FAB 3. All Or Nothing With Arians: Personnel
In Fab 2, I took a look at how new Bucs head coach Bruce Arians leads with regards to barking out orders on the sidelines during game days or at practice and in team meeting rooms. But one of the areas that is often behind closed doors that viewers get to see Arians navigate is personnel decisions.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and president Michael Bidwell handle the roster moves, but Arians also has his say when it comes to holding players accountable for their actions – and dismissing those who don’t adhere to the rules. Watching Arians operate in this arena was music to my eyes and ears.
There has been very little accountability at One Buccaneer Place for quite some time, and that falls mostly on the head coaches. Sure, general manager Jason Licht has cut some kickers in-season for continuing to miss field goals – most notably Nick Folk in 2017 and Chandler Catanzaro last year. And Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was released before Week 3 in 2016, and quarterback Jameis Winston was benched last year. But outside of those moves, there was very little accountability for the other 50 players on the roster.
The Big Takeaway
When mistakes were often made in Tampa Bay last year, they were too often tolerated. That won’t happen under Arians. During the Cardinals’ 2015 season, which was featured on All Or Nothing, Arians almost cut starting right guard Ted Larsen for a false start at a critical part of the Cardinals vs. Bengals game.
Arians wasn’t thinking about benching Larsen. He was going to cut him. Keep reading to find out what happened.
Quotes That Matter
“My pet peeve – I came to work and two days in a row some motherf*@$er was in my spot,” Arians said in a team meeting during the 2015 offseason. “Alright? One was a Jeep with Washington plates today and yesterday it was a Jeep with Texas plates in my spot. If there is a sign on a parking place anywhere in this facility – don’t park in the bitch or I will tow your ass. Alright?
“Last thing. All you new guys – when I’m talking to you, a lot of times it’s ugly. But I ain’t talking about you personally now. I’m talking about your football. If your football sucks, I’m going to tell you your football sucks. I like you as a guy. ‘Smoke’ [wide receiver John Brown’s nickname] thought his middle name was ‘motherf *@$er’ last year. Alright? Then he got to be ‘Smoke’ because he started to do his s#*@ right. It’s easy.”
Sure enough, a player didn’t adhere to Arians rules and parked in the wrong spot – and got cut. That player was Lawrence Okoye, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound defensive tackle, who was on Arizona’s practice squad. Okoye was a member of the British track and field team and played rugby before trying his hand at NFL football.
“We’re moving on from Lawrence Okoye,” Arians said during practice. “He parked in the wrong spot. There weren’t any parking places – and he just came running in. Tough s#*@. He has a different sense of entitlement being an Olympian.”
Arians sent a message that details matter, and mistakes come at a cost.
Defensive end Calais Campbell, a team captain, addressed the team about Okoye’s release during a team meeting and stressed the attention to details that were needed from the players moving forward.
Now it’s not to say that Arians doesn’t believe in second chances. He does when the situation warrants it. Every second chance situation is evaluated on a player-by-player basis. NFL Films documented the selection of LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu by Arians and Keim (and former Cardinals VP of personnel Jason Licht) back in 2013 for the All Or Nothing series.
“I’m a true believer in second chances,” Arians said. “We took a lot of criticism at the Cardinals for drafting Tyrann because he was kicked out of LSU for a drug problem. It crushed him to lose the one thing he loved, and that was football.
“Too many times now in the NFL we’re so over-conscience of public opinion that we forget about the person and what they are going through.”
These quotes lead me to believe that Arians and the Bucs will pursue the signing of former Pro Bowl running back Kareem Hunt, the 2017 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, who was kicked off the Chiefs for assaulting a woman and lying to the team about it. Hunt, who is likely facing a 6-10 game suspension, is the perfect type of back for Arians’ offense.
Mathieu, who could be another free agent target by the Bucs this offseason as the team needs a veteran safety, discussed his relationship with Arians for the All Or Nothing cameras.
“I remember the first time I sat down with B.A. after he drafted me and he told me that story,” Mathieu said, recalling how Arians told him about him getting kicked out of his high school when he was a star quarterback at York High School in Pennsylvania. “Now me as a player who just got a second chance, I’m able to come into work every day more comfortable, more relaxed because my coach showed me his scars. He showed me what he’d been through in his life. I think that’s why we relate to each other. Not to mention that we both have crazy swag.”
Arians got a bit emotional when discussing what coaching means to him.
“For me coaching isn’t about winning and losing,” Arians said. “It’s about making a guy as good as he can be.”
But make no mistake – Arians wants to win. And when Larsen almost cost the Cardinals a shot at beating the Bengals, he almost lost his job.
Prior to the footage of the Cardinals and Bengals game, All Or Nothing featured a scene where Arians went over end-of-game situation film in team meetings on a weekly basis to educate his players in situational football. His first example was of a recent Dallas vs. Giants game during the 2015 season.
“Giants up by 3 in Dallas – no timeouts (1:43 left, Giants up 23-20). Alright?” Arians said as he rolled the end-of game footage, which showed the Giants in the Cowboys red zone for his players to watch. “Giants decide to throw this ball, but it’s not there – so go down (Arians was suggesting that Eli Manning take a sack to keep the clock running). Go down and eat the ball. Alright? Quarterback – can it be incomplete? Nope. It cannot be incomplete. A sack, they end up kicking a field goal (Giants up 26-20) with probably 30-40 seconds left on the clock. Now it’s 1:29 instead of it being 40 seconds off that clock. [The Cowboys] get it down here and score and win the game (27-26). The biggest part of this drill was the offense putting the defense in that scenario. Alright? They should have not had more than 40 seconds on that clock.
“Each week these games come down to critical errors. It’s really not as much as who makes the play, as who don’t f*@$ it up. Don’t be the guy that f*@$s it up.”
The Cardinals and Bengals played on Sunday Night and Arizona had a chance to break a 31-31 tie and win the game with a last-second field goal. Before quarterback Carson Palmer spiked the ball to kill the clock with less than 10 seconds left to bring out the field goal kicker, Larsen moved before the snap and flags flew. It looked like a false start, which would have moved the Cardinals back five yards, but also included a costly 10-second run off, which would end regulation and force overtime without Arizona having a chance to win it with a field goal.
“Stupid motherf*@$er!” Arians said in a rage on the sideline.
But the Cardinals – and Larsen – caught a break. Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko barked out the word “hut” to cause Larsen to false start. He was flagged for simulating the snap, which is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Arizona won with Chandler Catanzaro’s 32-yard field goal.
The Cardinals started that game-winning drive backed up in their own end of the field with one minute remaining and no timeouts. Instead of taking a knee and playing for overtime, Arians trusted his players to go win the game and had Palmer air it out to get the Cari.
No risk it, no biscuit.
