the3 other direction because one place is SOOOO much better to live than the other. That’s why all you losers come down here to drive on our roads and suck our water and air while you root for you old athletic teams because your city sucks!
If Boston was such a great place to live they wouldn’t be coming here. MY IT guy is from Boston and still roots for the REd Sox. But there is no way he’d leave Florida to go back to Boston.
May 11th, 2015 at 11:43 am
The Barbecue Master is back!!!!! I think Marpet will be the perfect guy to pass the spatula to. Teach him the ways Logan….
May 11th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
Hopefully Joe can get an interview with Mankins before the season starts.
May 11th, 2015 at 1:34 pm
@StPeteBucsFan – thank you
May 11th, 2015 at 1:52 pm
@st pete..
not saying he won’t move here….but it’ll probably be when he’s 50, as an empty nester and with a vacation home.
May 11th, 2015 at 2:13 pm
I trust belicheat far more than Lovie. Mankins is DONE… mankins was done 2 years ago. It’s one thing to hope he plays better but to think he will magically find the fountain of youth. i hate to break it to some but the fountain of youth is a tourist trap mot reality. Stick a fork in BBQ master he is done. Licht needs to go get and a real player.
May 11th, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Let’s lower the boom on Captain Doom…nah. That’s too easy. We need him around when Robert9 isn’t chirping in!
May 11th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
@Captain Dumb you wish you could trade in that lawn care job for that 32 year old broke knee bar b q cooking lineman
May 11th, 2015 at 4:34 pm
Captain Doom.
Do you know the difference between a multimillionaire, very successful All pro player- he does his work with the nation watching every week
And
A unsuccessful, bitter loser?
After reading your post- I do!
Of course Mankins will help, and be invested in this team.
That’s the difference between a competitive, all pro NFL player,
And guys like you
They don’t just punch the clock. EVER.
They always play to win
May 11th, 2015 at 4:40 pm
he might also be M.I.P. in terms of “Most Improved Player” on the team as well…if we are lucky. then again, that’s not saying much, since most of last year’s crushing disappointments (thankfully) have been released and won’t have the chance to improve as bucs.
May 11th, 2015 at 4:44 pm
mankins has gone from “good” to “good enough” on the field, but he can set this team up for long term success based on his interactions with our new franchise QB and all of the young guys that will be in the OL meeting room this season.
May 11th, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Hoping to see a night and day difference in Mankins’ play this year compared to last. Now that its “sunk in” that he’s a Buccaneer and with a whole off-season to prepare and some upgraded talent around him (hopefully) – maybe Logan can actually look like the pro bowl caliber guard that earns $7M a year again.