Expect Charles Sims Early, Perhaps Often
May 13th, 2014
Bucs GM Jason Licht explained his pick of West Virginia RB Charles Sims.
Many Bucs fans put down their beers and stared at the TV (if you frequented an Original Hooters location, you may have stared at something else), mouth agape, struggling for words when the Bucs drafted Charles Sims out of West Virginia.
The Bucs seemed to have been loaded with running backs, backs Bucs coach Lovie Smith talked highly about, Bobby Rainey, Mike James and,of course, Doug Martin, who has returned from an injury-shortened season.
A running back? In the third round?
Bucs general manager Jason Licht decided to explain the decision to Joe’s good friend, the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday, when Duemig asked whether drafting of the pass-catching Sims is a window into offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford’s vision.
“Yeah, you might be getting a glimpse,” Licht said. “Any of the teams I worked for previously, we put great value on running backs that we felt was a dominant receiver. Last year in Arizona, Andre Ellington fell to us in the sixth round. Looking back on it now, we would have been happy taking him in the second round. You want a stable of backs and you definitely want one with receiving skills, you want one with running skills and we felt Charles Sims has the ability to do it all.”
When Duemig mentioned that in a perfect world, players drafted in the first three rounds should start, Licht didn’t dispute that notion.
“You should see Charles Sims out there fairly early in his rookie year,” Licht said.
Perhaps the Bucs aren’t all that impressed with Martin’s pass-catching ability, or that they want him on a pitch count to lengthen his career, or the Bucs want to play two running backs who can both catch the ball, Joe is unsure. But it sure seems like running backs will be used creatively this fall.
May 13th, 2014 at 12:05 pm
I am all for it. I like the pitch count analogy… At the rate the NSO was using Doug Martin he was going to be all used up in a couple of years. I also admit I was one of the ones with mouth agape, but the more time I have had with it, the more solid the decision.
Now if I could just get the warm and fuzzies about the O-Line…
May 13th, 2014 at 12:07 pm
A third rounder should either be starting or giving you some quality snaps so no surprises there. BTW, I do expect Martin’s recieving ability to improve. Competition has a way of doing that.
May 13th, 2014 at 12:11 pm
didn’t expect them to draft a rb , but I really liked sims’ skill set coming out of college and glad we got him
May 13th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
I love Doug as a runner. He hits the hole hard, has good vision, accelerates through the hole, has enough speed to go the distance, a willing blocker…as a pass receiving back, however, he left a lot to be desired last year. In his rookie season, Doug displayed good hands, catching a lot of dump off passes and a screen here and there, but last year he couldn’t catch a cold.
Charles Sims on the other hand, Is an NFL caliber difference maker as a route runner. Wheel routes, crosses, flares (Dougie had problems with this), no problem. I’m not saying he’s the second coming of Marshall Faulk, but he should help open up the offense.
May 13th, 2014 at 12:18 pm
I could have sworn either Licht or Lovie once stated that we will not have a bellcow RB. I think they said they prefer to extend the shelf life of the best guys by splitting the carries. Maybe I am mis-remembering though.
May 13th, 2014 at 12:18 pm
Nobody likes an “I told ya so”, but……..
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=111693
May 13th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
One proven excellent back (Martin), two guys who did well when there numbered were called (James, Rainey), and a dynamic rookie with promise… The Bucs have one of if not the best young RB stables in the NFL (and that ain’t just homer talk!)
May 13th, 2014 at 12:39 pm
It’s all fine and dandy Macabee. I like I told ya so’s a lot. It separates the clueless people from the riff raff.
May 13th, 2014 at 12:56 pm
pitch count? Please tell me joema isnt bestowing his logic on lovie
May 13th, 2014 at 12:56 pm
In a perfect world, media types would be respectful of their superiors and show deference to those who get paid to do what said media types wish they themselves would get paid for. But alas, we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world where people believe that just because some electrons fire in their big heads that something should automatically come out of their mouths.
Why would you think Joe would want to be an NFL head coach or GM. No time for family, etc. –Joe
May 13th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
martin proved that he wasn’t a standout pass catcher last year. add to that the fact that he was worked to exhaustion most sundays, and i think there is room for a complementary back. if Sims is what i think he is, he will do a lot of splitting out and slot work, possibly racking up more receiving yards than rushing yards, a la sproles or mccluster
May 13th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
@Macabee beat ya to it.
May 13th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
I’m starting to get a sense that L&L have a plan and that they know exactly what they are doing period
May 13th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Schiano put some serious miles on poor Dougie. Hopefully Sims will help add some years to the short shelf life of the avg. NFL RB.
