“Not A Lot Of Guys That Can Do That”
June 30th, 2015
Bucs rookie left tackle Donovan Smith
Even former Bucs ironman and Pro Bowler Donald Penn was in the NFL a season and a half before he stepped in and owned the Tampa Bay left tackle position from 2007 through 2013.
Rookie second-round pick Donovan Smith will have no such luxury.
No, Joe doesn’t take the chatter of Kevin Pamphile starting at left tackle seriously. This is Smith’s job to lose.
Joe doesn’t expect him to lose it, but Joe is expecting rough times.
Veteran NFL offensive tackle Eric Winston of the Bengals opened up to BSPN about what he expects from Cincinnati rookie Eric Winston, the Oregon left tackle who was drafted later in the second round.
They were telling words that might send Bucs fans to Walgreen’s for Tums.
“He’s going to go through a lot of growing pains,” veteran swing tackle Eric Winston said. “To anoint him or think he’s going to be able to step in Day 1 and be able to do it, hell, I can’t do that. There’s not a lot of guys that can do that and step in Day 1 and be a guy the team can rely on, especially at one of the tougher spots like the tackle position. It’s rough. It’s not easy.”
Keep in mind Fisher will play right tackle — the easier side — for now.
An unspoken reality about the Bucs’ running backs battle revolves around blocking. If Smith struggles, and Logan Mankins continues to struggle, then the Bucs will be forced to be in several max protect situation.
Doug Martin is a below-average blocker, and Charles Sims is unproven. Joe would give the edge in the blocking department to Bobby Rainey and Mike James.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:13 am
The right way to have done this, is to bring in a veteran, starting LT to mentor Smith. And at the least to help Winston’s development.
I have no explanation as to why the Bucs wouldn’t pursue that route.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:19 am
Agreed…Jake Long would’ve been ideal…
June 30th, 2015 at 10:27 am
I don’t see D. Smith as our answer to at LT. Nor Marpet at guard. I see D. Smith as a pro bowl RT and Marpet as a pro bowl center. When we drafted Marpet he had a c behind name.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:32 am
I’ve been waiting for James to stay healthy and get more touches. Hope this is the season, I think he can be really good.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:33 am
And i agree, It’s going to be rough for Smith and that line in the beginning.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:34 am
“Veteran NFL offensive tackle Eric Winston of the Bengals opened up to BSPN about what he expects from Cincinnati rookie Eric Winston”
Hmmmm….
June 30th, 2015 at 10:39 am
Look no further than the Cowboys offensive line, one of the youngest and one of the best, it’s possible these guys play average or better, glass half full.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:43 am
‘dcommand’ addresses a perennial coaching flaw where coaches put players in positions where they(the coaches) want them to play in their(the coaches) system rather than making every effort to capitalize on the strengths, experience, performance and natural talents lie. That’s it. You’ll play in my system where and when I say. Ok coach but, don’t use that bit and try running for President. even if the others are dumber than you.
June 30th, 2015 at 10:48 am
Just hope 5 years from now, Donald Penn isn’t the offensive version of Michael Bennett.
June 30th, 2015 at 11:00 am
Look at who was available and that should answer your question.
June 30th, 2015 at 11:38 am
Take everything with a grain of salt still. FA isn’t over so who knows.
June 30th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Exactly what LT should they have brought in? Jake Long, lmao! The guy can’t walk to the field without tearing his knee up. If you didn’t know, LT is a premier position, and good LT’s don’t usually come on the market. And by the way, all you have to do is go back to last year, when we brought in an experienced LT. How did that work out for us????
June 30th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
Who do you bring in? Anyone!
This is the WORST case scenario, bringing in a guy from the second rd to start who carries concerns of work ethic and taking plays off…
He is the most important player on the field next year, the entire franchise rests on his ability to protect the first overall pick’s blindside.
