Blount Among The Missing On Day 1
April 2nd, 2012
Joe knows it was “voluntary” meeting sessions for Buccaneers at One Buc Palace today, the first day of the Greg Schiano era when he could finally talk football with his players and coaches could get them in a classroom. But Joe has to raise an eyebrow at any player that didn’t show up.
LeGarrette Blount was one of those guys, so Schiano said on NFL Network tonight.
Yeah, Joe realizes that players have real lives, and families, and life gets in the way sometimes. And Blount also was one of a small handful of Bucs in attendance at Schiano’s introductory news conference back in January. But Joe has to file this Blount absence away as a possible red flag.
Apparently, Blount wasn’t injured and off rehabilitating somewhere.
“He had a previous engagement. So he was unable to be with us today, but he informed me of that,” Schiano said.
Video mastermind Scott Smith, via Buccaneers.com, characterized attendance as a “full house” and “almost the entire roster” was there. And Adrian Clayborn told Smith of Day 1, “I think we just missed a couple of the guys on defense and it’s real good to know that everybody’s going to start to buy into what they’re talking about.”
Joe hopes Blount is there tomorrow learning the ropes from Earnest Byner and keeping Mossis Madu company, the only other running back on the roster.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Told you so. Blount will be lucky to make the team.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:11 pm
I can easily see Blount not being here after this season. Just not really a building piece on a winning roster.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:14 pm
I hope he does come back he’s a beast man.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:15 pm
He hasn’t signed his FA tender yet.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Morris Claiborne headed to tampa for a private workout.
No way we pass on mo, with our line a second round running back would do. Thats assuming we shoot ourselves in the foot and let lgb go…
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:20 pm
“Blount will be lucky to make the team.”
^Bahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
I’m disappointed he wasn’t there today but come on…
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Mo is in Tampa baby!!!!!! There is no way we pass on him if hes there he has a private workout with us he is a buc for sure unless the vikings take him.
With Blount we cant make a big deal about today Schiano on NFL network said he had a previous thing we gotta believe that its a new start lets not all get too pissed off already because of one “VOLUNTARY” day.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 pm
Lol Yar said he’d be lucky to make the team…. Really? You really believe he’ll be “lucky”?
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:28 pm
I feel like Johnny 5 on Short Circuit. Input! Input! More Buc input!
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:37 pm
Really Yar? Good grief people, take a deep breath…it’ll be alright.
Get ready for the Trent Richardson slurp fest to get started.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Does anybody really know for sure or is this a cleverly thought out smoke screen to further make people think we are going to draft richardson when we have no intention. I find it hard to believe that someone from the Bellichek school of thought would be making so many public comments on both richardson and blount…..i find it strange, thoughts guys?
April 3rd, 2012 at 12:10 am
I appreciate the Short Circut reference.
April 3rd, 2012 at 12:27 am
@ ben
It’s a classic Dominik move, always trying to dust the tracks of his last move.
April 3rd, 2012 at 12:28 am
Don’t worry Joe. We have Blount, so we don’t need another RB. We certainly don’t need one who can do it all, and is known for his amazing work ethic. Let’s put all our faith in Blount. That makes perfect sense to me.
April 3rd, 2012 at 12:33 am
That being said, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but it does say a little something about his commitment. You think Freeman would miss this? I doubt it.
April 3rd, 2012 at 1:28 am
How can a lot of u say ur a BUCS fan when u talk so much crap about top players on the team. I.e BLOUNT. He is a beast and clearly u don’t pay attention to what other teams do also that work. I’m a TRUE bucs fan. And from CANADA.
April 3rd, 2012 at 1:28 am
I know one thing. If his reasons weren’t pretty severe, such as a family member being in the hospital you will see Trent Richardson in pewter and red. I love Blount but I don’t think Schiano is ready to give him the keys to the Buccaneer backfield. Richardson is major insurance money for a coach who demands to run the football.
April 3rd, 2012 at 1:29 am
If Blount doesn’t care about money, then this is all good.
April 3rd, 2012 at 1:51 am
@canadianbuc That is completely legitimate. I understand the Vikings want a stronger OL for their new QB, but Winfield is not getting any younger.
