Are The Bucs Deep At Running Back?
May 8th, 2010
OK, if everything works out, the Bucs have their quarterback (Josh Freeman) and he has his toys to throw to (Kellen Winslow, Arrelious Benn, Mike Williams, Sammie Stroughter) behind an average to above average offensive line.
But what about the running backs? Raheem the Dream seems to be OK with his stable of running backs, per the Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times.
“There’s always an opportunity at running back because you get the ball so much and you get to show so many things,’’ Morris said. “You get to show your ability to catch the ball a little bit during seven-on-seven. This time of year, you don’t get to see them in pads, which is always kind of a downfall. It’s always kind of a guess.
“Last year, we addressed it with Kareem Huggins. We got him in here and he was in the hopper all year for us and really played well.’’
But the Bucs did not really address the position after the draft, either. They signed Clemson fullback Redrick Taylor after a tryout in rookie minicamp.
Joe wrote this week about Earnest Graham, who Joe loves. Sure, Graham may not have the worn tread on his tires like some running backs, but he is 30, which is an old man in NFL running back age.
Cadillac Williams, a clear fan favorite and someone Joe admires, is playing on two surgically repaired knees. Every time he runs the ball around the right tackle Joe holds his breath.
Derrick Ward is still very much a question mark after a big free agent signing. Joe knows for a fact that a Bucs official in the highest reaches of One Buc Palace was not happy that Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson didn’t use Ward as much as some front office types wanted him to touch the ball.
Clifton Smith, let’s be honest, is a return man. He puts the ball on the ground way too much to deserve many carries, which is why Chucky didn’t like him at running back.
Now Joe’s not saying the Bucs running backs stink. What Joe is saying is that he isn’t overly confident the Bucs have a deep, solid running attack.
May 8th, 2010 at 9:57 am
That makes 2 of us Joe!
May 8th, 2010 at 10:09 am
IMO, Earnest is the best of the three, if you commit to giving him a lot of carries like in 07. He gets a lot better as the game goes on. When he was hurt in 08 that really hurt that team.
The problem is that Graham, Caddy, Ward are so similar in running style replacing one during a game doesn’t really change things up. They all have a bruising style and lack break away speed.
So, time for team mvp Huggins to get off the practice field and into the game, if he is as good as the Dream proclaims.
May 8th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Ah, reminds me of the glory days of last years preseason when all anyone could talk about was our depth at RB with this very same crop….
May 8th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Didn’t Ahman Green and Tiki Barber fumble a lot in the beginning of their careers?
May 8th, 2010 at 10:17 am
First off, it won’t really matter how deep the run game is unless we are tied or leading in a game this year. That was evidenced last year when we were forced to play catch up all year and the run game was non-existent. Now, assuming we will be more competitive this year and have the opportunity to run, the three main backs we have are basically the same. Only difference when you plug one in is a fresh set of legs. That’s not a bad thing. Our run game is mediocre at best, but if the O-line lives up to expectations this year could be slightly above mediocre and just enough to run the clock late in games. I’m okay with it for this year, as other positions needed to be addressed first.
May 8th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Another component of the running game is related to the rookie wideouts. I imagine the opponents are going to stack the box to shut down the run, with a lot of blitzing, to see if Freeman and the rooks can handle it.
West coast offense, passing game opens up the running game. Benn and Williams had best be damn quick learners.
From whom I have no idea.
May 8th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Eric:
The second paragraph of your first comment nailed it.
May 8th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Derrick Ward was setup to fail last year…
May 8th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Deep maybe, but perhaps not explosive.
May 8th, 2010 at 11:39 am
@ Eric
I agree with that completely. For this team, the pass game will have to open up the run game. Fortunately, from what I’ve been hearing, that’s where Benn excels, in the short quick routes and run after catch. If that’s true, we could actually be in a good spot this year. Both Williams and Benn seem to be “go up and get the ball” kinda guys, which will also help on those short routes. K2 will also be a huge key in this equation as well.
May 8th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
All you EXPERTS talk about this and that – West Coast offense, yadda yadda yadda.
What you’re missing is this: Look who’s calling the offensive plays!
How many slant routes did the Bucs run last year? How many screens did they run?
The team doesn’t have an identity. Are they going to be a run first team? A pass first team? A dink and dunk team? A down the field team? a smash-mouth football team?