“The one thing about us – we’re going to play to win,” Arians told his team in the locker room after the win. “We don’t play for ties because we trust each other. Things didn’t always go our way, but this group is finding ways to win and that’s a beautiful thing.”
The next scene in All Or Nothing was Bidwell, Arians and Keim in a meeting room recapping the game. Arians was still not pleased with Larsen.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t have a guard on our team right now if there was a 10-second run off,” Arians said. “We’d cut him right now.”
Arians then addressed Larsen’s mistake in the team meeting room as he reviewed the game evaluation chart from the Arizona vs. Cincinnati game.
“Alright we were very fortunate to win this ball game the way we played,” Arians said. “It’s nice to learn from almost losing rather than losing. But don’t sit here and pat yourself on the back. We were not the most physical team. We got our ass kicked in short yardage and goal line.
“We had critical penalties, and Ted, you are very, very lucky that you are not right there (pointing to the penalties area on the overhead projector slide). And if you were right there you wouldn’t be sitting where you are right now. There’s no f*@$ing excuse for you to move in that goddamn situation. We’re killing that clock.”
The FABulous Ending
Three of the top Super Bowl winning coaches – New England’s Bill Belichick, New York Giants’ Bill Parcells and Dallas’ Jimmy Johnson – all used fear as a motivator. Arians does that too, to a degree. The fear of getting benched is one thing. The fear of losing your job is something completely different.
Nothing stamps out complacency, laziness and incompetence like the fear of unemployment. Not getting a promotion or getting demoted is one thing. Being out of work altogether and missing a paycheck is another.
Arians doesn’t mess around. He has very few rules, but if you don’t follow them – it’s your ass, as he would say. There will be some Buccaneers who will be purged this year just because of their attitude. If they don’t shape up, Arians will ship them out.
What’s different about Arians’ hardline approach, as opposed to that of former Bucs head coach Greg “Toes On The Line” Schiano, is the two Super Bowl rings on Arians’ fingers – not to mention his nearly three decades of NFL coaching experience.
This is why there is so much consternation over re-signing OT Donovan Smith, even signing him to the franchise tag. Can’t have your QB getting hurt if we are to have a winning season. In this short video, Winston sustained a right shoulder injury and was never the same for the remainder of the season.
Smith gave up the tackle to DE Alex Okafor/Saints that led to the injury. Okafor, BTW, is now an UFA paid 2mil in 2018, who was drafted by Bruce Arians/Arizona Cardinals in the 4th round of the 2013 draft.
Whatever course of action the Bucs take regarding the LT position, I wish them good luck. Go Bucs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1e6RUb0Leo
Here’s another sack Smith(supposedly) gave up to Dallas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2G4BMEMCm8
After watching the play, the guy he was blocking sacked Jameis outside the RIGHT side of the Tackle Box. He literally ran a massive circle all the way around the entire offensive line to strip sack Winston. Here’s an idea: Get rid of the damn ball sooner Winston.
Its called trying to make a play. I’m sure you weren’t complaining the last game of the season when winston did this very thing and made plays like the bomb to make evans. Yes he can get rid of the ball sooner at times, but let’s not pretend smith hasnt gotten jameis and fitz clubbed numerous times.
You can complain for 5 more years. Smith is getting extended. Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahha
Really? He’s being extended for 5 more years? Why don’t you try and show us all where you found this out? Like you said to another poster, stop being so dumb
chefboho: Its in the article. Front office likes him and coaches like him. They are trying to get a long term deal done at this moment and if they can’t, they will franchise him.
Thankfully he isn’t going anywhere. Pick a new whipping boy.
And for the record, on that play Smith was beat like a drum and wouldve had an easy sack had jameis not escaped Initial pressure, which is what he and fitz had to do a ton last year.
Tackles are taught to run DE’s out of the play by letting them wheel out wide. I can pull up 50 passing touchdowns where smith stopped his guy.
You are blind. Dot got beat across his face, Benenoch got beat on the crosser, Jameis stepped up to the right where Dot got beat and Randy gregory came from 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage. That is on Dot and Winston. NOT ON SMITH FOOL.
On top of that, it was 3rd and 5. Brate is at the sticks when Winston leaves the pocket. Why not take the easy throw and catch and get the first down?
I have watched this play 20 times over the last day. The more I watch it, the more Im convinced that the Randy Gregory made a hell of a play with his hustle. SMith wasn’t lazy. He did precisely what tackles do to speed rushers, they use the speed against them and push them out of the play.
Winstons touchdown passes as a pro…
Watch Big #76. Quit picking one play that Winston was equal to blame.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7uuYgrc8cw
Man this is great stuff. I love his fu attitude and demeanor. You know who else loves that kind of coaching? Jameis. He needs to be coached hard. And personally I cant wait to see Bruce make an example of Mr donavan Smith. Could you imagine arians reaction if Smith did what he did last year when he gave up on a free play and jameis got smacked? Smith might be cut!
I think Smith raises his game this year and does well. Warhop shouldve never been here as long as he was. He got zero production out of anyone.
This team is sorely lacking in accountability and attitude and Bruce brings both. Cant wait to see how this turns out.
He aint cutting Smith any more than he’s cutting Jameis. Quit being so dumb.
Ummmm, Smith is not under contract yet for 2019, Winston is. Smith cant be “cut” since he’s now a FA. File that comment under Dumb and Dumber.
He isn’t a free agent yet. The 2018 league year hasn’t ended. There’s about a month left. This article claims to be reporting the teams stated intentions of signing him to a long term deal and franchising him if they can’t get it done in time. The front office and new coaching staff believe in him. Unless Im missing something, that sounds like an a 5 year deal is in the works.
Donovan Smith is not going to make it to free agency. He just isn’t.
I tend to agree. Losing breeds more losing. Poor play no confidence. It seems like we finally have a real NFL coaching staff for the 1st time in at least 10-15 years. This coaching staff should be able to get a lot more out of this team. If (and its a big if based on the past few years) we can have a solid draft and pick up some good free agents you could see a Rams type turn around for this team.
I think he has enough left in the tank, he will need the same fire he had early in Arizona.
Nothing strikes fear and respect in a team like cutting a player for taking his parking space. I couldn’t love what I’m hearing any more than I do. A real coach not excepting slack efforts or guys “just getting by” he’s a motivator. Hell, I get pumped just reading his quotes. Hopefully he lights the fire under this teams ass that has been sorely lacking.
