FanPost

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Buccaneers Offensive Line will exceed expectations.

Anthony Collins and Oniel Cousins. Two names loathed by Buccaneer fans everywhere, spent one season with Tampa Bay. According to Pro Football Focus, Collins allowed 28 pressures and one sack on 408 pass blocking snaps and scored a dreadful overall ranking of (-12.9). Collins was benched and did not play in the final four games of the regular season. Unable to find a partner to trade Collins, the Buccaneers released him, costing the team $3 million in dead money. Cousins is now a FA and was not resigned. Both have been criticized for their hideous performance last year and have been pointed out by the media as enormous liability's in the Buccaneers offensive line performance.

In order to understand why the offensive line disintegrated in 2014, we must first have some understanding of both Anthony Collins and Oniel Cousins. Why the dramatic drop off in performance with Collins from Cincinnati to Tampa Bay? During his final season with the Bengals in 2013, he allowed just 14 quarterback pressures (13 QB hurries and 1 QB hit) without surrendering a single quarterback sack in 389 pass blocks. Collins was not a starter in Cincinnati. Once a Buccaneer Collins lackluster play affected the entire offensive line as well as Tampa Bay's offense as a hole. Did anyone in Tampa take into account that Dalton is one of the fastest snap to release QB’s in the league? How fast was Josh McCown (the highest percentage of passes in the 3.1-to-3.5-second range at 17.3% while Dalton had the fewest with only 5.8%) and Mike Glennon (Graded at -2.4 on drop-backs lasting 2.6-to-3.0 seconds and -3.2 on drop-backs lasting at least 3.6 seconds) A Cincinnati fan wrote "When actually asked to pass protect without Dalton at QB, Collins was exposed." Players respond differently to different coaches, play differently in different systems, and people in general adapt to their surroundings. TB had a bad team or at least they performed like it, worst team in the league bad. Collins was never a Pro Bowl level player but he did play well in his time as a Bengal but the Bengals never paid him big money and asked him to help be an anchor of their O line. Another Cincinnati Bengal's fan quoted "Collins is probably not one of the smartest guys and he’s got attitude problems." Did Tampa Bay's scouting personnel or front office investigate Collins involvement with 2.5 pounds of marijuana on 9/21/2011?

Cincinnati Bengals teammates Jerome Simpson and Anthony Collins, both 25, were at Simpson's home in Crestview Hills, Ky., when a package allegedly containing 2.5 pounds of marijuana arrived at the house in what authorities called a controlled delivery. A third person allegedly signed for the package, which was sent from Eureka, Calif., and intercepted in Sacramento, authorities said. All three were questioned at the residence, but no arrests were made at the time. Inside the home, police allegedly found six more pounds of marijuana, other empty parcels, scales and packaging material. Michelle Gregory, a spokeswoman for the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement confirmed that Simpson and Collins were detained and interviewed at the residence after the package was delivered.

In Cincinnati, Collins was surrounded by players he felt comfortable with (like Simpson), most with positive attitudes and a family atmosphere where his attitude was kept in check. Michael Johnson was also cut from TB. MJ said multiple times while he was in TB "you don’t know how good you have it" referring to his ex teammates. So maybe Collins did not fit in the TB locker room and there wasn’t people to keep him in check. The same adjustment to a new team is probably just as true for Logan Mankins, who came from a Super Bowl team to the Buccaneers. As far as Oniel Cousins goes, (5 pen, 4 sack, 6 QB hit, 19 QB hurries) he was a train wreck in Cleveland and the wreck continued in Tampa. Why bring him to Tampa? If anyone got exposed for both Collins and Cousins OL failures, it’s TB’s scouting department and front office.

