The David Andrews Lesson
July 30th, 2022
“Been there, done that, Clyde.”
Joe gets the sadness and moaning and angst pulsating through Bucs fandom since Ryan Jensen tore up his knee on Thursday.
But Joe asks fans to remember David Andrews and the lesson of 2015.
Back in ’15, the mighty Patriots started two guards and a center — all rookies. At center snapping to Tom Brady was undrafted David Andrews. He had a strong season and he’s still there, anchoring the gut of the Belicheats’ offensive line.
Alongside Andrews at left guard in 2015 (yes, left) was a fourth-round pick of a rookie named Shaq Mason. He’s built a great career and is now the Bucs’ right guard. Opposite Mason for much of that 2015 season was rookie Tre’ Jackson out of Florida State. The Belicheats’ run ended with a two-point road loss in the AFC title game to the Broncos’ legendary defense.
So how did the Belicheats’ tweak their O-line the following year? They moved Mason to right guard and stuck another mid-round rookie into the starting lineup at left guard, Joe Thuney. That season ended in a Super Bowl ring in Tom Brady’s fifth Super Bowl ring.
You won’t find Joe in a corner crying and moaning about the Jensen loss. Absolutely it completely sucks, but it’s survivable. If the Bucs believe in second-year man Robert Hainsey, then Joe will, too.
July 30th, 2022 at 7:04 am
Forward march, no looking back….
GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2022 at 7:09 am
Great reference, Joe!
July 30th, 2022 at 7:17 am
History, the great teacher.
Now, different position, but can’t we agree QB is more critical than Center? 1999 and 3r preseason game, and the Rams who went out and picked up veteran Trent Green to QB them, goes down, out for the season. The rams went with a QB who was bagging groceries the year before. we all know how that turned out for Kurt Warner and the greatest show on Turf. Jensen is still on the team, and you’ll see him on the sidelines of every game this year. his tenacity won’t be lost.
July 30th, 2022 at 7:47 am
Nice Joe! After reading this post it feels like I just emerged from my last therapy lesson regarding the loss of Jensen. Feels like the sun just came up!
July 30th, 2022 at 7:50 am
TB knows what the Bucs HAVE…if an issue TB would be expressing them
July 30th, 2022 at 7:57 am
You can’t uninjure Jensen. Injuries are inevitable and we are not the only to go through this. Almost every team will lose a starter for the season between now and the Super Bowl. Good teams keep their eyes forward and believe in the next man up mentality. The Bucs will be ok!!!
July 30th, 2022 at 8:00 am
And there it is. That’s the right mindset going into this. LFG.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:09 am
Sounds like optimism……TBBF concurs!!!
July 30th, 2022 at 8:19 am
The David Andrews comparison used by the media is flawed. What Joe conveniently leaves out, and what’s very important is that the Patriots had Dante scarnecchia as their OL coach. The greatest OL coach in history! He knew how to coach up his players. I like Goody and Gilbert, but they ain’t Dante. Also, please fans do look up at that 2015 divisional loss. Brady was mauled the entire game. He got hit over 15 times that game. And if you really want to think for yourself, do your own research on those bad Patriots line and some of Brady’s performances. As a Michigan alum, who’s watched every single one of Brady’s game, I know him better than some Pats fans. I know people want to feel good, but there’s nuance and context lacking in this post. In the JoeBucsFan archives here, fans will fine Dante Scarnecchia quoted many times. That doesn’t mean there are not other great offensive line coaches. Belicheat is a legendary defensive genius, but there are others. Second, Joe never wrote that losing Jensen is ideal, only that it’s a survivable catastrophe. There were O-line losses to injury in 2020, as well. Also, Joe would counter by saying Brady would adjust with his current team — and talent around him — to avoid getting hit that many times a Division playoff game. –Joe
Finally, Brady was seven years younger in 2015. That matters! He’ll be 45 next week.
Look up the name dante scarnecchia, and ask yourself why his name wasn’t mentioned in this post.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:23 am
Granted Dante was an excellent coach. Don’t dismiss Joe Gilbert and Harold Goodwin as stiffs. With zero offseason, he had a rookie (albeit, a crazy good rookie) ready to play Week 1.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:27 am
No regerts!
