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2010 Offensive Line Analysis - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2010 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Donald Penn
Left Guard: Jeremy Zuttah
Center: Jeff Faine
Right Guard: Davin Joseph
Right Tackle: Jeremy Trueblood

2009 Injuries:
C Jeff Faine: Weeks 2-5

2009 Statistics:

Overview:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been a very up and down team since 2004. For the third time in the past six years, they won five games or less and for the second time they had a bottom five offense. The offensive line will need to step up its play as the running game was one of the worst in the NFL and despite being sacked only 28 times, their quarterbacks were hit 95 times.

Former undrafted free agent Donald Penn has started every game at left tackle ever since taking over for Luke Petitgout in 2007. Penn is a restricted free agent who has refused to sign his one-year tender and therefore is currently without a contract. It would however be a surprise if Penn didn’t start the season at left tackle for the Buccaneers. The 2009 season was a disappointing one for the 6’5” and 305 lbs tackle who was not only responsible for a lot of the pressure put on the quarterbacks but he also took 11 penalties. Penn was a little better as a run blocker but he was still below average in both pass protection and run blocking. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, the right tackle position isn’t much better. Jeremy Trueblood was responsible for eight sacks which ranked him fourth worst amongst right tackles, took 12 penalties which ranked him last amongst right tackles and wasn’t particularly effective as a run blocker. This is pretty surprising since the 6’8” and 320 lbs tackle was known as a very powerful run blocker and it had been his strength in past years. At 27-years old, Trueblood still has time to improve but he needs to get much smarter and to stop taking so many penalties. 2009 fifth round draft pick Xavier Fulton and Demar Dotson, an undrafted free agent in 2009, add depth at tackle.

Jeremy Zuttah will be the starting left guard for the second consecutive season. Zuttah looked pretty good in limited action in 2008 and was given the starting job last season after Arron Sears left the team for undisclosed reasons. Zuttah, a third round draft pick in 2008, was believed to be the left tackle of the future by many but was a big disappointment in 2009. He is a very tough lineman who has the abilities to be an excellent pass protector because of his quickness but he has to build up strength in order to be effective in the NFL. He was below average in both pass protection and run blocking in 2009 but should improve as he is still only 24 years old. On the right side, the Buccaneers have another very young guard in Davin Joseph. The former first round pick Joseph has the physical attributes to become an excellent guard in the NFL but he also struggled in 2009. Joseph was responsible for five sacks allowed which ranked him last amongst right guards and, like most of the line, was somewhat ineffective as a run blocker. We expect Joseph to bounce back in 2010 and he will have to if this offense is to have an effective running game in 2010. Jonathan Compas, a 2009 undrafted free agent adds depth at guard.

The Buccaneers took a pretty big risk by signing Jeff Faine to a six-year 37.5 million dollar contract two years ago and it hasn’t paid off yet. Faine is a smaller sized center at only 290 lbs but his good footwork and technique make him pretty good in pass protection. However, Faine is a below average run blocker who is unlikely to create holes by himself in the running game and needs to be surrounded by two strong run blocking guards. This wasn’t the case in 2009 but the trio of interior linemen should be much better in 2010.

2010 Outlook:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line was one with a lot of promise and that many expected to become one of the best in the NFL. Entering the 2008 season, they had a solid group of five and all of them were 27 years old or under. Unfortunately, the 2009 season was a big disappointment but they are looking to bounce back this year. Even if we forget the four games that Faine missed, the running game averaged 4.1 yards per carry in the other 12 games and the line allowed 24 sacks. It would be surprising if they were able to keep that number of sacks the same given the amount of pressure that they allowed last year. The running game should however be better because the three interior linemen are capable of stepping up their game. The downside with this line is that none of their backups have any starting experience and most were late draft picks or undrafted free agents from 2009. Overall, this line should be slightly below average in both run blocking and pass protection but everyone will need to stay healthy or it could be a very long season for this offense.

See all of our 2010 Offensive Line Analysis Articles