Mankins now feels at ease with Bucs 
Now in his second season with the Bucs, veteran guard Logan Mankins has developed a strong bond with teammates, including Garrett Gilkey. JASON BEHNKEN/STAFF By Roy Cummings | Tribune Staff Published: August 9, 2015 TAMPA — Had the trade gone down in March or April, or even late July, it might not have been so bad. Coming as it did, though, just two days before the final game of the preseason and a week before the regular-season opener, only helped to make an already-difficult situation worse.With his flight to Tampa leaving just a few hours after the deal was consummated, Logan Mankins barely had time to absorb the blow himself, much less explain to his wife and four kids that he was being moved from one end of the NFL spectrum to the other.It’s no wonder that a day later, after leaving behind the New England Patriots, the only team he’d played for during a stellar nine-year career, Mankins showed up at Raymond James Stadium looking like a teddy bear banished to the Island of Misfit Toys.“It wasn’t the greatest of days,’’ Mankins said, looking back on his arrival here in Tampa. “I mean, I have to admit, I really wasn’t all that excited about the situation at the time. And everybody reacts to things differently, but this was hard. It was hard on everybody.’’It only got harder. With a rookie quarterbacks coach filling in as their interim offensive coordinator, the Bucs more often than not played like misfits, quickly sinking to the bottom of the league standings, where they stayed through the end of the season.From the start, no one felt more out of place than the 32-year-old Mankins. He was unaccustomed to the struggles the Bucs were toiling through on game days, and as much as he tried to adjust, sticking around late after practice and running wind sprints, the hot, humid Tampa weather proved to be an issue as well.That his family, which stayed in New England during the week before traveling to Tampa for games, was left sad and confused by his absence didn’t help matters. Neither did the knee injury he suffered during the Week 1 loss to Carolina.Mankins did a good job of masking the problems, though. He spent a lot of time second-guessing his decision to bow up on the Patriots, who moved him in part because he refused to take a pay cut from the $6.25 million they owed him, but he never let it show.Out on the field, though, it was obvious something wasn’t right. A six-time Pro Bowler who looked like he had plenty of juice left in his game when the Patriots went 12-4 before losing in the AFC title game the year before, Mankins often looked out of place.“It was one of those things where, the overall record and the play of our team was just wearing on everyone,’’ he said. “I think it took a toll on everyone’s play. I know for me, I wasn’t extremely pleased with my performance. It wasn’t my best year.’’This year will be better, he says, for Mankins and the Bucs. Mankins is sure of it because he says he’s taken control of a locker room and a positon group that all too often last year didn’t measure up to the standards he’d become accustomed to in New England.“By the time I got here last year, the leaders were all pretty much established, and I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes, even though I didn’t agree with some of the things that were happening,’’ Mankins said. “So I was more of a leader by example last year. But I wasn’t enough of a leader vocally.“This year, after being here for the whole offseason and being an established guy, I’ve got the tempo the way I want it when we practice, the way it should be when we condition, the way it should be in the weight room. And everyone is buying in. No one’s trying to drag us down. It’s just a different level.’’Mankins is at different level off the field, too. He’s developed the bond with his teammates that he needs to feel like he fits in and belongs, and he’s accepted the trade to the point where he’s excited about being a Buccaneer and what lies ahead for them.“I’m a Buc now,’’ he said. “Just having that offseason here, that was enough for me to develop the kind of relationships that I can build on. And the offensive line, everyone is getting after it and we’re playing physical right now.“We didn’t do that last year. And we had way too many mental errors last year. It was unbelievable how many horrible mental errors we made last year. Yeah, we’re still making some mistakes. But that’s what training camp is for.“Right now, it’s night and day from what it was last year.’’[email protected] (813) 259-7893 Twitter: @RCummingsTBO
