Demar Dotson “Underrated”
June 26th, 2015
“Underrated,” says CBS Sports.
Look, the Bucs had a garbage offensive line last year. Let’s put all cards on the table and be brutally honest as if we are in a confessional, shall we?
Joe doesn’t care what position on the line you want to talk about, none lived up to preseason expectations. We can all agree on that, can’t we?
So Joe doesn’t know how you could choose any of the offensive linemen from a year ago and suggest they are underrated. Yet that is what prickly Pete Prisco of CBS Sports has done. And the offensive lineman he thinks is not getting his due is right tackle Demar Dotson — the most underrated player on the Bucs.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Right tackle Demar Dotson: He held out of some work this offseason because he wants a new deal, and, quite frankly, he’s earned one. He has become their best lineman and he showed his versatility last year moving to the left side late in the season. He will be back on the right side this season.
Look, Joe likes Dotson. He may be the nicest guy on the roster. Joe always talks to him and the dude seems to always have a smile on his face. But Joe can’t look the other way on things.
Dotson was the best offensive lineman on a horrid offensive line. That’s like saying a nun is the cutest chick in the convent. Underrated? That is to believe Dotson is Pro Bowl worthy and Joe has not heard one soul locally or nationally suggest Dotson at any time in his career should be soberly discussed for a Pro Bowl.
C’mon, Dotson led the NFL in penalties for a right tackle and has a nasty habit of getting bullrushed, badly at times. And if the Bucs believed, truly believed, he could handle left tackle, they wouldn’t have drafted a left tackle with their first pick in the second round.
If Dotson suddenly got traded or retired from the NFL, would the Bucs really miss him? Seriously?
If Prisco was looking for an underrated player on the roster, then he easily could have chosen cornerback Johnthan Banks.
June 26th, 2015 at 6:12 am
Good call. I thought Dotson was our most solid OL last year, but even then it’s not like I was thrilled that was our best option.
The last line about Banks, amen.
June 26th, 2015 at 6:22 am
Except Banks was routinely beaten like a drum against the Falcons and Ravens showing he clearly didn’t deserve his starting spot that had previously been “gifted” to Jenkins. Dotson had no such ghost games. He came in, he was consistent, he didn’t get beat often. He is underrated and the fact that you don’t see it, only proves it further. That’s the definition of being underrated. You assume he sucks because he played alongside 4 terrible offensive linemen. Others assume he sucks because he plays for the Bucs. He’s a good player. If he played for the Patriots everybody would be talking about what a great judge of talent Belichick is, finding this basketball player from Southern Miss that had only played DT in football and then turning him into a quality offensive lineman.
June 26th, 2015 at 7:37 am
How can you be underrated when you lead the league in penalties at your position? He might be the best we have but hes not that great. How many playoff teams do you think he’d start for? The entire line is not good, period. Until they prove that they can block and open running lanes consistently then no one is underrated.
June 26th, 2015 at 7:39 am
We got it, the line was terrible last year… but YES Joe, the Bucs would miss the dude if he were not on the roster opening day!
June 26th, 2015 at 8:21 am
After reading that, I would say Pete Prisco is “overrated”
June 26th, 2015 at 9:13 am
I don’t know how good or bad Dotson was or is, so I’ll straddle the fence on judging him. As a unit that line had a lot of holes, just ask Josh McCown.
June 26th, 2015 at 9:31 am
Look at when the penalties he caused came. They erased first downs . Or kept the team deep in their side of the field. And he was beaten also. Wait until this season and see how he plays before you hand out money.
June 26th, 2015 at 9:48 am
Yeah and Donald Penn was so fat we wouldn’t miss him either. Why are Bucs fans always eager to run off good players. That’s how culverhouse felt.. he’s pretty good but why should i pay him any money?
June 26th, 2015 at 10:14 am
BucFan20, I hear you. I bet we led the NFL in First Downs nullified by penalty.
June 26th, 2015 at 10:54 am
Joe’s in unrequited love for Banks continues like a bored housewife desire for the pool boy.
What really surprises me is tat with every OLINE story I read from Joe he never error attributes the fact that the terrible OC we had last year could have been the main cause for the lines poor play.
Also not do surprising is how many of the posters lament the loss of the players who were on the woefully inept line of 2013. They believe somehow they were great players who were let go.
Here’s the fact. The vast majority of those players wentry to O lines that were rated just as poor as the Bucs.
The only exception was Jeremy Zuttah who went to the Ravens who primarily use a zone blocking scheme.
One player, Davin Joseph, isn’t even signed with an NFL team for the 2015 season.
June 26th, 2015 at 10:54 am
Johnthan is underrated, but Dotson is underpaid.
June 26th, 2015 at 11:36 am
Dotson should’ve been moved to left tackle years ago. That’s where former hoop stars thrive. Its difficult for ex hoop stars to get that push you need in the run game to play on the right side. Right tackles usually go up against the “heavy handers” of the defensive line.
June 26th, 2015 at 2:36 pm
Sounds like Dotson” agent got Prickly Pete’s ear.
June 26th, 2015 at 3:01 pm
BucFan20- Most of his penalties were on first down 11 of 15 and half of them were pre-snap so those didn’t prevent 1st downs. When you look though all of them you can eliminate another 4 or 5 that didn’t really matter in the game like the ones late against Atl 1st game and Ravens. Maybe one or two prevented a 1st down in a meaningful part of a game for the Bucs.