“Someone Is Going To Want Donovan Smith”
January 27th, 2019
Former Bucs OL supports.
The thing that drives Joe nuts to this day about inept Lovie Smith was the guy created holes on a roster that already had holes in it, despite lacking the players talented enough to plug any of the holes he created.
Just look at all the defensive players Lovie ran off for no good reason other than he didn’t think they would fit his scheme.
Ran off Darrelle Revis and replaced him with Alterraun Verner. Ran off Mark Barron (who will start in the Super Bowl next week) for Chris Conte (Barron could not defend a pass at safety worth a lick but could play linebacker). Sadly, it took Jeff Fisher (of all people) to figure that out.
And then one of Joe’s favorite (cough) moves on the offensive side of the ball, was Lovie running off Donald Penn for Anthony Collins.
Joe is convinced the Bucs are still trying to climb out of the hole Lovie dug for them.
And if the Bucs let go of left tackle Donovan Smith, a former Bucs offensive lineman believes the Bucs will be repeating the same mistakes Lovie made.
Let’s be clear: Former Bucs guard and popular local radio personality Ian Beckles is no fan of Smith. Beckles thinks Smith is just OK. But with the NFL in the midst of an offensive line crisis, Smith will be picked up if left on the free agent market come March, and Beckles believes the Bucs have enough holes on the offensive line with Smith to not make matters worse by letting him walk.
Beckles explained in detail in a recent episode of his podcast, “In the Trenches.”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to Donovan Smith,” Beckles began. “This is the problem: That big galoot [Patriots free agent left tackle Trent Brown], they are not going to lose him. That’s not going to happen. Donovan Smith is going to be one of the very few left tackles that will be out there. Someone is going to want Donovan Smith. That’s the way it is doing to happen. He’s an NFL left tackle. Is he a good one? Well, that’s up for debate.
“He is on the cusp of good. You know what I am saying? You can win with him. But it is just not always pretty. Could the Bucs go find another good left tackle? Possibly. But what you cannot do is just say, ‘I’m going to find a left tackle in the second round.’ It doesn’t work like that. It just doesn’t. Because there may not be a legitimate left tackle in the whole draft. We don’t know that. And definitely [not] someone that will peak that high.
“So, whether or not Donovan Smith is going to come back next year, I will be alright with that. If he comes back I will be alright, I really will. Demar Dotson is probably going to step away, quite possibly. So [if the Bucs let Smith go] we won’t have any tackles and we don’t have a right guard. So to just go out and think you will replace three spots on your offensive line, that’s really, really hard to do. It really is.”
Well, we don’t know Dotson’s status, but with the Bucs looking to save nickels here and there, it would not be a surprise if Dotson is let go.
Joe sees Beckles working. Fix the right side of the line first if Dotson has truly played his last game for the Bucs and either franchise Smith or sign him to a short-term contract. If Smith doesn’t improve this year, he can be replaced.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:05 am
Agree with your take Joe except for Revis.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:10 am
Dotson is under contract for another year. You can live with good but not great on the right side. Its the LT that must be addressed. Winston is too inconsistent on his own, an inconsistent LT is only making matters worse. I think the hope is to get a LT in free agency or the draft and have Cappa plugged in with another RG/RT drafted for development to replace Dotson in a year. Competition fixes the LT situation because either Smith steps up his game…or he gets out played and replaced. The Bucs biggest failure and particularly with Licht is anointing young guys as immediate starters due to their draft status with no real competition in place. Smith has had no reason to play better, who exactly was going to replace him? Nobody.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:13 am
The problem with the Bucs is, and has been they pay top dollar for just average play. The Pats let their L.T. go, and they’re in the S.B.. The team he went to had a 5-11 season. The Saints let their star guard go, they should’ve been in the S.B.. Over paying for players like Smith, Kwon, McCoy, who’ve given us back to back 5-11 seasons won’t make us any better. It’ll just make their bank accounts a lot better. We need to draft, and develop better, so when average players want more money then they deserve, we have as good an option waiting. Paying guys more money who we’ve been losing with is not the answer.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:15 am
