Five Pro Bowlers On The Offensive Line
May 22nd, 2017
Renowned former St. Pete Times sports columnist Gary Shelton walked up to Joe at One Buc Palace last week and delivered a quality one-liner after talking to offensive line coach George Warhop.
“How bout that. We have five Pro Bowlers on the offensive line,” Shelton said.
Joe laughed.
Joe, too, had just listened to Warhop talk about every guy on his unit as if they were true and pure studs. This is a pretty typical May phenomenon in the NFL, but Warhop really took it far.
Warhop wasn’t being ridiculous; Joe isn’t implying that. Warhop simply loves his guys, believes in them and expresses their strengths eloquently and with great passion — even second-year guys like Caleb Benenoch and Leonard Wester.
A media member asked Warhop whether Demar Dotson would be competing for his job at right tackle, and Warhop got a little jacked up, served up a stern look, and replied something like, “unless somebody tells me otherwise.”
So yes, the Bucs love their offensive line and that love is very real. It was through last season — even in the face of so many fans and analysts thinking the O-line is at the root of what killed the Bucs’ playoff hopes.
May 22nd, 2017 at 12:38 pm
Maybe so, but I still suspect that they will pick up an experienced OT during the roster trimming time. For depth.
May 22nd, 2017 at 12:41 pm
Careful hyping up your players too much, Coach Warhop. You want them to feel the heat and come in feeling they have competition so they are giving their all, not reading their own positive bulletin board fodder. Too much positivity has the chance to backfire with players coming in relaxed and not as in good of shape as they need to be. Don’t want the players potentially coasting through OTAs/Season.
May 22nd, 2017 at 12:44 pm
Reminds me a bit of the old joke of Potential vs. Reality. I would like to think potentially we have 5 Pro-Bowlers on the O-line, but in reality maybe 1 will make it.
May 22nd, 2017 at 12:44 pm
I think Warhop is the best of the bunch. He’s been the best offensive line coach I think they’ve had. Bill Muir had a sterling reputation but I wasn’t wowed by his job. Warhop has done everygthing, made chicken salad out of chicken spit and developed young guys of varying talent. I really cannot say how impressed I am with the results… I have high expectations for Jay Hayes, he did a great job developing guys in Cinci, very excited to see Noah Spence under his tutellage, although the Bengals like HUGE 6’6 ends.
May 22nd, 2017 at 12:52 pm
They love it so much they have a new center and new guard!!!!!!!!
Word on the street is, that they are really going to watch the tackles this year, and hopefully once the interior starts to gel then decide what to do on the exterior!!!! very smart not to change everything at once!!!!!
Go BUCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 22nd, 2017 at 12:59 pm
Hey Joe!
First of all, congrats for the amazing job you guys are doing.
Secondly, I’d like to share a thought I’ve had.
Remember the Bucs’ game against NY Jets that we almost won? The one on national television that Lavonte David got that (silly) flag? And, since then, nobody outside from the Tampa area seems to remember David’s name on Pro Bowl or any other conversation tjhat features good linebackers in the NFL?
I believe it’s the same case with our OL.,The one time they all looked to the Bucs OL was on that Monday night at Dallas when we showed the world how saloon doors operate.
The national media gave them (David and OL) one chance to make an impression and they are not in the mood to forget what they saw. They don’t care if it was just one flag, or one game. That’s their impression. Nothing in the world will change it.
Thanks for your time.
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:01 pm
Lots of things contributed to missing the playoffs:
-learning curve for defense combined with significant injuries on D-line. If the defense of the 2nd half of the year showed up early we at least beat the Rams and likely Oakland. We were also 6-2 in games where McDonald/Ayers/McCoy all started.
-lack of adequate weapons beyond ME that could create any separation on their own – primarily WR but also RBs/TEs – losing ASJ/Vjax/Martin all early
-regression of the O-line – primarily in run-blocking.
I really didn’t see a terrible pass blocking line last year. Winston had plenty of times on a lot of the plays in which he was eventually “hurried” or “pressured”. And that was with teams doubling ME and sending an extra guy on a blitz typically. We ran against stacked boxes and double coverage on ME all year. It was extremely easy to game plan against us.
Sure there were some bad stats for the line last year; but most of those starters were also on the line that lead a top 5 rushing offense in 2015. So it’s hard for accept that they went from top 5 to bottom 5 overnight all on their own. Throw in the fact that 2 of the key lineman are only entering their 3rd year in the league (with Pamphile in year 4 and Benecoch in year 2); and there is a ton of reason for realistic positive expectations.
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:10 pm
Hopefully Licht’s OL gamble plays out better than his wr gamble last season
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:13 pm
To add to what Lord C. stated, this O-line should improve with the addition of weapons. Adding the likes of DJax and Howard should give Jameis targets beyond ME. That, in turn, should aid the run-game as well.
Like the rest of the team though, they still need to show improvement.
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Last season’s OL injuries gave the younger players a lot of playing time and experience. That is a huge strength coming into the 2017 season. At some point we will have injuries and there will be less concern as to who is replacing them compared to the worries last year.
It is an “IF”….but if Marpet becomes a solid OC and Sweezy fulfills his expectations at OG then our line will be solid. Don’t forget that E. Smith can still play OC in a pinch if we have an injury to the interior OL.
Also we drafted Howard and have brought in Auclair who have the exact same skill set. Both are good blockers and pass catchers. I think Auclair is going to be a big contributor down the road and will cause Stocker to get released.
The pieces are there, they just need time to work together.