July 30th, 2022 at 8:33 am
Hainsey, unlike Andrews, is moving over to a new position. I hope it works out, though I would prefer the Bucs to hedge the bet with a vet Center signing. Tretter has been one of the better Centers in the NFL for several seasons now. Yes, there are injury concerns, but from what I recall he’s played every snap in every game that he has started, and he’s only missed one game in recent years. I’m not going to sell sunshine, he’s not Jensen, and the run blocking scheme will be a challenge. Hainsey might be better in this regard (“might” not “will”) as he’s had a season to soak that in.
This is a big deal. The success of the season rides mostly on the pass blocking. Brady needs room to step up into the pocket for late developing pass plays. If the pass rush gets through the A gap, or that Center cannot play stout and loses too much ground, it’ll be very tough for Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:36 am
The bar is high Joe. No one is accusing Joe Gilbert or Harold Goodwin as being stiffs, but Dante Scarnecchia deserves to be in the HOF. He’ll never make it, but he deserves it.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:38 am
And I think the fan base is probably a bit concerned about the temperature reading in the Buc locker room. Yeah, we all know the drill, “Next man up” but injuries do hang like a dark cloud, especially if it happens to a team captain or leader.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:42 am
@ Beeej! Nice “We are the Millers” reference!
July 30th, 2022 at 8:43 am
Now that’s a great article Joe! Some historical perspective with some present day parallels. Kind of lifts my spirits after grieving the loss of Jensen.
July 30th, 2022 at 8:52 am
Dante is like BB. Brady makes a lot of coaches look good. Getting rid of the ball and calling out the proper protections makes lineman, line coaches and head coaches look great when you’ve got the best to ever do it at QB.
July 30th, 2022 at 9:55 am
LFG!!
July 30th, 2022 at 9:57 am
Dante was on a talk show years ago during one of the Patriots playoff runs. I don’t remember the year but I do remember that they had either a young left guard, or a new guy in for an injured player. Anyway, Dante told Tom that the guy was having problems and wasn’t ready, so Tom better look out. Tom told him not to worry, that he would take care of it. Dante said that on pass plays Brady would go through his route reads while also watching the young lineman, and would step one way or the other to get out of the way. Dante said he had never heard or seen anything like it before. We will be ok.
July 30th, 2022 at 10:23 am
Todd is the head coach. That notion gives me gas.
July 30th, 2022 at 11:21 am
This is another feather in Licht’s cap. The Hainsey pick looks brilliant right now.
July 30th, 2022 at 11:24 am
GF, your gas is because you are full of $h!t. It just leaks out negativity at every seam. You have some decent takes, but your constant Donnie Downer is a lead weight. The sun still exists behind every cloud.
July 30th, 2022 at 12:41 pm
As much as Jensen will be missed, we’re not playing with ten players on offense. Someone else will fill in and do it admirably. I expect the team will pick up any slack from this loss. GOBUCS!
July 30th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
in the 2016 AFC( Denver-New England ) championship game at Mile High stadium, Brady was knocked down 20 times and even Referee( Ed Hochuli ) pulled him up off the turf once. Matt Light ( retired Patriot tackle who protected Brady’s blind side for 11 years ) said the Patriots lost the game because of their inability to run a silent snap count, not because of talent. Dante Scarnecchia did not coach that season. Light said going into Denver, Dante would have had that offensive line know 5 different ways to run a silent snap count. The result was their offensive tackles were handcuffed. With this situation Light said the 1st thing they should have done was call a 3 step drop play and took the legs out of the Denver pass rushers giving them something to think about the rest of the game. Light said 2ndly they should have had Gronk crackback on the Defensive End which per Light He did against Buffalo earlier in the season knocking the Defensive End into another Galaxy. Belechik fired the offensive line coach within 24 hours after the game.
July 30th, 2022 at 1:31 pm
Scooter, I remember the loss well. The O line coach that year was none other than the incomparable Dave Di Guglielmo. More three step drops might have helped, but the broncos were squatting on everything.
The loss of Jensen is devastating, but not insurmountable. If they lose another starter for any length of time, then it’s time to hit the panic button. Dante is not only the greatest line coach of all time, he’s one of the best coaches in NFL history. Comparing the bucs O line coaches to him, is blasphemous.
