Ted Larsen Not A Rookie Anymore

When kids dream of getting into the NFL, they certainly do not dream of the path taken by Ted Larsen.

Larson was originally drafted by New England in the 6th round of the 2010 draft out of North Carolina State.  Just five picks later, Tampa Bay selected S Cody Grimm from Virginia Tech.  GM Mark Dominik found a way to get both.

When New England let Larsen go after training camp in 2010, the Buccaneers swept him up as part of the biggest non-draft haul in Buccaneer history.  By Week 7 of the same season, Larsen was starting and helped the team win 8 more games, just missing the playoffs.

Larsen was a starter when the 2011 season opened, but was replaced by veteran Jeremy Zuttah.  When center Jeff Faine went down against New Orleans, Zuttah moved over to center and Larsen returned to regular duty at Guard.

In London, with Tampa Bay trailing 22-5 in the 3rd Quarter, Zuttah went down.  With two centers down, Larsen moved to the middle -- the position he played in college.  So, with 18:45 remaining in the game, Larsen and fellow 2010 rookie Derek Hardman entered the game at center and guard respectively.

Tampa Bay scored two touchdowns on their next two possessions as well as drove from their own 28-yard line to the Bears 39-yard line in what was shaping up to be a game winning drive.  A turnover ended the comeback, but clearly the offense was clicking well with both Larsen and Hardman in the game.

We'll find out later this week who is healthy and who is not up front on offense.  Josh Freeman shouldn't be worried, however.  There are plenty of not-rookies ready to go.

Faine, Vincent, And Now Trueblood Not Practicing

Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Jeff Faine continues to be sidelined with a quadricep injury sustained in Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints.  Faine was inactive in Week 7 against the Saint Louis Rams and is not expected back for at least a couple more weeks. Unfortunately, while Faine heals, things are continuing to get thinner on the Buccaneers offensive line.

Let me start by stating I owe Ted Larsen a big, fat apology for thinking he would not see the field this season.  Larsen made me look foolish and I will not underestimate the young man again.  Arriving in Tampa the day after training camp in a post-roster-cutdown haul pulled together by General Manager Mark Dominik, Larsen stepped in at left guard and helped Tampa Bay defeat the Saint Louis Rams, pushing their record to 4-2.  Less than 10 days ago, Larsen was on the practice squad.  Now he has an NFL game under his belt.  Hats off to Larsen and Offensive Line Coach Pete Mangurian for all their hard work being ready to step in and play.  Larsen was pressed into service because veteran guard Keydrick Vincent ended up inactive last Sunday due to back issues.  Vincent missed quite a bit of practice time last week as well.  The extent of his injuries are not known, but he did not practice on Wednesday this week either.

It could have been a complete disaster up front as veteran guard Davin Joseph was nursing a sore knee last week.  Fortunately, Joseph was able to play.  It is not clear if this will be something which nags Joseph for the rest of the season, but for now he appears to be the steady force in the middle of the Buccaneers offensive line.

During the Saint Louis game, Jeremy Trueblood left with an knee injury.  It now appears the injury is more serious than was hoped.  Trueblood did not practice on Wednesday, meaning the Buccaneers could possibly be three men short up front going into the weekend.  This is clearly a bad situation which has gotten worse.

In weeks past, the Buccaneers have taken seven offensive linemen into game day.  If all three injuries are serious the Buccaneers may be promoting another player from the practice squad to the active roster.  It will not be G John Malecki who was added to the practice squad this week after the promotion of OT Derek Hardman last week.  That leaves G Brandon Carter (6'7" 344lbs) and T Will Barker (6'7" 230lbs) as promotion candidates should the team feel the need to tap the practice squad.  However, if the Buccaneers promote another lineman they will have 10 offensive linemen on their 52-man roster, meaning not only will the offensive line be thin, but other areas may also have a shortage of bodies when it comes to making the 45-man game day roster.  The season is almost half over, meaning there is far too much football yet to be played to put any of these men on injured reserve (and thereby losing them for the season).  General Manager Mark Dominik has some serious decisions to make.

The Buccaneers cannot afford any more significant injuries to the offensive line -- they need their most experienced players taking the majority of the snaps if they are going to keep up a playoff pace.