May 13th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
I keep hearing friends and/or reading comments about how we may have the deepest stable or best rb’s in football.
Then I remember how not one RB went in the 1st two and a half rounds of this draft. Which makes me ponder, what is the value of a deep backfield when the league is currently evolving into spread basketball on grass?
May 13th, 2014 at 1:26 pm
When you have backs that can catch, the depth of your bench becomes relevant.
May 13th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Dougie got the VIP treatment his first two seasons. Thank Schiano for that. The new bosses want Martin to earn it. James is now our power back, Sims a change of pace guy… Martin needs to prove he’s reliable for more than the occasional home run. I really like Martin, but I also love the way the new regime is approaching the position.
Again… Martin, James, Sims, VJax, Evans, Jenkins, Demps, Murphy… We finally have versatile playmakers in Tampa and the love shall be spread.
May 13th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
Before this draft I had no clue what our offense was going to look like. Now I feel I have a better grasp on it. Still don’t know exactly what its going to look like but these are my opinions based on our picks:
1. look for us to use the TE position similar to the way NE does, if not even more heavily. lots of bunch sets.
2. lots of screens to the RB, to the TE, to the speed WR. With a lot of blocking from the dunkaneers.
3. multiple RBs in at a time, lots of running plays to suck in the Defense, then Play action over the top to the dunkaneers.
4. Overall, I see our offense looking like a mixture between New England and Philadelphia (more on the new England side though). With minimal to no read option plays.
Hope that Tedford can exploit the mismatches, because they will be prevalent!
Overall, I am very excited. Go Bucs!
May 13th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
martin’s receiving ability may have been hampered by the big bullseye on his back and expecting a 260lb linebacker to drill him…..the D’s all cued on Martin. it was brutal
May 13th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Doug got hurt on a pass play. It’s not his specialty.
Sims is as much a slot Reciever, as he is a running back. Uncommon skill set. He will definately be a mismatch in space
And with The Three towers on the field- Sims will have lots of space.
This offense will be exciting
May 13th, 2014 at 1:49 pm
Everything the Bucs have done indicate they will be a passing team. So Sims touches won’t be a problem.
OC QB Guru
OL free agents who pass block
Draft WR and pass catching TE and RB
Signing of Josh McCown is a big ? but they are comfortable with him
Martin’s workload is now in the 10-15 carry range.
May 13th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
The RB battle in training camp should be good to watch. Joe, I think you may be on to something with respect to Martin. If Sims, Rainey and James show out in camp and Pre-season then we may see the Bucs make a move with Martin as he likely has value around the league and backs always go down in pre-season.
May 13th, 2014 at 3:01 pm
I have to admit I flipped out when we drafted Sims. I think Sims is a very good player for the new Tedford scheme, but I still don’t like the pick. I thought he was picked high, but even if that was a good spot to take him, we need Oline help badly. I don’t care what kind of skills he has, if we can’t open holes, what good is he?
But, we will see. I am all in.
May 13th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
@FLBoyInDallas Says:
“…We live in a world where people believe that just because some electrons fire in their big heads that something should automatically come out of their mouths.”
Just curious, why you are always so negative, insulting and nasty to ppl. Is it maybe bc your momma hated you? Or was it bc you were were/are a nerd and everyone picked on you? You definitely have some anger issues going on.
May 13th, 2014 at 5:16 pm
if the bucs are moving away from the zone blocking scheme employed by schiano, we might be moving away from another of doug’s strengths. depending on how we manage the RB situation, we may decide that martin’s worth more to the bucs wearing another team’s jersey. interestingly, many of the league’s model franchises (patriots, packers, steelers to name a few) have done away with the franchise RB concept and just cobble together backfields the way the rays cobble together a successful bullpen from a bunch of no-names every year. there are still plenty of teams who value the idea of a bell cow RB, and there might be the seeds for a perceived win-win. personally, i love the douggernaut, but this regime has valued plenty of players differently than i would already so i am done predicting who comes who stays and who goes
May 13th, 2014 at 5:29 pm
BuccaKnight said it all. Couldn’t agree more! Plus throw in traditional passes to the slot receiver.
May 15th, 2014 at 8:48 am
Harry Said:
“@FLBoyInDallas Says:
“…We live in a world where people believe that just because some electrons fire in their big heads that something should automatically come out of their mouths.”
Just curious, why you are always so negative, insulting and nasty to ppl. Is it maybe bc your momma hated you? Or was it bc you were were/are a nerd and everyone picked on you? You definitely have some anger issues going on”.
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As a child, he was kicked in the head by a butterfly.