Dominik Fears For Jameis
September 1st, 2015
Former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik is scared for America’s Quarterback.
Bucs fans have hit the panic button after the matador blocking of the Bucs’ offensive line Saturday night. It isn’t so much the bad blocking that has fans freaking out, it is for whom they are supposed to be blocking.
And that is America’s Quarterback, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston.
Don’t feel alone, Bucs fans. There is another man out there who feels your pain, and that is former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.
Apparently Sunday, Dominik, now in the employ of BSPN, took to the four-letter network and spoke openly that he not only fears for Jameis’ physical well-being, but believes if this non-blocking continues, Jameis will be brain-damaged, so types James Yarcho of something called EndZoneScore.com.
“When you look at what’s going on in front of him, the protection, it’s breaking down. There are a lot of free guys coming on at Jameis Winston. What’s happening there, it makes me nervous, is the fact that I think, now, that Jameis Winston is getting scared in the pocket.
“Remember (David) Carr? He was the number one pick, got sacked 72 times as a rookie. I think it ruined him as a player. I’m worried that, in this situation, Jameis is getting hit. A lot.
“Let’s make no mistake, he has got to get the ball out quicker. He’s gotta see when the blitzes are coming. He’s gotta put them into good protections, get the right alignment, get himself protected. But right now, it’s very scary what Jameis is putting on tape.
“It’s also sad what’s going on in front of him. Those young players, Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith, they’re not playing well right now and that’s hard to do to a rookie quarterback.”
Of course, Joe is already fielding questions on Twitter about why the Bucs didn’t beef up their front line to begin with. First, Joe is pretty sure drafting two second-round picks and signing ancient Gosder Cherilus is addressing the offensive line.
Second, you don’t draft guys in the second round to ride the pine. Third, who was out there that wasn’t either damaged goods or grossly overpriced (say, Evan Mathis who had no intention of playing for the Bucs at any price)? Sure, a team could trade first-round picks for average players but that is a really good way for a general manager to dig his own career grave.
Now if you want to argue the Bucs should have never run off Donald Penn or Jeremy Zuttah, which really started this terrible mess, then Joe is all ears. The Bucs are themselves to blame for digging holes like a manic dog where there were no holes in the lawn to begin with.
Then again, without virtually every move on the offensive line blowing up in their face last year, there very likely would be no Jameis on the roster, and thus, no hope.
Joe suspects this is what Bucs OC Dirk Koetter wanted to do after watching tape of Saturday’s loss to Cleveland.
September 1st, 2015 at 5:18 am
I maintain Winston will be on IR by game 4. AM got manhandled Saturday… and on and on it went. You don’t get rid of Penn, Zuttah, and #75 with no plan to replace them with quality players. The Bucs are 5 years away from being a mediocre team. That is, if Winston is not suffereing from PTSD (no joke, serious).
September 1st, 2015 at 6:08 am
As much as it is an interesting story, I don’t think Penn and Zuttah makes this O-line that much of a difference. Zuttah has to play with strong guards or he gets manhandled like he did in last years playoff game. I had heard (from here) how great Zuttah was playing and my first chance was in the Steelers vs. Ravens playoff game. Zuttah was manhandled all game long!!!
And Penn gave up the second most sacks of ALL Tackles that last year he was in Tampa!!!!
This O-line is terrible, But think past players would have been saviors when they are not much better is just fools-gold!!!!!
September 1st, 2015 at 6:25 am
Have said all along that Jameis was fine with that high talent level at FSU…..doesn’t have that here…..everyone on this site has put Winston on a pedestal that rivals the Seattle sky needle and now he’s getting battered…..
Rough waters ahead with the O-line
September 1st, 2015 at 6:42 am
Hey Dom, maybe you should have been drafting us some young linemen.
Hey Licht, maybe you shouldn’t have blown up the line without replacements.
September 1st, 2015 at 6:46 am
Expect some new faces today after the 4PM cut on the O-line.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:06 am
Or you could blame Dom for years of not spending premium picks on the o line and keeping our team in the bowels of the NFC for years
September 1st, 2015 at 7:21 am
“Jameis is starting to get scared in the pocket”. Lol, he has played roughly 4 quarters now, and for two of those quarters against Bengals the oline did just fine. I don’t think he is mentally scarred quite yet. The panic over one presseason game, where the Browns brought the house while the Bucs remained in basic protections (Koetter said that in his press conference) is a bit to much. The Oline will continue to be a work in progress but it wont be as bad as Saturday. In fact it will be better than last year, though it might take a few games to get there. I refuse to go down the doom and gloom path and declare the season over after a horrible preseason game.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:23 am
Well this is truly laughable. In his entire time as GM for the Bucs, he invested one draft pick on the OLine. A 5th rounder no less. Why does this dope get to comment on the current administration when he failed so miserably.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:32 am
We will be fine….Jameis will save us….that’s what we have been told over & over & over & over & over again…..needless overselling of Winston….AFTER he was drafted….now the concern……..He will struggle….the rookies on the line will struggle….but he will come out of this stronger.
