Blount Doesn’t “Love Football” Enough
April 12th, 2012
Of the many explosive Bucs takes former Bucs QB Shaun King let loose today on WDAE-AM 620, the man who led the Bucs to their second NFC Championship game made it clear that he believes LeGarrette Blount has not developed at an acceptable rate because he doesn’t “love football” enough.
King made a point that Blount’s deficiencies — alleged deficiencies in Joe’s mind — are still around because Blount’s work ethic hasn’t been there to make him a better blocker, pass catcher, and student of the playbook.
King is of the mind that 2012 is a big contract year for Blount — he’ll enter restricted free agency after the season — and that could be a motivating factor that pushes Blount to be his best self, as Raheem Morris might say.
While Blount may not have been considered a hard worker, Joe’s sure Blount was nowhere close to being a slacker.
It still amazes Joe that it’s so easy for so many, not just King, to be negative about Blount, a third-year undrafted guy who has a phenomenal season under his belt, never had a full offseason with a team, and has not been given a legitimate opportunity to show he can be a complete player.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:14 am
Blount has not had an offseason yet with the Bucs. Not a single day until this offseason.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:17 am
Trent Richardson…
April 12th, 2012 at 11:21 am
Thing is, isn’t that EXACTLY what Shaun King’s problem was when he played here?
Point that finger and try to ignore the three fingers pointing back at you King.
Whatever.
Time to prove what you can be LeGarrette! Just do it!
April 12th, 2012 at 11:23 am
If he does NOT like football like Shaun King says, why was Blount one of three Buc’s that made sure they attended the Shiano press conference when he was introduced?
If he does NOT like football, why was he chosen (by the front office I assume) to represent the Bucs/NFL during the unveiling of the new uniforms.
Oh yeah, I remember… he was there for the first day of meetings on a excused absence, for which he was vilified, only to later find out it was on the request of either his team or the NFL!
I do not know Blount and do NOT know what kind of person he is. However, from all the interviews I’ve seen from him and things he ‘did’, he’s been more then alright in my book. Did he make stupid mistakes? Absolutely! But being a UNRESTRICTED Free agent 1,000 yard rusher with no off-season etc. etc. tells me something.
Is he the next Barry Sanders? Nope…
But why is a large majority of BUC’S fans hating on the kid so much?
I like to watch a man’s actions and so far all I can say is someone has an agenda here.
I don’t get it….
April 12th, 2012 at 11:25 am
More words from king without any proof. Completely talking out of his butt.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Shaun King? He’s a joke in my opinion and needs to find a new career path.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Joe – Kregg Lumpkin never had a full offseason either but was able to pick up blocking schemes and be the third down back in spite of being an awful football player. What does that say about Blount?
Yes the coaching was poor last year but I highly doubt Olson and co. were playing Lumpkin cause they thought he was better; seems far more likely to me that Blount just wasn’t able to pick up the schemes. No one’s ever said he’s a heady football player to my knowledge.
It amazes me you don’t see any issues with Blount. Yes, he’s a beast running the ball, but there’s clearly some issues there as far as him being extremely one-dimensional. Put Blount on the field and it’s obvious that 9 times out of 10 we’re running the ball. So defenses stack the box and make Blount move laterally (which he does all the time) and we get stuffed for nothing. To me, runs like the one against the Packers and the hurdles the year before don’t mask his obvious faults.
That said, I don’t care what Shaun King says.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:37 am
I love blount on the field, but I’m sick of hearing about his little rants in the media and not wanting richardson to come in and make the team better. He’s not a team player given his comments as of lately. I’d also like to see him trim down a bit more closer to his college wieght in hopes he can become that all purpose back we need.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:39 am
shaun king = small hands , fat face
April 12th, 2012 at 11:46 am
people need to understand this about virtually every player who came out of college to become a buc in the morris era….the coaching they got was questionable at best, and their development as men off the field seemed to be largely overlooked. on top of that their 3 offseasons have included the rah\dom “mulligan” offseason (both rookies made every bad decision possible in getting the team ready) and a strike-shortened offseason where nobody was allowed to speak to their coaches until training camp. lo and behold, the one offseason that actually proceeded in a normal fashion was the best year of all these guys’ careers. everyone drafted since 2009 deserves a shot to prove they are closer to 2010 than 2011 when supported the right way
April 12th, 2012 at 11:46 am
What King says is about as important as what I say. However, I would no like to see us give up a 3rd round pick to move up to insure Richardson. Take the best player on the board at every pick and move on.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:47 am
Posey99 Says:
April 12th, 2012 at 11:37 am
I love blount on the field, but I’m sick of hearing about his little rants in the media and not wanting richardson to come in and make the team better.