Finally, I agree with Joe and his pundits, e.g. Ian Beckles, on something. Beckles is right. With Demar Dotson nearing the end of his career and a revolving door at right guard, the Bucs have to keep Donovan Smith, if for no other reason than it would be near impossible to fill three slots on the offensive line with quality players. Smith is, as Beckels says, “a good tackle” with the potential to become better under the right offensive line, OC, and head coaches. Pragmatism, however, says the Bucs have to keep Smith if for no other reason than it’s damn near impossible to fill three slots on the o-line in a single off-season. Let’s not over complicate Arians’ “reloading” job.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:31 am
Revis was not special in Tampa …sorry. 16 million a season was too much for what he provided us. Go back and watch the games. He rarely was pitted against the other teams #1 WR and got burned a lot.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:37 am
Smith stepped in first year, so yeah you can find players who can step in right away. With Donovan, it’s all about what he and his agent are looking for monetarily. If he’s looking to make serious coin for a lack hearted effort we need to move on.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:39 am
Smith is still relatively young and (hopefully) open to coach-ability by someone that knows how to coach. At times his pass blocking is average to a little above. But his run blocking is nonexistent. I’m not sure I’ve seen him ever open a run lane for Barber, or anybody for that matter. I know Ronald Jones is declared a bust by most of you. I say give him another chance after Bruce gets ahold of him. Even Ezekiel Elliott or Todd Gurley wouldn’t be known at all in by NFL fans if they ran behind the likes of Smith, et.al …
I agree with Fix The Trenches—
FIX THE TRENCHES!!!
January 27th, 2019 at 11:40 am
Revis almost reminds us of some of our CB. Press man corners asked to play zone and then fans complaining of poor CB play.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:44 am
Dotson is pure garbage nowhere even close to good. Never has been. None of the oline starters would start on an nfl contender below average all of them. Marpet on his best day is average and he’s the best by far. Oline is scary sad. Entire roster is filled with minor league backups
January 27th, 2019 at 11:49 am
The one missing ingredient that we have continually made lately is that we are judging and making across the board assertions about players based on the way they played under Koetter, Smith, and Shirano. Arians brought a hell of a lot of new coaches and an apparently totally different philosophy with him. I challenge any poster on this site to tell me with complete confidence what impact he will have on the players we beat up daily. I’ve heard a hell of a lot of input from many long time analyst of this sport who are far more credible than Mr. Beckles predict that the Bucs’s are about to go through a major transition much of which will affect the play of and future for many Buc players. It’s time to watch and learn and stop coaching from our couches.
January 27th, 2019 at 11:54 am
Let’em Walk:
• T Donovan Smith
Release:
• C/G Evan Smith
• G/T Caleb Benenoch
Sign:
• G/T Jamon Brown
Honorable Mentions: LT Trenton Brown, RT Ja’Wuan James, RG Max Garcia
Draft
• OT Tytus Howard
• OT Bobby Evans
• C/G Elgton Jenkins
Honorable Mentions: OT Andre Dillard, OG Chris Lindstrom
Potential Offensive Line Depth Chart
LT Leonard Wester | Bobby Evans
LG Ali Marpet | Michael Liedtke
OC Ryan Jensen | Elgton Jenkins
RG Jamon Brown | Alex Cappa
RT DeMar Dotson | Tytus Howard
January 27th, 2019 at 11:59 am
Its a shame that they will have to churn the roster so much!!!!!! Good teams with good rosters would be able to let another team over pay for D.Smith and pick up a 3rd round compensatory pick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But the Bucs would offset that with all the new players!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 2019 season will reveal answers to the sheep that the “real” fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 27th, 2019 at 12:01 pm
This decision on D. Smith is more complicated than most…..I guess it will come down purely to dollars…..if we can ink a good deal….keep him…..if not, let him walk and take our chances.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:06 pm
I wanna see Donovan Smith sweat like a pig in practice because Bruce Arians isn’t letting him be a lazy F#!k
January 27th, 2019 at 12:07 pm
So, Ian (and Joe through many many previous posts) are advocating paying “franchise” money on a proven lazy player that may be on cusp of being good. Yep…that makes a lot of sense Joe. How do you compare that with the other players you listed, I just don’t know. Other than the distorted man crush you obviously have on Donovan. We have too many needs and not enough money to pay max money for average (at best) play. I’m all for resigning him if the money is right and the deal is short. Let him prove it under new coaching!
