“He’s Going To Fight You To The End”
August 27th, 2015
A former Buccaneer is applauding guard Ali Marpet and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter
Rave reviews for the Buccaneers’ offensive line are pouring in after they stood tall as a unit against the Bengals.
Former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht was fiercely critical of the O-line last year, but Becht sounded like a happy man when talking about the totality of the unit on WDAE-AM 620 this week.
Becht liked the approach Monday by Koetter.
“Dirk Koetter kind of gets it. I mean, he’s got some young linemen mixed in with some veterans. He knows that he has to get them off the ball a little bit,” Becht said. “Anytime you do some play-action stuff, the offensive line can be aggressive. I think you always want to start the game trying to get the young guys hands on somebody, where they can try to be aggressive and just get their feet wet early in the football game. I thought they did that. The protection was there early in the game.”
As far as singling players out, Becht only referenced Ali Marpet. “He’s going to fight you to the end,” Becht said of Marpet’s game.
Joe’s happy about the O-line play, too — last year at this time starting guards Oneil Cousins and Jamon Meredith had fans shaking — but Joe must be realistic. The O-line has a long way to go. Reid Fragel at right tackle had Joe wincing Monday night, and Marpet and Donovan Smith were beat simultaneously and nearly got Jameis’ ankle snapped off.
Hopefully, the unit continues to mature at their current rate, and Gosder Cherilus, the newcomer and surefire starter at right tackle, is on his game when he finally joins the first team.
August 27th, 2015 at 11:08 am
Every line gets beat ocxasionally.
I thought the line was 5 times better than this time last year.
Thought all the young guys – including Fragel- looked really good.
Our young Center played great. Wonder why they keep forcing Gilkey to play Center, When Jerimah Warren looks like a starter?
August 27th, 2015 at 11:08 am
Marpet is gonna be great… Donovan on the other hand needs to step it up
August 27th, 2015 at 11:09 am
Winston/Koetter’s way and Lovie calling plays will get us to 8-8.
August 27th, 2015 at 11:27 am
Man… I keep being right about Big Brother Ali.
August 27th, 2015 at 11:27 am
Donovan would be a beast LG
August 27th, 2015 at 11:46 am
Aristotle- you must be basing that on your opinion of the man.
You certainly cant have based that on his play.,
He looked like a seasoned vet Saturday., and a very talented seasoned Vet..
August 27th, 2015 at 11:48 am
Rookies struggle with stunts and blitz pickups and they both got beat on stunts. That takes time but overall I see progress. Koetter’s blocking schemes implemented by Warhop is a huge upgrade from last year when the Bucs lost their OC and had nobody to make in game scheme adjustments.
August 27th, 2015 at 12:08 pm
He’s going to fight you to the end,”
***************
Go back and watch martins run to the 1y line and watch what Marpet does to Atkins. The kid is vicious.
August 27th, 2015 at 12:41 pm
Lots of love to go around for our OL. Smith will be fine with some more work.
See the next thread for that assessment.
Marpet is the darling of the camp right now because in addition to being very athletic and VERY strong he apparently has a mean streak or at minimum a nobody’s going to beat me! The fact that he was able to get GMC angry enough to rumble in practice is awesome. GMC is not known as a mean or angry guy.
If Marpet was able to get to GMC and survive Atkins you know how he’s going to look against average NFL DL.
Enjoy it while you can. Carly Simon baby. ANTICIPATION!!!!
August 27th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
That Cinci game was so good, and Marpet did so good Im getting ready to watch it for a 3rd time …. 1pm est nfl network.
Weve got a stud in Marpet….I always knew he would be good in the nfl, regardless of coming from Hobart.
August 27th, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Who was it Ray….you me and maybe 1 other campaigning for us to draft him. I even remember posting that he will probably go in the 2nd when someone was saying he was a 4th rounder. heh, i need to post that video of me going hysterical when we moved up and got him.
August 27th, 2015 at 1:40 pm
OK props to MadMax and RayJay. YES Marpet looks like the real deal.
Love Mongo.
August 27th, 2015 at 1:57 pm
:big grin:
Thanks StPete 🙂
August 27th, 2015 at 2:07 pm
That’s the best pic of Ali you have put up so far.
August 27th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
the foundation is set..good defence..rising center,nasty guard, good lt and franchise qb..now let them gel together and win..GO BUCS!!!
August 27th, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Man I knew Marpet was going to end up being a great pick. Just for the mere fact of where he came from. The kid has something to prove to everyone and he knows that. He’s probably giving more effort than anyone else on that line.
Still early though. Gotta play the real games first.
August 27th, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Mongo I salute. And stotle save that noise. D Smith puttin in good as well. Just like the first poster stated everyone gets beat occasionally.
August 27th, 2015 at 4:48 pm
@Joe,
In fairness I always feel when you see a QB dropping back and he gets his feet tangled or slips down, it’s common that the D Line comes in full force. I’m not a coach but I feel that the reason for this is the angle of the D Line completely changes and the O Line is defending them in a vulnerable position. I can’t tell you the last time I remember seeing a QB stumble or fall down and him not having relentless D Linemen in his grill.
August 27th, 2015 at 8:17 pm
Marpet looks really good – no matter where he came from. Its early – but it sure looks like Licht hit a 4 starter Grand Slam in the 2015 draft with his 1st 4 picks this year. That chit is hard to do!!
I heard somewhere that Warhop specifically named these 2 players (D. Smith and Marpet) as those he liked and could work with that would still likely be available outside of the 1st round. If this is true – then I just gained some respect (which was admittedly missing) for coach Warhop.
LOL – We are so starved for even decent OLine play round here – that even a preseason hint that we can actually open holes and pass protect at a reasonable level has us all giddy….