May 8th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Who’s going to play at the guard position now that Sears ISN’T coming back? Are you confident that Zuttah is going to kick ass this year? Penn inked a 1-year deal. is he going to play up to snuff?
May 8th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
So Joe’s worried about “ancient” Graham at 30 y.o. but what about Thomas Jones? Was Joe happy that the Bucs let Thomas go at the end of 04? I mean by Joe’s standards it didn’t make sense to keep him with such as “stacked” backfield.
I guess it was dumb of KC to sign Thomas Jones right?
Come on Joe ….
May 8th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
JOE,
Please don’t bring up the age thing with Earnest Graham. The guy can still play. Period! Remember in 2007 when he burst onto the scene for us and rushed for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns after Cadillac got that knee injury?? And that wasn’t even in 16 total games!! The guy had a great season. In 08, he was continuing to do great also, but he had an ankle injury and his season ended. And believe me, that’s one of the reasons we missed the playoffs.
That’s also the only significant injury I can remember him having in his whole NFL career. So because of that one injury, we have to dismiss him already and say he’s a question mark??!!
Joe, this is the NFL. Everybody gets hurt. These guys are men, they can handle it! And please stop with this ” 30 is the magic number” thing. Yeah, Earnest Graham has been with the team for 7 years. But you have to remember that the guy didn’t even really play until 2007. That was the first time he really stepped onto the field for running the ball. Up until that, he was mainly a special teams guy. So as a back, he doesn’t really have the mileage on him that a typical worn-out running back would at 30. He’s only had two seasons of running back under his belt. So he’s actually younger than 30 in a way.
May 8th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Joe here,
Mr. Lucky – Now we’re going to compare Earnest Graham with a guy (Jones) who has put up near Hall of Fame numbers? Please. Nobody’s saying Graham’s washed up. But he’s a 30-year-old back who’s been banged up for the past three seasons. …Crap, he just told Joe (see the interview) that he’s making sure his toe is healed from last year, the same season he also had some hamstring issues. ….Earnest would be the first to tell you to give the ball and he’ll get it done (and Joe wouldn’t be stunned if he got it done); But Graham would also tell you his body’s not 27 anymore. …
May 8th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
If they utilize Caddy & Graham correctly, it could be a great 1-2 punch. The problem is they have not shown that they know how to use a two back rotation going back to Gruden. The other problem is they seem determined to have a 3 back rotation which is even harder, if not a 3 back rotation, then Graham will be the odd man left out.
Personally, I think they need to run it 30+ times a game. Caddy 18+ and Graham 12+.
I don’t see them dong this though. I see them going with Caddy for a couple series, then Ward for 2, then MAYBE Graham for 1. After doing that a bunch in the first half they will probably settle in and use whoever has the hot hand more in the second half.
I do not like that way of doing it because usually the hot hand is doing well because of the mixture.
Oh well, we’ll see what they do. They seem hell bent on passing more. It is succesful in todays NFL for some teams, but with a young defense, running – passing about 50-50 or even more towards the run would benefit everyone: defense, O-Line, QB, young WRs, etc..
May 8th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Thank Goodness the limited fa funds we had allocated in 08-09 were used on Clayton and Ward! How much production did the team get from that $?
Very little! More proof as to why many distrust this leadership for turning this thing around.
May 8th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I am a big fan of EG, but let’s not get carried away.
May 8th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Joe my point is
1. why did the Bucs let Jones get away in the first place?
2. Jones had HOF years when he was 30+ years and has had a LOT more mileage on him than Graham
3. All Joe1 & Joe2 has been crying for in the offseason has been WR – now that the Bucs have 2 studs in the barn it’s time to decry the RB situation?
What is it Joe, throwing or running? A rookie QB can’t be expected to do both?
Want some cheese with that whine?
May 8th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Joe. I have seen some articles that say Olson is from Gruden’s school of WCO, some other articles that say Olson is from Linehan’s school of vertical passing attack. Which one is it?
May 8th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
EG and Huggins!
May 8th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Patrick:
Joe, this is the NFL. Everybody gets hurt. These guys are men, they can handle it! And please stop with this ” 30 is the magic number” thing. Yeah, Earnest Graham has been with the team for 7 years. But you have to remember that the guy didn’t even really play until 2007.
As Joe pointed out in the post, Graham doesn’t have much tread on the tires. But Joe is also not much of a gambler. For every decent running back that is 30 or older, there are dozens that are/were over the hill by 30.
