O-Line Gains More Depth

Some Bucs fans believe that Jason Licht and company need to upgrade the offensive line which they might do but don't expect a big overhaul. The Bucs offensive line had their fair share of up and downs as they were a big reason for the 5 game winning streak, but also had a big part in the Bucs last two losses vs the Cowboys and Saints. The unit has a good young nucleus with Ali Marpet, Donovan Smith, Kevin Pamphile, Caleb Benenoch and the return of JR Sweezy.

With Sweezy being cleared to resume football activities that gives the Bucs O-line more depth and versatility. Bucs Gm Jason Licht likes drafting O-lineman that are versatile and have potential to be great which he has done the last three years by drafting Pamphile, Smith, Marpet, and Benenoch. The team has a good coach in George Warhop who does an excellent job of developing the players technique but also to have them cross-trained at multiple positions.

What Jason Licht has done is build quality depth across the unit and it should only get better as the young core gains experience. Plus Licht has already added young talent in center James Stone from the Falcons, and guard Jarvis Harrison who was a former draft pick of the Jets. Add in Leonard Wester who the Bucs are very high on that gives the Bucs depth for the foreseeable future. Hopefully Sweezy can bring the kind of impact that he was signed on for and add more physicality to the unit.

The Bucs have options now to truly play the best five lineman with Sweezy on board along with other pieces that are entering their 2nd and 3rd years. Look for Licht to keep a similar approach when comes to adding lineman through free agency and the draft. I think their main weakness is at center (click on center) which is where Licht could put his focus at if he is going to add a lineman this off-season. Overall, I think the Bucs are going to stay put at O-line as they will try to re-sign Joe Hawley and perhaps use a draft pick on a right tackle or a center prospect. Then they will let the best five rise to the top and roll with it. Again this off-season is all about adding weapons for Winston, so expect the Bucs to do that while to hope that the O-line lives up to their potential. However, if they don't I fully expect the Bucs to address the unit in the 2018 off-season.

So I Have A Concussion, How Do I get Back Out On The Field?

by Douglas O'Connor
follow on Twitter @Ren_Daxt by clicking HERE

     Concussion protocol is nothing new to the Buccaneers this year. Wide receiver Mike Evans was in in out of protocol in less than a week. While right guard Kevin Pamphile took longer and missed a game. Now the Bucs have Adam Humphries jumping through the hoops. So what exactly does a player have to do to get back out on the field and get to playing again?

     All NFL players go through a neurological test sometime during the preseason to get a baseline. This baseline status is used to evaluate a players recovery during the week through a series of physical test that gradually increase in difficulty. Once a player returns to his baseline he can begin his recovery. Complete an exercise, baseline normal? Move up to the next, and so on and so forth until the player is cleared for full participation.
     
Rest and recovery: Until a player returns to the "baseline level of signs and symptoms and neurological examination," only limited stretching and balance activities are recommended. Electronics, social media and team meetings are all to be avoided.

Light aerobic exercise: The NFL recommends 10-20 minutes on a stationary bike or treadmill without resistance training or weight training. The cardiovascular activity is monitored by an athletic trainer to "determine if there are any recurrent concussion signs or symptoms."

Continued aerobic exercise and introduction of strength training: Increased duration and intensity of aerobic exercise with strength training added. An athletic trainer will supervise to watch for recurrent concussions signs or symptoms.

Football specific activities: The cognitive load of playing football will be added and players will participate in non-contact activities for the typical duration of a full practice.

Full football activity/clearance: A player returns to full participation in practice, including contact without restriction.

     If you want to read the official NFL document, I've added a link to a PDF file HERE.

You can follow @realbucstalk on Twitter Here

Thanks for reading and as always Go Bucs!!

Bucs Getting Healthy at the Right Time

Usually at this time of the year most teams are beat up and are missing key pieces throughout their roster due to injuries. However for the Bucs, it seems they are getting healthy at the right time as they are starting to get close to being at full strength. They finally have their key guys back along the defensive line with Ayers, McCoy, and Mcdonald plus Noah Spence has been getting better each week. The offensive line and the running back position is going to be close to full strength for these final 6 game stretch as we are going to find out what this team is made of. With the Seahawks coming into town, the Bucs might be getting Kevin Pamphile and possibly Jacquizz Rodgers back this week which would be huge for the offense.

Bucs coach Dirk Koetter definitely left door open for RB Jacquizz Rodgers to return to practice Wednesday from foot injury ...

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) November 21, 2016

Not only would Rodgers returning be huge but getting back Pamphile too to help the O-line which probably had their best game against the Chiefs would be a big boost. With Martin and Rodgers along with Barber that would give the Bucs great depth at the RB position plus allow the Bucs to be more creative with their run and screen game. This team is starting to get back to full strength and Jason Licht and his staff have done a great job of adding depth throughout the season. If this team can continue to get better they have a chance to make these final 6 games very interesting. Hopefully they can continue to stay healthy down the final stretch.

