Mike James Has The Rhythm
November 5th, 2013
Joe can say from personal experience that former Bucs running back/fullback Earnest Graham is a very uplifting spirit. So Joe doesn’t want anyone to think that Graham’s earlier fire-Schiano talk was that of a hateful man who is always negative.
Graham’s interview on the Ron and Ian show this morning on WDAE-AM 620 can be heard below in its entirety. Graham seemed most excited talking about rookie running back Mike James. Graham doesn’t see any holes in his game.
“Mike James, I really love his rhythm. You know as far as running the football, he seems to be really, really in sync with the whole concept that happens with running. I think he does a lot of things off natural instinct. He’s not the strongest guy. He’s the fastest or the quickest guy. But, you know, he does everything with a certain rhythm. So he’s very in tune with the game of football. The guy does everything well. He makes the right cuts. His instincts are on point. So I like everything about Mike James.”
Graham went on to say James is valuable on drives because of his consistency, a guy who can be counted on to play mistake-free, and always get positive yardage.
That’s high praise from Graham. And it should have Bucs fans very excited. (Wednesday tease – tomorrow, Joe will deliver a very interesting take from Greg Schiano about James.) Enjoy the full Graham interview below. It’s interesting that he calls the Mike Sullivan offense very, very simple and not complex.
November 5th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
I really liked what I saw from James. Sometimes you can just tell when a guy gets it. He always seemed to find the right holes and we’ve seen him make some nice blocks earlier in the season.
He’s not going to break a 90 yard run but he looks like a guy who can pound out the tough yards and will be a nice compliment to Martin down the road.
With Martin, James and Leonard we could be pretty well set at RB for the future.
November 5th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Granted we’ve seen only one breakout game from Mike James, but I know what Graham is talking about. Mike seems to let the flow of the block determine his course – a kind of patience that lets him ease thru the hole. Arian Foster has a similar running style.
This is not a comparison of Mike to Doug Martin, but Doug explodes into the hole and is more likely to hit the homerun. Whereas Mike tends to let the O-Lineman do his work first, then carefully follows the block. I love both styles and think they are complementary. Both could become a good 1-2 punch down the road.
November 5th, 2013 at 5:23 pm
@Macabee: Arian Foster is a darn good comparison in running style (don’t misinterpret my statement idiots). Another guy with similar running style is Fred Jackson of Buffalo. He is like a somewhat quicker version of Earnest Graham, although not by much.
Once Doug is back, I hope Mike James does not become an afterthought like Graham was to Caddy. I can think of occasions where James may get more yards than Doug and vice versa because of their running styles.
November 5th, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Well the rhythm is gonna get you…. tonight.
I heard that somewhere.
November 5th, 2013 at 5:49 pm
exactly what made graham so valuable when we needed him the most. no negative plays and a heady and hungry runner. he’s probably not going to challenge for any rushing titles but he and leonard are 2 guys you aren’t afraid to put on the field. he played a bit over his head on sunday but i’d rather have him in this offense than Mr Magoo (Blount) who was worse at finding the lanes in a Zone Blocking scheme than BJ Upton was at avoiding called strike 3’s for the rays
November 5th, 2013 at 7:29 pm
Mr. Graham knows football. His comments about the Bucs not being very good, not playing tough defense, not having explosiveness are all very true. He definitely is seeing what most of us here are, a team that plays hard in stretches, doesn’t make the plays later in the game when it means something and lacks energy down the stretch.
That tells me there is a lack of motivation from the coaching staff and a lack of talent on the field. Dominick has missed on so many defensive lineman he drafted that we simply do not have any quality on that line other than McCoy, who isn’t enough of an impact player to make quarterbacks nervous. Shiano doesn’t get the most out of the team. Their effort isn’t there later in the games.
At Seattle in the first half the Bucs did everything they never do, surprise kick, jump pass, Glennon scrambling, receivers coming back to the ball, good pass coverage. Everything that helps win a game. Then after halftime it was back to very uninspired play. That’s on Shiano, he isn’t getting his players pumped up. They simply lack inspiration.
November 5th, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Joe,
What I may say may sound shocking or idiotic, but hear me out. Did the Buccaneers make the wrong selection last year by taking Doug Martin with the 31st pick overall in the 2012 Draft?
Running backs are appearing to be a dime a dozen this season and we had a thousand yard back. Looking at all the defensive talent that was left on the board the Buccaneers could have easily sured up their front 7. I know it must be hard to say that a rookie pro bowler is a bad pick, but with the emergence of James this year it appears that we handicapped ourselves in the RB department.
There is a part of me that believes that Doug Martin will be traded. This is all from the mouth of a person who things DM22 is one of the best in the league when healthy. Running backs just aren’t worth what they were anymore..
Thoughts?
November 5th, 2013 at 8:08 pm
No drew, just no. Go watch film of the Raiders game or the Vikings game last year and have a word with yourself.
November 5th, 2013 at 10:08 pm
You go Mike, hopefully the staff now uses him some more with Martin instead of all Martin as we were seeing early in the year, should take some strain off of Martin and give the O some fresh legs running the ball
November 5th, 2013 at 10:22 pm
kh, I’ve watched the film a hundred times and doug martin is a stud. I know this and I love the dude to death…I’m just saying that power football (under this regime) hasn’t done a thing to win us a meaningful football game. Look at the Vikings, they have AP and still can’t win. This isn’t the early 80’s, you can’t win on power running alone…you need a high powered vertical offense…just food for thought.
November 6th, 2013 at 7:31 am
And yet, sheridan stops feeding him the ball with 8 minutes left in the game.
November 6th, 2013 at 7:46 am
If this offense is so basic then why does out take qb’s years to master it? I’ve never even put pads on and my only experience interacting with football was a video game but even I know what play is coming in most situations, where glennon’s gonna throw it or how we’re going to run it. It’s like Sheridan and Sullivan snagged up the football for dummies clif notes when they find out they got hired and they’re just trying to make it through like a test you didn’t study for. I’m tired of hearing about the hours that this staff puts in. being the first one in and the last to leave is meaningless if the work you’re putting in isn’t valuable. Just logging hours does not impress me. The Mannings and Bradys and Brees’s of the world put in a ton of work and you can see it on the field because they’re studying and applying what they learned. Not just churning out hours of sitting in the film ROM but still coming out of it no closer to having a decent idea about what to do