January 27th, 2019 at 12:09 pm
Too many holes on the roster to let Donovan go.
Bucs need a new guard, right tackle, corner, defensive end, linebacker and running back
January 27th, 2019 at 12:15 pm
Smith is lazy or just doesn’t care. Coming out college the knock on him was he took a lot of plays off. That’s basically a contract year. This year we all saw him take a lot of plays off. Every run play he mails it in and about every 3rd pass play he mails it in. Compound this with Koetter’ love affair with long developing pass plays and that made things worse. Now you have to pay him money, either by a contract extension or a franchise tag what do we think we’re going to get effort wise from this guy? Maybe a real coach and reach this guy, or maybe he just doesn’t care.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:18 pm
I could easily see us starting two rookies on the offensive line this year.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:20 pm
Welcome to the NFL where cap space determines who stays and who goes.
It will be interesting to see how the Bucs manage it.
I would not condemn Smith based on how he was coached by the prior regime.
The larger question would Smith want to play for a guy who demands excellence every play in games and practice? If the guy is a loafer, as many opine, why would he want to put himself through that? Maybe he’d prefer following Koetter and Warhop to the Dixie Chicks.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:24 pm
If what they say is true. That Smith is good but inconsistant then it makes more sense to hold on to him for another year to see if Arians can push him to become great and consistent. Like Beckles said, no sense in creating more holes if you dont have to.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:25 pm
#71 Bobby Evans Oklahoma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Y02mTXaIw
January 27th, 2019 at 12:25 pm
I’d love to see some sort of presser from BA on letting us know how the team evaluation is going with all the coaches evaluating film.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:27 pm
Keep him, let BA handle him and his problem with taking plays off. Only BA could do that-in fact-he will have D.Smith playing better than ever. BA will use the locker room and the media as a weapon against laziness. He is very effective at getting the full attention of individual players when needed.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:28 pm
I really miss Donald Penn and Davin Joseph. Never understood why that line was disassembled just when it looked to be gelling. Ted Larsen went on to start in playoff games, too, I believe.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:35 pm
Demar Dotson will look much better when he doesn’t feel responsible for covering his right guard’s aZz every play.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:43 pm
If they keep him to see if they can get better production, odds are they will tag him. Unless he signs a team friendly contract, which I seriously doubt.
January 27th, 2019 at 12:54 pm
Promote Liedtke LT. BA seems to like him. Let D (lazy ass) Smith move on. Draft if possibe, J Williams LT, Risner RT, Lindstrom RG & RB from Temple (sorry forgot his name) & go from there. Make trades for draft picks.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:00 pm
The franchise values of NFL positions will not be set until March.
The cap will go up at least ten million this year…maybe more and that affects these franchise values.
As of this year OL were franchised for between 13-14 million.
Let’s assume a worst case scenario. Smith would cost us between 14 and 15 million depending on the effect of the new higher salary cap.
As Jimmy Johnson said on NFL Fox Sunday this year…echoing Ian’s sentiments…people asked him all the time…when ya going to get rid of this guy or that. His standard reply..OK who do you play in his place.
We have too many needs to create yet another on the OL. Who are we going to get to replace Donovan? Franchise him at least this year and see if BA’s team of coaches can get more out of him.
We’ll obviously be scouring the FA’s and the UDFA’s this off season but until we know for a fact we have his replacement…not likely…at minimum gotta franchise him.
We don’t really know BA’s opinion of Smith yet. The fact that so many JBF posters seem to dislike him may not match BA’s opinion at all.
