Greg Olson: No One On Roster Better Than Caddy
October 19th, 2010
One of the coolest sports media people in the Tampa Bay area who sadly happens to work for the most Satanic of media syndicates that is openly hostile to football fans, Victoria Lim of Out House Networks, has penned an interesting story on the Bucs rushing woes.
In short, she writes, per Bucs offensive coordinator Greg Olson, that Cadillac Williams and his 2.5 yards per carry average has not been benched because no one on the roster is better than him.
Olson defended not using Blount and Lumpkin more, sooner.
“We wanted someone to prove they’re better than Cadillac and we haven’t seen it,” Olson said.
In short, Olson notes, per Lim, is that there are many responsibilities that a running back has other than, you know, running the ball.
Now for background, remember that Olson is a Chucky guy, one of the few holdovers from the Chucky era. To this day fans pound their empty beer mugs on the bar in frustration Chucky got rid of Thomas Jones, a running back who still produces yards.
The main reason why Chucky unloaded Jones was that he couldn’t pick up blitzes in order to keep heat off of quarterbacks.
Always remember and never forget that Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman is the franchise. If he goes down, well, Joe doesn’t have to explain how dire things will become.
Right now the absolute No. 1 goal of the Bucs offense is to keep Freeman’s jersey clean. Cadillac can pick up blitzes.
Joe is sure you can complete the rest of this mathematical equation.
Also, in closing, real football fans do not have to be held hostage by Out House Networks. Until they reward the thousands (millions?) of hard-working, honest football fans in the area with the NFL Network, there are other options available for your television viewing pleasure. Let your voice — and wallet — be heard!
As we all know and as Joe has written often, real men have the NFL Network.
October 19th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Seems like Rah and Olsen are more worried about getting grass on our 6’6 260lb qb’s jersey than establishing a running game.
October 19th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
After watching what Blount did against the Steelers to include literally running over and dragging Troy Poly (sp) Greg and Raheem are morons to think that Caddy with two blown knees and sub 2.something YPC is better than what Blount did.
Even Earnest Graham is better than Caddy, and continues to prove it.
Joel Glazer, you need to fix this sh!t with your coaching staff. This interim solution has ran it’s course!
October 19th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
If Olsen believe’s that..then we obvioulsy have a Offensive line problem ?
October 19th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Greg Olson is an idiot
October 19th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Buc You, the new offensive coordinator, thinks the Bucs pitiful running game can be solved by what: sending out Blount so that . . . wait for it . . . everyone knows we are running. Genius!
Caddy is not the best runner on the team, but RBs don’t just run and that includes on first down.
October 19th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I’d like to ask Greg Olson to refrain from speaking to the press during the week. We need the week to get over his bone headed moves on Sunday.
October 19th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Buc You,
Why do you only look at the Steelers game? Against Cincy, Blount carried 4 times for 3 yards. That’s less than 1 yard per carry. So, he’s inconsistent at best, which shows his youth. Now, if he’s inconsistent running the ball, and he’s not good at picking up the blitz or in protection packages, the coaches are probably correct that Caddy is still the best option. When they can put Graham in at FB, that gives the team two guys that can stay in or either can go out in a route and catch a pass. Also, either can run the ball that way. Not saying it’s going to be a better run game, but it’s a better package at this point.
Now, Blount has been with the team about 6 weeks. That should equate to a full preseason of work plus some training camp (although the workouts are not as intense as training camp, so the information and skill are slower to develop during the season). If that’s the case, he should be close to getting in on a much more consistent basis, and being a much more consistent back.
October 19th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Unless Blount is a fumbler, he is better than Caddy. Graham is better than Caddy already, period.
The Bengals game he didn’t even get a chance. 4 carries? Seriously? One of those carries the line completely got blown up and he tried to make something out of a loss and actually gained more than he should have lost. He showed he can bounce around back there as well.
Graham is consistently running better than Caddy.
Huggins had a really nice pre-season average and looked explosive.
Blount was hammering the Steelers.
All while Carnel can’t seem to get past the line of scrimmage.
Anybody is better than Caddy at the moment.
Freeman is doing an amazing job despite the lack of running game. I am amazed.
I do like Olsen’s passing attack, but his running attack is terrible if non-existant.
