Barrett Ruud: Linebacker Without A Team
May 17th, 2011
In between “grunting” with fellow iPhone types and working out at Saddlebrook Resort in Pasco County, Bucs (?) middle linebacker Barrettt Ruud is lost.
He’s supposed to be a free agent. But NFL hatchetman Roger Goodell and his horribly short-sighted employers are hellbent on destroying the NFL as we know it with this lockout nonsense. Have you ever heard of a company that rakes in cash hand over fist actually going to court in order to shut itself down? Can you imagine?
Shoot, Ruud doesn’t even know if the Bucs want him back or not. So like an expatriate is a man without a country, Ruud is a linebacker without a team.
After working out with the Eastern European tennis hotties of the WTA at Saddlebrook — smart move Mr. Ruud, very smart — Ruud took time out to discuss his status with eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.
“I keep hoping something will get done with this lockout,” Ruud said. “There’s been about five times when I thought something was going to get done, but here we are. It’s pretty frustrating. Even if there’s an agreement, nobody knows what’s going to happen with free agency … we could be playing under 2010 rules.”
The way Joe sees it, Ruud will be employed somewhere. He may very well be back with the Bucs in 2011 — provided there is a 2011 season — for a rate less than he expected or he may just go elsewhere such as the New York Giants.
Look, there are plenty of people who need to worry about their futures. There are cancer-ridden souls and those out of a job with no idea how they are going to pay rent much less food for their children. There are people who cannot afford proper healthcare.
Working out with the scantily-attired, spandex-laced Eastern European tennis babes in a plush, gated resort isn’t exactly what Joe would call worrisome.
May 17th, 2011 at 8:18 am
i hope he comes back… but for my own financial reasons… i already bought a ruud jersey early on, hate to have to buy another one lol
May 17th, 2011 at 8:23 am
Having grown up in NY as a Giants fan; they have a pretty good history of dominating LB’s. Most of them physical. Then there was Taylor who is one of the best of all time and changed to position forever. He was very fast as well as physical! I admit that I no longer follow the Giants much, but I’m not sure how Ruud fits with that Defense. Does he have ties in NY or do you think he fits this system?
May 17th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Cmon Joe, Collective bargaining agreements helped make the League as great as it is. We need one to continue to have competetive balance or The large market teams will price players out of most teams ability to compete. The Lockout was and is necessary to motivate players to negotiate.
May 17th, 2011 at 9:09 am
Bucnjim:
The Giants run a variation of the Tampa-2.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:17 am
If ruud isnt retained this horrid defense, particularly front 7, will be worse – at least for next year. There is no way around that.
I think that Foster will be pretty good but not next year. For example, Foster was part of the Washington defense that allowed 383 yards rushing and 6 rushing touchdowns against Nebraska. Apparently, the amazing combination of Ray Lewis and Derrick Brooks that Foster is was barely able to keep Nebraska under 400 yards rushing.
Ruud knows the bucs Tampa 2 (yes, they still run the Tampa 2), rah tries to mix it up some by moving guys around, stunting / tangos, fires, odd-personnel groupings, but it is still the Tampa 2 base. When you take out a backer on third and long, bring in Biggers and move Ronde into the nickle, yes you are technically playing a 3-3-5 but that is not the base and the coverage responsibilities are Tampa 2. Ruud knows the onerous MLB responsibilities better than anyone, including rah rah. It will take Ray Brooks (Foster) years to approach that level of understanding.
If you want to give up many more big plays next year, let Ruud walk and make rookie Ray Brooks your new mike backer. Pay Ruud what he deserves now. All of this Ruud got run over by Chris Ivory stuff is ridiculous; so what; he filled his gap strongly (maybe a little too high) and lost the battle to a bigger man who had got to a greater speed – that happens to good players every day. I can recall it happening to John Lynch a time or two (especially in Denver).