Media Rants ?? Because he doesnt want a top 5 pick to take his job ?? he Said .. “No I wouldnt like that at all” Your a friggin Tool
April 12th, 2012 at 11:47 am
What King says is about as important as what I say. However, I would not like to see us give up a 3rd round pick to move up to insure Richardson. Take the best player on the board at every pick and move on.
April 12th, 2012 at 11:48 am
“Put Blount on the field and it’s obvious that 9 times out of 10 we’re running the ball. So defenses stack the box and make Blount move laterally (which he does all the time) and we get stuffed for nothing.”
Truth.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
King is as terrible as a commentator/radio personality as he was a quarterback. Does this dude even likes the bucs? He seems like he spends more time blasting our players/management then he does saying anything positive about them. Hes a clown and I hope he reads some of this sites articles. Shaun king is trying so hard to stay relevent it doesn’t make sense. Shaun YOUR A NOBODY! You couldn’t hold blount’s jockstrap. You couldn’t even hold rob johnsons jock strap because after your ass got exposed in that NFC championship loss. That scrub took your spot. SHAUN KING YOU WERENT A GOOD QB AND YOUR A EVEN WORSE RADIO PERSONALITY.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Give the kid a break. Since coming to Tampa he hasn’t punched anyone and he hasn’t said anything dumb to the media. He’ll be a fine professional in years coming.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
@SKP…I agree 100%
April 12th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
@ passthebuc
Why should we give up a 3rd to get Richardson, when keeping our third and staying at #5 overall could mean Richardson + Early Third Rounder OR Claiborne + a 3rd Rd RB (like Lamichael James).
April 12th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
You first must have real coaching to help Blount learn all the in and outs of being a pro running back. Most young RBs struggle in pass protection and a lot don’t get the chance to catch the ball out of the backfield enough. Give him this season with some real coaching and see what happens.
I also think the depth is there in round 3 to trade back into it if we can’t trade down with our 1st round pick. Some great talent waiting to be gotten especially since we do not have a 4th round pick.
Round 1. Claiborne CB LSU/Kalil OT USC
Round 2. Mark Barron if he makes it past New England or Janoris Jenkins
Round 3. LaMichael James RB Oregon/Isiah Pead RB Cincy
Round 3. Either Lavonte David LB Nebraska or Ronnell Lewis LB Oklahoma
This lineup would drastically improve our team and all the players should be in their respective rounds except for possibly Mark Barron.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Its looking like the Safety from Oklahoma State is dropping on the boards. Markelle Martin would be a steal in the 5th round if he was still available. Don’t know if he will make it out of round 4 is the only problem.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Sorry but did I miss the year when King lead the Bucs to their second NFC Championship game?
I could have sworn he was carried there by one of the greatest defenses the league has ever seen.
April 12th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
All this anti Blount stuff is really getting annoying. I wish the season would start already so the media can stop making stuff up. Oh wait, they will do that anyways…
April 12th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
If Cleveland passes on Tannehill at 4, i believe that Kansas City may be a willing trade partner with us to snag him at 5 before Miami. We’d swap 1sts and probably pick up their 2nd.
11. MLB Luke Kuechly
36. S Harrison Smith
44. RB LaMichael James/Doug Martin
68. CB Trumaine Johnson
April 12th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
@kh….Lumpkin has been in the league since 2008. i would say that he’s had at LEAST one offseason to work with a coaching staff that may have taught him a thing or two on the blocking front.
April 12th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
@Blaine – I love how your credentials for being a “fine professional” are not punching people and ranting to the media. Thanks for the laugh
April 12th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
It’s funny King would say that… considering he certainly didn’t seem to like football enough either.
Higher expectations, better coaching, if Blount doesn’t respond this season, then we make RB a priority…next year. 1800 yards at 4.6 yards per carry in the 25 games or so that he’s played should have earned him at least that much.