Bucs Have Two Pro Bowl Guards

The Bucs offensive line still comes up as an hot topic of discussion and how good they really are. Here at Real Bucs Talk, we believe they are one of the strongest units on this team and will continue to get better. Specifically the two guards whom both are under the age of 26, and both have been outstanding this season. Let's start with the right guard out of Hobart college who was taken in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft. Ali Marpet has taken big steps this year with his overall game as he is excellent in the run game and has been above average in his pass protection. Marpet, 23 is very athletic but has power as well making him an ideal guard. There has been legit conversation about Marpet making the pro bowl this year especially if the Bucs can continue their winning ways.

#Bucsfilm2016wk7 Ali Marpet got it started early w/ a great pull sealing the DE #PlayByPlayByCheah https://t.co/1orXd1gKWo

— Steven Cheah (@CHEAH_SAY) October 28, 2016

However, Ali Marpet has not been the Bucs best offensive lineman that title goes to the team's 5th round selection in 2014. That is third year guard Kevin Pamphile whom has been outstanding and probably the biggest surprise of the season. Pamphile, 25 wasn't even suppose to start this season as the Bucs had free agent JR Sweezy slotted in at the left guard position. Sweezy got hurt and hasn't taken the field all year and as they say someones misfortune is another man's opportunity. Pamphile finally got his shot heading into this season and so far he is cementing his spot along this offensive line group. Pamphile has size and speed standing at 6'5 310lbs and uses his strength to just manhandle his opponents.

#Bucsfilm2016wk7 Nice seals by Hawley, Marpet. @Pb25Peyton shows good agility & accelerati... https://t.co/2RtwEU0PsS

— Steven Cheah (@CHEAH_SAY) October 28, 2016

The Bucs have had some good tandems at guard before but this current one might be the best they have had. Both have pro bowl ability and are not even in their prime yet which is kinda scary. Bucs should be able to continue to run the ball well behind these two as they are both playing at an very high level.

Commitment To Run Game

On Monday for the first time all year the bucs finally committed to the run game and controlled the clock while doing so. The bucs first possession of the game almost took 9 minutes and consisted of 10 runs to 4 throws. Most buc fans see it as Jacquizz Rodgers being such a good running back in reality its just the bucs actual commitment to force feeding the ball to the running back and blocking for him.

The bucs ran the ball 37 times as opposed to throwing it only 30 times. Thats the first time all year we have ran more than passed. The oline deserves huge credit for this as coming into the game Carolina's strength was against the run (10th in NFL) and we made it look like their weakness. The main big uglies that caught my eye were Donovan Smith, Kevin Pamphile and Ali Marpet , all 3 seemed to win their matchup and push forward on running plays. Not one of the runs went for more than 13 yards but it was the commitment to continue to wear down the defense that lead to the only touchdown that Winston threw which was off a play action fake.

Committing to the run will take pressure off Winston and lead to bigger plays downfield. Maybe Koetter needs to not over think it and get back to the basics. Yes we have a young gunslinger but he doesn't have to be throwing the ball 50 times a game for us to win. Hopefully with Martin coming back after the bye we will see more of this run game and ease the pressure off Winston a little bit.

O-Line Has Tough Challenge This Week

One of the bright spots in last week's debacle was the Bucs offensive line who I thought did a pretty good job overall. The Bucs offensive line will need to continue to raise it's play if this team wants to win games this season. This Sunday they will have their hands full with the Rams defense which features an powerful front seven in Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, William Hayes, Mark Barron, and Alec Ogletree. The Bucs are going to have to be creative in their running game and use some max protection with their passing game.

The Bucs front 5 will need to be physical and move their front off the ball so the Bucs can get their play action game going to create big plays. Ali Marpet and Kevin Pamphile will have to be outstanding going against Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers who both can be forces of nature at times. So it's important for our guards and center to be aware of where they are and double them when you can. Our O-line is more than capable and need to be the tone setters this week as the Bucs have to get back to winning ways on Sunday. O-line better bring their A game or this will happen often.

Kevin Pamphile's Opportunity Has Arrived

Going into the off-season, the Bucs knew they were going to have to replace LG Logan Mankins who decided to retire after the 2015 season. Lucky enough the team had Kevin Pamphile waiting in the wings who really took a step forward last year and became one of the more dependable lineman on the team. However, Bucs Gm Jason Licht wanted to bring in a veteran to replace Mankins so the Bucs decided to bring in J.R Sweezy from Seattle to be the starter at LG.

