PFF’s Assault On Donovan Smith
June 6th, 2016
PFF’s offensive line evaluations are laughable.
Joe hasn’t seen a disconnect like this since Joe’s old man used to talk about the internet (it’s no longer uppercase, says the AP and New York Times!).
He never, ever was on the internet. He thought it was the work of the devil, created, developed and used by child molesters and Al Gore.
Joe is at a point where he would almost love to sit down with the PFF tribe and try to find out what they see in offensive linemen that NFL folks don’t see, and vice-versa. The disconnect is astounding.
Take this: the PFF tribe believes last year, the third-best pass blocking center was Stefen Wisniewski of Jacksonville, a team with a horrid offensive line that ran off Wisniewski, a guy on his third team in as many years. Blake Bortles may have laughed had he read that, except for the fact his ribs are still hurting he took such a beating.
If this Wisniewski was any good, how come he can’t stick with a team and had to sign a one-year, prove-it contract with the Eagles.
Joe texted a trusted NFL source about this ranking of Wisniewski a couple of weeks ago. The reply Joe got from this NFL employee?
“HaHaHa!!”
This brings Joe to the PFF tribe and the Bucs. In an offseason review typed by John Breitenbach, in which he was somewhat harsh on Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, Breitenbach reiterated the PFF tribe theme that J.R. Sweezy is the second coming of Garrett Gilkey. Then he went off the deep end on another year-long thorn in their side, Donovan Smith, suggesting Smith struggled so much he needs to find a new position.
Considering Donovan Smith’s struggles on the perimeter of the line as a rookie (32.5 grade), it might have been more prudent to kick him inside and target a tackle.
LOL Donovan Smith a guard. Joe has heard it all.
Let’s think about this for a moment. Smith was a rookie left tackle (often facing the opponent’s toughest pass rusher) yet the Bucs were tied for fourth-fewest sacks allowed.
Just think about this for a moment: If a left tackle was such a bag of trash as the PFF tribe believes, wouldn’t the quarterback have been sacked more than twice a game on average? The Bucs gave up 27 sacks last year, less than two sacks a game. And that was with a rookie quarterback.
And let’s not forget the Bucs rushed for 2,162 yards, fifth-most in the NFL. How could that be if the left tackle was so worthless?
Joe decided to do some research:
- Against the Texans, J.J. Watt, who was moved around a lot, had no sacks, two tackles and three assists.
- Against Carolina the first game, Smith got torched. Stinking Panthers right defensive ends Kony Ealy and Ryan Delaire combined for three sacks.
- Facing the Giants, Three Finger Pierre-Paul had a grand total of two tackles.
- Battling the scourge of society, Greg Hardy, the accused woman-beater had one whole tackle, nothing else.
- At Indianapolis, Robert Mathis had two tackles and no sacks, but linebacker Trent Cole ate Smith up on blitzes as the Colts used Mathis as a decoy. Cole had one sack and had many pressures (Joe had his binoculars focused on Smith most of that game). Now Joe isn’t sure if Smith was out of position when he blocked Mathis which opened an alley for Cole to blitz through or if a running back was supposed to pick up a blitzing Cole?
- The Bears played a 34 front. Right outside linebacker Pernell McPhee and right defensive end Cornelius Washington combined for two sacks.
- In a rematch at Carolina, Ealy had no sacks and three tackles and Jared Allen was also sackless but had five tackles.
Does that read like Smith is a total waste of flesh? Hardly.
Now Football Outsiders, a football thinktank Joe thinks a helluva lot more of than the PFF tribe, ranked the Bucs No. 14 overall for pass blocking. Joe doesn’t think the line would have been that high if its left tackle was that horrible. A rookie no less!
Sorry, Joe doesn’t buy the horse feces the PFF tribe shovels when it comes to offensive lines. Smith is not such a sieve that he needs to moved to guard (Buhahahahah!). And Joe has not found an NFL type that believes that either.
Just remember this the next time you read how the geeks loathe Smith: The guy who runs the football operations for the Bucs is a former offensive lineman himself. If that same guy really thought Smith was as horrible as the numbercrunchers want you to believe, then you would have heard about it by now, on or off the record, or via free-agent signings or a draft pick to cover for Smith.