Our LBs haven’t proven anything other than that they are a huge liability. Upgrading that position should be our number one goal.
Claiborne WOULD be a great addition to a needy secondary, but what is even the best tackling CB going to do to help one o fthe NFL’s worst run defenses? Claiborne couldn’t tackle Cam Newton in college, I doubt he’ll do much to stop him now.. Luke Kuechly can, however, and that is who the Bucs SHOULD be targeting after a short trade down in the 8-11 range.
April 12th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I’ll make this quick.
King was a horrible pro with a short unremarkable career aside from the fact his team carried him on their back.
Blount does not deserve all the hate but we need to focus him on what he does best. Take the rock and run the hell out of it. We need another good quality back to make it a committee and keep our legs fresh. That doesn’t mean Blount hasn’t kept his end of the bargain we just need to use him in the best way and let him grow and not regress.
April 12th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Joe…please…come on…quite giving king ANY attention…he AWFUL!!!!!
April 12th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
I’ve watched teams all but give up trying to tackle Blount… I think the Bucs should use the 1st rounder to address a true weak spot on the team then let grab a RB later in the draft. However I won’t be upset if they draft Richardson because he’s a beast and will improve the team.
April 12th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
I’m still confused why there’s a perception that he’s a terrible blocker and pass catcher. When given a few opportunities during the season he was, at the very least, average. And as far as the comments he made about Richardson, he didn’t do it on twitter or anything like that, someone asked him a question and he answered it honestly. What’s wrong with that?
April 12th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
@celly_bwoy my point was that Lumpkin and Blount had virtually the same amount of time working together to learn the Bucs offense and blocking schemes. I think its a BS excuse for Blount, he has no one to blame that on but himself.
@bret2424 – its not really perception, its reality when he couldn’t even force himself onto the field ahead of Lumpkin. I think most Bucs fans agree Lumpkin was poor at it at best, but being ahead of Blount it gives the impression that Blount couldn’t even get the basic concepts down. If you don’t know what you’re doing you won’t play, period.
This isn’t hating on Blount, its just the reality of the situation at the moment. For now, Blount is a one-dimensional running back, and we’ve seen no indication from him so far to think otherwise. A handful of jaw-dropping runs and great games doesn’t make change that.
April 12th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Sean King didn’t love football enough to succeed in the NFL. He had the opportunity and he got lazy after his first season. He blew it.
So how would he recognize what true effort is?
April 12th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
2 Words for your – Earnest Byner
If Byner can’t get anything more out of him, well that is why he is on a 1 year extension currently isn’t it. I’m a die hard Duck and Bucc fan so I’m pulling for him to have a great off season with Byner.
April 12th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
All the motivation Blount needs is to read the posts on this site. If that doesn’t do it, nothing will.
April 12th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
I don’t believe Shaun King is being fair to LeGarrette Blount. As many have pointed out, Blount has not benefited from even one minute of off-season work with a Buccaneer coach. No OTAs, no mini-camps, no conditioning program, no film study. Nothing, nada, zip. To be fair to Blount, we should give him the benefit of the doubt until we’re well into the 2012 season. If he is still a flop as a pass blocker, pass catcher, and short yardage back then the Bucs should look at replacing him.
April 12th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
passthebuc Says:
April 12th, 2012 at 11:46 am
What King says is about as important as what I say. However, I would no like to see us give up a 3rd round pick to move up to insure Richardson. Take the best player on the board at every pick and move on.
I’m all or drafting Trent Richardson. If he is available at 5. There is no way in hell I trade up to 3 to get him. No way.
April 12th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
If the majority of the press, and many of the fans, are noting the problems in Blount’s game, how insane do you have to be to ignore them?
If he’s so great, why was he completely undrafted?
If he’s so wonderful, why did the Titans put him on the PS?
If he’s the best RB that ever happened to Tampa, why was he spending time on the bench in the middle of a reDONKulous losing streak?
It’s not all coincidence. This guy hasn’t developed a reputation of being the Earnest Graham type of overlooked guy, instead folks are talking about his attitude and deficiencies as serious problems. At some point, you have to think that there might just be a little fire behind all that smoke.
