TAMPA, Fla. -- As the longest-tenured member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive line, Demar Dotson has a powerful voice. He used it Tuesday during a break in the offseason conditioning program. What Dotson had to say was obvious, but it still needed to be said. The Bucs just used the No. 1 overall pick in the draft on quarterback Jameis Winston. He's going to need help from an offensive line that was dismal last season. "The first thing he's going to need is an offensive line that's going to protect him more," Dotson said. "Obviously, we've got to do a better job than what we gave for Josh [McCown] last year." McCown and backup Mike Glennon were sacked 52 times last season. Dotson said the Bucs can't afford a similar season from the offensive line. "With a rookie quarterback, there are going to be some challenges," Dotson said. "There are going to be some ups. There are going to be some downs. We've got to make him feel comfortable as best as we can. It's going to rely on us to keep him as clean as we can." The Bucs already have taken strides to improve the offensive line. They used a pair of second-round draft picks to take Penn State tackle Donovan Smith and Hobart guard Ali Marpet. Although there had been talk of moving Dotson from right to left tackle, that's not going to happen. The team has said Smith will play left tackle. Marpet will compete with Patrick Omameh at right guard. "I was told that was going to be a big thing, to be able to draft and get some young guys in here that can come in and compete and make this offensive line better," Dotson said. "We struggled in so many ways last year. It's going to be good competition. We drafted two guys and there is going to be a lot of competition on this line. We've got guys coming back that are hungry. It's going to be a lot more competition than we had before. Any time there's competition, it makes people better."
|