The one thing I don’t understand is the willingness to let Licht off the hook at every turn. Donovan Smith’s lackluster play is now the fault of George Warhop? Well while Warhop was in Cleveland he coached Joe Thomas at LT and I don’t recall one bad thing being said about his play during that time. The easy route is blaming the skill coach when the reality is the GM is the one responsible. After Warhop requested O’Neil Cousins and Anthony Collins only a fool, or Licht, would continue to listen to his input when assessing incoming players. He let the man stick around here for seasons when he could’ve pulled the plug at any point. If we have a GM that is nothing more than a yes man then I will say it over and over WE NEED A NEW ONE. We are in this Donovan Smith fiasco because he didn’t take Tunsil who was there for the picking in the VHIII, Spence and Aguayo draft. He had a player capable of playing either tackle position fall into his lap and he foolishly passed for an undersized, inferior athlete in VHIII. Now we sit here with the old “we have no choice” nonsense and will be forced to pay a player that hasn’t earned the money. Then the next word out of Licht’s mouth will be accountability lol give me a break. I am a Bruce Arians fan and hope this works but let’s be very clear it will be in spite of Licht’s go along with the flow approach to the offseason not because of him. 5 years into his rein as GM and he’s drafted 1 impact lineman on either side of the ball, has no starting RB and no #1 CB. Our cap reflects that of a team that should be winning but the production isn’t nearly enough, but I guess we can blame that on Rosenberg in next weeks Fab 5.
Arians is here, in part, because Licht is still here. Doesn’t matter what your opinion, my opinion, or anybody else’s opinion of Licht is. He’ll be here until the Glazers say otherwise. You can bitch all you want, but that’s the reality of it.
How you handle the GM being awful for 5 years is your business, but on a Bucs platform I will post what I want about the clown. If I see an article that I feel doesn’t offer the full picture my login credentials afford me the opportunity to offer whatever opinion I want. If the truth is bitching then so be it. Can’t wait until the next head scratcher in the first 3 rounds of the draft to remind us of the real reality with the Bucs.
Not even Warhop could screw up the All Pro “cant miss” talent of Joe Thomas. Pitiful analogy…..
Dirk Koetter said “talent isn’t the issue” last year, and Bruce Arians has said “talent won’t be an issue” this year. Who do you think acquired the talent? I do believe a lot of the losing, especially last year, was the fault of the coaching staff for not developing the talent and get it to play at full potential by not holding the players accountable. Licht gave Warhop these players in free agency: Anthony Collins, Evan Smith, Oneil Cousins, Garrett Gilkey, JR Sweezy and Ryan Jensen; drafted: Kadeem Edwards, Kevin Pamphile, Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet, Caleb Benenoch and Alex Cappa; and traded for Logan Mankins. That’s 13 offensive linemen (not including undrafted free agents) – and he re-signed a starter in Demar Dotson. And Warhop can’t develop 5 of them to make a competent, coherent unit?
I forgot Patrick Omameh, so make it 14 offensive linemen – Dotson would make 15.
You said it best all by yourself and didn’t even realize it… Warhop coaches Joe Thomas, an automatic Hall of Faner on his own and Warhop got the credit… Meanwhile Smith has all the measurable and talent to be a solid LT and Warhop failed to get it out of him… If you think all of these players can play the game on their own you are dilusional… If they aren’t the few that are born with automatic talent, they need guidance and to be taught how to be great or even good… This new staff will find who can crack it and who can’t and has the history of bringing the best out of the players that ride the line between good and avg…
@bucfan-circa76 So I should also assume that when Ali Marpet was selected in the 2nd round from Hobart College that he came out ready to play as a rookie. Of course not, he was developed and put at RG by none other than George Warhop were he played his best football. He moved to C as a result of Jason Licht’s terrible attempts at C and then later to LG because he couldn’t fill that position in almost 5 seasons on the job. Give me a break with the excuses for Licht and the need to blame a competent position coach. Warhop may not be special and you will get no argument from me there but to say he’s the problem is passing the buck. Scott of those free agent signings none of them were worth their contract. It was George Warhop’s call to make Jensen the highest paid C in football? Or did the man simply say he needed an upgrade at the position and our “talent evaluator” went guns blazing into FA over spending for a slightly above average C. Pamphile was a solid player here and has looked very similar in Tennessee with completely different coaching. I don’t see some player that all of a sudden is dominating with different coaching. Even if you are telling me that Warhop is the one selling the delusion that has been posted about Donovan to management it’s still Licht’s job to assess the roster and improve it. The man had Tunsil is his sights with Donovan performing ok and Dotson aging and decided to select small and slow VHIII. Plus you mention Dirk saying that talent isn’t the issue as if that means anything. His tenure has shown us that he had no clue what the real state of affairs are on the team or he would’ve fixed them and started winning. Bruce saying that talent wont be the issue is because he plans to change the names playing OL which actually means that you beloved Licht will be losing some of the 14 names you mention and adding more. Everything being leaked is saying that he has plans to improve the OL meaning what we have is NOT good enough. To be clear I am in no way saying Warhop wasn’t part of the problem, he is, but he’s only a part. If I was drafting players that I didn’t feel were being properly used there’s no chance in hell I’m going to let him hang around for 5 seasons. So either the players aren’t that good or Licht is too yellow to make the moves necessary to impact change on the fly. 5 seasons to realize Warhop was the problem? Give me a break
Also you see Sweezy playing better in seattle and assume that it’s because the coaching is better. Which is true but why get a guard who comes from a run heavy attack knowing that our offense is built around the pass. He returned to the run heavy Seahawks and I guess they rubbed some magic elixir on him as he’s better. No they run the ball which is his strength we asked him to pass pro most of the game which he does not excel in. But then again it was probably Warhop calling the plays so it’s his fault.
Good counterpoints on some, and please dont think I am a flute musician for Licht, who like Donovan Smith has been average and inconsistent at his job. In what accounted as a “make or break season”, Smith was underwhelming and Licht brought us a 2nd round bust at RB. Warhop, though, has them both beat when it comes to players and coaches who underachieved MOST the last season or so – and paid the price. Jury still out on Licht and some of “his” players that still remain, and count on open and heated competition on just about every position.
I still say we draft someone like Williams and put him at RT or RG and moving him to LT someday can be an option. Even if not we move Benenoch to rT and with Williams at RG our Oline will be solid with versatility…
I don’t think Jonah plays LT at all in the NFL. G or RT IMO. He’s too small, small arms for LT. Two of the best LT in NFL history, Walter Jones and Joe Thomas, 6’6″ 320 and 6’6″ 315 respectively.
Jonah is 6’4″ 300, I’ve seen some listings of him at 295. We’ll see at the combine. I just think his future is Pro Bowl G or RT.
I’d personally rather move to Smith to RT to replace Dotson. Draft Andre Dillard 6’6″ 315/Juwaan Taylor 6’5″ 335/Greg Little 6’6″ 325, either in round 1.
Okay, let’s be clear about this, SR. Your math skills kind of stink (either that or your research was lazy). Yes, those are the grades from PFF, but they place Donovan Smith at 46th out of 80 qualifying tackles in the NFL, and there are all of 7, 7!!! qualifying starting left tackles who were worse than Smith last year. That’s all. 7.