I watched Smith play too well against some of the best talent in the league to join in on all the bashing. I certainly would concede he has been inconsistent at times based largely on his focus and effort NOT his talent or ability. Perhaps BA can fix that.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:00 pm
What I want to know from the Buc Realist is,
Who are these real fans and what do they already know?
Stating this over and over after every post without clarification.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
I don’t think you can let a decent LT walk. . . . at least until we have a better idea if he can be coached up. With better coaching and some accountability we have have a better line than we think.
Too many holes on that line to create another one.
Dotson is the one that worries me. . . I don’t see him playing 16 games without some sort of injury. . . can’t go into the season with that kind of a ? mark at RT. . .
January 27th, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Lol, more like we’re still climbing out of the hole – your boy Mark Dominik dug for them.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:20 pm
Davin Joseph was done. Never fully recovered from knee surgery. After Bucs cut him he lasted one year in the league as a part-time player.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Captain Simple As That at an Illinois presser: https://youtu.be/QH1d3zLGh9w
The white beard makes it look like he has a neck brace on.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
We might just have starters on the team already that were previously backups. This new staff will have guys improving and practicing right daily. I cant see them bringing back Smith but never know. I think they go OL 2 of the first 3 rounds unless they sign a free agent or 2. We will know alot more come FA before the draft. Big changes are coming once they review the film. The film isnt gona be good for last years starting LT. I believe ive already heard “if ya cant play hard ya cant play here”. I assume that means every play.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:29 pm
I disagree with Beckles, I don’t think the Patriots will pay Trent Brown anything near what he’d get on the open market. Maybe if they win the Super Bowl Brown will give them a hometown discount, but if I’m his agent we’d be looking for Ryan Jensen money, or plus.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:31 pm
No way, Joe. No way.
You don’t pay top dollars to a guy who was already was known to not play through the whistle in a contract year.
He’s going to get paid and then all of asudden play like the Tazmanian Devil? Come on.
I’ve been sating the same thing on this forum for several years now…
AS LONG AS D.SMITH IS THE STARTING LT FOR THE BUCS, THE BUCS WILL JAVE A SUBPAR O-LINE AT BEST.
Let him be another middling team’s financial albatross and free agency disappointment. Signing D. Smith to a big contract would be on par withthe time M. Clayton was signed to a big contract.
Look, D. Smith could be a very good RT and a great interior guard. The Bucs shuld have made that move a year or two ago but decided to incorrectly mess with Marpet instead. Now, that ship has sailed.
January 27th, 2019 at 1:37 pm
Replacing holes left by Lovie 3 years ago. To say that’s a stretch is an understatement. Can’t say I’m one breath the bucs are talented and have no excuses for not having a winning record then say that to mean the bucs haven’t drafted well. Not sure why you don’t think this roster is better than Lovie roster or the one we had when Lovie got here. It’s not like Donald penn and mark Barron are even relevant players. Revis had maybe two more good seasons and was done. I see not paying him 16 mil but not sure why you think those few guys would have changed the landscape of the win loss record
January 27th, 2019 at 1:39 pm
luvmybucs… Licht has a worse record and had $$ to spend ..
January 27th, 2019 at 1:44 pm
those of you afraid of roster turnover and losing your favorite career loser need to look at the big picture. the amount of roster turnover is irrelveant considering ALL systems are being completely overhauled. Everyone is starting from scratch defense, offense, special teams so hanging onto career losers in the name of continutiy is assisne considering everyone whether new to the team or currently on roster are starting at the same point…. clean house BA very few keepers…. way too many mentally weak career losers who either never understood winng or simply forgot how to win.
you can not turn turds into a gourment meal no matter how hard you may try. until they prove it on sundays and NOT just 1 sunday bucs are turds make no mistake about that….
January 27th, 2019 at 1:59 pm
So here’s the difference, the new online coach actually has a clue. From the Bucs dot com website:
Joe Gilbert was a member of the Indianapolis Colts’ coaching staff for six seasons (2012-17). He was the offensive line coach for three consecutive 11-win seasons (2012-14), during which the Colts ranked eighth in the NFL in points scored and 10th in total offense over that span.
