The Bucs Do Not Have “Pretty Good” Depth At RB
March 20th, 2010
Joe loves Earnest Graham but just how much can the Bucs expect from a 30-year old running back?
Joe’s starting to get perturbed about this fallacy.
While fielding questions in his mailbag for the Stalinist BSPN.com, Vacation Man seems to agree — but to be fair, didn’t really agree — with a Bucs fan who states the Bucs have depth at running back.
Nate in Palmer, Alaska writes: The Bucs depth at running back seems pretty good this upcoming season. It appeared last season Derrick Ward was supposed to be the man at RB for the Bucs Carnell Williams returned with such force and energy. As a long time Bucs fan, I think he was one of the very few highlights of our 2008/09 season and wouldn’t mind seeing him get the starting nod this year. What are your thoughts on this?
Vacation Man: Yes, Ward was brought in to be the starter and got big money. He never really produced like the Bucs had imagined. Williams did produce. He won the starting job last year and I don’t anticipate that changing.
As Joe pointed out yesterday, the Bucs “depth” is, in fact, quite thin.
Joe thinks the world of Cadillac Williams, but let’s be honest: Whenever Cadillac breaks loose around right end, don’t we all hold our breath? The man is playing on two gimpy knees and to believe Williams won’t blow one of his knees again is foolish.
Earnest Graham, as much as Joe loves him, is not getting any younger. The man has reached the dubious running back age of 30. If the Bucs somehow make any noise in the postseason this fall, he will turn 31 before the season ends. How much gas does he have left in the tank, realistically?
Derrick Ward? The book is still out on him.
Clifton Smith? When he’s not hurt, he’s fumbling.
No, the Bucs do not have depth at running back, except on paper. Let’s put this nonsense to bed, shall we?
March 20th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
The Answer:
Toby Gerhart
March 20th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Absolutely correct Joe.
Not only do we not have depth, but the starters are mediocre at best. The good teams in this league have a big play running back. We don’t.
Don’t even get me started on the receiver situation……………yeah i know, i know, plenty of time to solve it before the season. We shall see.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
like the house in Vegas…..
running the ball
and stopping the run
will always previal
March 20th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Chris Johnson would have struggled to get 800 yards for the Bucs last year ,,, Our backs are good enough for now .. They just call the worst running plays up the middle over and over … Never do you see a pitch
March 20th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Regardless of what you think abotu the current backs , they are at least servicable.
With all the other holes we have on this team , are we really going to waste one of our high draft picks on another running back ?? I think it would be STUPID.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Radio Mushmouth:
Joe never suggested the Bucs should draft a running back with a high pick. In fact, a team should never do that. There are countless good if not All Pro running backs who were not drafted in the first three rounds.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Do you know what depth means? It means that if the #1 guy goes down, you don’t lose anything by putting in the #2 guy. If Carnell gets hurt today, Ward becomes the starter and gets spelled by Graham. Do you know how many teams would love that kind of depth? …to have their number 1 guy go down and have a 29 year old proven 1,000 yard rusher to step in? And then if that guy goes down the third guy is a 31 year old proven 7 ypc guy to step in.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
RB Ben Tate – Auburn would be a great pick up
March 20th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
@ian
I don’t think any of the playoff teams would trade their backs for ours.
A mediocre back, backed up by another one, is not good depth.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I know we haven’t seen a lot of him yet but I like the rookie RB we picked up last year Kareem Huggins. I think he would be a good change of pace/third down back. You put him in the mix and we do have depth whether its old or fragile or not. In order to add more we would probably need to let someone go from that group because there won’t be enough carries to go around in the preseason if you add another guy so somebody won’t get any looks anyway.
If we do go for a running back in the later rounds I actually wouldn’t be mad about having Blount on the team. Yeah he wilded out in the first game last year but as far as I know that wasn’t really something he did on a regular basis and he is the kind of physical back we are supposedly looking for to be a work horse in this offense. Other running backs that might be available later would be the Scott kid from LSU who is a horse but broke his collar bone, and or maybe even Javarious James (Edgerrin’s cousin) out of Miami.
March 20th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Steve:
Joe knows Doug Williams loves Huggins.
March 20th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
I’d like to see Earnest Graham, Ben Tate, and Kareem Huggins as our running backs next year. Ward is a 30 year old average back and as much as I love Caddie, this is a buisness. If we have the room and cap, keep him as depth, but I’m tired of watching Caddie try to be our starting RB. Peanut is a nice kid but he sucks. He’s a decent return man, but that’s all he can do.
March 20th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
If we can land Blount in the 5th or 6th, then move Grahm to FB full time and have Tate, Blount, Huggins as are RBs.
March 20th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I’d like to see Huggins catching passes in the flat out of the back field and even quick slants from the slot. When you have a shifty guy with 4.2 speed….you figure out a way to use him. He could be a Welker type guy for Freeman which would help him tremendously. A little shifty guy that can take the dump off pass and make it into a 10-20 yard gain is worth his weight in gold.
March 20th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
JDouble:
4.2 Speed?? Do we really believe this kid can run with Chris Johnson or Deion in his prime??
March 20th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
“Joe knows Doug Williams loves Huggins.” IIRC, Doug loved a corner who only lasted about two weeks a couple years ago also.
I think a mid-round draft pick on a HB is in order.Though, I must admit,I have been having fantasies about Jahvid Best recently….
March 20th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Graham was an awesome special teams player. A big bruiser back like Blount should be a decent special teams guy too. AT 6-1, 240# he is closer to LB size. 4.70 – 40 not bad either. The Bucs need another fullback. Unfortunately for Askew, he gets hurt as soon as the season starts. RB’s sustain a lot of injuries and the Bucs need a guy like this.
March 20th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
BTW, Windows 7 was my idea……
March 20th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Is EG’s age (30) even relevant. Its not like he has carried the ball 30 times a game for 9 years. I wish they would have put our RBs in better situations last year. EG has been a stud, and has proven so in his limited opportunities. Im on the huggins bandwagon, can’t wait to see more.
March 21st, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Actually, the Bucs do have depth. To assume Cadillac will hurt his knee again just because he has in the past is foolish. Where is your medical degree from? Graham may be 30, but he has as many carries as a 25 year-old. And Ward, well he has about the same amount of carries as Graham. Age shouldn’t be a factor with those guys. Our OL and OC are what slowed them down last year, not age or lack of ability. I’m not saying we have a bunch of Pro-Bowlers back there, but we do indeed have great depth.