October 19th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
And Raheem is the head coach. Raheem is just as much at fault.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Olson better get his ship in shape and FAST
October 19th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Buc you has some great points. I hope Blount can learn to pick up those blitzers, I would hate to see another Thomas Jones like thing happen, remember how Charlie Garner did for us!? Anyway, I would like to see them put Williams and Blount on the field in a split back look. Give that a shot or two and see what happens.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Get your head out of your ass Olsen. These kind of comments aren’t helping. It’s an insult to Graham and Blount.
I’m so tired of hearing about the pass protection being such a big deal. First off Caddie is NOT a great pass protector. Secondaly, rookie RBs start immediatly every year. Last but not least, when you have a RB the size of a LB standing next to the QB, how hard is it to tell him to hit the first guy that gets thru the line? It’s not rocket science.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Actually, Graham is no more consistent than any other back.
Game 1 – Cleveland: 6-10 yards (under 2ypc)
Game 2 – Carolina: 3-1 yard (0.3 ypc)
Game 3 – Pittsburgh: 2-13 yards (now that’s better)
Game 4 – Cincinnati: 3-65 yards (not bad at all, but one run of 61 yards, means the other 2 for 4 yards or 2.0 ypc)
Game 5 – Saints: No carries – injured
So, Graham has had 1 great carry, another decent ypc agains the Steelers. Other than that, I’m not seeing where he’s doing SO much better than anyone else.
If you really look at it, Graham has had a couple successful runs, but other than that is getting NOTHING. Blount had a couple nice runs against the Steelers, but did NOTHING against Cincy. Caddy is doing NOTHING. Get the idea yet? Nothing is working for the run game. Are ALL these backs that bad? Or is maybe the O-line a big part of the problem? Maybe even the play-calling on run plays is at fault some. But to say it’s the RBs alone is not seeing the whole picture.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Its tough to run when, play-after-play, there are 8-9 defenders down in the box. Just saying…
October 19th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
JDouble,
Not rocket science, but not so simple either. The RB needs to know the OL blocking and pickups on that particular play. He must also know where the blitz is coming from. If he gets caught up inside looking for the MLB, and the LT chips the DE but moves inside to take on the blitzer (typical for the OL to keep inside protection as it takes longer to get to the QB around the outside), the RB is responsible to help on the DE that was chipped. If he’s inside and trapped by the LT, it’s a free shot. They have to know the play, see the blitz, know the assignment. There are times that their assignment is inside, but if they move out to the DE, thinking the LT will move in, Freeman gets creamed. Don’t think it’s so easy to blitz pickup from the RB spot.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
JDouble +1
I’ve been saying this for some time now about protection calls. Freeman is doing an excellent job at calling out the protections. The RB just has to listen for his queue on where\whom to block….and yes, it IS almost that simple. Freeman is 6′ 6″ 250lbs, I don’t want to hear this “protect #5” crap anymore. He’s mobile and I don’t EVER remember somebody getting a clean shot at him where he gets his ass handed to him. Line the F@CK up and run with an attitude.
More importantly, get a G@D D#MN DE that can pass rush and watch how the DL improves.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
I find it quite interesting that the people who claim “you don’t know what the heck you are talking about” are the SAME people who think this team is promising. We are dead f—-g last in the NFL on run defense, 5.2 yards per carry. We are a terrible running team. We are tied for 2nd in giving up 40+ yard pass plays in the league (just like last year where we had a bomb or 2 a game).
This team is not promising as a whole. We have a few bright spots as far as player talent goes, but most of that is attributed to:
1) Every NFL team has a few bright spots for players
2) Home team bias creates admiration for our lineup, even though the majority of the other 31 teams maybe/are better. Which means, we aren’t even competitive despite having homer love for our own team in a vacuum.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
When Olson speaks it makes me think he would be better served as Greg Molson.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Simply put, no team fears M. Williams/Benn/K2/Stroughter. They’ll stack 8 in the box to stop the run and if it’s a pass, they’ll blitz. They’re more afraid of Freeman having time than the WRs getting open quickly. It’s a sound philosophy that teams will continue to use until they’re beaten consistently. Spreading the field could work, as can screens and draw plays.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
What baffles me is the support for Raheem despite being a complete dumbace.
I mean Steve White just in his blogs makes ONE THOUSAND times more sense than all of Raheem’s PCs combined. Not ONCE did Steve say, “And they should go out and be their best selves!” (Frankly Steve should be somewhere either coaching or advising or on a national media network.)
Yet we get some freakin goof ball for a head coach who can’t even complete a got damn sentence. Raheem was just in the right place at the right time when he was hired. PERIOD.
He is an interim solution AT BEST. The rest of his coaching staff is just as bad.