In 2014, despite being forced to use 11 different offensive line starting lineup combinations, Gilbert’s unit helped the Colts set franchise records in net yards (6,506) and net passing yards (4,894), while scoring the second-most points (458) in team history.
Let’s not forget that the redskins beat us using 5 guys off the street with one week of practice so it can be done if you have a competent coach.
I disagree with Dsmiths run blocking I think it’s actually his strength. His major weakness is obviously speed rushers.
Demar Dotsons career was over 3 years ago. He and Caleb allowed so much pressure they could tenderize ox tails in 5 mins or less (lol weird analogy).
You need 2 new lineman. IMO Wester and Allen could contribute plus Brad Seaton who played RT for us in the preseason looked to me like he could easily beat Dotson at the position but wtfdik
January 27th, 2019 at 2:06 pm
Do the transistion tag on smith or a one year prove it deal. I want to see what Arians gets out of Smith, Rojo, Cappa. Cant wait for Arians to evaluate everyone and get the most out of them. I think Smith would be a top left tackle with the right mindset or motivator behind him
January 27th, 2019 at 2:12 pm
Lovie Smith was easily one of the worst head coaches in Bucs history and still he’s destroying Illinois
January 27th, 2019 at 2:32 pm
Darrelle Revis should have never been in Tampa. Biggest mistake ever…and that includes trading away Steve Young.
It doesn’t really matter what anyone here thinks of Donovan Smith. He’ll be back.
January 27th, 2019 at 2:33 pm
@BucEmUp 7
Smith would never agree to a one year deal…not knowing he can get better on the market. And he can. Franchise tag might work, except I believe they will use it on someone else and the team only get’s one.
January 27th, 2019 at 2:36 pm
BTW…HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Everyone!
Guess why?
January 27th, 2019 at 2:43 pm
I dont believe anyone is worth the franchise tag. Maybe Kwon, but I wouldnt use it on him either.
January 27th, 2019 at 3:21 pm
Joe we need to resign smith to a reasonable deal, smith knows he is worth something and we should give him 6-8 million a year. We can do that, but we need to move his ass to right tackle , he’s already said he prefers that position , we draft a Left tackle and sign a guard like mike iupati to bridge that guard spot , but that is a nice fix in my opinion tell me what you think Joe
January 27th, 2019 at 3:24 pm
Donovan “Holding: Offense #76” Smith is trash
January 27th, 2019 at 3:32 pm
Franchise him this year and let the new staff evaluate him before the 2nd contract is offered.
January 27th, 2019 at 3:49 pm
The OL is a mess. Thats why i say draft OL and RB in just about every round. Go OL, OL, RB, RB, OL, OL. Bound to fix the run game and find a solid starter among all that competition
January 27th, 2019 at 3:52 pm
Mark the tape: Benenoch will be your starting RT and coaching him at one, yes one position he will improve, the guard experiment and the whole offensive line experiment under the previous regime is over. We will draft a couple of linemen for depth, maybe even sign one in FA to start at RG. BA and staff will watch tape from the previous years and Jason will try to prove he didn’t make draft mistakes (at this point BA and crew will simply say didn’t you trade up for a kicker in the second round), JL will say no risk it, no biscuit, they will all laugh but seriously curse out Jason. I can see BA giving a look at almost all the draft picks and seeing if they work.
January 27th, 2019 at 3:54 pm
Dont be surprised if Arians signs some former Cards Olinemen either. Iupati and Veldheer are both ufa’s. Could be 3 new starters so about time to start trimming cap space. Exciting times ahead finally. Sure would suck if klueless was still here. Whew thank you Glazers. Better late than never.
January 27th, 2019 at 4:14 pm
Beckles makes a lot of sense here. Maybe BA and Company can moto Smith to play better.
January 27th, 2019 at 4:35 pm
@Tony LA … “Look, D. Smith could be a very good RT and a great interior guard. The Bucs shuld have made that move a year or two ago but decided to incorrectly mess with Marpet instead. Now, that ship has sailed.” Yes JBFers, we have a WINNER.