April 12th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
@jvato24
“Media Rants ?? Because he doesnt want a top 5 pick to take his job ?? he Said .. “No I wouldnt like that at all” Your a friggin Tool”
Yes, ‘I’ wouldn’t like that that at all. It’s not about him it’s about what’s best for the team… I doubt they would get rid of blount and have a two headed monster like most teams want in the NFL…And it’s ‘You’re a tool’ not ‘your’. Name calling, cool.
April 12th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
I don’t think Blount is a complete RB, genius or model citizen but he is a freaking beast when healthy and motivated on the field. Maybe not an every down RB or a dude that’s gonna play for 10 years but lets use this guy to his full potential whole he’s in his prime!
I think the Blount deserves the benefit of the doubt.
April 12th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Holy Shawn King is a bitter unhappy man. He needs to find a new job. I cant stand reading his negative nonsense.
April 12th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Posey99 …
IMO Blount said that because of something Schiano said about wanting his RBs to never want to come out of the game and be the bell cow back. I think Blount was just trying to be that guy.
Blount was upset when Caddy left the team who would have taken 50% of his snaps, So imo .. I think it was him trying to be Schianos Guy.
That said, if TR was on the board I just cant imagine Schiano passing on him.
April 12th, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Shuan King WTF ever you were a ok QB and the only reason you have a superbowl ring is because bucs were nice enough to make you the 3rd string QB. Blount will have a RB coach that worked with Chris Johnson and Jones Drew. Hell they never really needed him to block his first year they had Cadi and E.Graham. The last year he wasn’t really in to block till Graham went down. Now you show me were anyone has really even tried to develop him.
April 12th, 2012 at 7:48 pm
I cannot understand why anyone would listen too or respect anything Shaun King or Ian Beckles have to say about the Buccaneers or anything else.
Really, when will 620 listen to the listeners and cut off these jackwagons? and we certainly don’t need to hear their “opinions” here!
BTW, didn’t 1010 replace King with the Commish? What the hell is 620 thinking?
April 12th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
First of all, Shaun King’s QB skills shouldn’t be continuously brought up as if he is not qualified to comment about football. On his worst day he was a million times better than any of us. That’s a real weak criticism of him, and really should stop. His playing days in Tampa are irrelevant to what he does now.
That being said, I think he is wrong for giving an opinion and trying to pass it along as fact. I wouldn’t have a problem if he said “Blount doesn’t APPEAR to love football enough”, but that’s not how he worded it. Unless he is in the building every day, or he has heard it straight from sources within the building, he is just stating an opinion.
I don’t necessarily believe those deficiencies in Blount’s game are a result of a lack of effort (although it may be). Speaking from my experience playing basketball, some players are more cerebral than others. Some guys simply can’t pick up plays or read defenses, no matter how hard they try. It’s very similar to how some people just can’t score high on tests, no matter how hard they try.
I’m of the belief that Blount’s never really going to be a great pass catcher out of the backfield, simply because he doesn’t accelerate quickly. He takes a while to get his speed up. However, when you are catching a check down pass, you are often times catching it standing still, and you must accelerate quickly to get some yards after the catch. This just doesn’t match his skill set in my opinion. I don’t think it has anything to do with his work ethic.
I’m just not a big fan of accusing someone of being a slacker, unless you have first hand knowledge that it is true. King should probably realize that the next time he throws something like that out there.
April 12th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
its a 2 back league, we will see what blount does with ota’s
April 12th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Ian Beckles is a hater. Listen closely, he hates on everyone.
April 12th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
EVAN SILVA
OFFSEASON LOW DOWN
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons
“Running back: Tailback is rarely thought of
as a weakness in Atlanta based on Michael
Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers ‘ big-name
appeal. Rodgers is just a scatback, though,
and Turner’s on-field performance is
eroding rapidly at age 30. He limits the
offense with an inability to play on passing
downs. Atlanta has shown interest in
Virginia Tech’s David Wilson as a second-
round possibility.”
seems to me that Blount isn’t the only starting caliber running back with issues in the passing game.
April 12th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
If you listened to the entire interview then you would have heard shaun king admit that he didn’t football as a young player which is why he feels that he can see that same lack of love of the game from Blount!! C’mon people learn to get all the facts before you go off the deep end just because you don’t like someone.