Well so far Sweezy has struggled with a back injury and looks like he will miss the first part of the regular season. This is a great opportunity for Pamphile to shine and show the team that the LG position is his for the foreseeable future. Pamphile is a hard worker and has the right attitude as he just wants to help this team win. Pamphile has come a long way since 2014 being drafted in the 5th round out of Purdue as a left tackle and is now capable of playing all 5 line positions. This situation is similar to when the Bucs brought in Luke Petitgout in 07 but got hurt in which Donald Penn stepped in and was the Bucs left tackle for the next 6 years.

Pamphile has that kind of opportunity and needs to take advantage of it by playing to his full potential. He has all the tools needed as he is athletic, strong, solid technique, and is a smart player. Now just has to put it all together and the good news he has shown it before as he was outstanding in that Jaguars game in which he started in. Here is his athleticism on display in which he opens up a big hole on a screen to C.Sims.

We should find out soon enough if Pamphile is up for the challenge, I say he is based on his makeup but he has to go out and prove it. Time to put up or shut up for Mr. Pamphile.

Offense Will Go As The O-line Does

A pleasant surprise from last year was how much the oline had improved. The line had 4 new starters as rookie 2nd round picks Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet were plug and play players to go along with additions Joe Hawley and Gosder Cherilus. The line was pretty much was patched together and still played well enough to clear paths for a 1400 yard season by Doug Martin and a 4000 yard season for rookie QB Jameis Winston.

This year the bucs will have returning starters in Smith, Marpet, Hawley and Dotson to go along with new prized free agent pick up J.R. Sweezy whom seems to be a classic mauler. The O-line is where it all starts for this Buccaneer offense as Winston needs time to throw and Martin needs holes to run through and it seems as if they will have that with this group. Smith and Marpet with a year under their belt will only continue to grow as players and build on their great rookie campaigns.

The O-line may be the strongest group on this team as not only do they have a strong starting 5, they have depth to go with it in Evan Smith, Kevin Pamphile, Gosder Cherlius and now 5th round pick Caleb Benenoch. O-line coach George Warhop had the line gelling last year and they were just slapped together. Lets see what the line can do with a year of continuity and added talent. Before you think about how Winston, Evans and Martin are doing, remember that it all starts up front and they benefit from the big uglies in the trenches.

Farewell to Logan Mankins

Today behind the breaking news of Peyton Manning's retirement, the Bucs had a respected man hang up his cleats as well. Logan Mankins has officially decided to retire after 11 elite seasons in which he was a Pro Bowler in 7 of them. Mankins will better be known for his days with the Patriots but his time here in Tampa won't go unnoticed.

He was crucial in bringing a winning culture to the Bucs and showing a winners mentality is supposed to be. Mankins was the first man to step up in the locker room to give a speech to Kwon Alexander in front of the whole team to show his respects. Mankins has also had his part in grooming the young Bucs lineman (Smith, Marpet, Pamphile) whom will continue to grow off of his teachings.

Mankins was a true professional and a hell of a teammate. His 2 years in Tampa were more than enough to show the type of player he was. You truly represented the Bucs well and it was a joy to watch you on Sundays.

Is Kevin Pamphile Ready To Start?

Kevin Pamphile started one game last year at left guard and he played outstanding displaying his athleticism and strength showing his potential as a guard. It was impressive as he was opening holes left and right for Doug Martin, who went on to have on big rushing day with 123 yards and 3 Tds. Pamphile, 25 was drafted in the 5th round of the 2014 draft and projected to be a tackle, but this past off-season he made the move to learn the guard position as well. This help Pamphile become more versatile as a player, and a better player overall.

Most of the 2015 season, Pamphile was used as a 6th lineman allowing the Bucs to run behind an big formation set helping achieve the 5th rushing attack. Pamphile uses his basketball background to his advantage as he is very agile for a man his size allowing him to be an asset when he is out on the perimeter. Heading into his third season, it looks like Pamphile might be ready to take the next step and become a starter.

With Logan Mankins contemplating whether to retire or not, Bucs are pegging Pamphile as his possible replacement showing great faith in the young lineman. The Bucs feel Pamphile is just going to continue to get better as his upside is limitless due to his athleticism. Jason Licht sees a bright future ahead:per Pewterreport.com

"Kevin Pamphile did a great job for us last year and we’re really excited about his future,” Licht said. “He’s done so many things for us from playing the tight end role as a blocker, swing tackle and he filled in for Logan at guard. That’s where we think his future is.”

With Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet already showing great promise for the future, adding Pamphile to that mix gives the Bucs a great foundation for the offensive line, a line that should be a strength for years to come. Pamphile has come a long way since he was a rookie as he has shown constant improvement each year, now in year 3 it is time to take the next step and be that starting guard that the Bucs need him to be.