Let’s face facts: the Bucs are one huge MESS. OLine is a mess. RB stable is a mess. We have 1 QB right now, and he’s been inconsistent as hell. No sense in even talking about the league’s worst defense or kicker. We have relatively little salary CAP space to ‘buy our way out of problems’. So the question becomes, ‘How do we even start FIXING THIS MESS?’
You DON’T start IMO the way that Lovie started in 2014 … by dumping usable players willy-nilly. The questions we should be asking are: (1) is the player usable (at least for the time being); and (2) if not, what’s his REPLACEMENT COST. Well, Donovan Smith is USABLE (for the time being). GMC is also USABLE BTW (for the time being). Replacement Cost is what’s most important right now IMO. Bucs aren’t in a position to afford monster long-term salaries right now, especially for USABLE PLAYERS of questionable long-term value.
But in Donovan’s case, he’s big, relatively agile for a big man, and EXPERIENCED. With at least 2 monster holes on our OLine (and more likely 3 holes) Bucs don’t have the luxury at this moment in time of ‘pulling a Lovie’ and letting an experienced OLineman walk. Dotson is a huge question mark, Benenoch is PS material at best, and IMO so is Cappa (at this point).
Franchise tag Donovan Smith for 2019 … even at $14 – $15 mil (painful to write that) … BUT also draft a LT in the 1st Rnd (2nd Rnd if a potential starter is available there when we pick). And for heaven’s sake, at least try Donovan at LG and/or RT this year. And don’t buy into any of his whining about he’s a LT … he’s NOT a LT, but he is someone who wants LT money. Anyone making the kind of money he’ll be making needs to learn to shut up and do what his team NEEDS him to do, and to do it to the best of his abilities.
January 27th, 2019 at 5:32 pm
GMC is also USABLE BTW (for the time being).
Bucs already have a lame mascot. No use for cancer93 in the entire city of Tampa… time for her to fly….
January 27th, 2019 at 5:48 pm
C’MON JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No word on ME13 playing CB and getting a PBU and a INT???????????????????
January 27th, 2019 at 6:40 pm
LT is one of the toughest positions to fill. Right now we got a guy who can handle the position. You work with Donavon on for the year and try to get him to step up his game. Meanwhile take a rooie to develope behind him.
Now you move onto other issues. Like rebuilding the worst ranked defense in the league. Dump Gerald to buy a good veteran CB then draft a cornstone play for Bowels at #5.
Ya gotta work with what ya got sometimes. If you want to upgrade LT take somebody in the middle rounds and develope him. If you can’t develope players the team starts to erode.
For now we got the right side of the line to figure out.
January 27th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
And it’s too bad if you like Gerald and want him back. We need that money. It would be different if he was a game changer but he is not. Spending that money on him is holding us back. We can draft a beast for our front 7 in the draft and we won’t even notice #93 not there.
Then we can spend that dough for some help on the back end. There will even be money left over to make smaller deals with guys like Minter and Adams.
We are finally done with Tampa 2. McCoy does not fit and simply isn’t needed. We will improve more without him then with him. Might sound cold but it’s just being honest.
January 27th, 2019 at 7:11 pm
Potential Cap Casualty | Reclamation Project
• RT Ryan Schraeder – Age: 30 | 6′ 7″, 300 lbs | Atlanta
Sign (2) Free Agents
– G/T Jamon Brown
– T Ryan Schraeder
Draft (3) Rookies:
– T Bobby Evans
– T Tytus Howard
– G/C Elgton Jenkins
*/**Potential Offensive Line Depth Chart
Options #2
LT Leonard Wester | Bobby Evans
LG Ali Marpet | Michael Liedtke
OC Ryan Jensen | **Elgton Jenkins
RG *Jamon Brown | Alex Cappa
RT *Ryan Schraeder | **Tytus Howard
or
Options #2
LT *Trenton Brown | Leonard Wester
LG Ali Marpet | Michael Liedtke
OC Ryan Jensen | **Connor McGovern
RG **Elgton Jenkins | Alex Cappa
RT *Ryan Schraeder | **Isaiah Prince
Either way, you look at it this line needs to be overhauled/Retooled.