Left tackle, arguably the most consequential position on the offensive line, was disastrous for Tampa Bay in 2014. Anthony Collins, Kevin Pamphile and Oniel Cousins played left tackle. Demar Dotson played right tackle and moved to left tackle for the final three games in 2014. Logan Mankins, Patrick Omameh and Josh Allen played at guard with Evan Smith and Garrett Gilkey playing at center. Each player received a negative grade from Pro Football Focus with the exception of Demar Dotson (+5.8) and left guard Logan Mankins (+4.8). Evan Smith scored (+7.2) in run blocking however overall ranked (-0.2). No one else asked to protect the quarterback, including three out of five tight ends and three out of four running backs, were on the positive side for pass blocking. RB Charles Sims (+1.7) and FB Javorskie Lane (+1.1) were the lone members of the backfield to rank positive in the PFF ranking. With so many players on the Bucs OL receiving a negative score it is easy to see why the OL was ranked 25th by Pro Football Focus. Everyone tends to place blame on Collins and Cousins when in fact starting guard Patrick Omameh had the worst season statistically over both Collins and Cousins. Omameh amassed 7 sacks, 6 QB hits and 25 QB hurries with 5 penalties. What stood out about the PFF player rankings was the negative grades for players not on the OL. In reviewing the QB sacks, QB hits and QB hurries on replay for last year it was eye opening how many times the players blocking simply missed their assignment, including RB and TE. Penalties also played a major role in the poor performance of the OL. Tampa Bay ranked 25 in total penalties last year (118) and tied for second worst in offensive holding (20).

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers expected to address the OL in the off season, in particular the guard and tackle positions. In round two of he NFL draft the Buccaneers chose Donovan Smith out of Penn State. Smith is a big, strong, massive offensive lineman. In the run game he’s powerful and moves well at the first and second level and has power to bulldoze defenders. Smith struggles to change direction against pass rushers and has poor hand usage. Smith must improve as a block-finisher. The Buccaneers traded back into the second round to select Ali Marpet out of Hobart, a division three offensive lineman. Marpet scored at the top of his class during the NFL combine for 40 yard dash, 3-cone drill and 20 yard shuttle. Marpet has good foot quickness with ability to reach and hook opponents. Quick out of his stance and into defender. Usually the low man using hips and arm extension to lock out and control his man. Has leg drive to drive his man backward and finish. Consistent with hand placement in run and pass. The concern with Marpet is that he played against inferior athletic competition and wasn't challenged enough and that he gets caught leaning and lunging. Marpet needs to add more thickness through his entire body. Marpet is technically sound and has athleticism.

How Penn State has fared in recent NFL drafts

Quality depth at OL is a concern. Below is an offensive line depth chart. Under the chart are the Bucs OL from last year which indicates number of penalties, QB sack, QB hit and QB hurries. Kevin Pamphile struggled with DE's on passing downs and was shaky at best while Kadeem Edwards is unknown as he did not see any playing time. If any of the starters go down Edwards and Pamphile will get the call with the possibility of also playing Omameh, Gilkey or Fragel. I am not comfortable with any of those three players based on last years performance. The bottom list indicated how well the running backs and tight ends performed in pass blocking.

LT 76 Donovan Smith (6-6 338), 64 Kevin Pamphile (6-5 315)
LG 70 Logan Mankins (6-4 308), 71 Kadeem Edwards (6-4 313)
C 62 Evan Smith (6-2 308),72 Garrett Gilkey (6-6 315),61 Josh Allen (6-3 315)
RG 74 Ali Marpet (6-4 307), 66 Patrick Omameh (6-4 305)
RT 64 Demar Dotson (6-9 315), 79 Reid Fragel (6-8 308)

• Demar Dotson – (15) 6, 2, 20
• Logan Mankins – (7) 5, 5, 14
• Evan Smith – (6) 2, 4, 14
• Patrick Omameh – (5) 7, 6, 25
• Garrett Gilkey – (9) 2, 3, 7
• Josh Allen – (0) 1, 0, 0

  • Charles Sims FUMB 2 - (0) 0, 2, 3
  • Luke Stocker FUMB 0 - (0) 0, 1, 4
  • Brandon Myers FUMB 0 - (0) 1, 0, 3
  • Seferian Jenkins FUMB 1 - (4) 0, 0, 1
  • Doug Martin FUMB 0 - (1) 2, 5, 6
  • Bobby Rainey FUMB 3 - (0) 1, 4, 3

