FAB 3. BUCS COULD STAND PAT ALONG OFFENSIVE LINE
There is a reason why I didn’t have Tampa Bay draft an offensive lineman in PewterReport.com’s initial 2017 Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft. Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter likes his offensive line and let that be known at his season-ending press conference when asked if he planned to perhaps shuffle the line, and consider moving right guard Ali Marpet to center.

“Well, it’s too early today to say a definitive answer to that, but our general philosophy is, get your best five on the field and I think that we proved that at New Orleans,” Koetter said. “Based on the circumstances we had that week, we moved Kevin [Pamphile] out to right tackle and started Evan Smith at left guard. So, we’re going to do our best to get our best five out there. I do think – even though those are the two guys that I mentioned – I do think we have with the guys we have signed coming back, I think we have pretty good depth on the O-line. Every team has weaknesses and every team has other places that they’re strong in depth. I like our O-line.

Buccaneers huddle – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I know there’s people out there, maybe some in this room, that think we need to add [new pieces]. We need to add everywhere. Every team wants to add a better this, a better that, another one of these, another one of those, but that’s not possible. You’re not going to fix everything, you just can’t. You can’t because there is not enough of them out there number one. And number two, there are salary cap issues. You just can’t get guys across the board that are the perfect fit. So, I think we have good versatility in the O-line and I think we have good depth and I think we’ve got two young guys that didn’t get to play very much this year, in [Caleb] Benenoch and [Leonard] Wester, that will be there for us when we need them.”

Koetter is a straight shooter, and I believe him when he says he likes the Bucs offensive line. Of course that opinion might change if offensive line coach George Warhop and/or general manager Jason Licht feel differently and influence Koetter’s opinion. Licht believes in adding an offensive lineman every year in the draft, and has done so over the past three years by selecting Pamphile in 2014, left tackle Donovan Smith and right guard Ali Marpet in 2015 and Benenoch this past year.

But the Bucs also added undrafted free agent tackle Leonard Wester this year, and like him a lot. Wester may replace Gosder Cherlius, the aging veteran whose contract is up, as Tampa Bay’s swing tackle next season. Throw in the fact that reserve center Ben Gottschalk returns from injured reserve along with free agent acquisition J.R. Sweezy, who is expected to compete at left guard with Pamphile, and the Bucs have plenty of able bodies to form a starting five and have quality depth.

The key is at center where starter Joe Hawley will be an unrestricted free agent. The 28-year old Hawley has played for Koetter for the last five years – three in Atlanta and the last two in Tampa Bay. He wants to return, and it is believed the Bucs want him back at the right price – whatever that is in the minds of Licht and director of football administration Mike Greenberg.

Bucs C Joe Hawley – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Getting a winning record in the NFL is really tough to do,” Hawley said after Sunday’s 17-16 victory against Carolina. “Every week the teams are so tough. To finish the way we did says a lot. We could have folded up and called it quits, but we came out and got the ‘W.’ It feels good. I want to be here going forward.

“I really like this team. The culture here is really changing and changing fast. I really enjoy being around all the guys. We have a great locker room. Obviously, it’s a business at this point, and hopefully I’m going to get what I deserve. I’m hoping this team pays up. It’s a place I would really like to play and finish my career up.”

With a 9-7 record the Bucs finished a win short of making the playoffs. As I wrote in my 2-Point Conversion column after Tampa Bay’s 26-20 loss at Dallas, the Bucs were a right tackle away from possibly beating the Cowboys as Cherilus got injured and was beaten badly by defensive end David Irving in the fourth quarter. Cherilus was filling in for right tackle Demar Dotson, who missed three games due to a concussion. The Bucs were 1-2 in those game.

“Those games that we lost that I couldn’t be a part of – man, I wish I could have been out there,” Dotson said. “I wish I could have helped this team win one of those two games – Dallas or New Orleans. I wish I could have been a part of it. If we could have won one of those games we would have been in the playoffs after winning [the Panthers] game. I hate that I couldn’t be a part of it. It’s an unfortunate situation, but moving forward I can see how special this team is going to be.”

Dotson didn’t have a great year after signing a three-year, $16.5 million contract, drawing 11 penalties, which was three less than his career-high of 14 back in 2014, but he’s a serviceable right tackle and will probably perform better than any rookie would during a critical 2017 season as the Bucs make another playoff push. The 2017 draft class is not particularly strong at offensive tackle – or center or guard for that matter, which is why I think Tampa Bay could re-sign Hawley and stand pat along the offensive line as younger players like Marpet, Smith and Pamphile continue to develop.

Bucs LG Kevin Pamphile and LT Donovan Smith – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“When you look at our offensive team, Jameis [Winston], Mike [Evans], Ali, Donovan Smith – four guys you can really build around,” Koetter said after Sunday’s win over Carolina. “I think you can throw Kevin Pamphile into the mix there. You could throw Cameron Brate into that mix. We’ve got a good nucleus of guys to build around.”

While the offensive line had its share of struggles this year with inconsistency, Dotson believes that Koetter is right regarding the rise of Tampa Bay’s three young linemen.

