Offensive Line no longer OFFENSIVE on Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 NOTE: Check out the “TEAM INFO” menu on the site, it   is now a Drop Down menu. Team  Info now has three new pages:

•  CURRENT (2014)- Here you will   find the Current Roster and current  Depth Chart and current Schedule with Standings.
• TEAM RECORDS- Here you will find the top 10 career leaders in offensive, defensive and special teams categories.
• ALL TIME HONORS-Is a new place for you to look back and see all the Bucs players who have won any kind of honor of any kind. Pro Bowls to Player of the week, even Diet Pepsi Rookie awards!

Check it out when you have time, you can browse or click on link to open up the .pdf and dive in on your own terms!

OFFENSIVE LINE IMPROVES according to Lovie Smith, and he is the one who needs to see it improved. The Bucs have a top of the line Center, and two above average tackles, but still, the Achilles heel on this team are it’s guards.

The Bucs, barring any pick up of free agents once cuts are made, will be going with two below premium guards who have never really stood out or accomplished much on the pro level.

So lets look in on them, and see how they grade up.

Patrick Omameh

University of Michigan Wolverine, Omameh played in the Offensive Line production conference of the Big Ten. He is used to an uphill climb, he entered Michigan as the lowest rated football player of 2008, and finished as a first team all Big Ten selection. He’s a Lovie Smith man, recognized for his positive roles off the field.

It wasn’t enough to get him drafted however, but he did catch the eye of the San Francisco 49ers, lasting until the final preseason roster moves on August 31st where he was signed to the practice squad two days after being released.

Tampa Bay signed him off the practice squad of the 49ers after not appearing in a single game last year. He Signed October 11th last year, so he’s had the full offseason to get in with the program with the Bucs. Still, make no mistake, he is  NOT a starting caliber guard in the NFL, thats not to say they cannot develop into that roll. Every rep he gets, every snap, is nothing but an improvement, which will only help. Waiting in the wings is rookie Kadeem Edwards, the Bucs 5th round draft pick who is going to push all year long to break into the starting lineup. After the abysmal play of the offensive line in the opening game vs Jacksonville, Omameh was inserted for week two and had a passing grade. The spot is currently still his.

Oniel Cousins

Heavilly criticized probably more than anyone else, Cousins has the unenviable task of trying to replace Carl Nicks who was lost forever due to injury. Cousins has more experience of the guards, which is why the Bucs are sticking with him as many times as well. He was drafted, in the 3rd round mind you. Cousins has never justified his draft position, never cracking the starting lineup, waived by Baltimore just three years into his career, he wound up on Cleveland’s O-line with a start in 2011. Without breaking into the lineup in 2012,   Cousins was announced the starter for opening day in 2013, but struggled and wound up on the practice squad where he was picked up by Tampa Bay.

So far this season, he has struggled, but improved from Preseason week 1 to 2. He’s pushed by Jace Daniels and Kadeem Edwards, but his experience is not likely to allow him to hold onto his job should someone exhibit better play, even from a younger player.

v