Charles Sims: Backup?
June 25th, 2015
Has Charles Sims been demoted?
Look, Joe doesn’t have a thing against Charles Sims, the Bucs running back selected in the third round last year. Nothing at all.
But Joe has to call it like he sees it, and it often rankles many, whether they be suits or fans at the bar.
For reasons unknown, Joe thinks Sims was forced into the lineup last year after August surgery. Joe isn’t sure why. There was little that Joe saw from Sims that suggested he was a difference-maker.
Maybe Sims was rushed into action. Maybe he wasn’t ready for the NFL (yet). Joe isn’t sure. But Adam Levitan of Rotoworld.com is of the mind that with Dirk Koetter as the new Bucs offensive coordinator, Sims will be a backup.
Doug Martin was one of the biggest risers during the spring. He went from the trade block and someone battling with Charles Sims to a guy that now appears entrenched as a feature back. He reportedly had the best offseason of his career, soaking up the first-team reps. … Sims averaged 2.8 YPC as a rookie, forcing just six missed tackles on 66 rushes and getting a pathetic 1.36 yards after contact per attempt. He was ,drafted to play a passing back role and it looks like that’s where he’ll stay.
Man it sure seemed like Sims was ordered into the lineup to validate his draft status.
That is not a cool move. Players should see snaps based on merit. That’s why Joe isn’t kosher with Bobby Rainey getting benched and Sims getting so many snaps. Hopefully, Koetter won’t give people snaps based on draft status, but on substance.
June 25th, 2015 at 9:04 am
That’s Lovie for you. Has to validate the use of an important 3rd rd pick that should have been used on an Olineman.
June 25th, 2015 at 9:29 am
When Lovie takes us deep into the playoffs in a year or two, all of you haters will be eating crow. Or more likely, you’ll act like you supported him the entire time SMH
June 25th, 2015 at 9:50 am
It seems like a wasted pick. Other RBs are better, possibly even including the undrafted rookie from Louisville. Too many decent backs for them all to stick. Could Sims be traded for much?
June 25th, 2015 at 10:09 am
I think the Sims pick was due to having tedford as OC. speed in space. and we all know how that panned out…
June 25th, 2015 at 10:10 am
Way too soon to tell on Sims….probably a better pick than Bowers/2nd or Myron Lewis 3rd….or perhaps eventually even Barron….1st.
Even if Sims becomes an effective 3rd down back over the long haul….he will be worth his pick.
June 25th, 2015 at 10:13 am
How can Sims be a washout after the little he was seen last year? A high draft pick for sure, who was the brain behind that pick? Plucked out of thin air and threw into the mix. The Bucs were that desperate last year. I’d like to hear Koetter’s take on Sims. I still think Sims can be successful though, he is a little older than the average 2nd year player.
June 25th, 2015 at 10:20 am
If he can be a Shane Vareen type back that’d be cool. I think he was a 2nd round pick of the Pats and no one complained that he wasn’t a stud and only a pass-catching type back
June 25th, 2015 at 10:21 am
Pads aren’t even on yet, we’ve probably or a handful of players who are “entrenched” at their respective position and there’s nobody at RB who’s doing that, it’s all rainbows and sunshine when players are on shorts and tshirts, we’ll see what’s what come August
June 25th, 2015 at 10:32 am
Ahh a breath of fresh air. Finally we have someone w the courage/smarts to not just force a guy into the lineup based on the rd they were drafted.
Thank you Koetter for showing Lovie and Licht the light!
I still can’t help to believe that if Martin does play well this year, it will be in spite of Lovie..
June 25th, 2015 at 10:48 am
Let’s all remember Dirk Koetter was a Boise State Guy, and one guess where Doug Martin is from.
Not that that is a bad thing, if Doug Martin can return to form.
We need a running game, to take some pressure off our rookie QB, and to control the ball/give our defense a rest.
June 25th, 2015 at 10:51 am
I thinks Sims will be fine, this team is building quality depth, next man up mentality, competition gives you that and I think Sims brings something the others don’t have and I am a big Dougie, Booby and Mike fan, but that is the ability to do something with the ball when out in space (ask Luke Keuckly), unless it’s a QB, LT or DE, or you are a bona fide superstar, the way teams rotate, everybody is a starter/contributor in some respect.
June 25th, 2015 at 11:00 am
Doug Martin is trash
June 25th, 2015 at 11:01 am
What a waste of a draft pick. I’d way rather see Mike James get carries.
June 25th, 2015 at 11:09 am
Remember we still have Dovie as head coach which is good for 5 or 6 losses & Warhop which is good for a few more. (5 wins 11 losses)
June 25th, 2015 at 11:25 am
Tbis is just your opinion Joe and isn’t based on any facts.
Look at it this way, Martin had a nagging injury and Rainey’s production was inconsistent and he also had a bit of a fumbling problem.
The team was going nowhere so why not look at the kid you drafted, it wasn’t like either Martin or Rainey were breaking 50 yard runs every week.
not everything is dark conspiracy with a gunman on the grassy knoll.
June 25th, 2015 at 11:29 am
Weird Licht and Lovie failing on another personnel move
June 25th, 2015 at 11:31 am
The only acceptable justification for having Sims “forced” us last year would be to see him perform against 1st team opponents BECAUSE the year was a lost one. Any other is not acceptable. Period.
Hopefully the kid gets better, but after seeing him last year, he proved to be (as I’ve stated before) the 4th best RB on this team. The 3rd round is much, much too high to find a 3rd or 4th string RB. It was very irresponsible on Lovie’s part to pass up a potential starting O-lineman, that high in the draft!