The Bucs are not comfortable with Barber being their #2, yet Winfield is the Vikings #1. Winfield has certainly played better than Barber recently, but after him coming off of a season ending inkury at the age of 34, who else do they have? Benny Sapp, Asher Allen, Cedric Griffen and Marcus Sherels??? One could easily argue they have a far worse secondary than the Bucs. Quite possibly one of the worst, if not the worst in the league. The only thing holding them together is a 34 year old Winfield(as solid as he is) with a broken collarbone.
With that written, The Vikings have a great DL and LB crew. That will hold them over. Their problems exist from a lack of TEs, a lack of WRs, an oft injured HB, and a LT that resembles Trueblood. Their offense is lacking all around so I just don’t see them taking a CB.
April 3rd, 2012 at 3:10 am
“How can a lot of u say ur a BUCS fan when u talk so much crap about top players on the team. I.e BLOUNT.”
—
Not sure if you are talking about me, but let me clarify. I am not saying for one second that Blount is not a good runner, nor am I saying he should be cut (which is absolutely ridiculous btw). I spent many Sundays this year screaming at my TV to give him the ball. I believe he should still get a ton of carries next year, and I believe he is still a very important part of our offense. I hope he is with us for many years to come. However, he’s just not a complete back. Hopefully that will change, but I have seen little to no improvement. Blame the coaches all you want, but a great back will perform regardless of if you or me is coaching. I’m not overly concerned about his fumbling, but it does need to be addressed (as it needed to be with Alstott, Tiki Barber, and AP). As of right now, he can’t really be trusted with ball security. He needs to prove me wrong.
I just don’t trust Blount to be our work horse back for very long at all. It’s a very big risk. Aside from him not being a complete back yet (I don’t think anyone could possibly argue that), there have been reports of his work ethic being questionable (missing today’s OTA’s don’t do a whole lot to dispel those rumors). He also leaves his feet far too often, which is great for highlights, but increases his chances for injury. Not to mention that he has no one behind him on the depth chart (Madu is not exactly a proven talent). This doesn’t mean I’m not a fan of him or the Bucs, but it’s just how I feel. If management feels the same way, they will probably pick Richardson (assuming he’s still there at 5). They would know better than all of us.
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:43 am
““He had a previous engagement. So he was unable to be with us today, but he informed me of that,” Schiano said.”
Call me crazy, but I think if Coach was upset by Blount’s being gone he’d have had a few choice words added to what seems like a calm statement of fact. Come on, no ‘wish he’d made it’, ‘If you want to win, you gotta be there’, ‘He’s out’a here’, nothing but the above ! You guys, Joe included, are reading way too much into this. It’s gonna be Claiborne, whether Blount misses a ‘voluntary meeting or not.
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:45 am
@Fritz50,
Good thing you’ve got it all figured out.
April 3rd, 2012 at 6:42 am
someone made a great point, he isn’t signed yet but to assume Schiano isn’t pissed is a little naive, he decided to not mention Blount locally but on national TV decided he’d talk about who wasn’t there. Sure he was calm but that’s expected. Blount heard him just like we all did. Trade him to the Steelers for a second and draft a RB in the 2nd round.
April 3rd, 2012 at 6:59 am
Guys, seriously, you don’t know what the previous engagement is yet. For all we know he’s attending a wedding or something. If the guys misses the whole week, give him grief. But you’re just throwing out speculation.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:20 am
I looked-up the definition of “BUM” and there was only a picture (of L. Blount)
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:29 am
Voluntary workouts. Voluntary. Repeat it with me again, VOLUNTARY. Players fought hard for this CBA and voluntary means voluntary. The moment he misses a mandatory workout let me know.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:41 am
All of you Claiborne fans better be careful what you ask for, the guy scored a 4 on the Wonderlic. That’s right a flipping 4 out of 50 this guy had a score less than Vince Young and you think he is the next coming of Deon Sanders. They say a 4 is equivalent of being illiterate. So much for being a student of the game. This guy wasn’t even a student in classes. Please Dom if T Rich or Kalil are not available trade down.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:44 am
@meh If you are a player trying to improve and LOVE footbal then you should be showing up for your team no matter what.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:49 am
I just hope Blount is not gonna holdout for a bigger contract….hope not !