Martinas Rankin–Houston
Cordy Glenn–Cincinnati
Kolton Miller-Oakland
Kelvin Beachum-NY Jets
Chris Clark–Carolina
Ereck Flowers-Jacksonville
Desmond Harrison-Cleveland.
That’s it.
I love that you used PFF focus #s to evaluate Smith, but even by their metrics, he’s not “above average.” 8th worst starting left tackle and 46th out of 80 of all tackles makes one below average no matter the measure.
Better go get a jersey! HE’S COMING BACK!!
Also, PFF’s grades are not analytics. They are good ol’ fashioned scouting grading each player on a play-by-play basis.
I’m actually fine with their grading process as they’re never just one person’s opinion, and everyone grading knows more about football than I do, but by their measurement, Smith is NOT above average. He’s considerably below average.
Yes, by their metrics, PFF had Donovan Smith in the “above average” category – even as the No. 46 OT. Look for yourself. https://www.profootballfocus.com/nfl/players/donovan-smith/9467
Oh, I did, but it’s a logic problem, not a name problem. One must be above 50% of the average to be above average. Smith did not qualify in either being one of the top rated of all tackles, or just among starting left tackles. That makes him below the 50%, aka below average. IOW, PFF can CALL it whatever they please (the super supremest supreme tackle! at 50% PFF rating, FI). Calling it something doesn’t make it so, but mathematically, Smith was below the average–below average.
What I think I read, Smith is above average, Marpet is an All-Pro type of player, Jersen is above-average, Benenoch is way below average, and Dotson is barely average. Overall our Offensive Line has performed below average. I see no reason to extend any OL contract pass this season.
Scott has stated Arians takes an attitude of all or nothing. Based on that attitude, I would prefer not to guarantee any money past this coming season. Just my opinion.
Great Fab 5 this week SR.
Fab 1: Doing the happy dance. I am glad the team is keeping Donovan Smith. I may be in the minority, but there is no Quentin Nelson, Joe Thomas or Paul Gruber in this years draft. Drafting any tackle in the top ten this year is reaching, which is what bad teams do and what keeps them bad. Glad the Bucs are resigning or tagging the big fella!
Fab 2,3,4: Arians is a winner and will demand discipline. The players defected from Schiano quickly when it didn’t translate to wins, but he wasn’t wrong to demand discipline or bench pill poppin’ club hoppin’ Josh Freeman. Arians has the clout to do what it takes and not be second guessed like Schiano was. McCoy and David had their best years as pros under Schiano and if memory serves, McCoy hated every minute of it. He doesnt seem to fit with a coach like Bruce Arians. His indifference or lack of fire doesn’t seem to be a good match. The game/practice tape wont lie. He is eminently replaceable considering this years strong and deep draft class.
Thank you, BucWild02!
Citing Smith’s projected contract as evidence of strong play is very disingenuous. His value is based on market and situational leverage. Fact is a bad tackle makes more than a great guard because of the market and general positional availability. Tackle play in the league is atrocious and teams are desperate. Let’s stop pretending this vindicates Smith’s apologists. It doesn’t. He’s still terrible.
It’s no secret that bad or below average offensive linemen can also get overpaid in free agency. Anthony Collins, who was one of the highest-rated OTs by PFF during the 2013 season, is proof of that.
“Smith is not a bad player, nor is he a bad person. He’s an above average tackle with room to grow.”
This is a pure fabrication. He is not an “above average tackle”. His film doesn’t remotely support that assertion. Sure, he has room to grow in the sense that he’s bad, which means there’s a lot of ways for him to hypothetically improve. But he uses poor technique as a pass blocker. He can’t block the front or back side of zone runs due to his slow feet, his lack of coordination, and his terrible cut blocking ability. His hands are hit or miss. His effort is streaky and often inexplicably poor. He LOOKS the part, for sure, but that’s about it. He’s easily one of the worst run blocking starting left tackles in football, and he’s a weak pass blocker, too. He has some nice highlight blocks on power runs to his side, but highlights don’t make a good lineman. Consistently doing your job on a play to play basis DOES. Smith doesn’t even come close to doing that.
He’s ALWAYS near the top of the league in pressures given up, penalties committed, missed blocks, just about all of it. The only reason his sacks allowed number isn’t higher is that he’s blocked for QBs who are good at escaping a collapsing pocket.
Availability is only a huge asset if you’re, you know….good. Having the same turnstile at LT all the time isn’t a big plus just because it’s the same guy. He’s a liability, full stop. The ONLY people who don’t seem to see that, from a pure play grading standpoint, are the guys at One Bucs Place. And I just don’t get it. He was a third round talent who most projected to play guard due to his poor play at tackle that we took at the top of the second round, and he’s never done anything other than play pretty poorly year to year. He just had the BEST season of his career, and he was still below average among starters.
Go ahead, sign him to a big extension. Waste the money that could be better spent on talent currently outside the organization. Licht and co. have always been delusional with Smith. It’s clear that his still subpar contract year somehow did nothing to change their minds. Don’t be surprised when defenses still easily pressure our QB, and we still can’t run the ball consistently.
Idiots.
I guess you’re smarter and have more NFL coaching experience than the guys at 1 Buc Place, right?
Doug Martin and Charles Simms finished as the 2nd best tandem in rushing in 2015 while Smith was blocking. Yes, Doug Martin and Charles Simms. Different C and a better LG(Mankins).
Passing offense finished 3rd last year with 2 different QB’s, plenty of turmoil, Marpet in his 3rd position on the line, new center, new RG’s rotating, and Dot coming back from injury. Smith was definitely part of the reason for success.
He’s staying and Tampa is smart to keep him.
You’re talking about team success and assuming that Smith was a direct cause of it, when the film shows anything but that. If you want to make a case for Smith, then make a case for him based on the merits of his individual play. Sometimes, units and even whole teams succeed in spite of poor play from certain individuals.
You’re harkening all the way back to 2015 on the rushing stuff. In that season, Doug Martin led the entire NFL in broken tackles, yards after contact, and yards after contact per rush. He succeeded in running the ball thanks mostly to great individual play, not due to his line (or, more to the point, Smith specifically) being world beaters. He was just a dominant individual force that year. The linemen who DID block reasonably well in the running game on a consistent basis – Marpet, Mankins, and Dotson – contributed as well.
Since then – that is, in each of the last three full seasons – we haven’t been able to run the ball worth a dang no matter who’s been toting the rock. And that includes with the aforementioned Doug Martin, sho (not so) shockingly produced like a competent, good NFL running back behind a different line this past season. But surely, Smith and the whiffs on power blocks, missed cut blocks, and lazy approach that show up all over his film COULDN’T have anything to do with our league-worst YPC average over the last three seasons, right?!