I find it hard to believe that this is one of the best 32 head coaches the Glazers could have come up with. And being #32 is still not good enough for the 4th richest owners in the NFL.
If the Glazers don’t care, then why should you?
October 19th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
The problem is not cadillac. If he played for the saints sunday, he could have had 180 yards and Ivory would have had about 20 yards if he played for us. We can’t run because the line can’t make any holes, Josh isn’t handling the blitz yet so they crowd the line and our scheme is poor. I can see Josh working his part out but I have little faith in anything else changing.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
B-You, Steve likes Raheem and thinks he is a good coach, just doesn’t agree with all his decisions. I think most of us here feel the pain of not having Steve White on the Bucs’ coaching staff, especially when we have days like Sunday. Raheem says they will come back and fight, but you need to diversify your playbook. The Bucs are very predictable on defense right now….and we miss Tenard.
October 19th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
No vacuum here, Buc You. Don’t live in the Tampa area. I have to live on the national media (no Bucs coverage), and the internet. Most of the news I get is on the AFC West and the Denver Broncos. I watch every game every week on DirecTV, I record and watch again. When I say Davin Joseph got pushed 3 to 4 yards deep in our own backfield on sweep plays against Cincy (one where Caddy ran, one was a Blount run), it’s because I watched the game. I want the team to win, and don’t really care if it’s Caddy, Graham or Blount getting us there.
The thing about finding problems is knowing the variables. Mathematically, if someone said 5+X=Y, you have a problem with no solution. Until you can get more information it’s impossible to solve. So, let’s get more information. Is it the blocking? The RB? The playcall? All of the above? When we plug the information in, we can solve the problem. We all know 5+2=Y, Y=7. We need all the variables, all the information. You don’t just start throwing random things out there, hoping to find the answer. Every problem has a solution, you just need all the information to figure it out.
That said, we (as fans) will never have ALL the information we need. The coaches MAY have that information, unless it’s the coach that’s part of the problem. Sometimes an outside influence can glean information that those closest to the problem can’t. I think that’s why we all find Steve White’s breakdowns so valuable. But if we just keep throwing different RBs at the problem and still only have 2 YPC, is it still the RBs? or did we just waste all that time figuring out it’s the line or play calls?
October 19th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
BigMac I am talking about something much bigger than a pretty good defensive backs coach.
I am talking about being a head coach in the national football league. And I bet there are many great NFL minds that wouldn’t even rank Raheem in the top 32 available people to coach an NFL football team.
And if he isn’t in the top 32, then not only should the question be of why is he a head coach, but why would the 4th richest NFL owners in the league settle for a 32 or below type head coach? And if they are going to, then why even waste our time.
October 19th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
JDouble -1
If you have any means to watch the game again, do it. Caddy is a very good blocker.
October 19th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
OK, Buc you had a couple of good points at the top of the post, now I am wondering if he is rahDom with a new name and a dictionary. This team is promising, but so is every NFL team. They have a winning record, and there is plenty of time left in the season. The Saints will continue to beat teams, some ugly wins and some wins like in tampa…they will also lose a couple more. The Bucs will win a few and klose a few and we will see what we have next year. Buc You, people are willing to give Raheem the time it takes to build a team. People said the same thing about a bunch of coaches that turned out good, but we have all been down that raod before. If the ranking matered more than win/loss column Dallas would be headed for the Super Bowl. Relax and see what happens.
October 19th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
“If the Glazers don’t care, then why should you?” OK, please go away then.
October 19th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
“people are willing to give Raheem the time it takes to build a team.”
If you say so. Well, ok, I am a believer now.
October 19th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Im not sure what the real reason the Bucs keep Caddy as the starter is. However, the implication by Olsonn that Caddy is the best pass blocker of backs makes no sense at all. Is Greg Olson seriously saying that Caddy is better at pass protection than his starting fullback Earnest Graham???
October 19th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
BamBamBuc a running back needs more than 3 or 4 damn carries to prove their worth. All I would like is to give Blount a chance and for some reason Olson just does not want to do that. Remember he came from under Gruden and although I liked Gruden his one shortcoming was not to trust rookies unless absolutely necessary. Well we are REBUILDING and to give Blount the rock for one game or even one half would not hurt this youth movement. I am beginning to think Olson is more concerned about pass protection than running the ball just like Raheem. Anyone remember us not giving Thomas Jones much of a chance and sticking with Pittman???? Please get Blount in there he can’t do worse than Caddy right now!!!!
