Bucs offensive line sends a message to doubters

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had to deal with the loss of All-Pro guards Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph, but against the Oakland Raiders, the backups did their job, helping the Buccaneers gain 515 total offensive yards, including 251 yards rushing.

Offensive lineman Jeremy Zuttah moved from center to left guard and backup guard Ted Larsen moved to play at center. There were some struggles in the game against Oakland initially, but right tackle Demar Dotson believes that while the media won't give the Buccaneers much of a chance, they will be okay:

"Nobody is going to give us a chance. You read stuff in the media about 'patched-up linemen' and all that crazy stuff. It makes you want to go out and show all the naysayers that say you can't do it. That's who we are, we've got a bunch of guys that are hard workers and want to show everybody that we can get the job done."

The offensive line allowed only one sack of quarterback Josh Freeman the entire game. Head coach Greg Schiano acknowledged that the line wasn't where it needed to be, but he was very pleased with their effort.

The Buccaneers are preparing to play the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff and the game will be broadcast on CBS.