I do believe Winston is a warrior….no David Carr.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:44 am
By mid season we will be fine. Its the first game I am very worried about, then again Tennessee doesn’t have the defensive personal that Cleveland has.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:47 am
Dominik would have called Byron Leftwich by now to show Jameis how to be a better QB. Mr. “I don’t believe in using draft picks on offensive linemen” has less of a clue on how to build a solid line than Lovie Smith.
Dominik is the RGIII of NFL General Managers, one fluke year and down the toilet he goes.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:48 am
If Donovan Smith could start right away and be a great left tackle, he wouldn’t have made it to pick 34 or whatever he went.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:52 am
Dreambig speaks truth.
September 1st, 2015 at 7:58 am
@ joseph mama
An excelent point. We took both Smith and Marpet a full round ahead of where they should have gone on top of that. Could they end up being good players? Sure, but they are both developmental players IMO.
September 1st, 2015 at 8:01 am
Sit Jameis until we figure out the oline. We arent going anywhere this year. No reason to ruin our future a few extra wins this year. SIT THE FUTUREE
September 1st, 2015 at 8:04 am
Jaboobuc- we can only assume he was a great source for the Joes and the media for him to avoid so much of the blame for the Bucs woes. It’s sickening as a fan that some think he was good at his job
September 1st, 2015 at 8:08 am
Joe….I remember guys like Terry Bradshaw taking hit after hit in his early years, and still developing into an excellent QB. What is it with the modern day QB’s, that if they play behind a week O line and take hits, which most young QB’s do, it destroys them. Never heard that kind of talk in the 60’s and the 70’s. Have we just become a weak willed generation, or are we looking for excuses? Or are we over hyping guys that really don’t have everything to become a great QB and blaming it on that when in reality, it is just the guy and who he is?
September 1st, 2015 at 8:11 am
One other thing…look at the Packers line and their draft picks…only a couple of them are high picks….now likely Rodgers makes the look better than they are, but it is obvious that we still haven’t solved the problem of drafting and failing to develop high draft pick O linemen…..and that comes back to draft selection and development.
September 1st, 2015 at 8:23 am
Tampa Tony, if you in need of a laugh or reduce your caloric intake, go back and look at Dominicks drafts. I truly could have done better picking out of a hat or throwing darts.
September 1st, 2015 at 8:51 am
The formula for attacking rookie QB’s is to rattle them by heavy blitzing, the Browns showed how it’s done. This Bucs team O line problems stick out like a sore thumb, every team they face will blitz them heavy. Have to block them or burn them when they blitz. The Bucs will get it together eventually.
September 1st, 2015 at 9:04 am
@The Buc Realist Says:
“As much as it is an interesting story, I don’t think Penn and Zuttah makes this O-line that much of a difference…”
You get accused of being nothing but negative all the time, but not of distorting the truth of the situation. This time you did just that. To take a players worst year to judge him by, and not take into account that it was possibly an aberration, is “fools gold” only for your own opinion. Penn has been nothing short of solid for the Raiders. Zuttah has played at Pro Bowl level since he was traded for a peanut butter sandwich to the Ravens. To say they would not be FAR FAR better than what we have at LT and C is ridiculous.
I am shocked you did not take this opportunity to blast the personnel evaluation skills of Lovie. That would have been far more appropriate. You are not on your game on this one Realist.
September 1st, 2015 at 9:48 am
This is what I love about sports. We all disagree and it’s fun!
@Realist This may be a bad morning for you. I actually agree with your post completely.
Sorry Harry but Zuttah and Penn are “competent” NFL players. They don’t suck but they are not saviors and this OL needed a lot more than them. EDS and Mankins are the equivalent of those two and we see what a difference they made…or didn’t.
September 1st, 2015 at 10:18 am
Tom Edrington Says:
September 1st, 2015 at 6:25 am
Have said all along that Jameis was fine with that high talent level at FSU…..doesn’t have that here…..everyone on this site has put Winston on a pedestal that rivals the Seattle sky needle and now he’s getting battered…..
Rough waters ahead with the O-line
————————————————————
Completely agree, Tom!
Posted previously by me.
tickrdr Says:
July 14th, 2015 at 12:04 pm
IMO, Jameis had LOTS of help, but he seemed to be the one that got them into trouble in the first place with all those interceptions.
