ATB Fan Feature: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Improve the Trenches

Article By: Dentarius Locke

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers improved their Interior during free agency, changing things for the better on both sides of the football.

With the struggles last year on the interior on offense and defense , the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made some major moves this off season on the to help both Gerald McCoy and Jamies Winston.

With the struggles on the offensive line last year , the Bucs signed former Ravens center Ryan Jensen to a four year 42 million dollar contract, making him the highest paid center in the league witn an average salary. Jensen, who will be predicted to move right into the starting center spot for the Bucs, became a full time starter last year and was also known for protecting his former quarterback, Joe Flacco, beyond the whistle against the Dolphins.

The aggressive play he brings into Tampa will be a huge bonus for the Buccaneers as he will play next to another aggressive player in Ali Marpet. What excites me the most about this move is that we can move Marpet back to guard, which is where he had great success his rookie year.

The young center is helping us boost up the offensive line to protect the key piece of the franchise, Jamies Winston.

Although many people have had their thoughts on how Winston played last year, I believe that we will see better results this upcoming year with better offensive line play and running back production.

If the great addition of Ryan Jensen wasn’t enough to excited you , Jason Licht made moves on the defensive line that lets you know where the focus was during this off season.

The defensive line play last year was part of the struggle of the defense and with signings the Bucs have made so far, including new defensive line coach Brentson Buckner, I don’t see that being a huge issue moving forward.

New defensive line coach Breston Buckner has made it clear that he wants a lot of competition on the defensive line. With the signings of Vinny Curry, Beau Allen , Mitch Unrein, there will be a lot more competition within the defensive line then we have seen in a long time.

Also making more competition, Tampa Bay made a huge trade for a sack master and run stopper in Jason Pierre-Paul. That is four new defensive lineman to help Gerald McCoy ,Noah Spence and William Gholston.

Buckner is making a huge impact in the front office letting it be known that the team needs to have a stout defensive line in order for the back end of the defense to play very well and continue to be very successful. These key moves will make the job easier for the Buccaneers’s linebackers and defensive backs.

As we have seen in the past , The contenders in the NFL have a very good production from their defensive line and I see that Jason Licht and others in the front office are working towards that similar model on both sides of the field.

Although the Bucs have made some key moves on the offensive and defensive line, I still expect for Tampa Bay to look to add more during the draft to both the offensive and defensive line.