A Scout's Take on Center Evan Dietrich-Smith of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Back in March, just as I was about to talk to scout Chris Landry on 620 WDAE's The Steve Duemig Show, it was reported that center Evan Dietrich-Smith, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, had been signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a four-year deal worth $14.25 million in free agency.

Landry thought that the signing of Dietrich-Smith was a good move by the Bucs then.

It still may turn out that way, but No. 62 has had his share of problems in his first season with the Bucs, as the offensive line play of the team overall has been very inconsistent.

The play of the guards in the preseason got so bad that the Bucs decided to trade for veteran guard Logan Mankins of the New England Patriots in late August.

That move has solidified the offensive line somewhat, but there are still issues.

On Friday, I had another chance to talk with Landry on the Big Dog's show, and I wanted to get his take on the performance of Dietrich-Smith so far in 2014.

Landry has seen issues with No. 62 in both the run game and the pass game:

"Evan, the struggles with him are in the run game, but I think in the pass game he's really struggled (as well)," Landry said. "I think when you have a guy like that who is a good technician, but he is not as physical when you have some problems at guard which we know they have, has really hurt.

"Now I thinks it's helped a little bit when Mankins has been in there. He's graded out better when Mankins has been to his side. Overall, I think it's been disappointing. When you look at the run game, he's had some success when he has been uncovered, but when he plays against odd fronts, he struggles a bit more when he has someone over him.

"He can play better ball, but the play around him needs to be better, too. Ideally with two good guards in front of him, he'll do really good because he's good at helping out. His strength I think is pass blocking, but he's struggled there to this point as well."

Bottom line, the offensive line of the Bucs is a work in progress. I believe Landry is spot on regarding Dietrich-Smith's play when he has two guards next to him who are performing well on a consistent basis.

Dietrich-Smith had that in Green Bay with left guard Josh Sitton and right guard T.J. Lang. It also takes some time to get everyone on the same page when there are changes on the offensive line, like what has happened with the Bucs this year.

In addition to that, Dietrich-Smith has had to work with two quarterbacks in his first season as a Buc. First it was veteran Josh McCown before he was injured, and now it's Mike Glennon, who is in his second year in the NFL.

There is no doubt that Dietrich-Smith has had his share of trials and tribulations in his inaugural season with the Buccaneers, but his play will certainly improve as the talent around him gets better.