If the Bucs are to have the No. 18 ranked defensive line this fall, Roy Miller will have to play a huge role.

Surfing the net for Bucs nuggets on this lazy Saturday of a holiday weekend, Joe was stunned to come across Jason Cole’s rankings of each NFL team’s defensive line.

Joe not only did a double-take when he read the following, Joe had to check that his coffee wasn’t spiked with something a bit stronger than Folgers Brazilian. Cole, writing for Yahoo! Sports, has the Bucs defensive line ranked at No. 18.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: OK, I have to admit right from the start that the Bucs don’t have an end who is worth mentioning (they have placeholders in Tim Crowder and Stylez G White), but you have to love what the Bucs did with their first two picks in the draft, taking tackle Gerald McCoy and then following up with Brian Price. McCoy may have a Warren Sapp-like impact in that he could make those around him much better, making it easier to find good ends.

Whoa! Talk about being generous!

Joe just can’t see how Cole has the Bucs defensive line ranked so high. Arguably, the Bucs had one of the worst defensive lines in the league last year with one tackle (Chris Hovan) already jettisoned and another (Ryan Sims) all but benched. So your starting defensive tackles will be rookie Gerald McCoy and either rookie Brian Price or second-year tackle Roy Miller.

Joe will have a post tomorrow about how rookie defensive tackles struggle. Joe hopes the rookies play like veterans, but Joe just can’t see how Cole has the Bucs front line ranked so high.

Either that, or the NFL as a whole has dismal defensive fronts.

Related Posts

1. Bucs Offensive Line No. 20
2. The Falcons’ D-Line Ranks 14th in NFL
3. Gerald McCoy Hanging With Youngsters
4. Potential Trouble Looming On Left Side Of Line
5. Bucs “Will Improve A Lot”

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