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:17 pm
If they make it to the NFL Pro Bowl, then they can be called Pro Bowler but this is more May nonsense. Warhop probably was just jacked up for new season and in the moment.
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:20 pm
WR gamble failed Kicker gamble failed safety gamble failed now we are hoping licht’s OL gamble is going to prosper…..hmmm
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:39 pm
Maybe Marpet but that’s it
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:58 pm
When exactly was the last time was it that we used our first round pick to choose an offensive lineman?
Oh wait…..could that have been 16 years ago (2001) for Kenyatta Walker?
Maybe that’s the reason we haven’t since…..
We’ve done a decent job of building a line, but we certainly haven’t invested top draft picks like other teams.
May 22nd, 2017 at 2:06 pm
@tampabaybucfan
What happened to Davin Joseph!!!!!!!
May 22nd, 2017 at 2:40 pm
Maybe one of them could start for a team other than the Bucs.
May 22nd, 2017 at 2:53 pm
It has been many years since the Buccaneers have had a quality Left Tackle or Right Tackle or Left Guard or Right Guard or Center. There have been a few good players but not any Pro Bowlers that I can remember if there were any. It starts in the trenches but through the yearsit has
May 22nd, 2017 at 2:59 pm
Paul Gruber was the only Franchise LT in our history.
May 22nd, 2017 at 3:09 pm
Tbbf- Bucs took Davin Joseph in the first round.
May 22nd, 2017 at 3:20 pm
So, that means if they play no better than they did last year, and I know the arguments about assignments and holding ball too long, we can assume Warhop can’t coach, since we have 5 “studs”? Look, I don’t think they are as bad as some make out to be but they are DAMNED sure not as good as many assume either! Less talk, more getting the job done. Bottom line business!
May 22nd, 2017 at 3:42 pm
I stand corrected…..Davin Joseph was selected……but my point still remains….1 first round pick in the last 15 years…..not much of an investment in the Oline…..
May 22nd, 2017 at 3:43 pm
I was just reading Chris Wesseling, NFL top offenses in 2017. He has the Bucs at 10th, he grade every position on offense. Bucs grade….QB: B…Receivers: A…Backfield: B…Offensive Line: C.
May 22nd, 2017 at 4:06 pm
If they can stay healthy, it can happen as Jameis puts up 45 points per game. Which Buc receiver does a defense key on? Good luck with that. I’m pretty stoked about this team, especially Chris Godwin. I have season tickets and I’m ready to see it happen. 12 or 13 wins is possible. Defense is ready to stomp some butts. But haters gonna hate.
Go Bucs!!!
May 22nd, 2017 at 4:08 pm
“1 first round pick in the last 15 years…..not much of an investment in the Oline….”
You want to talk oversight upfront? Mark Dominic is the all time king of Oline oversight. 5 years as GM. Dom drafted 1 OT in his 1st year (2009) in the 5th round. The guy didn’t make it out of training camp. No Oline picks in the draft for the next 4 years straight. ONE late round Oline pick (who sucked) in 5 years!!!
Statistically Oline players make up almost 20% of your roster. And Dom never drafted any… Genius that guy.
May 22nd, 2017 at 5:29 pm
I will be sorely disappointed if Dotson is still a starter for us come Week1
May 22nd, 2017 at 7:41 pm
If you listened to the entire interview there was a big difference in the way he defended Smith vs his Dotson comments. Clearly he believes Smith is going to have a breakout year…vs trying not to say negative things for Dotson.
May 22nd, 2017 at 10:48 pm
Our oline weakness is both tackles to slow to deal with speed rushers if we had any decent defensive ends we’d know that our offense will always look good in practice when we’re practicing against a defense with no pass rush i will continue to say it until they fix it we cant rush the passer or block on the edge that’s our problem doesn’t matter if we had antonio brown randy moss jerry rice on offense we don’t have time for plays to develop at all we were supposed to beat dallas but no our line couldn’t block a noname end named erving and that sucks
May 22nd, 2017 at 10:50 pm
Probowl thats funny show me
May 22nd, 2017 at 11:04 pm
LoL.
Marpet would have made ProBowl as a guard this year, we’ll see where he lands as a center.
Donovan Smith will very likely be a probowler, or Probowl alternate.
He is the strongest LT I’ve seen since Jonathan Ogden, who’s game he reminds me of.
Warhop is an amazing coach.Pamphile is doing a great job.
I’ve said it before. Caleb Benenoch was a steal last year, I expect to see him in the lineup this year
Webster has real potential.and I like the new Tackle they picked up-Cole Gardner,
Warhop has reason to excited. best line in team history.
I realize that there are some posters who don’t like our linemen.
but. then again- there are posteers here who don’t like Gerald McCoy!!
that lets you know right away. that they are ignorant- and don’t know anyting about football
cant ban’em for being stupid, I guess.
Bucs had a very good year last year, this year should be incredible
May 22nd, 2017 at 11:45 pm
Could care less than one third of a good Gotyam about Pro Bowl status. BEing named a pro bowler truly use to have meaning..way back in the day. It means zero now. The only one thing that matters is bringing home a superbowl victory.
Batter up Bucs!
May 23rd, 2017 at 12:24 am
Fans vote in probowl players.
Often a popularity vote.
Smith wont get in Probowl that way.
Marpet might
After Fan selections, coaches select remainder of roster.
Thats who will select Smith for Probowl.
Because he is becoming one of the best LTs in Football.
Brutally strong, with quick feet
He is starting to Rank up there with Donald Penn. who was recently graded out as the best Pass blocking LT in the NFL
And was also hated by ignorant posters here- who are entirely devoid of football knowledge.