Offensive Line Underrated?
November 19th, 2019
Data offers different conclusion.
People are going to get mad at Joe for typing the following, but the context is important.
Joe will never forget hearing Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms talk about calling NFL games for CBS. Simms said he liked to listen to sports talk radio the day after a game in the city he visited to get a pulse of the fans and media.
Two subjects were always complained about without fail, Simms said, playcalling and the offensive line.
Joe tired long ago of fans griping about the Bucs’ offensive line. It’s the “Boy Who Cried Wolf” syndrome; Joe is numb to it — in one ear and out the other.
Now Joe isn’t saying the Bucs had a good day blocking on Sunday. They did not. But to hear and read how many people freak out on a weekly basis about the offensive line, you’d think that the Bucs had five lawn chairs blocking and America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, should be seeking legal action against them for rank negligence.
Well, along comes NextGen stats, official NFL stats from sensors in players’ equipment. Recent NextGen shows the Bucs are in the middle of the pack when it comes to pass blocking.
Also, per NextGen, Jameis averages of 2.75 seconds to release a pass. That’s No. 20 out of 38 quarterbacks. There are many ways interpret that, such as Jameis should make faster decisions, but it it also shows the line gives him time.
So is the pass blocking of the Bucs elite? No, it’s average, at least with Jameis behind center. And it appears the line gives Jameis more to work with than a number of solid NFL quarterbacks currently have.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:04 am
Regardless, Dotson has to go.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:07 am
Jameis is the common denominator. The experiment is almost 5yrs in and as far as I am concerned, done!
I WAS a season ticket holder, I USED to look forward to watching the Bucs every weekend and I did CARE about watching other teams on Sunday and Monday night. That has all soured from being a Bucs fan…
Time for a 12 step program to get off my addiction off of the Bucs….
November 19th, 2019 at 8:07 am
I bet this Joe woke up this morning and while he was drinking his first cup of coffee he came upon an email from the Bucs saying he better ease up on the criticism or his credentials would be revoked. There is NO way to defend the turnstile. Five lawn chairs as Joe put it could do a better job.
That’s funny. As Joe has said for years, the offensive line is not great, but you can’t pretend it’s godawful when the one-dimensional offense continues to move the football consistently. Joe watches the rest of the NFL. The Bucs’ o-line is at least average. And for the record, Joe has never gotten any kind of email like that from the Bucs. You think fewer people would read this site if Joe didn’t have credentials? You are sadly mistaken and you underestimate what Joe does here daily, 24/7, in addition to Joe’s resourcefulness.–Joe
November 19th, 2019 at 8:10 am
This is a pretty good line especialy the inerior. Dotson needs to be replaced. With that being said… the weren’t ready to play Sunday because the got their a$$ handed to them. Embarassing especially when you consider the money spent. Also, always hard to watch saints dline when we passed on Cam Jordan for Adrian.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:15 am
If the line gives Jameis time and our receivers are above average then the problems are Jameis,run blocking,or coaching.I say all three.Also need to say Jameis seems nervous at times since our defense can’t keep the other team from feasting on scores.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:26 am
Pretty much right around where I expected. Yeah everyone now and then the tackles get blown up, most of the time kinda hold their own.. occasionally give him tons of time and you’re screaming at the screen to just get rid of it.
I agree with doug. Combo of Jameis, run block, coaching.. although have to wonder if run blocking is more just the other team stacking more in the box and daring Jameis to throw plus becoming 1 dimensional from an early turnover in many games.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:29 am
The line would be much more effective with a more efficient QB….Winston is simply to sloppy/careless. Rarely does a line make it an entire season without at least one guy go down….so every team is carrying a Dotson like player on its line. Either an aging vet or back up forced into action. The only teamS that might consider Winston an upgrade from the QB they have are Bears, Broncos, Redskins, maybe Miami but I recall Fitz intimidating Winston….He’s not the answer for the Bucs….and nearly every other team.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:30 am
Joe.