From the story about the arrest of Dalvin Cook on Sports Illustrated:
“Without Cook, the Seminoles might not have won the ACC title in 2014. They almost certainly wouldn’t have made the first College Football Playoff. Cook’s freshman numbers (170 carries, 1,008 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns) were excellent, but his value goes beyond that. When the Seminoles were most in danger of losing in the regular season, they leaned on Cook the most—and he bailed them out. When Florida State trailed in its first 13 games, Cook carried 36 times for 344 yards (9.6 per carry), ran for six touchdowns and had 13 runs of at least 10 yards and six runs of at least 20. For a program that has had 29 players drafted the past three seasons and an offense replacing its quarterback and four starting offensive linemen, Cook was one of a few sure things on the field for 2015.”
29 players good enough to be drafted by the NFL over the last three years.
Their collective talent was ALWAYS better than their opponents.
tickrdr
September 1st, 2015 at 10:23 am
I would fear for Jameis…if Mark Dominik was still the GM. As noted, Dominik didn’t believe in drafting O-lineman. So the cupboard was bare when it came to developing players and we had to go and find them in free agency and trades last year. Donald Penn and Zuttah would have combined to be better last year than what the Bucs had, but in no way would they have made the line any good. There is a difference between better than the absolute worst and mediocre. And there was no way that this line was-or-is going to be mediocre in the short term.
September 1st, 2015 at 10:28 am
I was worried about this even before we drafted JW – you can easily ruin your QB! How can you develop when you’re rushing the ball out every single play.
I’m looking at the Bucs:
– adding through waivers
– JW getting the ball out sooner
– Koetter to embrace the problem and designing plays that help JW
September 1st, 2015 at 10:54 am
@Mike
– Koetter to embrace the problem and designing plays that help JW
Ding…ding…ding..a winner! IMHO this is the only real hope. We can improve incrementally by adding from the waiver wire but the reality is our talent is pretty well set now. We’re going to have to play the cards that have been dealt and so our major hope is that Koetter is great at playing those cards.
I’m optimistic because I saw what he did in Atlanta with an OL that was actually worse than ours.
September 1st, 2015 at 11:21 am
Dom complaining about the O-line, is like having a guest over for dinner. Guest climbs up and takes a steaming Dump on the dining room table- then complaining that your house smells bad!!
September 1st, 2015 at 11:28 am
^^Capt. Tim – TRUUUUTH
September 1st, 2015 at 12:29 pm
Capt.Tim Says:
September 1st, 2015 at 11:21 am
Dom complaining about the O-line, is like having a guest over for dinner. Guest climbs up and takes a steaming Dump on the dining room table- then complaining that your house smells bad!!
————————————————————-
LOL – we have a thread winning comment. No other entries necessary.
September 1st, 2015 at 1:08 pm
This is one of the very reasons I was a vocal member of the trade down crowd that Joe loved poking fun at. You build your lines first, Glennon could be a serviceable starting QB under the man who made Matt Ryan look almost elite. If Glennon wasn’t the guy then the Bucs would have had enough picks to go up and get the real ‘next Andrew Luck’ out of Penn St (Hackenberg) next draft and at least had a solid O and D lines in place
September 1st, 2015 at 1:15 pm
Terry Bradshaw was the only quarterback Joe ever saw that was hauled off on a stretcher in the first half and started the second half. Tough SOB.
September 1st, 2015 at 2:10 pm
This is why we needed to pick Mariota. When the pocket breaks down he runs outside and makes plays on the run. Gonna regret this pick.
September 1st, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Everyone be patient!
September 1st, 2015 at 3:48 pm
“”” Mariota4theBucs Says:
September 1st, 2015 at 2:10 pm
This is why we needed to pick Mariota. When the pocket breaks down he runs outside and makes plays on the run. Gonna regret this pick. “””
Mariota was sacked more than Winston in college and by a good margin. Didnt help him then so why would it help him now? And dont say it was because of the difference in pass blocking. Winston last year with FSU was hammered all year long.
Anyway.
It doesnt matter if Winston gets the right protection called if the guys upfront cant execute it. About the only thing to do is call short , quick pass plays early in games to get the defense to back off. Just dont fall in love with it because it makes it easier for defenses to play run and pass if that is all you do.
September 2nd, 2015 at 11:02 am
Let me ask something here. Winston his last yr wasn’t the best QB in college football. Statistics says that he was ranked around 13th in the nation. He didn’t fare well at fsu after that first season. Why? Because the line has issues and he has a problem dealing with pressure in his face. People loved what he did so much because half is Bucs fans are FSU fans that you forgot how awful he looked in the 2nd half of the 2014 season. The multiple int games he had. Couldn’t read the under coverage from the LB. Yeah he won those games but easily could have lost and it was all on him.
So many said that he was Pro Style ready. How’s that looking? They said he was better at controlling a huddle. How’s that working? They said he had better pocket presence. How that working? How is anythibg looking without an offensive line. They’re trash! So how effective will Jameis be when he’s getting pulled off the ground? He’s showing habits he had got away with at fsu now. Those poor reads and throws are costing this team possessions and games. I always said he will have a good career just not as good as most thinks. We’ll see how thing goes