Is The Offensive Line Fixed?
May 20th, 2023
Is he ready?
An intriguing question about the Bucs while most fans focus on Kyler Traskfield.
Can the Bucs give Traskfield time to throw?
Gilberto Manzano of SI.com broke down the Tampa roster and he’s not sold that the Bucs’ offensive line has recovered from so many injuries and face-plants last fall.
If the offensive line cannot rebound, Manzano suggests, bet on the Bucs having a bad season and being well-positioned to draft a quarterback.
The offensive line still needs more reinforcements, and, if the unit struggles again, there will likely be a rotation at quarterback with Mayfield and Trask, which would signify a lost season and probably another quarterback search in 2024. Mauch will help with the run blocking, but the team neglected the running back position in the draft after averaging a league low of 76.9 rushing yards per game.
At left tackle, the Bucs are playing with matches moving Tristan Wirfs to left tackle. So you have a guy who hasn’t played left tackle in years taking that spot. This isn’t as simple as putting on clean socks in the morning. Sorry.
At right tackle it seems Luke Goedeke, who struggled as a rookie at left guard, moves to fill Wirfs’ spot. People assume Goedeke will be fine there because he looked comfortable playing right tackle in a throwaway game against the Dixie Chicks last year. Sorry, a dude with one leg playing at right tackle would look comfortable blocking against the slop that the Dixie Chicks put on the field.
At center, will Ryan Jensen be anywhere close to what he was before his horrific knee injury last summer? That’s another leap of faith.
And who exactly is playing left and right guard?
Joe thinks Manzano has a decent point. There sure seems to be a whole lotta hope about the offensive line. Yeah, hope. Uh, oh.
May 20th, 2023 at 11:37 am
Whether the O-line is fixed or not is the critical question to any success this season.
May 20th, 2023 at 11:50 am
When you run the same crap plays over and over it tips the D off , I think a better scheme will help properly evaluate the bucs O line talent. Maybe if the Defense doesn’t know what is coming every play, the O line could have some success.
May 20th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Nope, but apparently there’s a plan in place and we’ve gone out to get players that can all get a shot at fielding the best possible OL we can in 2023. At this point of the offseason the big picture is still getting drawn up and fwiw, our roster in May of 2020 was short at least 2-3 players that helped us win the SB that season. Some of them weren’t Bucs until August, so it’s a wait and see whether we like it or not.
May 20th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Can’t be that horrific if he never had surgery
May 20th, 2023 at 12:12 pm
Yep this is JBF.
The sky is falling….in May!
May 20th, 2023 at 12:17 pm
Can’t wait to see the completion unfold.
May the best man win.
Excited for Trask or Mayfield. Would love to see the kid who learned and developed for two years get a chance to start in the preseason. I think he’s going to have ice water in his veins.
May 20th, 2023 at 12:19 pm
Tom Brady’s quick release and quick throws covered up a lot of the o-lines troubles the last 3 seasons.
May 20th, 2023 at 12:19 pm
Yeah. All these experts wanting clicks should start saying good stuff about the Bucs so the “fans” have more to bi*ch about.
May 20th, 2023 at 12:20 pm
More retarded talking heads
May 20th, 2023 at 12:22 pm
A lot of question marks this year!
Total makeover on offensive line?
Quarterback?
Running back?
Running scheme?
HC and OC?
Defensive Line?
Devin White?
Expected/hoped for rookie contributors?
Will players from the last couple of drafts take the next step!
I love what they have done this year but that is no guarantee of success.
This could go good, bad or mediocre. Rome wasn’t built in a day! I can accept good or bad but the potential for mediocre scares the crap out of me!
May 20th, 2023 at 12:25 pm
“The offensive line still needs more reinforcements,”
Huh? The Bucs have plenty of “reinforcements” – The Bucs just need a few of these guys to step up and ball…
– LT – Wirfs
– LG – Feiler/Leverett
– OC – Jenson
– RG – Hainsey/Mauch/Stinnie
– RT – Goedeke/Walton
I think if Goedeke can step up and play decently at RT we will have a better O-line than last season for sure.
May 20th, 2023 at 12:26 pm
Nobody knows.
That’s why they play the games.
But the success of the 2023 offense most certainly IS going to hinge on whether the offensive line is now fixed, or isn’t.