We´ve been seeing over an over stupid false starts from Smith or Dotson on 3 opportunities that kills the team. It´s not one time, it´s not two nor even three, this has been over and over in last seasons.
I just simply don´t agree with you….
We have an average running game Joe, you think that OL has nothing to do with this? Our QB gets caught a lot….Am I crazy or we just have a good overpaid guard, two decent players in Cappa and Marpet and 2 bad players like Smith and Dotson…. I mean this is so obvious, I just can´t get it why you can´t see this!!!!
November 19th, 2019 at 8:31 am
2 questions that will illustrate why you can’t rely on 1 arbitrary statistic to tell fans they’re crying wolf:
Rhetorical question: how many seconds did it take for Jameis to release the ball 36 specific times (so far) this year?
Actual question: what are the next gen stats for yards before first contact for Bucs RBs related to the rest of the league?
November 19th, 2019 at 8:35 am
This line would be much better if there was a competent GM picking the players…laremy tunsil as LT and d smith as RT and then sprinkle in some power 5 college OL in the middle and maybe protect the turnover machine
November 19th, 2019 at 8:49 am
WinSTUNNED brings down the whole line by holding the ball too long and indecision….simple as that…other QBs would love to have this group…KNOCK the real culprit >> SIBERIA’S QB!
November 19th, 2019 at 8:49 am
What about the run blocking , if our quarterback is so bad run the damb ball.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:50 am
Only fan site I know that roots for a team to lose. “Keeping it real”.
November 19th, 2019 at 8:52 am
what excuse will they find for JW now…lol…
GO BUCS!!!!
November 19th, 2019 at 8:53 am
This past game 3 was holding the ball too long. Last game he was in the top 5 shown at RJS for time to release. Brees is always top 3
November 19th, 2019 at 8:57 am
Glazers need to get rid of Licht. I don’t care if Bruce wants him here. If he don’t like it he can GTFO too.
November 19th, 2019 at 9:21 am
Both tackles have been horrible
November 19th, 2019 at 9:23 am
We have had good play at venter and guard but our tackles stink on ice
November 19th, 2019 at 9:43 am
The line is average, but we do nothing scheme-wise to help Winston get rid of the ball faster or the line hold block a little less. I love the big plays in the vertical passing game, but in turn, you’ll see lots of sacks and hits on the QB. I get that it’s Arian’s offense, but we have 3 or 4 playmakers who can catch the ball. Why not get the ball out quicker and let them get some YAC? Just a thought.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:08 am
WinSTUNNED:
31st in completion percentage, #1 in interceptions, #1 in times sacked, 11 fumbles, 29th in QB rating, 24-40 career win/loss record….yeah, lets just unload MILLIONS for this crappy QB and further destroy the ability to keep the few good players that are on the team….
November 19th, 2019 at 10:10 am
Joe – you should start focusing on the DB’s for opposing teams.
How do you think they feel about Winston before a game? Fear or excitement. Fear of getting beat or excitement about getting picks.
The results for our team are the same, because the blueprint for playing against JW is sooooo effective. Stack the box, run blitz, pass blitz INT. Down by two or more scores, they have to pass, tee it up for more passes, more picks. Endless cycle.
JW = Fools Gold.
He will be gone when player sentiment rises up. It did last year. You could see that team play harder for Fitz. It was clearly a different level of effort.
In BA I Trust!
November 19th, 2019 at 10:52 am
53 times Winston went back to throw, and 2 times he was sacked, he was pressured or hit another 12 times… that’s 39 times he had time to throw…. i was at the game, the line held up well… it was the fact that receivers were all running way downfield on late breaking routes is why we’re struggling.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:55 am
Derp derp derp is all i hear fromt he anti jameis crowd. He holds on to the ball too long at times sure, literally every qb in the nfl does that from time to time. But for anyone to say this line is even average, makes me think they simply dont even watch rhe games. Dotson is a flag turnstile, jenson snaps the ball early at leaste once a game, and our left tackle gets smoked by speed rushers consistently. But yeah if only jameis could block for himself.