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:50 am
And literacy is important when the football is in the air. If you can’t read the “Wilson” on the ball you’ll never be able to intercept it.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:54 am
@rdbucfan, I am sure we are aware of Mo’s abilities, we have his coach here….If Mo had a 4 on the wonderlic, I wonder what Blount had…maybe a -3…
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:56 am
ish70,
Literacy counts when trying learn the playbook.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:56 am
really he scored a 4 and he attends LSU? Patrick Peterson sent a tweet out last year urging all “defence of players” to go to LSU… that’s right “defence of” I think he meant to say ‘defensive players’? so lets not expect LSU players to be scoring high on the Wonderlic or any type of written test, it’s not why they are there and it’s not why they are going to be drafted high….although it’s probably why so many players end up broke.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:59 am
History doesn’t bode well for players that score a 10 or less on the Wonderlic. Not many have been in the NFL for more than a couple of years and there is a #3 overall pick that has all the talent in the world but never really did much. He is currently an unrestricted free agent.
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:59 am
No need to worry about the four on the Wonderlic, I’m sure we’re about to be spun . . .
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:29 am
Mo managed to learn the LSU playbook and do just fine. He’s playing football, not teaching grammar or math.
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:29 am
SINCE EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING BLOUNT ISN’T A ALL AROUND BACK, EVERYONE FORGETS CADDIE DIDNT BLOCK OR CATCH MANY OUT OF THE BACK FIELD VERY WELL IN HIS FIRST 3 SEASONS
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:44 am
@ Meh
In the NFL (and college too) even the “voluntary” workouts are mandatory. This isn’t a HUGE deal but it doesn’t make Blount look good either.
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:48 am
Blount will be there. This is just a smokescreen for the draft. Don’t think for a second that a run happy coach doesn’t want him in the arsenal. Combine him with a true speedster and their scheme will work the way they want. Too much attention is being put on Blount as the only running weapon the team will use. He needs competition and he will shine.
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:07 am
wtf does a wonderlic have to do with football watch the tape the tape dont lie he doesnt have to be Einstein to play the game.
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:15 am
@raphael
Blount had a 16 on the Wonderlic.
Coincidentally, Rejus Benn had an 11.
http://itiswhatitis.weei.com/sports/newengland/football/patriots/2010/03/22/more-wonderlic-scores-leaking-out/
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:45 am
I could see having a low wonderlic score and being a QB being a problem. But a position like CB/S takes football instincts/skill and some intelligence. A 4/50 sounds like he Xmas tree’d it. I know I could get at least an 8-10 by doing the same.
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:50 am
as was posted by someone else (and was clearly overlooked by the rest of the extremist that like to post about the Bucs) unless this piece of news was overlooked by the media, isn’t Blount still a restricted FA?
I thought he and Parker were the only 2 unsigned restricted FA left on our roster? maybe Joe can correct me on this, but that is the last piece of information I have received.
To me, THAT is more concerning that Blount missing a VOLUNTARY workout.
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:58 am
and also, why is everyone so quick to dismiss Byner as a quality RB coach that maybe, just maybe, be able to teach Blount how to properly pick up a block and successfully hold on to the football. If memory serves me correct, both CJ2K and Pocket Hercules had their BEST seasons under Byner. Give the man a full football calendar year to work with Blount and if he still can’t do it, we can find some to draft next year.
Why is everyone so hell bent on burning such a high draft pick on a position that isn’t really that much of a weakness?
Think about this:
How many times do the Saints, Falcons and Panthers go into 3 or 4 WR sets?
How good are the pass catching TE’s in the NFCS?
Remember, the INITIAL goal in the NFL is to win your division. To do so will clearly require us to put some points on the board, record some turnovers and stop the pass. Claiborne can successfully fill all three of those roles… and for a much longer time than a RB could.
Man, I truly feel like a majority of football fans (not just Bucs fans specifically) are the type of fans that when the play Madden Franchise mode, they turn the salary cap OFF and they are also happy when the final score to each of their games are 45-41…all because their defense can’t stop anyone. smh.
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:08 am
no big deal,blount will run for a 1000 yards with teaming with a rookie rb this year.
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:47 am
rdbucfan: I know, I was just playing around.
But, my point has been stated by others: he played at LSU, in the SEC, and came out smelling like a rose. That indicates that he can play, dumb or not he can cover.