Quite a bit of change going on with our O-line … quite often it takes a reconstituted or rebuilt line at least a few games to “gel”, or get to the point where each player on the line trusts his teammate to be in the right spot and the right time, and do the right thing. We had that kind of mutual confidence amongst our linemen in 2019, 2020, and 2021 … and completely lost it in 2022. Can we get it back in 2023? Everything our offense does or doesn’t do this season depends upon the answer.
May 20th, 2023 at 12:33 pm
The sky is always falling on JBF
May 20th, 2023 at 12:36 pm
If Jensen is completely healed the OL will be fine and if indeed Wirfs is moving to LT he will make a easy transition and then RT becomes the only question for the OL
Say ?
Whoz da QB?
May 20th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
No it will be a Fuster Cluck.
May 20th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
It’s going to take until mid way through the season to figure out the o line. And it may not be right until next season.
May 20th, 2023 at 1:01 pm
Joe, why do you look at the negative side – These are not the Olds Bucs that defined Tampa Buccaneers. Brady was here 3 years and long enough to change the culture of the team. Those players who don’t buy should be traded or kicked out the door.
Bowles has proven himself as a great Defensive coordinator and hopefully a Head coach. This year should determine the outcome and the Glazers and Jason Light must make sure this is not the Old Bucs.
May 20th, 2023 at 1:05 pm
In college Mayfield completed over 70 percent had 43 touchdowns and 6 interceptions…his senior year. Also, he has matured and shown to be able to lead a team to a post season win. Task had a strong senior year and is probably equal to most of the QBs drafted this year. Because Brady left…everyone is assumes the worst.
The Saints no longer have the Bucs playbook and they don’t have Sean Payton. All the other teams in our division are average.
I think the Bucs Defense will be improved and the offense hit its low last year. By mid-season Bucs will be very competitive. Hopefully, they can win 2 of their first 5…then go on a run.
May 20th, 2023 at 1:09 pm
TWirf -is a pure athlete. Why doubt him at LT. He played it before n it’ll be nothing but second nature to him.
Jensen- Injury couldn’t been that bad, no survey needed. Back for vengeance.
AStinnie- he stepped up n balled out in 2020 when Cappa was injured. He’s doubted n acknowledge as a nobody by many pundits.
NLeverett- held his own last year. Love his motivation,tenacity, n drive.
Cody Mauch- don’t wanna bar fight w/ this country boy.True grit type player.
RHainsey- played good in Jensen’s absence last year. Love his motivation.
MFeiler-a proven vet with lots of experience who can hold his own with the best.
Goedeke- my only worry.
May 20th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Of course the OL improved bc DS is finally gone
May 20th, 2023 at 1:28 pm
dmatt.
For me Hainsey is a bigger issue than Goedeke. Hainsey just too weak and is a reserve IMO that can fill three positions in a pinch. Goedeke with another year of coaching from this excellent OL staff will be just fine and a better than average OL player. But I admit that is a leap of faith based upon the strength/agility of Goedeke and the coaching of this staff.
To me last year Hainsey played like a smart veteran without any special skills to actually win line of scrimmage battles. He is again good in a pinch but a less than average starter. I want better than average starters.
There is a good reason why Goedeke was taken in the 2nd round and why Hainsey was taken at the end of the 3rd round (a 4th or 5th round prospect).
Goedeke has better upside because of strength and agility IMO. It would be a miss to keep playing Hainsey over Goedeke moving forward. But we will see. You may disagree.
May 20th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
Marine, 4 out of 5 are new in their Oline position; the 5th, Jensen, is coming back from a serious injury. I can see us getting lucky in one or two positions, maybe 3. But all 5 “balling” is asking a LOT.
May 20th, 2023 at 1:44 pm
I think NOW we have a ton of depth on the O line, to the extent we can swap out the entire interior like they do in hockey, (no so much depth at tackle, and you certainly don’t want Wirfs off the field) and grind down the defense’s front 7
May 20th, 2023 at 2:32 pm
My only concern is the Center position.
Jensens knee is shot, and he was considering retirement. A 30 year old will never be the same after a torn PCL, MCL, and partial ACL.
Hainsey is weak at the point of attack and should be a backup.