November 19th, 2019 at 10:55 am
Longer time to release does not mean good protection.
Not at all, cmon joe you should know better. Causation does not equal correlation.
How many times is Jameis being hit while throwing that pass? How many times has the pocket already collapsed, forcing the play to be extended and skewing that average number? The answer to both is quite a lot.
Only 10 games in and already the most sacks ever in one season against our QB too. Now some of those are squarely on Jameis. But many are not.
Maybe one day we’ll find out why joe is so hellbent I’m trying to convince everyone our o-line is anything more than an inconsistent mess. Maybe…
November 19th, 2019 at 11:00 am
Please do an article on run blocking and wr/te separation on pass plays. Let’s have all the facts on the OL other than they are middle of the road pass blocking.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:05 am
This is a joke right? Does anybody even watch the games? The reason for extended “time to throw” is because as soon as the ball is snapped, Winston is running for his life. With our 4″ verticals” offense, Winston has to buy as much time as he can with his legs, therefore falsely elevating his “time to throw”. Whether he is throwing interceptions or not, our offensive line may actually be worse than our defensive backfield. the main reason is sitting at the LT position for 14 mill a year. Dude was never a LT, every GM and prognosticator knew it going into the draft except 1- Jason Licht. The RT has been a great Buc until about 4 years ago when he injured his knee. Since then he is a drive killing machine whether it is a penalty or a whiff block. Anybody remember Caleb Benenoch? Licht loves to be the smartest man in the room. He drafted Benenoch in the 5th I believe and drafted a LT that everyone said was a guard or RT and he should never protect the blind side because he takes plays off and in this league that gets your QB killed. He also drafted a Division 3 guard that was near Pro Bowl leveling his first year and the next year they switch him to Center, Pure Genius. Lastly, He picks up another Division 3G/T that is a project but looks okay but couldn’t get on the field last year because we had the great Benenoch. Where the F is the dude from Pittsburgh we gave a 6th for? Where are all the O-lineman on our Practice Squad we are trying to develop? We have a tackle, Seaton, could he be worse than Dotson? The only other O-lineman is a Center. Cupboard is Ridiculously Bare!!
November 19th, 2019 at 11:08 am
That’s insane another useless stat to tell me my eyes are lying to me. Yes Winston holds the ball to long and what you’re pushing isn’t in line with how much he gets sacked. You’re not gonna convince me in either of the saints games he had enough time to throw.
November 19th, 2019 at 11:38 am
By all means lets bring in a rookie only for him to crap his pants when he sees 600 pounds of man about to crush him lol… lets go get the best running back and qb in the draft behind the same line, lets see if the results differ lol I bet they would both struggle.. and btw that’s all sarcasm
November 19th, 2019 at 11:39 am
^ That’s what I’ve been saying.
You could put Tom Brady behind our o-line and we still wouldn’t be .500
November 19th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
WE NEED:
1. NEW QB
2.NEW GM
3. NEW COACHS
GLAZERS WAKE THE F#@%&*CK UP!
November 19th, 2019 at 1:13 pm
Sorry joe don’t know how much of that I believe. What I do believe is I see #3 running for his life most games an constant penalties that kills drives
November 19th, 2019 at 2:39 pm
Just don”t care anymore.
November 19th, 2019 at 3:41 pm
@Joe
Can you ask the Glazers if they will sell the team to owners who want to win?
#WeNeedAnswers
November 19th, 2019 at 4:25 pm
Dotson has become a saloon door
November 19th, 2019 at 7:36 pm
You keep watching stats and we’ll keep watching qb pressures and runs getting stuffed
November 19th, 2019 at 10:29 pm
I’m a stats guy. Teach it to graduate students. Published dozens of scholarly refereed articles using advanced stats.
Time to Pass as a measure of offensive line proficiency has got to be the worst abuse of statistics in football. Misleading. Skewed. Has nothing to do with what it’s supposed to measure.