A grade in the 60s from PFF is for a backup level player. Not one set to earn top tier money. Why is PewterReport still carrying water for a player who should be on the bench?
“Why is PewterReport still carrying water for a player who should be on the bench?” For the exact reasons Scott Reynolds pointed out in his Fab 5 article, that’s why. Winston is in a contract year, so you’re not going to build his trust by yanking Smith out and replacing him with a rookie or a FA. There are simply too many needs and not enough cap room to spend more money in FA on what will likely be the same or worse caliber player at LT if the Bucs let Smith walk. If Arians can’t light a fire under Smith’s ass, then nobody can, and Arians will run Smith out of town.
I’m not carrying water for him. I was disappointed in his play during a contract year and have made that known plenty of times. Problem is that there aren’t many good options for the Bucs in free agency and the draft to replace him this year. That’s why I’ve advocated for a one-year franchise tag deal to give the front office the 2019 season to see how Smith responds to Arians’ staff and not be held hostage to a multi-year deal where the Bucs are forced to play him for years to come or cut him with a massive cap penalty. https://www.pewterreport.com/pr-roundtable-should-the-bucs-keep-lt-smith-or-move-on/
I know it’s not often used, Scott, but what about us using the non-exclusive franchise tag? In Smith’s case, it seems like a common sense move to me if we’re determined to try to keep him for this year. If someone else signs him, then we get two first round picks (one of which we could use on Jonah Williams early in the first round, or Yodny Cajuste if that pick is later in the first round) and someone else overpays him.
I just don’t get why we’d use an exclusive tag on him. By using a non-exclusive tag, we would lower his price tag considerably, and if someone else stole him away, that would, in my opinion, be an enormous win for us. It’s a big win either way. Any Bucs fan (or front office member) who wouldn’t trade Smith for two first round picks right now needs their head examined.
If we’re going to keep him one way or another, slap him with the non-exclusive tag.
Arguments against?
Someone correct me if the NFL created a “non-exclusive franchise tag” and I was obviously in a “lost weekend” consisting of things I wont mention here….
There is a Franchise Tag and a Transition Tag option with the Franchise being the most utilized because of the two 1st round picks, yadda yadda. The Transition option gives the Bucs the chance/right to match the incoming offer. There are other pros and cons for each of the two, but Smith is likely to receive the Franchise Tag option if the team so decides to keep him around.
In regards to your non-exclusive tag, etc, I am befuddled.
There are two versions of the franchise tag NFL teams can elect to place on a player. They can, obviously, only use one franchise tag or transition tag per offseason.
The exclusive franchise tag is the one that’s usually used, the one you’re clearly more familiar with. It gives the tagging team exclusive negotiating ability, meaning no other team can sign that player, no matter what, unless he’s traded by the tagging team. The tag amount is equal to the average of the top 5 salaries at the position for the most recent season.
The non-exclusive tag comes in at a lower price tag, and it functions differently in its impacts on team and player. The tag is equal to the average of the top 5 salaries at the position for the last FIVE seasons rather than just the most recent, which pushes the price tag down. Other teams are still able to negotiate with and sign the tagged player. If they sign said player, the tagging team received two first round picks from the signing team as compensation for their loss.
I’m suggesting that we should apply the non-exclusive tag vs. the exclusive one to Smith because (1) nobody in the NFL is going to trade two first round picks and write the checks for a premium contract to land Smith, and (2) if they DID, that would be an enormous win for us, as Smith isn’t worth even nearly two first round picks, and we’d be better off saving the money and using our extra first rounder this year to draft his more capable, much cheaper replacement.
Sorry to disagree, and thank you for all the work you do, but you are carrying water. You’re citing PFF to say he is an above average Tackle, when even the stats you are using rank him as a backup. You’re advocating for Tampa to pay him $14M next year, when that’s about 6x what his play dictates. Pewter Report doesn’t have to play Public Relations and get out in front of every bad move the Bucs are going to make in an attempt to justify it. We can call a spade a spade. And paying Donovan Smith $14M because there “aren’t many good options” is an atrocious allocation of cap space.
This guy gets it.
You guys definitely have more contacts than me so ill take your word for it. If they can get him to give effort every play Ill be a fan. Lack of effort by any pro makes me sick. Even if they keep him i expect them to take an OT in the first or 2nd. I think Licht trades back again this year tho. Now of course the coming cuts and free agency could change alot. If Smith isnt re-signed I’m guessing it changes yours too. If the Oline doesnt have at least 2 new starters Ill be shocked. Theres many ways to generate a pass rush but far fewer to block it.
If the only problems with Smith were effort-related, I’d be onboard for a year with keeping him on with Arians and a new coaching staff. But he also comes up so short in the talent and skills required from a good NFL offensive tackle. Even if he cleans up his effort (which is a huge problem, I agree), he still has slow, clumsy feet, hit or miss hands, and poor technique on everything other than power runs to his side. There are a few worse starting left tackles, but he’s a liability for any offense in this league.
Ali Marpet is a pro bowl caliber player who hasn’t made the pro bowl in four years! Q. Nelson made the pro bowl, and all pro as a rookie. This has been a big problem with the Bucs, and media like PR that keep blowing smoke up the players asses about how good they are. We’ve been hearing for four years how Marpet is one of the best guards in the NFL, now he’s being paid like one, but reality is he wasn’t even a pro bowl alternate. We’ve been hearing for the last two years from PR about how Justin Evans is about to break out, and become a pro bowl safety. Yet every year he gets burned like toast, and ends up on IR. Kwon at least was a pro bowl alternate who wants big money, but make no mistake, he’s no Ray Lewis. McCoy has made his share of pro bowls as the token Buc most years, but hasn’t sealed a win with a last drive sack that I can ever remember. David same thing, good solid player, but by no means a game changer like PR would have you believe, he’s no Derrick Brooks. What do all these career losers have in common? They get paid like champs, but play like chumps. Now let’s add D. Smith to the long list of under achievers with a big pay day. Let’s give him a big contract like PR suggests, and when he has a drive killing holding penalty, or gives up a sack fumble at the worst time BA can strike fear in him by cutting him. Oh wait, his contract would be guaranteed, he ain’t going anywhere but to the bank to cash his check like McCoy, David, Marpet, Jensen, all of them who’ve given us 5-11 two years running.
How can Marpet be named to a pro bowl when he changes postions every year? Extend Smith for 5 years. Put Ali next to Dot. Draft a kid in the 3rd round to play LG. Have Benenoch and Cappa compete with Dot at RT and provide depth. Done.
i feel you 100%
I voted this down because of your nonsensical jabs at McCoy and Lavonte, along with your inexplicable reliance on the popularity contest that is the Pro Bowl to tell you who’s good and who isn’t, but you make some good points here. Kwon has all the tools, yet for all those natural, God-given abilities, he’s always near the top of the league in missed tackles and can’t cover a corpse in the passing game. Evans has shown flashes, and it’s still too early to judge him, but he’s definitely nothing special at this point.
