Opportunity Knocking For James Lee

Bucs right tackle Jeremy Trueblood, who has missed practice with a knee injury, will not play Sunday against the Cardinals or travel to Arizona with the team. James Lee will start in his place.

TBO

Frequent readers of this blog know that since the preseason I have been singing the praises of Buccaneers offensive tackle James Lee. Here's something I wrote about him after the 2nd preseason game.

- I couldn't give James Lee a good this week because he was beaten a couple of times on pass rush. But the more I see of the guy the more I like. He actually reminds me of Penn in that he has a nasty streak. You see him blocking guys all the way across the formation. Pass blocking that is. Other times you see him finishing guys off with pancake blocks. I have a feeling that we will see more of him in the years to come.

Last week when Lee came in for an injured Jeremy Trueblood he looked exactly as I described in the preseason. You saw him trying to finish guys on every play and he locked down Rams left end Chris Long, who had a sack and other pressures earlier in the game, when he pass blocked him. He did however have a very stupid penalty and of course he did come in at the end of a game presumably fresher than his opposition.

Still it got me excited to see him playing the mean and nasty style that we need out of our right tackle while still being athletic enough to block a good pass rusher.

This week against the Arizona Cardinals, he has a prime opportunity to make himself some money and perhaps lock down a permanent starting role on the offensive line. That's because for most of the game Cardinals Pro Bowl defensive end Darnell Dockett will likely be lined up across from him. So far this season Docket only has 1 sack but he is a relentless player who beats up on offensive linemen and tries to physically dominate them. It actually should be a battle of force against force as I don't expect either guy to give an inch.

But if Lee can come out of this game having gotten the better of Dockett I think the Bucs will have to take a long look at allowing him to continue to start, especially if he stays away from the penalties. I think for a couple of years now the Buccaneers would have replaced Trueblood had they had anyone on the roster who was good enough to do so because of all of the stupid penalties he commits. Lee could give them the plan B they have been looking for.

If there was ever a time I would expect to see a very motivated James Lee it would be this game. Opportunity is knocking, the question is if he will answer the door.