Victory Will Flow Through Offensive Line
January 21st, 2021
A former Buccaneer weighs in
Some say only teams with a fierce four-man pass rush can slow the Tampa Bay offense and, subsequently, beat the Bucs.
Whether that’s true or not is unclear, but Joe and a prominent former Buccaneer say the Packers don’t have enough pass rush to menace Tom Brady.
Joe just had a fun re-watching the Packers-Bucs game from October. Tom Brady was not sacked and Donovan Smith was a beast throughout the first half as the Bucs jumped out to a 27-10 lead. Nobody could get through on Smith, and Green Bay through multiple rushers at him.
Former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht is loving what he’s seeing from the Bucs’ line, and he’s been a fierce critic in the past.
“The offensive line has been tremendous,” Becht told SiriusXM NFL Radio yesterday. “Donovan Smith has protected well; he’s started to play at that elite level more consistently than he ever has. And of course, [Wirfs] has been an All-Pro player in my opinion.”
Becht explained that he believes the Bucs’ line won’t need Rob Gronkowski in to block much against the Packers, so Becht believes Gronk will be freed to carve up the Packers defense and do the big-game thing like few tight ends have done in the annals of NFL history.
Joe agrees. Brady, who was not sacked during the October meeting of the Packers and Bucs, is going to have enough time to be deadly.
Will the streaky Bucs defense hold up?
January 21st, 2021 at 7:15 pm
Brady upright equals Bucs competitive and can beat anyone, Brady roughed up and on the ground = season over. Teamwork makes the dream work GO BUCS!!!
January 21st, 2021 at 7:17 pm
Sounds good to me, amazing how good D Smith is now that he knows how long and where to hold/ take his block with a quarterback who’s timing is in sync with the play called!
January 21st, 2021 at 7:26 pm
Have to wonder if Smith sees wirfs and feels a bit more pressure to perform. Heck if the rook practices much harder maybe he licks it up a notch. In sure Brady has something to do with it as well
January 21st, 2021 at 7:43 pm
The Pack will send rush up the middle. I like those quick WR screens to Godwin and AB to counter, as well as Fournette’s punishing blitz pickup. I mean he was a beast against the Aints and Deadskins.
To me this one comes down to our defense. Must rush Rodgers and contain Davonta. Must.
January 21st, 2021 at 7:46 pm
Having Gronk in on the running plays worked well, especially when he pulled. The Run game will be crucial in keeping Rodgers off the field.
January 21st, 2021 at 8:01 pm
After the qb online is most important element on team in my opinion. Especially crucial will be the play of special teams, after meltdown
Of punt coverage teams last week could have proved disasterous, we better not see a repeat against the pack. The ball will be quite a bit different on fg and punt teams , and field position will be a factor as both teams will be looking for any edge. kind of awesome to see bucs discussed all over media, is that great or what , we’ve been waiting a long time and it feels great.
January 21st, 2021 at 8:01 pm
Saw a play during CLE vs KC….
It was a jet sweep with Landry, but RB was trailing behind him looking for the pitch. Landry kept it, but imagine AB on the sweep and Rojo with a head of steam catching that pitch on the outside..
Of course Rojo would have to catch it…
January 21st, 2021 at 8:22 pm
I just hope Smith doesn’t turn into swinging salon doors again or at least for the reminder of this season.
January 21st, 2021 at 8:49 pm
Watching the bucs vs green bay replay from nfl network
Bucs had 42 penalties in first 5 games
I think 11 penalties in chicago game and a lot were on oline
Reason for mixed results at beginning
And now oline accountable And physical
You got to love it.
Aikman even called that bucs and green bay was a likely matchup in january playoffs
January 21st, 2021 at 9:03 pm
This game will come to down to the trenches. If Rodgers has time to throw it will be a long day. Time for Shaq to show up and JPP to get back in a groove. Without the main rush upfront I don’t see us winning. I can’t say enough about how well Smith and Wirfs have played. The interior have been just as good. Watching Jensen finish plays and Marpet playing at a high level the last 6 weeks have been a blessing. The Packers have came a long way since October but so have we. Own the line of scrimmage and get after Rodgers! And for Suh, it’s time to be the dominant man you’ve been for the past decade.
January 21st, 2021 at 9:08 pm
I sure hope that Becht is spot on
January 21st, 2021 at 9:15 pm
I expect Donovan Smith to have a good game. If he does, we will host the SB.
January 21st, 2021 at 9:32 pm
Durable Donnie is playing better but still the weak link.
I hope he can hold his own for 2 more games.
January 21st, 2021 at 9:35 pm
we are going to have to scor, score , score! We made Taylor Heincke look like a rodgers. Idoubt we make a rodgers look like Heincke so you better score!
January 21st, 2021 at 10:01 pm
That’s good news about Gronk. He and Brady need to get that playoff touchdown record already.
January 21st, 2021 at 10:30 pm
The OL is the strength of this team. Period.
January 21st, 2021 at 11:30 pm
Hey joes or anyone for that matter if you check out geoff schwartz Twitter @geoffschwartz he has a graph of all 4 remaining quarterbacks and where they have released every pass this year on the field using next gen stats. You see the 4 graphs and you can see why our oline is playing so much better. They’re is a very snd i mean VERY precise area tom brady throws the ball from every. Single. Time.
January 21st, 2021 at 11:46 pm
Ftmyers:
Thanks. Not sure if that is a sign that Brady didn’t have to move because he had such good blocking or that Brady doesn’t like to move (he can move as we’ve all seen at times this year, something he never did in New England).
January 22nd, 2021 at 12:02 am
I did some simple research and learned that the only teams with wining records that the mighty Green Bay Packers beat are Titans, Saints and Rams! Their defense is 13th against the rush and….. they are playing without their number one lineman Buluga whale. With VV Back, we will be able to stifle their run and make them one-dimensional. I’m so confident we are going to beat them, it scares me
January 22nd, 2021 at 7:07 am
Atl bucs
Dont forget left tackle backhtiari out too
Guy is a stud
January 22nd, 2021 at 1:46 pm
Agree 100%. Football is won on the trenches. I’d love for the bucs to draft another OL this year, be it a LT or a RG. Then get a QB who can learn behind Brady (give me Newman, Ridder or Brady White) and you have a top 5 offense for the next 5-7 years.