Marpet is a stud and is easily one of the best interior linemen in the league. That fanboys who vote on the Pro Bowl (and make no mistake, especially for generally anonymous interior linemen, being on a VERY unpopular team like the Bucs hurts Marpet and basically guarantees he’ll never make a PB) barely even know his name, and his play isn’t to blame for that at all.
I agree that none of Kwon, Evans, or Smith are all that good. And it’s silly for Bucs media, and even sillier for the Bucs themselves, to continuously insist they are.
With all due respect, Quenton Nelson of the Colts was the 6th OVERALL player taken in the 2018 draft. The Colts were also a playoff team unlike the Bucs. Had Nelson been available when it was our turn, not even meathead would have passed him up, I was hoping he might fall to us but NO…….Marpet is our most consistent, highest graded O-lineman, which may not be saying much but we all know Pro Bowls are a popularity contest and familiarity contest. Brooks, Sapp, Barber, Lynch, Rice all went to many Pro Bowls as they were great players, AND also seen regularly in primetime games, meaningful games. Marpet, David, Evans, Alexander, Howard, McCoy, Pierre-Paul all have to contend & deal with that during a 5-11 season with one primetime game (loss).
Anything more than a franchise tag is a mistake with Smith at this point.
I sincerely hope Donovan Smith gets a multiyear contract. Five years would be perfect. It will be more cap friendly vs a franchise tag that he plays up to and then has more bargaining power. The Bucs can guarantee the first 3 years so it’s a tradeable contract if they decide to go a different way in 1, 2, 3 years. This is a best case scenario to me.
We don’t even know if Smith will play with his full potential under Arians yet, should just tag him and see how he does under a new system this year then talk about extending his contract.
What if both Smith and Winston play great and the Bucs finish 9-7(or better)?
I would think the Bucs are looking at two very large long term deals. Consider that Cousins signed a 3yr/84m deal with Minnesota a year ago. Adjust for inflation and a rising salary cap and the extension for Winston could approach 28-31m/year for Winston.
What do they do with Smith? Let him leave since they can’t afford him? Who do they get to protect the 30 million dollar QB’s blind side? A rookie at the end of the 1st round of the 2020 draft?
I say you extend Smith now with savings and know he has a definite floor on his trade value if the Bucs decide to part ways.
None of us knows how he will perform under a big contract yet and no one knows if he just had a bad season due to coaching or something else but tagging him allows us to evaluate him again for another season. There’s just way more of a risk in signing him to a big contract now..if he does perform great along with Winston, that’s something this team can worry about next year and I’m sure they wouldn’t let them both walk if that’s the case.
I get it. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Here’s the thing that’s really important to people who make the decision though, his ability to fight through pain and suit up every Sunday.
Think of Ronde Barber. Was he Champ Bailey? No. Was he Revis Island? No. The guy never missed a game though. That made him an integral part of a defense that featured top talent everywhere else, yet it was HIS play in the Eagles game that put Tampa into the SuperBowl.
Smith has legit value and for all the reasons SR listed, the team is sticking with him for the upcoming season and likely beyond.
BucWild, you’re making it sound like we’d somehow save money by signing Smith long term right now. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s about to hit free agency. It’s either tag him, let him walk, or sign him to a deal at market rates, which will not give us ANY discount whatsoever. To guarantee anything beyond one season to a player who has constantly underachieved and played relatively poorly for the entirety of his time here is a miserably bad idea.
We should let him walk. But barring that, you tag him as a short term bandaid and figure the rest out later. If he plays great (which is stupid unlikely, since even going back to his days at Penn State he’s never been a great LT), then you pay him NEXT offseason. You don’t do it this one, before he’s given you any reason to. That’s just inane.
toofamiliar: Let me break down the math.
Franchise 2019=14m
New 5yr Deal 2020-2024 estimated at 14m x 5yrs=70m. Those figures are from SRs links IN THE ARTICLE.
So thats 84m for 6 years
5year deal 2019 for 60m = 12m/year
Thats 24m dollars difference.
Franchising Smith lets the club walk away next year but that assumes Smith plays awful and the team would want to. Does that really seem more likely than not with the new coaching staff?
Signing him now to something like, 5y/60m with 36m guaranteed(3years) lets the Bucs trade the guy any time over the next 5 years if they want to go in a different direction.
PR is making some assumptions that don’t make any sense to me, and you’re just following them right down that blind path. To assume that he’d cost $12-13M per year (not quite the same as the $12M you say, but whatever) on an extension this offseason (which would be a laughably horrible overpay for what has always been a marginal-at-best and more realistically a well below average starting player) is one thing. There’s some guesswork there already. I can get onboard with it, but it IS still a projection, not gospel truth.
Where you and PR really lose me is with the $14M per year for a long term deal after a tag. That’s a big, aggressive assumption without much to back it. Again, this is PR’s projection, and more power to them. It’s part of their job. But it IS still just that, not some hard fact you can reference to crunch numbers like they’re facts.
If some other team wants to pay Smith $12M+ per year, we should let them. Enjoy watching him submarine that team’s running game and hanging his new QB out to dry on the regular. Let him do it for someone else.
And yea, when he’s been a poor blocker for his entire NFL career, and he has shown weaknesses in all the areas his college tape said he’d show weaknesses in, and 90% of scouts thought he projected as a guard at this level and he’s never looked like a consistently competent LT, I’d say it’s safest to assume that he’s going to play relatively poorly this year. And if he doesn’t, then by all means, write him a big check. He’ll have earned it. But to pay him still a TON of money, just sliiiightly less than the max he could earn with a great season, right now would be premature to the point of stupidity, in my opinion.
“When Smith is focused and locked in for a whole game he can be a dominant player.” Is that a theoretical assessment? I can’t recall actually seeing him dominate a game before…but maybe I was sick that day.
Separately, when did talent evaluation and acquisition become the job of the OLine coach? I was no big Warhop fan, but are we honestly saying that Warhop is to blame for the failings of those linemen you mentioned? Oneil Cousins, Anthony Collins, Kadeem Edwards, Kevin Pamphile, Caleb Benenoch, Garret Gilkey, Patrick Omameh…are we really trying to make the case that those goes were good players, held back by Warhop? That the reason none of them amounted to anything, even when given second/third chances on other teams, is because Warhop somehow ruined them as players?