June 6th, 2016 at 7:33 am
He’s never going to be the best LT in the game, but he’s decent. Time will tell if he’s good enough to win a championship with.
June 6th, 2016 at 7:41 am
Per: Joe
Against Carolina the first game, Smith got torched. Stinking Panthers right defensive ends Kony Ealy and Ryan Delaire combined for three sacks.
Trent Cole ate Smith up on blitzes as the Colts used Mathis as a decoy. Cole had one sack and had many pressures (Joe had his binoculars focused on Smith most of that game).
The Bears played a 34 front. Right outside linebacker Pernell McPhee and right defensive end Cornelius Washington combined for two sacks.
_
As expected – A rookie will take his Bumps & Bruises.
To a man, I respect the fact that – He had a bounce back game against Carolina.
With that said – If Donovan cuts down on those Offensive Penalties (10).
An eliminate some of them pressures – he’ll have a another solid year.
June 6th, 2016 at 7:44 am
As long as he keeps cleaning up his technique he will be fine!!! Maybe PFF takes points off for him being in max protection?? He did have a TE lined up on him for help on a decent number of snaps!!!
June 6th, 2016 at 7:57 am
I guess some football writers have to pick at somebody to get a reaction, to get noticed. Now your dads sentiment about the internet might be truer than is realized in the long run.
June 6th, 2016 at 8:27 am
He is a little inconsistent and gets toasted a lot by speed rushers, I’m mean toasted. He had a decent year but he needs to get lighter cleats or something. I’m a little worried about two question marks on the left side of our line. I think they will continue to be great with the run game but have some games where Jameis can’t get comfortable because of intense pressure from the left side. Oh well, playoffs?
June 6th, 2016 at 8:27 am
It will be interesting to see how Smith does now that his former teamate and mentor in Mankins is gone. Because Logan was a huge help for him and his success in pointing out his pre snap assignments and all the blitzes that he had to cover. He will tell u himself that Mankins was a HUGE benefit to have along side of him. Now let’s hope he took all that in and can do it by himself this year. Cause IDK if Sweezy is much of a help considering he’s still earning on the pass blocking side of things himself.
June 6th, 2016 at 8:29 am
That left side could become a liability in the pass game
June 6th, 2016 at 8:33 am
considering Smith’s wellness against speed rushers and Mankins absents with Sweezy taking over and being a great run blocker but a inconsistent t pass blocker. All we can do is hope for the best and pray that Smith can fix that problem and Sweezy continues to develop as a pass blocker as well as Smith.
June 6th, 2016 at 8:39 am
Donovan Smith was an underage rookie last year and as such played his senior season instead in the NFL. Let’s see now, would you prefer that he had played against younger college players and dominate, than play solidly against the best each team can produce, and learn on the go?
I consider PFF a comedy shop of “so called sports writers” trying to justify their jobs with bs rhetoric. Smith in the second round was a steel of a steal! He would have easily been an early first rounder had he opted to remain in college for his senior year. Last year we needed to build an O line, and we got Smith at the best time. We needed a qb first, then the insurance policy to protect him..Well played by our gm..How much more did he learn by fully concentrating on football last year under the tutelage of coach Warhop? Plain and simple, PFF has no clue!
June 6th, 2016 at 8:48 am
Well let’s see, I’m not worried about DSmith, now that we have that All World Cosching Staff, after training camp he will or won’t be the starting left tackle!
June 6th, 2016 at 10:14 am
If sweezy can’t do it, I believe we saw Pamphile come in and have a solid game (though it was only one), I know we are paying Sweezy, but since he is such a good run blocker, he can play the position Pamphile played last year, ijs.
June 6th, 2016 at 10:43 am
This subject is a non-starter to me. The stats speak for themselves. As long as he continues to work at it, he’ll be fine. And I’m OK with him being that.
June 6th, 2016 at 11:11 am
Joe, you answered your own question. While the Buccs gave-up the fourth fewest sacks….they also ran the fifth most. Hard to sack someone on a run. Also, sacks are being overvalued in today’s NFL. With three step drops and QB’s getting rid of the the ball faster and faster…a better stat to look at is QB hits……and where do the Buccs rank in QB hits?? 4th (worst)…..not good, not good at all. http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?seasonType=REG&offensiveStatisticCategory=OFFENSIVE_LINE&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&d-447263-s=PASSING_QBHIT&tabSeq=2&season=2015&role=TM&Submit=Go&archive=false&conference=null&defensiveStatisticCategory=null&qualified=false
June 6th, 2016 at 11:25 am
Blast the run game, get into 3rd & shorts more often, and you’ll have no worries about Smith & Sweezy in the passing game.
