“I Think That Quarterback, By The Way, Is Going To Make That Offensive Line A Lot Better”
May 21st, 2015
It seems Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat writer Rick Stroud believes Jameis Winston has super powers.
Stroud believes young Jameis will raise the level of play from the shameful unit of Tampa Bay football, the offensive line.
“I think that quarterback, by the way, is going to make the offensive line a lot better,” Stroud bellowed on WDAE-AM 620 this week.
Joe can’t go there.
The O-line is going to have to look in the mirror and right itself. Every last guy on that starting line proclaimed to love and appreciate Josh McCown, yet they played with the bite of a toothless poodle and the nastiness of a pack of girl scouts.
It’s going to take more than barbecue sauce and gun-range dates to man-up and block the damn guy in front you.
No more excuse from the veterans. Block the guy you’re responsible for and stop crying about who’s playing alongside you and play calls. Logan Mankins, Evan (Dietrich) Smith and Demar Dotson have to at least be undeniably average starters this season.
May 21st, 2015 at 5:19 am
I agree with Stroud, he’s talking about timing and getting the ball out and not forcing things. It’s proportional relationship.
May 21st, 2015 at 5:29 am
I think the new OC is the key. We’ll see more short and intermediate routes since the outside receivers don’t have the great speed to break big plays. Better use of the tight end and slot receiver to allow the QB to get the ball out quicker. This will allow the O line to sustain their blocks for less time.
May 21st, 2015 at 5:55 am
If the ball comes out on time and he can make plays it will motivate them to hold their blocks for just an extra millisecond and yes, he CAN make the offensive line better. Peyton Manning has done it everywhere he has gone. He made his last Super Bowl with the immortal Ken Clark as his LT… you don’t think Manning made him better?
May 21st, 2015 at 6:11 am
Last I looked, football was still a team sport. All it takes is one ‘weak link’ and good NFL teams take advantage big time.
The Bucs had a solid team across the board back in the glory years of Sapp, Brooks and Lynch, but have had too many weak links on the roster since then. L&L are busily trying to reverse that and build a roster with quality starters across the board and excellent depth behind that, but it’ll take time to be successful in that endeavor most recognize now.
In the meantime though it’ll be fun to watch our still relatively young team grow together. I just hope that writers and fans don’t create such high expectations of individual players that they get overwhelmed and never grow to their potential.
May 21st, 2015 at 6:46 am
It’s not so much that Winston will make the line play better. It’s more along the lines of the defense will have to respect the pass more with Winston than they did with McCown. Yes, I know he’s a rookie and I know that he’s not a surgeon out there yet. Winston coming out of high school would have been better than McCown last year. As Joe mentioned, McCown would’ve been benched on a high school team for the mistakes he made. Plus, the defense won’t give up the farm early in the season, which will keep us from playing from a deficit, thus making it easy for the defense to know that we’re going to try to pass.
May 21st, 2015 at 6:58 am
Ding ding ding – Patrick is the winner. With Glennon they knew he would he would check it down or jog to the sideline shrt of first down. McCown was incapable of doing hardly anything right so the defense didn’t have to worry about a real passing game. With America’s QB they will definitely have to defend the pass and blitzing will be more of risk/reward trade off. Last year there was no downside to loading up the box.
May 21st, 2015 at 6:59 am
Just don’t be such a McCown. Go through your progressions and get the ball out. The line looks worse when the qb McCowns it by running backwards, McCowning the ball on the ground, picking it up, then McCowning it to the other team.
Little known stat from last season, but McCown led the league in McCown looks on his face.
May 21st, 2015 at 7:00 am
There’s probably one offensive lineman not even on the team yet that will be a starter somewhere down the line. It’s early. I think first dibs on the waiver wire could end up being the winning lotto ticket.
May 21st, 2015 at 7:01 am
yawn….
May 21st, 2015 at 7:09 am
It’s always easy to beat up on the guys up front, but good QB play, and the presents of an Oc are extremely important also a big tight end who can catch the ball and a Rb who can block and catch out of the backfield not to mention a slot receiver who has speed and can catch, all contribute to an successful offense. I one who believes you do not need an all-pro Ol to win in the NFL.
May 21st, 2015 at 7:12 am
if Winston comes out there shows his teammates he has a winning mentality and he can do his part get us where we need to go yea I think his o line will step up their play to make sure he’s protected. o line has to jell with the qb also to understand how he plays and moves within the pocket
May 21st, 2015 at 7:23 am
Be Ready!!!
Winning with Winston!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 21st, 2015 at 7:25 am
And dont be surprised if Marpet is our Center and EDS is moved to RG.
May 21st, 2015 at 7:48 am
I feel like we’re going to see Winston laying in a heap on the field like RGIII was a few years ago. It says a lot about how beaten down we are as a fan base when it feels wrong to have something to be legitimately excited about. It seems like something almost has to happen to take this away from us. I hope I’m wrong and I hope that Winston, and Evans before him, are going to be the harbingers of change for this franchise.