January 27th, 2019 at 7:13 pm
Option #1 | Options #2
January 27th, 2019 at 7:16 pm
As much as I HATE it, I have to agree with the posters on this site who say we let Smith walk in Free Agency. As difficult as it will be to replace up to 3 starters on the O-line, I think that you CAN’T pay big money to a player who does NOT consistently give full effort. How can you REWARD a player who gives mostly half-hearted effort? What message are you sending to the rest of the team for that matter? We are Never going to build a winning culture without at least starting with players who play with intelligence AND heart while giving maximum effort for their teammates. We’ve seen what you get when you load up with mercenaries who are only around for a payday….. 5 and 11. Even average fans can watch games and see when guys are “going through the motions.” As much as many of us HATE the Patiots, you look at what they do (on defense for instance), they don’t sign big-name free agents. They draft well and sign role players for free agents. I guess you can win a lot doing that with Great Coaching and the G.O.A.T. playing QB. We can only hope the Bucs can start doing the same soon.
January 27th, 2019 at 7:26 pm
LUV I’ll take option 2 if LT Brown is the guy from the Patriots.
Option 1 scares me. Not sure I want to see us experiment with Wester at LT as our best option with a rooke behind him.
January 27th, 2019 at 7:38 pm
The only option I would be against is dumping D.Smith then burning our #5 pick to replace him.
That’s gives us a lesser player based on need. And ruins our chance to get an elite player for our defense which our biggest need and BPA at same time.
Worse then that might be the ridiculous idea to draft a DB at 5. Somebody’s getting punched if that happens.
January 27th, 2019 at 7:45 pm
JimmyJack
I hear U
January 27th, 2019 at 7:46 pm
lol
January 27th, 2019 at 7:48 pm
Yeah your right he wouldnt do a one year deal I doubt.
I would definelty tag him and see hownhe plays making a ton of money. I do believe Arians will get more out of him
January 27th, 2019 at 8:25 pm
Any team with a good GM can turn things around with a new coach if he thought the first one was bad. We have entered year six of Backstabbin’ Jason Licht’s reign of terror.
January 27th, 2019 at 8:43 pm
Donovan maybe the 22nd to 25th best left tackle in the league and the 40th overall tackle in the league.
I agree with Ian. Where can you find another tackle on the open market who will be better. We would be wiser to overpay for the 22nd best left tackle in the league compared with what we did last year — overpaying for the 20th best center in the league.
Its a lot easier to get a capable center than left tackle.
Think about it – every year the best left tackles come out of college and only about 2 per year make it and stay at left tackle. There is no obvious stud at #5. You need defense more. You will be lucky to get a start=able left tackle in the draft. So you better have a better option on the squad now.
Now if Luvmybucs is correct and Leonard Webster can play there good. Otherwise no good options.
January 28th, 2019 at 4:08 am
That is good that someone will want him, everyone needs to be needed. Now that we have addressed the humanitarian aspects of the Buc’s, draft that left tackle.
January 28th, 2019 at 7:48 am
Option 4 (more likely)
LT Donovan Smith | LT Michael Liedtke
LG Alex Cappa | Draft Pick or UnFA
OC Ryan Jensen | Alex Cappa
RG Ali Marpet | Michael Liedtke
RT Leonard Wester | Draft Pick or UnFA
#DonTellMe-ShowMe
#RefuseToLose
January 28th, 2019 at 10:01 pm
As far as the people who want us to take Jonah Williams with our 1st round pick…Licht has always talked about liking nasty offensive linemen (when he signed JR Sweezy, Ryan Jensen, and drafted Alex Cappa). Here’s some film study on Jonah: https://youtu.be/6_FfELkx5-c
He has some very good qualities, but not a lot of nasty.
January 28th, 2019 at 10:04 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai: I doubt we move Ali Marpet back to RG this year. I think he’s been moved around too much already. I think he’s found his spot at LG.