Will Tampa Bay's Offensive Line Restructure Work This Time Around? By Luke Easterling Jul 17, 2015 
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports The Tampa Bay Buccaneers limped like peg-legged pewter pirates all the way to a league-worst 2-14 record last season, failing to live up to the high hopes of a quick turnaround under new head coach Lovie Smith.There were plenty of reasons for the team’s struggles, from inconsistency and mistake-filled play at quarterback to a defense going through the growing pains of learning a new scheme. But one of the biggest factors that contributed to Tampa Bay’s poor record in 2014 was the poor performance of the offensive line, which failed to consistently protect the quarterback or open holes in the run game.Heading into last offseason, Tampa Bay’s new decision-makers knew changes needed to be made in the trenches on offense. Smith and new general manager Jason Licht had plenty of cap room to spend in free agency, so they went shopping and spent big money at multiple positions, including a hefty contract given to former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Anthony Collins and the addition of veteran center Evan Smith.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press Despite replacing four of five starters, Tampa Bay's offensive line struggled mightily in 2014. But both new additions disappointed last year, as did veteran Logan Mankins, a six-time Pro Bowler at guard who was acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots.Licht says trying to build a team through big-money free agents isn’t his style, but they gave it a whirl last offseason because the market seemed packed with talent and they had the money to spend, per Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com:“ What we did last year was unique and it was different from what either Lovie or I had ever been a part of wherever we had been. Spending all that money and trying to create a team in free agency. I’ve never been for that, and neither had Lovie. We thought it was a unique situation where the players’ contracts had come up and there was no guarantee money at all. We had money going out and we just kind of equaled the money going in. Those players didn’t work, but we got an ‘A’ for our first free agency class. One highly respected former G.M. said on radio that it was the best free agency class since the Packers got Reggie White. Now we tempered that around here.”But Licht and Smith found out the hard way why it’s dangerous to count on high-priced signings to turn around a struggling franchise, as Collins, Smith and Mankins all contributed to the team's collective troubles.Smith and Mankins return in 2015, but Collins was cut after being a healthy scratch for the final three games of the season due to his overall poor play. Demar Dotson was moved from right tackle over to Collins’ spot on the left, where he played fairly well.This time around, the Bucs are attempting yet another rebuild up front, but Licht and Smith are getting back to their comfort zone by executing it through the draft and developing young players.Here are three reasons why the offensive line’s overhaul will work this time around in Tampa Bay.Building Through the DraftAfter last year’s failed overhaul that saw the Bucs replace four of five starters on the offensive line, three of which were veteran additions, Licht and Smith went back to their preferred approach of finding young talent in the draft and attempting to develop them into quality starters.
Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press Tampa Bay spent their early second-round pick on Penn State tackle Donovan Smith. After spending the top overall pick on a new franchise quarterback in Jameis Winston, the Bucs spent their next two picks on offensive linemen. With the 34th overall selection, Tampa Bay selected Penn State tackle Donovan Smith, then traded back into the bottom of the second round to snag one of the Cinderella stories of the entire predraft process: Hobart guard Ali Marpet.Smith should get every opportunity to start at left tackle as a rookie, though he’s still a fairly raw prospect and is likely to take plenty of lumps in the early going. At 6’6”, 338 pounds, Smith is a massive mover who has impressive athleticism for his size and is an absolute mauler as a run-blocker.Marpet first burst onto the draft scene at the Senior Bowl, where he turned heads by holding his own against some of the top competition in the country, despite coming from such a small school. He continued to impress NFL teams with an impressive performance at the combine, and the Bucs made him the highest draft pick in the history of Division III schools.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Tampa Bay traded back into the second round to make sure they landed small-school standout Ali Marpet. A versatile talent, Marpet played left tackle at Hobart but projects as a guard for Tampa Bay, and he could also fill in at center if needed.Tampa Bay’s veteran additions last offseason were expected to make an immediate impact and turn things around quickly for the entire unit. This time around, the Bucs are expecting their young additions to take time to develop. They’ll also be locked up in cost-effective rookie contracts for the next four seasons, which will help the team avoid the cap issues of last year’s signings.Two more names for Bucs fans to remember are Kevin Pamphile and Kadeem Edwards, who were both drafted in the fifth round last year. They didn’t get much action in their rookie seasons, but they should be much improved in 2015 and able to provide much-needed depth for a unit that struggled to deal with various injuries throughout the season.Mankins on a MissionA late-preseason trade brought six-time Pro Bowler Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay last year, coming as a shock to the veteran blocker who expected to be yet another big part of another Super Bowl run for the New England Patriots.Instead, Mankins spent last season languishing on one of the league’s bottom-feeders for the first time in his career. He struggled with the transition, playing well below expectations for much of the season, while dealing with multiple injuries.This year, Mankins is on a mission to make up for last season’s lackluster effort, as pointed out by Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com:“ But Mankins, now 33 years old, is a man on a mission, telling the Bucs organization that he started working out earlier in the offseason than he ever did before. He showed up in April for offseason conditioning with six-pack abs – for the first time in his NFL career – which shocked the Bucs’ brass, coaches and players with how he’s transformed his body over the past few months.Mankins informed Bucs management that he will make amends for last season and that he intends to prove all of his critics wrong this year. Mankins said he’s driven to make the Pro Bowl in 2015 after missing it last season, which snapped a five-year streak.Mankins has taken on a more vocal leadership role this offseason at One Buccaneer Place during the team’s OTAs. When the Bucs transition to special teams during practice, instead of resting on the sidelines with the rest of the offensive linemen, Mankins runs gassers on the adjacent practice field.”Despite being another year older, Mankins could end up being the biggest factor in Tampa Bay’s entire offensive line making a huge rebound in 2015. His leadership both on the field and in the locker room will be invaluable, and it sounds like he’s put himself in the physical shape to be a much more effective blocker this season.A Koetter AboveLast season, the Bucs offense got the rug pulled out from under them just before the start of the regular season. New offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford took a leave of absence to deal with medical issues and never returned to the role, before parting ways with the team at the end of the year.Without the architect of their scheme, Tampa Bay was disorganized on offense all year long. After the season ended, center Evan Smith illustrated how difficult it was for the unit to succeed without Tedford, per ProFootballTalk.com:“ We were really trying to find ourselves all year, and I don’t think we ever really got a foothold on that. It’s tough. It’s like somebody gave you a box, and the box was full of things, with a picture on the side like a kids toy set.And then you open the box and there’s no directions and they tell you to put it together. That’s kind of how it was. We were sitting back and staring and we never really got it quite right.”This year, the Bucs will have the benefit of a new offensive coordinator with a proven track record of success in Dirk Koetter, who put up plenty of yards and points against Tampa Bay over the past few seasons while directing the Atlanta Falcons offensive attack.Tedford brought plenty of promise last year based on his success at the college level, but Koetter gives the Bucs a coordinator who has a ton of quality experience at the professional level. Without a true head of the offense last year, it’s easy to see why the entire unit played so poorly.From a lack of confidence in their assignments to the absence of an experienced play-caller on the sidelines on game day, it’s no wonder the offensive line failed to give the offense what they needed to succeed in both the run and pass game.Even with all the new additions the offense has made this season, Winston included, Koetter’s presence could easily be the biggest factor in turning around the whole unit’s performance in 2015, offensive line included.link