Isn’t that the offensive plan?
June 6th, 2016 at 11:26 am
I like how Smith came into OFA’s in vastly better athletic condition.
That will make a big difference.
June 6th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
I remember well the article Joe published this past year that illistrated PFF’s premier product: analytical data of players that NFL staffs can actually use. The drivel they spew to the public is a different animal. Why fo they do this? I couldn’t tell you. But the PFF product they sell to teams is worth the money, and the crap they try to sell to the public just isn’t.
June 6th, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Donavan Smith didn’t give up that many sacks, but he gave up a lot of QB hits.
June 6th, 2016 at 2:18 pm
Joe you always seem to forget that Jameis took the most hits of any QB last season. I don’t mean to bash D Smith, I do like him and think he is good. But when the QB gets hit or pressured that is a negative grade for the blockers. joes always look at sacks, sure the line gave up few sacks. But how much of that is Jameis doing what he needs to do to avoid the sack? And just because a sack doesn’t get recorded doesn’t mean a negative pass blocking grade can’t be recorded for that play. If D Smith gave up a lot of QB Hits or Pressures (idk if he did or not), then he will get a lower grade.
I won’t claim to have watched every d smith snap, but throughout watching the games, he seems to do a fine job. He rarely gets flat out embarassed. But that doesn’t mean he is performing at an all pro level either.
Also take it this way: perhaps D Smith did a fine job last season, but compared to 31 other starting LTs, he didn’t perform as well. Not to say DSmith is bad, but just not as good as the other LTs. Idk… Idk the full rankings that PFF has on all LTs, idk what is average for a LT, idk where DSmith ranks o the list. So plain old idk.
June 6th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
PFF doesn’t understand the game. They try to gauge lineman with stats. It’s ridiculous. They have no stat or credit given to physical play which is what’s most important.
They grade a block as a block…..nothing more. If the opponent is driven into the ground and sandwiched into the dirt no extra points are given. Overwhelming your opposition physically is the single most important thing any lineman can provide. Physical play is what D Smith brings and is a big reason why Martin and Sims had the impact they did.
The awesome thing about Smith(and Marpet) is that they are young enough to grow and add more strength.
June 6th, 2016 at 5:10 pm
Trubucfan22 Says:
Not if the QB holds onto the ball too long as Winston himself admitted was one of his correctable problems from last season.
Not every play is there to be made no matter how badly the QB wills. Sometimes a QB as to dump it and move on.
Hard to blame the OL for a QB who takes .5 seconds longer than the play was designed to be executed within.
I’m 100% perfectly OK and happy with Donovan Smiths rookie season. It’s a short list of rookies LT’s that had superior rookie seasons to his. For the first time in many, many years the Bucs have some solid pieces on the OL, especially at LT…
June 6th, 2016 at 5:16 pm
Buccaneers Says:
Exactly.
Well said.
And based on the film I’ve seen of Sweeny he’s as nasty or even more so than Marpet or Smith. Hawley is also a mauler, a fine find at a time of need. I’m hopeful that attitude rubs off on the winner of the RT battle. most likely Dotson.
I look back on all the years a good OL would just maul the Bucs, run right down their throats all the way down the field. What a pleasant change to see the Bucs OL capable of turning those tables for a change!
June 6th, 2016 at 5:38 pm
Yeah Cobraboy…….Joe also linked a PFF article last week where they said Sweezy had a negative grade…..just after they credited him for the pancake blocks he produces. It’s laughable and sad at the same time.
June 6th, 2016 at 6:07 pm
Buccaneers Says:
Sweeny a negative?
That’s laughable.
When was the last time you saw an OL position coach with the earned cred of Tom Cable sport wood when talking about one of his guys…who, BTW, was a DL when he entered the league and brings that ‘tude to the position.
I really like Mankins while in Tampa, but with Old Man Time catching up to his skills, I see *zero* real drop-off with Sweezy in that position beyond leadership & experience. But physical? Maybe not. Maybe even a slight upgrade.