May 20th, 2023 at 2:38 pm
They are betting it all on this duck tape of a fix.
It’s idiotic to me that you take an all-pro right tackle and move him out of position. That is just cause for Licht and Bowles to be fired if it fails.
May 20th, 2023 at 2:45 pm
@ Senor Harry
I agree. But I would be really surprised if this O-line is somehow worse than last years…
I believe our O-line last year was one of the worst the Bucs have ever had in the modern era.
May 20th, 2023 at 2:51 pm
@ Geno
I agree about Hainsey… I believe there is a chance that Cody Mauch could beat out Hainsey for the starting RG spot.
Hainsey’s ceiling might just be an NFL reserve Center/Guard. He is not very athletic and rarely gets any push while run blocking.
May 20th, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Hainsey can still get stronger. And he may not have to be an overpowering presence to be an effective center. In any case, he’ll probably end up as the top backup at all 3 interior OL positions.
I don’t know if the OL is “fixed”, but they have guys they like at every position and they have shifted to establishing a new line for the future. And there could be some adjustment struggles, but no need to panic. You have to take some early lumps to build something good. I feel good about the talent they’ll be putting out there this year.
I’m wondering, like others, what the condition of Jensen’s knee is. Can he be 90% of what he was before?
May 20th, 2023 at 3:19 pm
@Marine, I disagree on one point. The worst ever Oline was the year after Lovie gave away half of our starting Oline. The worst Bucs coach in history…
May 20th, 2023 at 3:48 pm
Wirfs = best left tackle in team history. Watch. Joe’s don’t deny him that.
May 20th, 2023 at 3:50 pm
I too am concerned with Jensen’s injury. Repairing the damage is far better than going conservative and letting it “heal” on its own. He may be just putting off an inevitable surgery to repair the damage. This is from personal experience. Hope I’m wrong in Jensen’s case. GO BUCS!
May 20th, 2023 at 3:52 pm
BIGGEST MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD…
– ARE ALIENS KEPT AT AREA 51?
– COULD THE TITANIC HAVE BEEN AVOIDED?
– ARE GHOSTS REAL?
– DO PSYCHICS REALLY EXIST?
– WTF WAS RYAN JENSEN’S ACTUAL INJURY!?
May 20th, 2023 at 4:18 pm
I BELIEVE THE O.LINE IS GOING TO SHAPE UP JUST FINE..(ESPECIALLY IF JASON LIGHT HAS THE GUTS TO TRADE DEVIN WHITE TO CHARGERS FOR “AUSTIN ECKLER” ( THE ELUSIVE, STRONG RUNNING, PASS CATCHER WHO DOMINATES AT THE RB POSITION & HAS THE LAST 2-3 YEARS ESPECIALLY) HE & RASHAD WHITE WOULD MAKE A GREAT TANDEM WHO WOULD KEEP THE DEFENSE’S HONEST WHILE WE CHEW THEM UP WITH OUR PINPOINT PLAY-ACTION PASSES ON OUR WAY TO THE ENDZONE TIME & TIME AGAIN ! ! ! COM’ON JASON ! MAKE THIS TRADE & BYPASS THE INEVITABLE DEVIN WHITE DRAMA NOW ! WE NEED A PROVEN RUNNING BACK ( LET’S SIGN HIM BEFORE THE HATED RAMS DO ! ! !PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU, SIRVOCIA DENNIS CAN STEP IN AND TAKE DEVIN’S PLACE AS A ROOKIE ! DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE US LEGITIMATE CONTENDERS FOR ANOTHER DIVISION TITLE & THE PLAYOFFS ! ! !
May 20th, 2023 at 4:18 pm
Elita Vita Says:
May 20th, 2023 at 3:50 pm
I too am concerned with Jensen’s injury. Repairing the damage is far better than going conservative and letting it “heal” on its own.
Exactly, the gold standard is surgery for ACL, PCL, MCL tears. The chance of Jensen having instability in that knee without surgery is very high.
Instability leads to reinjury. How is he going to pivot in a tight circle, what happens when he gets stepped on again.
@Trasktothefuture.
It is pretty clear that he had the combination of tears. Ryan Jensen tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, and had a meniscus tear and a bone chip fracture in his knee.
