Graham Barton
So inside the ecstatic Bucs postgame locker room, Joe got 1-on-1 time with Tampa Bay center/left tackle Graham Barton.
In case you missed it, the Bucs rolled out a massive shakeup of their offensive line today with Barton moving from center to left tackle and free agent Michael Jordan starting at left guard and Ben Bredeson moving to center.
There were hiccups, but the pass blocking was rather strong and the Bucs got the “W.”
Barton told Joe he was informed that he’d be starting at left tackle after training camp broke. “It was enough time. I got four practices at \[tackle\] with a couple of reps sprinkled in training camp.”
Barton continued, “”Look, you gotta do whatever it takes to get a win and I’m going to do whatever is the team asks and be the best I can be in the role, and today that role was left tackle.
How did the secret not get out? Lots of Bucs were surprised it didn’t leak, but Barton said he wasn’t sworn to complete silence.
“Yeah, we wanted to keep it in-house but I told my friends and family. I didn’t want my parents to turn on the game today and wonder what was going on, Barton said.
Joe asked Barton if today was sort of a middle-finger moment to the predraft scouting gurus out there who said he was an NFL center after playing left tackle at Duke.
The second-year beast laughed. “Yeah, I think that was part of my predraft background that I heard all the time, that I had the versatility but I wasn’t looked at as a left tackle,” Barton said. “It was fun to get a chance that I could show out there today that I can play anywhere and be versatile.”
As for adjusting to the playbook at left tackle, Barton said it’s no big deal.
“That part’s quicker than you think because being at center you know what guys got to do on both sides,” Barton said. “A couple of things here and there, a couple of technique things I need to fix.
Barton credited all the Bucs offensive linemen with tackle experience. He said they all helped him with film study on NFL edge rushers leading up to today’s game.