Offensive Line “Dominant”
October 30th, 2016
“Future star.”
OK, here’s something to take your time with. It’s a breakdown of the Bucs’ offensive line from a guy who actually played offensive line, not some laptop keyboard warrior of a college student looking for a few extra bucks for beer money.
So Joe suggests as you fight off the cobwebs this morning, fill your coffee mug up to the brim and grab a danish and settle in.
Ben Muth of FootballOutsiders.com, an outfit Joe both trusts and respects a great deal more than the PFF tribe, is a former All-PAC 10 offensive lineman. This year, his project has been to closely monitor the Bucs.
Muth dives deep. He includes screenshots and diagrams to explain his points. In short, Muth types that last week the front line of the Bucs was “dominant.”
It was a dominant performance. And it was dominant from the first drive of the game. The Bucs opened the game with four straight runs. They gained 5, 11, 12, and 6 yards. Dirk Koetter and his staff knew they could run the ball against San Francisco and didn’t waste any time establishing their game plan.
You don’t run for 250 yards in the NFL without good blocking across the board up front. But obviously, some guys stood out more than others. We’ll get to those guys later, but first I want to highlight how well the entire unit worked together to create lanes for Rodgers and Barber.
Some elements Muth cites are Joe Hawley’s instincts if not intelligence and he thinks Donovan Smith is “aggressive” and a solid, maybe strong pass blocker that could be the anchor of the line for years. He also considers Ali Marpet a “future star.”
On the not-so-good side, Muth believes Kevin Pamphile’s lack of experience shows but believes he is trending up. Muth didn’t have much good to write about Demar Dotson and he believes Gosder Cherlius is toast as an NFL player.
It is a good, informative read. Joe texted an NFL source he trusts who is a former offensive lineman. Joe texted the link to Muth’s story and asked if Muth has an idea what he is writing about. Joe’s source responded, “Yes he does!”
October 30th, 2016 at 7:35 am
This was a great article. Broke it down nicely and simply; all the while keeping it an interesting read. Marpet is going to (or already is) a stud!
October 30th, 2016 at 9:03 am
The offensive line and rushing attack undoubtedly had a great game vs. SF.
For instance, even Peyton Barber had 84 yds (7 ypc) and a TD against them.
But………. SF is ranked 30th overall defensively, and are dead last against the run, giving up an AVERAGE of 185 yards a game. Since their game 1 shutout of the hapless LA Rams, they have allowed a 100 yd rusher for six straight games.
Their overall defense has allowed 219 points over the first seven games = 31.3 points per game, and that is even counting that first game shutout.
The good news is we get to play the Raiders, who are ranked dead last defensively going into this Sunday.
tickrdr
October 30th, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Great read Joe. You either plan to run or fail to run from my experiences, which were never D-1 or NFL, smaller NAIA School in Ky called Georgetown from 96 through 99. I played strong side linebacker and some middle. Every chance they allowed me to block at fullback was a treat. Which wasn’t that much. There are a lot of diehard fans on your forums and a lot have had experience, but some have not. We never had a good O-line till Koetter got here. Everyone was calling for Warthops head. Koetter had worked W/him previously and said I can use him. We added 2 2nd round rookies and Joe howley beat out EDS and all of sudden it was a strength in Koetters first year as offensive coordinator. We are definitely trending up, look at the raiders, talented team that’s well coached and we should have busted them up today, which stands out. We have been in the Cellar for far to long and every fan is becoming extremely impatient because at training camp there is hype every year that we are going to the playoffs just like when we first hired Lovie. Who never could get a real offensive cord. Sad but I believe with a good draft and 3 of our rookies work out this year and next, also in the 2nd year of the same defensive and offensive scheme will do a lot in its self. We definitely need help as a #2 wideout and Marteles Bennett type of Tight end will be another upgrade. Go Bucs