Zone blocking schemes frequently employ deception. For example, plays may be called in which blitzing defensive linemen and linebackers are permitted to rush into areas of the offensive backfield that are unimportant in the play called by the offense. Meanwhile, the offensive linemen who vacated the unimportant area migrate to the point of attack, blocking material defensive players. Power O, Inside Zone, Counter, Iso Lead and a series of other plays in their playbook. The Buccaneers are likely to be very innovative and versatile in their offensive line schemes, and they will likely do a lot with players who can be effective blocking in space, down the field. That's based on what George Warhop has done in the past. Finding offensive linemen who can do that is not easy.

    I wouldn’t exactly say zone blocking is blocking an area. On an inside zone they use pretty complex rules to decide who is going to block who and then off of that who is going to combo block to the second level. Before the snap, the offensive line has everything declared and it is basically a glorified man blocking scheme. However, the real difference comes in technique. On plays like Power, Trap, or Dive the offensive line is trying to make one gap very large. The technique here is pretty simple: drive your man down the line of scrimmage. On inside zone and outside zone, the offensive line declares their man just like in a man blocking scheme. In contrast, their goal isn’t to make a single gap very big. The offensive lineman will get onto the defensive lineman and let the d-lineman take him wherever he wants to go. If the defender pushes inside, push him even further inside and make the outside bigger. If he goes outside, drive him farther outside and make the inside larger. This is where the RB vision comes into play.

In a power blocking scheme, size and power is everything. You want large athletes with top-end strength. Long arms are ideal in this scheme to reach all blocks and make up for limited athleticism. Power blockers typically identify their block pre-snap and must be able to drive block at every position.

Below is an example of a standard run to the right.

Before the running back even receives the handoff, the tight end has been pushed back off the line of scrimmage, while the left guard missed the cut block on the defensive tackle.

With the tight end driven back, the runner is forced to cut back inside. But the defensive tackle is right there after dodging the cut block, while the left tackle never reaches the weak-side linebacker either.

Why are so many players inside unblocked? Cut block failed. Tight End driven back. Weak side LB unblocked. Dotson looks lost and has not found contact. The runner is forced to try and cut back outside.

Six Falcon players in pursuit, not a single Buccaneer player holding their block. The Falcons defense rallies to the ball and the runner has nowhere to go, losing five yards.

It’s not just run blocking or players holding their blocks the Bucs have struggled with. The Bucs have been poor in pass protection too. Both starting tackles, Collins and Dotson have struggled with edge rushers, and both have missed time with injuries. Kevin Pamphile, a backup tackle and rookie, has been forced into more playing time that he is not ready for.

Pamphile filled in for Dotson at right tackle late in the game against the Falcons. Tampa Bay was trying to make a late drive to keep the game alive. Kroy Biermann lined up opposite him and ran the arc around the edge.

Pamphile shows his hands to Biermann, trying to slow down the rush.

Biermann bats down Pamphile’s hands with ease and turns the corner.

Biermann makes it past Pamphile with ease and sacks McCown before he can even think about checking the ball down.

This poor offensive line makes me believe the opposing defense probably will use a game plan with a four-man rush to get pressure against the Bucs offensive line. In zone bIocking the Buc players are missing to many cut blocks as well as there zone assignment. Quoting SB Nation's own Hockey Duckie "The bottom line is the Bucs are probably going to use a mix of both man and zone, but mostly man blocking from what I've heard. We'll see. Dirk Koetter does a good job of suiting his scheme to meet the personnel, so that should change".