May 17th, 2011 at 10:32 am
keep talking Thomas ,im waiting to hear how you can make Ruud physical and a run stopper that you are comparing now to Lynch.Ruud gets everyone in place on defense,Clayton is a great blocker,Sabby is doing fine it was my fault,all excuses made by Morris to keep a player playing hard until he is replaced.I guess after two years everyone believes Ruud is the only one smart enough to line up the defense,the best and only thing Ruud has is size,everyone knows that we are getting bigger and more physical,well, he is bigger than Black and Hayes.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:36 am
2.2,the front seven cant get any worse Ruud havent been any better than the other two backers you must be thinking about the Ruud that played along side Brooks,he looked great then.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:40 am
Just as well. Last year the Bucs were a Team Without a Linebacker.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:55 am
Wrong again Thomas!!!! Mason Foster DID NOT play in the 1st game vs Nebraska and that was probably the main reason they ran for so many yards. Yet you fail to mention the Holiday Bowl rematch vs that same Nebraska team that Foster DID play in. How many yards did Nebraska rush for that game???? How about 41 carries for 91 yards and ZERO TD’s!!!!
Screw you Thumbass you sissy bitch. Thats why Raheem smushed your Mom!!
May 17th, 2011 at 11:27 am
PWNASAURUS, Although I like what you said, I believe you can lay off the personal crap and still get your point across. I hope Joe strikes that part of your statement.
May 17th, 2011 at 11:36 am
How much dumber can this Thomas douche get? you desperately try to prove Foster isnt good enough and when you find a game where Wash got torched against the Run, you forget Foster didnt even play…LMAO you sir, should be banned from the internet
May 17th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
I don’t think it will be too hard to improve from last against the run. I’m not sure I understand Thomas’s thinking. Either Ruud himself is weak against the run (which we already know) or he’s not getting players into position to stop the run. If he is in charge of setting the pre snap Defense then he can’t be doing a good job of that either. Barber helps with secondary assignments when teams audible at the line; so I don’t really see Ruud’s value.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Not to mention the fact that our 7th round rookie saftey can tackle better than our team captain MLB you know there is a big problem at that position.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
You guys lie. Look up the stat line, mason had 7 solo tackles in the game. So he did play and the d got torched, do your homework or tell the truth.
May 17th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Atrain and buc4ever: confirm before u take sides douchebags.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
BucnJim:
You obviously know nothing about football and didnt play at any level.
IT IS NOT RUUD’S RESPONSIBILITY TO GET ANYONE IN POSITION POST-SNAP – THAT IS UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYER.
It is Ruud’s job to call the defense and adjust pre-snap, which is what your baby HC has said that he is excellent at.
Next, the main reason the run D sucked was that Miller and McCoy were horrible against the run (yes the numbers prove that Styles was average and the left ends were better than the interior linemen). If the tackles don’t control their gaps you will get big plays because when Ruud or Geno flows to the football out of their gap – it will be a side tackle at four yards which results in a 6-8 yard gain. That is why Ryan Torrain gashed the bucs for 8-10 yards a pop in the first half and Ruud played a near perfect game (mostly the runs were coming from the tackle gaps).
For some reason you guys have a vendetta against Ruud, and you fail to acknowledge just how bad Miller and McCoy were last year. Ruud didn’t complain once about them, yet you supposed fans bash him (because you are clueless about 1 gap run defense).
May 17th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
LOL (facepalm)
May 17th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Which is why Raheem jettisoned Todd Wash.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Well Thomas that cant be Fosters fault he had 14 total tackles 1.5 for a lost in that game a lot at the line of scrimmage.he was ran away from,no one runs away from Ruud,whos fault was it in 08 and 09 before Mccoy got there?Maybe if Ruud being the leader that you say he is should lead by example,When Brooks was the leader he played hard and violent,so did Ruud because followed brooks lead so why cant he lead these guys by example?Well he is he plays soft and so do the guys that follow him,we need anything new in that linebacker unit that tries to hit a target and not wait to get hit
May 17th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Theodore nailed it. Very Nice.
Does Ruud have value to the Bucs? Absolutely, some.
Will he be missed if he leaves? Maybe for a game or two. Next man up. I don’t think he is really that big of a deal one way or the other.
May 17th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
This run defense have sucked every since Brooks got hurt and played through it the last quarter of 08,in 09 we had the same front four and ole softee was the veteran linebacker,this is your type of linebacker, its what you like.Never have we had such a soft middle linebacker no matter what defense we play
May 17th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Soft? Hard? Douchebags? Position post snap? Getting bigger?
Is this football or joepornfan.com?
May 17th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
I guess we’re going to need four Pro Bowl Defensive lineman for Ruud to be worth a crap!
May 17th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
Thanks m.wesley for at least admitting that Foster did play in the game when his team gave up nearly 400 rushing yards.