May 21st, 2015 at 7:50 am
Agree with Stroud 100%, but think it will be equal parts Koetter and Winston that make the O-line end result better…Koetter took guys who were spending their sundays lazy-boy gating and fine tuned his offense around them enough to make them look way better than our O-line group did at any point last year.
May 21st, 2015 at 8:00 am
I thought Winston was going to make America better?
May 21st, 2015 at 8:03 am
Some good insightful comments out here.
Surprised Joe doesn’t think communication on the line is important especially since the Bucs line seemed to have more problems with DL stunts than they did with individual 1 on 1 blocking last year.
Even mentioned it a couple of times out here last year when the season was in progress.
A lot of things mentioned out here will al help improve the line, especially a better qualified competent OC who design and make better calls and instill more confidence in the offensive unit.
You could tell their was absolutely no confidence in Arroyo last year even though for some strange reason, the McClown rushed to his defense.
May 21st, 2015 at 8:10 am
I’m usually not but I’m wit you on this one fungi… Yawn…
May 21st, 2015 at 8:10 am
@Joe – Girl scouts are pretty tough. I wouldn’t use that comparison. Maybe a pack of kittens. That’s pretty accurate. I’ll let that metaphor speak for itself.
May 21st, 2015 at 8:29 am
“Girl scouts are pretty tough.”………..Especially during cookie season!!
May 21st, 2015 at 8:35 am
He’s right. Having a better quarterback makes EVERYONE better.
May 21st, 2015 at 8:59 am
My black standard poodle weighs 60lbs. Even with no teeth he can knock you over!
May 21st, 2015 at 9:32 am
The ONLY way this works is if the QB is mobile, if he’s not mobile then he’s got to throw the ball away…which does not make the line better…
Dr Stroud should stick to medicine.
May 21st, 2015 at 9:48 am
White tiger are you implying Jamies is not mobile enough? If you review the run against Oklahoma st. week 1 last season,trust me Jamies has more than enough mobility and I’m sure with the defendors that were in pursuit he was running faster than his combine 40 time. “SkullGang-Red banner2 blades”man…
May 21st, 2015 at 9:58 am
Winston is a rookie. A rookie QB will not make the OL better. Let’s stay on planet earth and keep expectations for Jameis in reality. Maybe in year 2 or 3 can we begin to say his play can help the OL.
Winston is going to make dumb mistakes. All young QB’s do.
May 21st, 2015 at 10:52 am
I’m just happy there’s purpose and hope again!
May 21st, 2015 at 11:17 am
Yea that Oklahoma State defense mirrors the ones Winston will face in the NFL.
May 21st, 2015 at 12:08 pm
I guess every defence on our schedule will be top ten… Not.
May 21st, 2015 at 12:20 pm
I’m honestly really interested mostly in seeing if Logan Mankins really does step up with his new 6 pack abs form. Somehow he still graded out as PFF’s #9 LG last year.
May 21st, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Nole
No, I’m sure there will be some barbwire defences, chain link defences, rot iron defence and maybe a privacy defence or two.
College/NFL. There’s a few differences in the two…..one is the difference of speed of the game.
May 21st, 2015 at 7:18 pm
For Jameis, behind THIS line, every defense will FEEL like a ‘Top 10’ defense.
…ANYONE who alleges Syracuse and Ok State play “defense” has a lot to learn about college football, and the NFL. It doesn’t matter if Jameis is playing against teams with a losing record, their defenses will be better than anything Jameis has seen before…and his line is worse than any he’s ever played behind.
Be sensible, the kid has a target on his back, has at BEST escapability (if properly protected), and at worst ZERO mobility, and he will be exposed to MONSTERS in his first season. Best to simply understand what you’re dealing with – it’s going to be another long season. Get used to it, he’s not going to be ABLE to save himself, let alone this team…not in year one anyway.
May 21st, 2015 at 9:02 pm
@Nole on Sat
Agree with you about Fameis mobility. It’s one thing to be able to run like the wind and leave the defenders in your wake ala Mariota….Fameis can’t do that.
But that doesn’t mean he isn’t mobile or lacks pocket awareness. Fameis uses his mobility well IMHO and picks his spots well. He seems to have a great sense of when to bail and when to hang in there.
McCown is probably a lot faster than Fameis, perhaps even a more “athletic” runner, but Fameis is shifty, smart, and plenty mobile. He’ll be fine.
May 21st, 2015 at 9:24 pm
drdneast: You hit the nail on the head. Two things will help the line play more than anything. A real OC that knows blocking schemes and a smart QB that can make line calls.
But I still think the Bucs whiffed by not bringing in more OL competition. It’s ridiculous to hand these rookies starting jobs without them fighting for the spots.