I appreciate the importance of the role of an OLine coach (particularly in teaching blocking assignments and coordination among the 5), but aren’t we overstating the role of the OLine coach just a little bit here? Isn’t it maybe a little more plausible that Warhop wasn’t given a whole lot to work with by the guy whose actual job description is General Manager of “talent evaluation and acquisition”?
…maybe?
Warhop wanted Cousins and Gilkey because he coached those guys in Cleveland. Neither could play. Up until 2018 he was a part of the evaluation process of offensive linemen – and I’ll just leave it at that.
Right – but your insinuation is that Warhop was telling Licht, “I don’t need anything more for the OLine…this group is great”. Is that true? That’s hard to believe but even if it is, Licht still holds the responsibility…he can delegate actions, but he can’t delegate responsibility. The players on the roster are HIS responsibility alone.
Bingo
At least, as far as Smith goes. I do think Warhop is garbage. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that both Pamphile and Omameh played what was easily their best football starting immediately after they left Tampa. I also don’t think it’s coincidence that Ryan Jensen was one of the better centers in the NFL two years ago and could barely scratch average last season. Between the sacks of crap Warhop has liked going out of his way to bring in to his total inability to competently work with/develop any talent other than the supremely naturally talented Ali Marpet, I think it’s more than fair to say that he’s just bad at his job.
But re: Smith – no, he’s never dominated anything in his life, other than a box of donuts or an extra large pie from Papa John’s.
I am glad they are keeping Donavan Smith for another year, only because I would like to see how he performs in a BA regime. New motivation, coaching change may elevate Smith’s play. I would not want to put a rookie regardless of his skill level protecting Jameis’s blains side. I anticipate with one QB moving into top 5 we will land a good edge rusher, hopefully Josh Allen. This is a strange draft in that it appears D-line is abundant early and O-line is week and scattered throughout the first few rounds. Of course the running game is a huge need, but I am unsure where the talent lies. The last few years have produces some big names, unfortunately I can’t get real excited in this years RB class. It’s still early and much needs to be converted to BA’s system. I think once we figure out his scheme it will be easier to evaluate needs and prospects in the draft as well as FA.
Anybody really think if there’s a personnel conundrum, Licht’s winning out over Arians? Who has the longer contract?
He has to play like he cares about the guys around him. Unfortunately we have to keep him until we come across a pro bowl talented LT. Talent at this position is hard to come by also. Not sure he has the love for the game to maximize his talent.
You may have to burn the one franchise tag on Smith and draft LT in the 1st. Benenoch was the worst BUC OL man last year. Benenoch was a late 4th or 5th round pick who started most of the year at RG. It was a disaster! So you can not create holes as you are trying to fill them. Cut Benenoch, he is worthless and he is due over 2 million dollars next year. Franchise Smith, he does not deserve a contract. But keep him one more year. Have Smith be the backup swing tackle behind RT Dotson (by the way Dotson has to be signed for one more year) and the LT that is drafted this year. Further, Smith can compete for the wide open RG position, it will not test his cinder block feet in the same manner as the LT does. Keep in mind how desperate we are at the offensive line and the entire defensive back field. I do not like Smith at all but we may have to franchise him. I can not believe Benenoch is due to make over 2 million next year!
Dude, you had me at “CUT Benenoch”……the $2million part makes it a no brainer.
I was at that Cardinals-Steelers game that Scott referenced. Wife and I went to Pittsburgh during the Bucs Bye Week. Sure was nice to sit in the stands without being surrounded by the opponent’s fans. I wore my sweat shirt from the 1998 Hall of Fame game that had both Bucs and Steelers logos. I did end up buying a Terrible Blankie because I was freezing my ass off. In that game the Cardinals dominated. Steelers fans thought the game was lost until the miracle happened and they “found a way to win” unlike our Bucs who often seem to “find a way to lose”.
Here in Bucville there is always the player anointed as “whipping boy”. Now it’s Donovan Smith. Like McCoy, “just not good enough” for some fans even though he’s been a decent, albeit not great, starter from Day 1. If I’m picking out a player to chastise, it’s going to be one that can’t even get on the field or is absolutely awful when given an opportunity. We’ve had quite a few of those over the years. If not #76; who you folks inserting at LT?
You might not have the prettiest date for the Prom, but at least she’s not your sister.
Happy to answer your query – I’d draft Jonah Williams at #5 overall, or trade back and draft him, or maneuver around and take Yodny Cajuste at the end of the first round or the beginning of the second, or go hard after Trenton Brown in free agency, or explore the trade market for a LT trade like what the Seahawks did for Duane Brown last offseason. In short – there are a lot of options available to us outside of giving a massive contract (short or long term) to Smith, and we should choose one of them over going out of our way to keep him in the building.
Smith isn’t the new McCoy, lol. McCoy was, in his hey day, one of the best players in the league who was inexplicably dumped on by his own fans. Smith has never even been an above average starting LT. The crap McCoy took wasn’t fair. The flack Smith catches for his poor play is completely reasonable.
A better comparison, I think, would be to other players Bucs media and/or Bucs themselves have desperately propped up to make them seem better than they are. There is a whole host of options here, from literally every season of the past 10ish years. I don’t even know where to begin. The last few years, it would have primarily been Smith and Kwon, with some doses of Sweezy, Anthony Collins, Justin Evans, Roberto Aguayo, and some others mixed in. In years past, these proud Bucs reps were the likes of Da’Quan Bowers, Barrett Rudd, Jeremy Trueblood, and others. They all have similar profiles – average or worse play, and a team that wants SO BADLY for them to be good that they try to just convince themselves, and everyone else, that it’s true.
Smith is right there with him. In five years, it will seem ridiculous that anyone ever thought it was a good idea to give him a big contract. No one will remember this, but in case anyone’s keeping track, mark it down as my firm prediction. I’ll own it if I’m wrong. But he’s a bad player that some have convinced themselves is actually really good. Others, like you, have been swayed that he’s at least solid. It’s a relatively more reasonable take, but still depressingly far from reality.
He’s just….bad. Sucks, but it is what it is. We would be better served moving on with one of many potential alternatives.
So you want to draft two rookies (neither of which is a sure thing or even suited to be a LT) or hope to get a F/A who I would say is no better than Smith…..he just happens to play for the Super Bowl champions? Different isn’t always better. I guess I’m more of a “devil you know” guy. Maybe that’s why I’ve been married to the same woman for nearly 50 years.
You know who we KNOW isn’t suited to be a left tackle? Donovan Smith. We know because he’s been bad at the job for all four years he’s been in the NFL. This is the same guy that scouts almost unanimously pegged as a guard at this level. He’s worse suited for the job than both of the draft prospects I just mentioned.