Father Time ignores few. It’s an ugly truth.
May 8th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Mr. Lucky:
Joe has pointed this out many times prior before the draft. Joe’s not “decrying” either, it’s a valid concern.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Mr. Lucky — when was Thomas Jones last with the Bucs? Did Dom let him go or was that a prior regime? Maybe it’s time to move on?
May 8th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Lets put it this way, would any of our opponents in the NFC South trade their backs for ours?
I’m thinking no. So, how can running back be a big strength?
I can’t really blame Dom for Ward, as they probably never expected Mr. Caddy to come back like he did.
If MVP Huggins can catch out of the backfield, that would be refreshing. Haven’t had a guy good at that in awhile.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Seems to me that their strategy was to plug the biggest holes first. Is RB a position of strength? Probably not. But, there were bigger needs. Patience.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Jimbuc,
Are you a buddhist monk?
May 8th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
buddhist monks admire his patience!
May 8th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
The Pass can set up the run. When a team can’t pass, it can’t run because opposing defenses simply stack the box. This, combined with no effective blocking from our tight ends, make running difficult. Once Josh and our receivers establish they are a threat, our running game will get much better automatically. A healthy Cadilliac Williams can take over a game, and so can Earnest Graham. The big Clemson Fullback may help in short yardage situations, and has soft hands as well. Imagine a 275 lb manbeast with soft hands isolated on a defensive back as a short yardage option ? I am excited about this years team. My son and I just bought seasons tickets today from Stub Hub. Scared of counterfeit tickets on Craigslist! Got section 119 BB. Cost over 2 grand, but will be worth it, win OR lose. These guys play hard for Raheem, we just lacked enough talent last year. Dominick has re stocked us through the draft, and I think Tampa is going to shock some people.
May 8th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Jimbuc,
“Mr. Lucky — when was Thomas Jones last with the Bucs? Did Dom let him go or was that a prior regime? Maybe it’s time to move on?”
Thank you. How far in the past are we going to go for reasons to bitch.
Let me see…myabe we should talk about how we wouldn’t have to rely on Freeman had we not let Hall of Famer Steve Young get away.
May 8th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Play Caddie and Huggins. That would be a solid 1 2 punch. Hugs has to get playing time this year. He is our quickest back and hopefully they find a way to play him. I’ve already given my opinion on EG. Ward needs more carries as well.
Eric said it correct when he said 3 backs are the same. Make Caddie the starter and give Huggins the 3rd down role. Any set we run that has Huggins, Benn, M. Williams, Winslow, Stroughter/Brown in it is going to cause defenses hell. I can’t wait for the season to start. OMG I’m excited about our team. Even if we lose, they will be learning and hopefully producing as well.
May 8th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
I would hate to stop the lovefest here, but who said “the Bucs have a deep, solid running attack.”????????????
May 8th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
I am convinced now that Rah Rah is delusional. He states they had Kareen Huggins in the hopper all year and he did well for the team but Huggins was on IR after the preseason I believe. This guy is just plain nuts.
May 8th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
My point about running backs, using Jones as an EXAMPLE, is that the Bucs have never been a running first team. Even with WD40.
Joe claimed Graham is “over the hill” but age isn’t really all there is to the equation – look at Farve.
Also look at what Jones did in Tampa – just average, then he moves on and BAM
Same could happen to Ward but he never got a chance. When you’re down by 2TD’s in the 1st quarter the running game goes out the window. However if you’re trying to rebuild you just run your game play and don’t try and play catch-up. This year’s team would have been much better THIS year if last year’s team had stuck to basics.
Also complaining about Caddy’s knees???? Was he injured? yes! but he played at the same level so….
May 8th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Yea I was thinking the same thing. Kareem Huggins never got to play a single down last year. He needs to play this year because of his speed and shiftiness that we desperately need!!!
That was funny though. Ra makes some damn interesting statements!! Thats for sure!!!
May 8th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Well gang it’s been fun BUT
with no real Bucs news until August it’s time to go….so…
Mr. Lucky out!
May 9th, 2010 at 2:30 am
Funkey Monkey, I am not real up on the Huggins guy, what is the deal on him ? Someone told me the only reason he was here is he went to the same college as Raheem ? He did not look outstanding the few times I saw him play last year. Is he a speed back, power back, what ?