Buccaneers vs Falcons: Breaking Down Tampa’s Offense

Sep 7, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line and Carolina Panthers defensive line at the line of scrimmage during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Line

As mentioned before. the Buccaneers added several new starters to the offensive line. Every offensive line needs time to jell and so far, they haven’t played up to scratch but you must keep in mind that they went up against two of the best defensive lines in the Panthers and the Rams. Now they get to go up against one of the worst.

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LT Anthony Collins came over from Cincinnati when he shined after being put into the lineup due to injury. He surrendered one pressure every 26.4 dropbacks which is an exceptional number for an OT. The Buccaneers gave him a 5-year $30M contract which is relatively cheap for a potential franchise LT. So far, he’s had tough tests going up against Greg Hardy, Charles Johnson and Robert Quinn. He’s handled them adequately and I think he will be worth the price. RT Demar Dotson is the only offensive lineman to return as a starter and has been steady so far. He did appear to be overwhelmed at times against Greg Hardy but looked more comfortable week 2 against Chris Long. As long as the Buccaneers can establish the run to prevent edge rushers from pinning their ears back, the tackles should be fine.

LG Logan Mankins was acquired in a trade. He’s on the wrong side of 30 but the Buccaneers were desperate to get Oniel Cousins off the field. His pass blocking skills have steadily declined over the years but he is still a force as a run blocker. RG Patrick Omameh was a 2013 undrafted free agent who won the starting spot and his performance so far has been mixed. At times he’s found himself blown back in the run game as he seems to lack strength to anchor and there looked to be a miscommunication between himself and Dotson against the Panthers which resulted in a sack. Still learning, still jelling but a player to exploit.

The commander of the offensive line is ex-Packer Evan Dietrich-Smith. He gave up a sack to impressive rookie Aaron Donald but that has really been his only blemish in pass protection. Always in control of the situation, he’s as reliable as centers come. His run blocking on the other hand isn’t as good and he struggles moving people around. He is more of a wall blocker than a drive blocker but either way, no will confuse his strength as run blocking.

Don’t expect this much criticised offensive line to fold when the Falcons play them. They’ve gone up against vicious defensive lines and are still building up their chemistry. The Falcons should blitz often as the Buccaneers’ running backs are poor pass protectors and McCown is prone to bad moments when he sees extra defenders coming. I think Babineaux and Goodman can notch some wins against the guards, as well as the blitzers coming up the middle. Smith will be tough to beat but we can wear him down earlier in the game with Soliai which could produce mental mistakes later. Hopefully Massaquoi gets a good portion of pass rushing snaps because Biermann hasn’t done much with them. As far as the run game, I think it will be even with the defensive line. The bigger concern is our linebackers and how quickly they can shed blockers and get to the hole. Bobby Rainey is a slippery guy so they need to be even more careful with diving in rather than maintaining the correct tackling techniques.