How much of the offensive lines performance is a direct result of the OL coach? I am not a big fan of George Warhop. Everyone laughs at Gilkey and Cousins but Warhop is the guy who brought them to Tampa. They played for him in Cleveland. Even though our OL play was terrible….it could’ve been better if Warhop had an eye for talent and an ability to develop players. Jason Licht said in his post season interview with TJ Rives that our OL players didn’t know how to study film until Logan Mankins arrived. Isn’t that the OL coaches job?! It wasn’t until mid December that he was like….."Hey guys maybe we should try Demar Dotson at LT"!?! It’s jaw dropping that Warhop is sticking around and the common theme for being a Bucs fan is…….disappointment! I would’ve been okay with Kevin Pamphile and Kadeem Edwards getting reps for developmental purposes. We weren’t winning games so why commit to Omameh, Gilkey, and Cousins when they weren’t long term solutions to begin with? I remember Lovie talking about watching "some tape" on Anthony Collins before they signed him to that crazy contract. C’mon guys, lets be a little more thorough next time around. I am sure Warhop had plenty of influence with the Bucs acquiring Collins, Cousins, Gilkey, Pamphile, Edwards, Smith and Marpet. Time will tell.

It’s enlightening to hear coach's talk about the training and techniques that go into line play. Most fans only know the offensive linemen if they do something bad. But, when performed correctly, line play is a work of art. A guard on the playside (where the play is going) needs to know what to do if there’s a defensive player in front of him (covered) or not (uncovered). If he’s covered, he has different techniques that are dependent on which way the defender moves. Then he might have responsibility for a linebacker after the initial push. And the rest of his linemates have to know exactly how he’ll react and block his own responsibility as well. It’s no wonder offensive linemen routinely have the highest Wonderlic scores of any position except quarterback, and go on to be coaches. Try blocking every play like a play-action pass with short sets by the linemen. And that "character and intelligence separates the players." When players encounter a rusher who leads with one shoulder, they should get their arm extended on the outside to spin the rusher "like a top" by using leverage. Pushing just on the shoulder wouldn’t have nearly the same effect as a concentrated, angled blow. To many times last year you can see bad technique and players not holding their blocks or not blocking the zone of responsibility. George Warhop, I hope you can elevate this group out of the cellar.

Summary -

So many people do not fully understand how much a player’s performance relies on the other 10 guys as well as the coaches. Part of the reason the Bucs OL had such an off season was because of who was next to him. The OL worried about to many things and lost focus on their technique, what makes an OL very good is because of excellent technique. So many lineman are miscast in the wrong system. Some OL need to be in a ZBS to reach their true potential. Some feel if the Bucs were to switch back to man, then that would actually benefit Mankins to play better. Dotson is okay in either. Only ES was brought in the ZBS in mind. But going back to man would greatly benefit all of our munchkin RB’s in Martin, Rainey, and James – as all three proved to be more than competent in 2013, and that’s behind a "terrible" OL as well! I think the line was bad because their hearts were not in it. Some say this is not true, maybe it was there heads that were not in it. Collins was exposed. Cousins has no talent, so at least he has an excuse. Patrick Omameh should not be a starter and there is a huge concern if he ends up in the lineup starting again. Gilkey is well..Gilkey. Better play calling and an OC will help more than everyone can imagine. Hard for any OL to look great when the defense knows what’s coming…run-run-desperate pass-punt.

I always liked Donald Penn. Wish we still had him. Here is a recent post. "We’re going to be a physical offensive line," Penn said. "We’re going to play like the old Raiders … we’re not going to get stupid penalties or stuff like that, but we’re not going to take anything. We’re not going to take any stuff.

"We’re going to run the ball and we’re going to run the ball and run the ball, until they stop us from running the ball … we’re going to dictate the tempo." The Bucs need this kind of mentality going into this year.

After cutting left tackle Anthony Collins and not resigning Oniel Cousins, following a disappointing first season in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers are now set to start two rookies on that offensive line. Left tackle Donovan Smith, and right guard Ali Marpet form the final two-fifths of an offensive line with three players who have shown potential in their past in Evan Dietrich-Smith, who can return to his form from Green Bay, Logan Mankins can still be an All Pro and Demar Dotson, who was ranked 3rd best right tackle in the NFL by PFF last year and needs to improve on penalties (15 in 2014). How the two rookies perform will be key, particularly Smith at tackle. If the starters can stay injury free, the Buccaneers offensive line will exceed expectations.

Content provided by a member of Bucs Nation and does not necessarily reflect the view or opinions of Bucs Nation.

In This FanPost

Teams