July 30th, 2022 at 1:47 pm
Stork was telegraphing every snap in that game by bobbing his head. The defense could react first rather than the offense, which enabled the pass rush to clobber Brady. “Goog” should have picked up on that, that was his responsibility as O Line coach. From what I recall, he had trouble for a couple of years getting another decent coaching gig. Scar came back from retirement the following season.
From what I recall, it was Scar who scouted Andrews. He was still helping around the farm after retirement.
July 30th, 2022 at 2:06 pm
Passing, more insane stat from that game. Brady was the Patriots rushing leader, with a whopping 13 yards. They still only lost by 2 points. Ware had 7 QB hits alone.
July 30th, 2022 at 2:29 pm
Wow GOB, I forgot about that one.
That game should have been played at the Razor, not Mile High. Rot in hell, Chris Harper.
July 30th, 2022 at 5:55 pm
This offensive line staff has been superior since they have been with the Bucs. We have gone from one of the worst offensive lines to one of the best. Recent history is important. These guys know how to coach in today’s game.
Anyone knocking their ability is irreverent.
July 30th, 2022 at 7:49 pm
Passing, no doubt. If he catches that punt, it would’ve changed everything.
July 30th, 2022 at 9:23 pm
@Geno711. Yes, the coaches are totally responsible for the OL’s dramatic improvement. Goody and Gilbert deserve their credit, but it helps to have a QB back there who gets rid of the ball quickly and who’s pocket presence is only matched by Marino. Oh, he also handles the protection calls, makes fast decisions because he can process things so quickly. He’s also the second best pre-snap ever QB after Manning. Manning also made his lines look good. The OL marveled how Brady has made their life much easier. Look up the quotes! This isn’t me just making stuff up.
Let’s not take away from Goody and Gilbert, but don’t go overboard. When the run game was suffering last year, who took the initiative and held more meetings with the OL? It was Brady, as told by Wirfs. Brady will be a year older, so the OL will have to step up. The OL is the engine of the offense. If the engine isn’t running properly, this offense won’t run at its peak. We can marvel at all of our shiny weapons, but if we can’t keep our QB upright, it won’t matter.
Having multiple weaknesses in our OL also affects us more than some other teams. Our offense has slot of long developing routes, and that requires time for the QB to throw the ball. It’s also why QBs have taken so many hits in this offensive system. GB had a barrage of injuries on the their OL, but they do a lot of quick game, west coast offensive concepts, so it helped out our offense. The Pats also had quick game concepts. Will Leftwich adapt his playbook if the OL struggles? I doubt it. You bet your behind that Brady won’t take the hit and will check it down or throw it away. Rodgers now at at his advanced age will dirt it or check it down. Fans will then hope that we should’ve signed a good veteran C like Tretter when he was available.
July 31st, 2022 at 10:25 am
Not sure Bucfan13 but it seems that you were disagreeing with my post. Certainly, your right but I still stand by everything that I said in that post.
What I would disagree with in your post, is that Tom Brady should get more credit than the coaches for the offensive line.
While I do appreciate tremendously that we went from Jameis Winston, who held the ball as long as he thought he could make a play to – Tom Brady, who will throw the ball away at 2.5 to 3.0 seconds if he does not see the play develop.
Tom Brady did not have this success in his passing game in NE. Part of the reason is the pro pass technique of this offensive line. Brady did not train these men, the offensive line coaches did that.
July 31st, 2022 at 4:51 pm
Man Brady went to a good franchise and a good coach why do yall try to discredit Belichick for developing Brady?? The Patriots had 2 quarterbacks in 25 years. The Patriots organization knows how to develop quarterbacks and that’s something the Bucs haven’t done in there franchise history. And now the Patriots look like there about to develop Mac Jones . Now let’s see if the bucs can develop Trask because so far the only thing yall do is complain about Kyle Trask. Brady is out of here next year and the bucs has shown that they don’t have a clue on developing quarterbacks. Let’s just hope they don’t ruin Trask like they done all the rest the bucs drafted. I really hope they develop Trask and we have our first franchise quarterback .
July 31st, 2022 at 10:56 pm
Dude you s*ck. It’s Belichick, the greatest coach in history. Show some respect. That’s so Busch league. You only wish you could have a HC half as good and legendary. You are lucky Tom wanted to move south or your Bucs would still be terrible. Just watch and see how this season finishes. Belichick with a second year QB with a better record than the Bucs. Write it down.