Not having surgery, seems like a huge mistake IMO. But certainly, he has not discussed his reasoning with Joebucs fan or anyone else, so who knows.
May 20th, 2023 at 4:57 pm
On paper this Oline looks big and nasty. Admittedly there are question marks. Same at QB and other position groups. Right now this team has a lot of talent. Can Canales scheme these skill position players into a position of advantage? I believe he can. We are going to see an entirely different offense this year. I’m expecting creativity and smart play calling. I’m also expecting some head scratcher moments because there is so much change happening so quickly. This offense will probably come out with confidence heading into the first regular season game. Simply because everything is new. Opponents will have a tough time preparing to play Tampa because they won’t have any tape on the new offense. All they can do is look back at Seattle.
Still wish Licht drafted Anton Harrison but hey they decided the value wasn’t there.
May 20th, 2023 at 4:58 pm
Geno, MCL tears usually heal without surgery. PCL tears are not quite as common and I don’t know if they heal on their own. ACL tears almost always require surgery.
I’m just speaking as a fan, not a medical expert.
May 20th, 2023 at 5:04 pm
Meniscus injuries I think are usually operated on too if they’re really bad. I’ve seen many players skip the surgery and do fine.
I think a lot of NFL fans learn a little about injuries from just reading about them
May 20th, 2023 at 5:05 pm
Um so yes, if the trenches are bad the team will likely be bad. This is shocking news lol. I’m just happy we focused on the trenches some and overall we had a nice draft.
May 20th, 2023 at 6:21 pm
Fred.
Speaking as a fan as well. Although in part of my career handling litigation, I became uniquely involved in many different types of injury.
You are likely more educated on knee tears than me. Like you, I know that the gold standard for ACL’s that are torn is to have surgery.
I am hoping I am wrong on my pessimistic outlook on Jensen.
May 20th, 2023 at 6:26 pm
NO IT IS NOT.
The left side and center are great. The right side is a massive question.
RT- Goedecke
RG- Leverette or Mauch
And Hainsey apparently is backing up the entire interior.
May 20th, 2023 at 6:34 pm
I like some of the moves, but I do have questions about Goedeke and his relatively short arms at Right Tackle…There is a free agent that played for Seattle when Canales was there, George Fant. Not sure if he’s healthy or any good, though…If not, maybe Brandon Walton gets a shot at RT.
May 20th, 2023 at 7:02 pm
The OL got better on March 7, 2023.
Mark my words.
May 20th, 2023 at 7:19 pm
One Joe trusts Licht with offensive line building and the other Joe? Not so much.
May 20th, 2023 at 8:10 pm
People seem to forget about Matt Feiler, who logged 33 starts at left guard over the past two seasons with the Chargers and also started two seasons at right tackle in Pittsburgh. And he has a reputation for being nasty which should fit right in with Mauch and Jensen. The Bucs might end up with a mean mauling successful OL!
May 20th, 2023 at 9:31 pm
You guys Jensen will be fine. I mean the dude came back in the same season and was able to play in the playoff game without having surgery. Which says everything you need to know. He will only get better and stronger by start of camp. Dude is an absolute beast. He would have not played and retired if he thought his knee was done.
May 21st, 2023 at 12:09 am
Sean Tucker is going to make JBF look foolish for disrespecting him every chance they got.
May 21st, 2023 at 6:00 am
Mike C Says:
“Maybe if the Defense doesn’t know what is coming every play, the O line could have some success.”
.
.
This has to be the most underappreciated factor surrounding our 2022 OL play. When the other teams are on video laughing about knowing the plays before they are run, we have a problem.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:15 am
Good to see the JBF medical staff weighing in.
May 21st, 2023 at 6:22 pm
Playing with matches what’s the worst that can happen he sucks which I highly doubt and he moves back to LT next year and don’t have to pay him as much
May 22nd, 2023 at 5:04 am
I think the athletes are fine. But what everyone totally overlooks, is that a line must operate as a UNIT
You have 4 people in new positions.
It is gonna take them half the season to find a groove.
And theres nothing anyone can do to speed up the process.
May 22nd, 2023 at 8:30 am
Hope we have but Jensen has me worried as well as Goedeke. Left sie not so much. Hope yes Faith no. we shal see
Go Bucs!