However, your argument is in that game the MLB who made 7 solo tackles and 6 assists could not have been responsible for the terrible run defense, but when the Bucs MLB who does the same (and averages about 10 tackles per game) is responsible. Huh? Curious? Sounds a bit hypocritical.
I find it sad that you are already creating arguments against Ruud and for Foster before Foster has ever played 1 practice against NFL competition – nearly all of you know nothing about Foster except what you have read from buc employees or blogs. Biased? Of course. No wonder that Ruud wants out of here.
May 17th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve never seen him play. Barely even heard of him before we drafted him. I have no idea how good he is, or how good he will be. But is there a problem with me being excited about him? Isn’t that what the draft and a new season is all about – getting excited about YOUR team? I’m not, nor have I ever, said he was the next anybody. I just am hoping he will be an upgrade. If that makes me a sheep, then baaaaahhhhhh!
Now that I have admitted that, I would ask you Thomas – how many times have YOU seen him play ( I highly doubt U-Dub comes on in Florida very often.)? Tell the truth now. If you haven’t seen him play either, then you know just as little as me.
May 17th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
And seriously, nobody has a vendetta against Ruud. However, I think it is fair to say he has pretty much peaked as a player. It’s not like he’s a first or second year player and he is still learning how to play in the NFL. What he has given us is what he is going to give us. I don’t think he’s going to all of a sudden start blowing people up. And I don’t buy that garbage that a MLB is not important in our defense. If it’s not important, then why does he always have so many tackles? Is anybody going to try and tell me that he is the only one that could get that many tackles in our defense? As Ochocinco would say, child please! The difference is, we need a MLB that can actually stop these runners cold, as opposed to dragging them down from behind. And yes, the same goes for the other 2 LB’s too.
I personally think LB is a position we need to upgrade. I don’t necessarily think we should get rid of Ruud yet, but I don’t think he is ever going to be a great MLB. I think it would be great to keep him around for another year or so, but I doubt he will go for that (and I don’t blame him). Due to their youth, I think the jury is still out on Black and Hayes, but I doubt they will be great either. However, I think it starts with the MLB. It’s got nothing to do with Ruud personally, but I, like many people, don’t think he is what we need.
May 17th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Fairly reasonable hawaiian, for once. Although i disagree on ruud – i think that is obvious. Saw foster play 2 or 3 times, and he stood out in a good way.
I do like foster but it will take years for him to surpass ruud.
May 17th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I’m always reasonable, Thomas. You will never see me make things up to prove myself right (you have been known to do that once or twice – just sayin’). I don’t get to watch much college football due to the fact that I almost always work on Saturdays, so I am admittedly not very educated in college talent. I do, however, refuse to put too much stock in combine numbers and youtube highlight videos. The last time I did that, I got very excited about this guy we drafted named Dexter Jackson. Lesson learned.
I just don’t see us missing out that much if we don’t have Ruud. I might be completely wrong, but it’s hard to tell because he has never missed a game (which by the way is one of his best qualities IMO). I know he is very cerebral and he helps very much in that regard, but like in any sport, nothing beats talent. You can’t coach talent. I have a feeling we will find out next year (if there is a year), because it doesn’t look like there’s a very good chance he will be in a Bucs uniform.
May 17th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Thomas I said that because thats your thing about how many tackles Ruud has every year, thats great but he tackles like a cornerback,T.Jack was more physical than him ,if Rah really like him why would he try Phillips at linebacker?Remember what he told styles,we will tolerate you until I can replace you,he is not as bad at his position as White and Moore thats why they were replaced first ,and I dont have a vendetta against Ruud but he played with the best,why not try to at least show the young guys how its done if he would have played like he is playing now Brooks would havehad a fit,why pull this crap when he is gone?Please Thomas dont just pick and choose what to answer just tell me why Ruud and a few more people feel that the middle linebacker is not a physical position after only after Brooks left.Because I remember him laying hits then?
May 18th, 2011 at 9:02 am
I actually agree with Thomas, with the fron four improving Ruud will look better. I disagree with him that it will take years for Foster to catch up with Ruud, maybe one year. Foster is smart like Ruud, but more fisical. Steve White explains Ruud the best. You guys always hang on Steve’s every word, except when he talks about Ruud…funny how that is. The run defense sucked becasue of the line and the line backers…not just Ruud.
May 18th, 2011 at 9:04 am
LOL, that should have said Physical…I have fiscal reports on my mind I guess…