Now I hated Collins last year, but I would have taken him for at least insurance and depth over Smith. Letting him walk and falling back on Smith tells me that they had NO plan at LT, or the whole OL for that
June 30th, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Collins turned out to be a cancer. There’s a reason he was told to go home, in so many words, with four games left in the 2014 season. Look, not even Gilkey or Cousins were run out of town like Collins, who is still unemployed. That should tell you all you need to know why he is gone.
June 30th, 2015 at 12:39 pm
The Bucs need another Paul Gruber. Can Smith match him?
June 30th, 2015 at 12:43 pm
Gilkey had issues w fundamentals and Cousins was a low cost mistake that was easy to fix (and should have cost those who gave him high praise, their job – cough cough). Now u sign a big contract like Collins, that’s only the insult to injury, where a guy who already has the money in his pocket chooses to loaf. Again, I’ll take a guy you’re already paying, running from the “B” word, over a 2nd rd rookie Joe.
Now that Cancer business, I never heard anything about that.. but if it had to do w a. sucking b. playing for a different QB every game c. playing for a god awful QB or d. playing for a team that was an absolute mess with zero (offensive) coaching experience… then again, I’ll take that over a 2nd rd rookie
I’m done, defending Collins (against the alternative) is nauseating.
June 30th, 2015 at 12:45 pm
BTW Donald Penn was ranked 7th by Pro Football Focus last year. I agree that there is not a quality left tackle in FA this year. It will be interesting to keep an eye on Fisher this year considering he was available when we picked Smith. Compared to Collins, Cousins or even Pamphile, Donovan Smith is a huge upgrade IMO and Ali Marpet is an upgrade over Omemah/Gilkey. Let Demar Dotson, Ali Marpet, Evan Smith, Logan Mankins and Donovan Smith play together now and build chemistry together. Starting Gilkey in Marpet’s position is a joke.
June 30th, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Mike:
Trust Joe when he types there is a reason Collins was shoved out the door with four games left, which is virtually unheard of in the NFL. (Hint… hint… hint… hint… hint.)
Notice as rotten as Ghost and McClown were, they finished the season starting (Hint… hint… hint… hint… hint.)
There is a reason Collins, based on the fact he is not on any roster (not NFL, not CFL, not arena ball), is unemployable. (Hint… hint… hint… hint… hint.)
Sometimes, the cliche “addition by subtraction” really is accurate.
June 30th, 2015 at 1:27 pm
Letting Penn, Larson and Zuttah walk last year before L& L even knew who’d they get to replace them looks like one of those ‘cutting off your nose to spite your face’ moves right now. I’m a big proponent for Lovie as a coach, but my guess is that he probably wishes that he had a do-over on that one.
June 30th, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Paul Gruber did it.
June 30th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
This is why I see the Bucs drafting a couple of Offensive Linemen in the mid rounds of the draft next. Yes it’s waaaay to soon to talk about the draft. They’ll go witch 2 guards or guard and center,dependent on how Marpet does . I have this sneaking suspicion that besides a few early rounds with defensive linemen and/or lb. otherwise I can see the team trying to build a strong offense got Jamie’s while looking for quality defensive free agents with prior knowledge to the cover 2.
June 30th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Alright enough foreplay, spill the beans joe
June 30th, 2015 at 8:08 pm
Might be more prudent i. The very short term to rely on the mid-round guys we drafted last year. Non-premium draft picks have an extensive history of being very effective given solid coaching (a big question mark) and a little bit of time
July 1st, 2015 at 1:31 am
I may be wrong, but I would put in a 4th rounder in the Supplemental Draft for Clemson LT Isaiah Battle, he’s 6’6 310 lbs and athletic, he just need some NFL coaching.
July 1st, 2015 at 1:33 am
How about Isaiah Battle in the 3rd round of the supplemental draft? We could have him and Donovan duke it out at left tackle and have the rest of our goons try and learn how to hold down right guard. Heck we could even add some of that guard help Joe was talking about the other day. That would take some pressure of Marpet so he could have time to learn either center or guard at the NFL level.