Pat Yasinskas, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Buccaneers need to protect Jameis Winston better

TAMPA, Fla. -- Jameis Winston isn’t the only rookie the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to worry about getting ready for the regular season.

Winston didn’t have a good game in a 31-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night. Winston completed 6-of-15 passes for 90 yards and was intercepted once. But it wasn’t all Winston’s fault.

You can put a large portion of the blame on the offensive line.

“It’s pretty simple,’’ coach Lovie Smith said. “It’s one-on-one. The same battles we won last week, we didn’t win tonight. There’s only so much you can do. Eventually it comes down to a one-on-one game, and we didn’t win that.’’

That may have something to do with the fact that the Bucs started two rookies on the offensive line. Ali Marpet started at right guard and Donovan Smith started at left tackle.

“They beat us up front,’’ Smith said.

Winston, who played into the third quarter, was sacked four times and pressured on several other pass attempts.

“I got another thing to learn from the blitz protection standpoint,’’ Winston said. “I’ve got to see things and get us in the right protection. This was definitely a learning experience.’’

The Bucs would be wise to use it as a learning experience for their two rookie offensive linemen. For better or worse, the plan is for Smith and Marpet to be starters on opening day.

The Bucs knew the dangers of putting two rookie linemen in front of a rookie quarterback in the offseason. But they made no moves to bring in veterans to play ahead of them.

The coaching staff believes Marpet and Smith have a chance to be quality starters. Each had ups and downs during training camp. Now, time is running short.

The regular season starts in two weeks, and the Bucs need use that time to get their rookie offensive linemen ready.

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