“Those three guys have the chance to play together for a long time and hold on to their positions for a long time,” Dotson said. “I think they came a long way from their rookie years. Ali came a long way from when he came in here from a D-III school. He came in and listened and learned. Coach Warhop really harps on those guys and their technique. He pushes them hard and they’ve bought into it. The upside to them is that they are only going to get better.

“Donovan has the chance to be one of the best left tackles in the NFL. He’s just as talented as those guys. As long as he doesn’t get complacent the sky is the limit for that guy. Ali brings his hard hat with him to work every day. Those guys are going to be great, but they’re still young and learning.”

While injuries hit Dotson, Hawley and Pamphile at different times throughout the year, and didn’t help with the cohesiveness necessary to effectively run the ball, Marpet and Smith were unscathed and started all 1,075 snaps in 2017. For Smith it marked the second straight season in which he didn’t miss a snap, as he started all 1,089 plays during his rookie season.

Bucs RG Ali Marpet – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Ali and Donovan took a huge step forward this year,” Hawley said. “With Ali it’s crazy what he’s done coming from a Division III school. He’s greatly improved from last year to this year. The sky is the limit for him.

“Donovan is such a great talent at left tackle. I think the big thing with him is all mental and playing with confidence. He’s starting to learn that he can dominate players on the outside and be a true franchise left tackle. Donovan has been killing it in the run game. He’s a strong guy with a big body, great hands and great athleticism. He just needs to play with confidence all the time and knowing that he can do it. I think that’s the big thing heading into their third year. Those guys need to play with confidence and keep taking steps forward.”

Hawley said that his biggest regret was the decline of Tampa Bay’s running game in 2016. The Bucs finished 24th in rushing, averaging 101 yards per game and a 3.6-yard average. In 2015 with a 1,400-yard effort from Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin, Tampa Bay had the league’s fifth-best rushing attack, averaging 135.1 yards per game and a 4.8-yard average.

“As a unit, it’s hard to run the ball in the NFL and we had our struggles as a unit,” Hawley said. “But individually, those two guys – Ali and Donovan – have improved with their technique and they made strides with their confidence and their communication.

“Ali’s biggest thing was that he didn’t open his mouth and talk at the line of scrimmage. He wasn’t necessarily confident in what he was seeing or saying. Now after talking more, he’s so much more fluent in what we’re doing and he’s more confident. That’s only going to help us going forward. We’re so close in the running game. Collectively, we’ve just got to clean up the little things, but individually they’re really taking steps forward.”

Hawley acknowledges that the team’s running game was off the whole year dating back to the preseason. But he firmly believes that the Bucs’ ground game can bounce back in 2017.

Bucs RB Jacquizz Rodgers – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

“It was off all season long, honestly,” Hawley said. “There was something going on, but we couldn’t quite put our finger on it. The coaches are going to do a good job cutting up the film this offseason. It’s hard to do an in-season self-evaluation with such a cohesive unit. The coaches are going to clean it up in the offseason, though. We definitely have to improve the running game and the offense as a whole. The offense this year definitely wasn’t as good as it was in 2015, but the defense is improving, which is a good sign. Hopefully we can go into the offseason and work on the things we need to work on and come back stronger in 2017.”

Hawley played with Jacquizz Rodgers dating back to their time together in Atlanta, and would like to see him get re-signed by Tampa Bay this offseason. Rodgers led the Bucs with a career-high 560 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 129 carries (4.3 avg.), while Martin and Sims struggled with injuries for most of the season.

With Martin benched against New Orleans and suspended for the season finale against Carolina as part of a four-game suspension for PED usage, his career in Tampa Bay is in jeopardy, especially after rushing for just 421 yards and three touchdowns on 144 carries (2.9 avg.). That makes re-signing the more effective Rodgers in the offseason a priority.

“Jacquizz is a great running back,” Hawley said. “Obviously Dirk likes him a lot. He brought him in and gave him a shot. He fit right in with the offense and didn’t miss a beat. The way he came in, he brought a spark to the running game. The running game hasn’t been too great this season and it’s something we need to improve on for next year. To have Jacquizz come in and make those big runs for us was definitely something special. We need him going forward.”

Bucs RT Demar Dotson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If Warhop and Koetter go through the cut-ups this offseason and see that the indecisive running of Martin and Sims, who also averaged a disappointing 2.9 yards per carry, was to blame for a good deal of Tampa Bay’s rushing woes, than expect the Bucs to carry on with the existing members of their offensive line with Hawley re-signed and Sweezy competing for a starting spot with the developing young draft picks from the last three years.

“It’s good to go out a winner, man,” Dotson said after beating Carolina. “We haven’t had too many around here. Year after year we’ve lost. To finish on a high note at 9-7 feels good. I don’t think this is what we really wanted. We were expecting a whole lot more than this, and I think our fans were expecting a whole lot more than this, too. 

“It’s bittersweet, but this is going to be a special team. It’s got to start upfront with us on the O-line, though. It’s going to get a whole lot better and I think next year is going to be a great ride for us and this city.”