I don’t want to draft two rookies. I said draft one of them. The FA market is ripe with strong guard options. So we sign a guard, draft a tackle, and let someone else drastically overpay Smith. Or we sign Brown, who isn’t at all a sure thing. The devil you know is only better if he isn’t a known quantity as a liability. Brown may not work out, but if he’d come much cheaper (which I think he would), then the worst case is that we still have a bad LT (which we already have with Smith), but we’re paying him less cap space to be bad. That’s a win relative to giving a premium contract to Donovan, and then he keeps being bad at his job, just as he always has.
But my preferred option would be drafting his replacement. There are multiple tackles in this draft that clearly project to be better than him, and to be better at a fraction of Donovan’s price.
I think signing Smith to long term deal is huge mistake. He had his worst year in a cantracr year last year! I cannot believe he’s the best option but whatever. Not going to cry and harp on it like many do here about Winston. They made their bed and will have to lie in it. I will be surprised if he improves but will see I guess. If he doesn’t Bucs aren’t going anywhere and won’t be able run ball and pass protection will still be inconsistent crap. So call me a hater whatever I think he is below average and PFF is nuts. As a Bucs fan I also hope I’m wrong and he can be average.
Sadly, I don’t think it WAS his worst season. It actually was probably his best, which is really depressing when you consider what that says about his first three years before that, lol. Either way, the point remains the same, and I agree with you.
Last thing I’ll say then I’m moving on. Guy seems lazy to me. He had his worst year in a contract year so you pay him big money and sign a long deal, pay like a top LT in league, 13 million or more a year and he will now improve and play better once he’s been paid this huge contract? That sound logical to anyone? Lol. Utterly ridiculous.
I agree fredster. The only thing we can hope, is that the new coaching and BA can somehow turn the light on for this guy to be more consistent. Could you imagine if Arians was coaching when Smith let the DE blow by because he quite on an offsides and got jameis sacked!? He’d be on the street right now lol
I mean all this tough talk about Larsen is well and good but it is also useless. Larsen didn’t commit a penalty, the other guy did. Make a point with something else, coach.
At the same time Larsen was another very serviceable guard we had here until Love blew him and our right tackle out for the inglorious Patrick Omaneh.
Bonehead.
BucWild, obviously you are passionate about LT Smith, but comparing him & his situation to Ronde Barber is like comparing Kenyatta Walker to Paul Gruber. Barber was selected to Pro Bowl and named All-Pro in his 5th season, will be in the NFL HOF, and one of the best Buccaneers of all-time.
We all wanted, hoped, and (as a 2nd round pick) expected Smith to be on the cusp as a leader & force on this O-line after 4 seasons….thus the cynical feelings out here. If you want to compare Smith to another Buc, how about Adam Humphries……who had a career best season during his “contract year in 2018.
I just think the guy gets an unfair shake from fans. I watched every game too. Losing him creates a much bigger problem than it solves.
The Randy Gregory sack/strip/TD has a perfect example. Smith pushed his speed rushing guy wide twice on a 3rd and 5 where there were no deep routes being ran. Jensen was engaged with no one. Marpet ended up on his ass. The pressure that forced Winston from the pocket came from Dot and Caleb’s side. That is what forced Jameis to the right in the empty space. If you stop the tape as soon as he leaves the pocket, he has Brate at the sticks right in front of him. Instead, he kept it and Smith gets credited for giving up a sack on a great hustle play by Gregory that was designed to be blocked for 4 seconds. Please watch it. Tell me which offensive lineman kept the POCKET clean. If pressure doesn’t come, and Jameis is able to stay in the pocket, there is no way Gregory does anything.
Also, Im not sure how the Bucs keep GMC if they keep Smith. It’s no secret that I’m just as critical of GMC as most of the fans on here are of D.Smith. Keeping the young guy signals the end for the old guy in my mind.
One last thing(LOL)…
My comparison with Ronde was about toughness and availability. Kenyatta only played two complete seasons in six. He missed 21 total games and didn’t start 2 others.
Paul Gruber missed 9 games in 12 years. He had 10 seasons as the starter of every game.
You mentioned Ronde was named to a probowl and as an all pro in his 5th year. Not in his first 4 years though. Smith is in his 4th year. Who knows if the guy is named to a probowl next year or as an all pro?
And the Glazers may say “what the hell?” and build the Rays that new stadium with funds from the Glazer Family Foundation ….combined with tax cuts from their 2018 returns. I’d say the same odds of reality hold true for Smith to be named Pro Bowl starter and All-Pro LT in his upcoming 5th season (as Barber did).
BucFan circa76:
Ok Vegas. Its a bet. I say Donovan SMith is here next year AND beyond. I say the coaching will matter, just like the playcalling will, just like Winston getting rid of the ball will. I say Smith gives up 4.0 sacks or less next season. I say the Bucs leading rusher has 1000 yards or more.
Winning is how teams get players named All-Pro and to a Pro Bowl. It’s rarely based solely on individual effort. It’s not as IMPOSSIBLE as you think. They just have to win.
I see the downsides to both Franchising and Long Term deal…
the whole thing is a conundrum… Just like a previous article stated, we are painted into a corner here. Smith is not the worst person we could have at LT. If only we could have moved him to RT in previous seasons we could have paid him RT money and he probably would have been solid over there. We will not do better in FA and the Draft is no guarantee anymore with the way College Ball is nowadays… I would say if there is some way to sign him to an extension with only a season or two guaranteed money that would be best case scenario, then he has to constantly prove himself. Is that possible though? That’s the question…
I would Love to to see us pick up 2-3 linemen in this draft and put the best 5 out there in whatever position they are best at… Oline is something you have to build, you cannot field more than 1 or 2 decent FA Olinemen At any given period of time, so we have to continue to load up on them in the draft but higher than in recent years.
We need to do everything we can to fill CB, S, RB and WR in FA and focus on the biggest needs in the Draft at Oline and Secondary… It’s funny how people will say drafting need over BPA gets you in trouble but that really only ends up applying in the top half of the first round… I feel like it’s as good a year as any with the QB needy teams to trade back once or even twice and pick up 1 or 2 extra 2nd and 3rd round picks and hope Arians and crew can pull out a few diamonds in the rough like they have in the past and make this team solid all around… As the Patriots have proven year after year it’s not all about one or two Superstars, it’s about the system and teamwork… Aaron Donald couldn’t win for the Rams all by himself…
In the end, keeping someone like Smith that is at least above average is smart. If we aren’t forced to guarantee too much money and find someone better at LT we can maybe move him to RT and renegotiate his contract. Now let’s stock up on Olinemen and Secondary in the draft and get this ship movin in the right direction…
If only he was actually above average, that would make a ton of sense. But he’s not, and he never has been. So the rest of this thought process kinda falls apart.
[…] Pewter Report reported this first on February 8th in their SR’s Fab 5: The Fate Of Bucs LT Smith; All Or Nothing With Arians […]