“I’m sold on Barber. O-line? Not so much.”

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*Opinion Editorial*

Much has been said about the Bucs and their defense, or lack thereof, going into the 2019 season. Not much is being said about the offense, however. And rightfully so. The Buccaneers were consistently a Top 5 offense throughout the year regardless of which QB was under center (Yes, I’m talking about you Fitzpatrick).

With all this being said some NFL pundits, who will remain unnamed, believe the Bucs actually took a step back with with the losses of Humphries and Jackson. Devin White, Scotty Miller and Breshad Perriman are much cheaper and capable options to patch up the losses in the offense and defense.

 

Holes In The Offensive Line?

My concern with the offense has more to do with the broken offensive line and young running back, Peyton Barber. Looking at the Bucs offensive line (Smith, Marpet, Jensen, Cappa, Dotson), one major hole sticks out: the atrocity that is the right side of the Bucs offensive line. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been an avid supporter of Dotson and the stability he’s given us at right tackle. But Dotson, turning 34 in October, is on the tail end of his career and who’s to say the decline won’t be more apparent with another year under his belt?

This next player will have DT’s alike licking their chops. That player being second-year RG Alex Cappa who is looking like the likely starter Week 1. This should worry the Bucs (and more importantly, Barber) considering Cappa couldn’t beat out Caleb Benenoch for the same position last year. Benenoch has since been been switched to RT.

Despite the constant shuffle on the offensive line, Barber still managed to churn out a respectable 871 yards rushing on 3.7 YPC. That should speak volumes to the Bucs brass and I fully believe Bruce Arians has got his 3-down back. Come Week 1, however, I’m not sure how confident Barber will be running behind Cappa’s B-Gap. If I’m an opposing defensive coordinator, I’m stacking my box to the right on ALL running plays unless shown otherwise. Is it time for Arians to make a call?

Author: Joshua Omoregie

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