If RB is so unsettled then let the open competition begin-god forbid! I like all the top 3 guys and I’d like to know why M. James was / is so uninvolved. James is our only bruiser. Did Lovie even bother to watch film of his inherited team, once he got here?
June 25th, 2015 at 11:33 am
“Hopefully, Koetter won’t give people snaps based on draft status, but on substance”
Amen…a sentiment that should be applicable to ALL positions on the team.
June 25th, 2015 at 11:46 am
3rd round pick to play passing downs = wasted pick…no power, north-south ability…hated this pick, james and rainey are better
June 25th, 2015 at 11:58 am
Man you guys are depressing. Dude had ankle surgery in middle of August and was expected to miss the season.
And honestly if he can be a complimentary Shane Vereen type back he’s totally worth a 3rd to add an element to the offense. A ton of 3rd round picks are busts you guys act like all nfl teams hit on their mid rounders when the truth is most are busts.
If Pamphile develops into RT and ASJ can stay healthy it’s not a bad draft by any means other than having insanely unrealistic expectations that every pick is a starter or something
June 25th, 2015 at 12:03 pm
Joe: June 25th, 2015
Charles Sims: Backup?
Man it sure seemed like Sims was ordered into the lineup to validate his draft status.
That is not a cool move. Players should see snaps based on merit. That’s why Joe isn’t kosher with Bobby Rainey getting benched and Sims getting so many snaps. Hopefully, Koetter won’t give people snaps based on draft status, but on substance.
Joe: June 23rd, 2015
Teams That Should Trade For Glennon
For those clinging to the notion Bucs quarterback of the past and quarterback of the future and maybe quarterback of the present Mike Glennon will start Week 1, despite “America’s Quarterback,” Jameis Winston being healthy, Joe has a dose of reality for you:
No less an authority than the august website Pro-Football-Reference.com, claims the last No. 1 overall pick to sit Week 1 of his rookie season was the notorious JaMarcus Russell of the Raiders.
So, it’s not cool unless it is the quarterback you are man-crushing on, eh Joe?
The player that gives us the best chance to win should play.
Last year there was NO competition for starting QB – it was handed to McCown the day he was signed. How’d that turn out?
June 25th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Ain’t that the truth Jimbo. I swear man. Now with that being said we can rest assured we’ll be hearing from Dallas here shortly.
June 25th, 2015 at 12:42 pm
I’ll take a “wait and see” position on all the RB’s until the start of the RS.
Attrition has a way of rearing it’s ugly head when the pads go on.
Doug Martin wasn’t producing early last season (injury?) and Rainey exhibited an ability to produce behind the same OL. Martin is a power runner who looked lost in a ZBS while Rainey, a cut n go runner, was a better scheme fit.
The problem was that Rainey, after a brilliant cut n go or catch n shake, put the ball on the ground a few times and cost us momentum. Considering the folly of the 14′ offense, a 10yd run ending in a fumble is depressing for an offense trying to use a balanced attack with a possession based offense.
To be clear, having (2)1000yd WR’s and only 2 wins in 16 games would suggest that either we were blowing out the opposition or, we had no running game.
I took a look at Sims’ college highlight reel and initially thought he was drafted too early. But, upon reflection, I understood how his versatility was a highly desirable quality. When Lovie said: “he reminds me of Matt Forte”, I was sold. I’m not sure of which blocking scheme (ABS vs PBS) Koetter favors. If, as advertised, he’s a 4-deep guy. That means a lot of swing passes, middle curls, draw plays and screens for the RB’s. So, who would you choose for those plays?
I saw a post-op photo of Sim’s ankle and would encourage anyone with a strong stomach to check it out before you judge him too harshly. I’m truly surprised that, for whatever reason, Sims was encouraged to play so soon.
June 25th, 2015 at 5:12 pm
It was a poor decision in the first place. Just bad. The reasoning, from what I could tell, was the Tedford wanted ‘speed in space’ players and Sims was a guy who fit that mold for his offense. Nevermind the fact that the stable of running backs were just fine the year before and that we had a very strong need for a guard (go figure).
Let’s not draft a guard when there were good ones available, let’s add to the running back stable and be forced to trade for an old guard and draft one from Div III to make up for it. That works. Because G Gabe Jackson, G Trai Turner, and C Bryan Stork weren’t all sitting there waiting to hear their name called and picked within the next round. Yup. Let’s get that 4th running back instead. Genius.
June 25th, 2015 at 6:01 pm
Charles Sims wasn’t a wasted pick, nor was he a bad pick. The Bucs are playing him out of position, he should be playing more as a receiver than as a feature back.Move him along the line, in the slot, out wide he would create a mismatch with a linebacker. Let Doug Martin,Bobby Rainey, Dominque Brown get the bulk of the carries at RB.
June 25th, 2015 at 8:24 pm
How come most Buc fans expect instant success from rookies?
Or even rookies that had surgery prior to the regular season.
It just seems to me that Bucs fans are the most impatient fans in the NFL when it comes to coaches or rookies.
If had a nickel for every time I heard someone call McCoy a bust…..
June 26th, 2015 at 1:30 am
Sims is going to be just fine. Just wait and watch what he will accomplish this year. Watch the film from last year. He was not 100% and when he had somewhere to run showed promise for a rookie.
June 26th, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Mike james best yards after contact runner based on the eye test tough hard runner. Mike James will help win games