October 19th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Nick2…I agree give him the ball, and let him learn to pass protect. he has been here long enough at this point.
October 19th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
BamBamBuc I want to agree with you on one thing. I watched the Saints game on TV and I saw Davin Joseph getting manhandled too. It was unbelievable to me considering the guy is a beast. Maybe he has lost his edge or desire but if you look at the guy that should NEVER HAPPEN!
October 19th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Nick2, Pittman had 187 carries and Jones had 137 carries. You make it sound like we gave Pittman all the runs and hardly gave it to Jones. I think Pittman could catch and block better. Don’t forget Thomas Jones had kick return duties that year too.
October 19th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
The most popular guy on a team is always the backup. I remember a guy names Rick Berns from Nebraska that everybody was all high on from back in the day. Truth is Blount was released by the Titans who are not known to make stupid personnel decisions. And now, after being here for awhile, the bucs are not seeing enough to play the guy much.
Why is everyone so high on the guy? Some runs in college? The NFL is chuck full of dudes who ran great in college.
If the guy was lighting it up in practice why wouldn’t rah play him? He has to hate the sorry ass running game as bad as the rest of us.
October 19th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I saw that as well, Nick2. Ayodele was throwing Joseph around, pushing him 3 yards deep. It happened on several occasions. Really killed any chance of running the ball, especially since the runs were to that side. I could go back and watch each game so far this year, but from what I’ve seen, the only one not getting beat fairly consistently is Vincent, in pass or run. Penn has been beat in pass many times, and sometimes never lays a finger on anyone as if wondering “who am I supposed to block?”. Trueblood looks like he’s pass blocking on run plays, trying to carry the DE or LB 7 yards deep behind the QB. Joseph we’ve talked about. Faine has struggled, but not as bad as the other 3. Zuttah actually looks pretty comfortable at C.
October 19th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Agreed, eric. When things aren’t going well, the backup always looks better. But there’s a reason he’s a backup. I couldn’t care less what any of these guys did in college, this is the NFL. Give him a shot? Sure, why not? But I don’t think the results will be what people think they will. Of course, I’m still of the belief that the O-line and run calls are to blame as much or more than the backs.
October 19th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Nick2, you’re just looking at run stats. If he ran 3 or 4 times, and only gained 3 or 4 yards, AND he missed a blocking assignment once or twice, or ran the wrong route (let’s say a curl instead of an angle or flat)… you can see how the coaching staff may be saying he’s only gonna get that many carries because of mistakes made on plays he didn’t touch the ball as well.
October 19th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Who is this DE Magee kid they just traded for from KC? Anybody know about him. It said we swapped conditional picks for him and he was a 2009 3’rd rounder.
October 19th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Exactly the points Joe made on Blount in the recent past.
October 19th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Alex Magee, Purdue, 6-3 298lbs. DE, can play tackle. Better for a 4-3 and Chiefs 3-4 not suited for him. Can play either LE or RE.
October 19th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Eric you point is exactly right, top shelf!
I would also like to mention, WE ARE REBUILDING!!! The Saints and Steelers are much much better and the beat us, shocker. All of the Raheem hate is just played out the dude shut all of you up for a couple weeks, now the second we lose, here come the same band of nitwits calling for his head, yawn. Look, Rome wasnt built overnight. Dammit we havent won a f’n playoff game since we won the SuperBowl and now everyone is so quick to fire the new coach after not even a season and a half, gimme a break. Tampa Fans (and yes im one of them) SUCK
October 19th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Jesse J,
Yeah we are rebuilding. The question is are we effectively rebuilding.
Id say the next eleven games are important in that evaluation.
As far as no playoff wins, wouldn’t it be the case that Rah would have to win one before it can be said the rebuilding is a success?
Also i note the classic “since we won the SUPER BOWL” like that was nothing.
October 19th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
When you look at how much Cadillac has struggled so far this year, I can’t believe that Graham is not even being considered! You know? Just two years ago he brought some excitement to our backfield.
October 19th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Greg Olsen is sure picking a FINE time to be stubborn.
October 19th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Eric, Cmon there is no questioning that we are not putting some great young talent in place. It wasn’t too long ago when I was reading your comments about what we’ll learn about our bucs when we face young browns and panthers team. My point is simple, did we really chalk up a W in both the steelers and saints game, really. Let’s finish the season before lynching the guy.
Classic note gru a 500 coach and we haven’t seen a playoff win in some time. I know, I know I read your previous responses, competing and winning div titles every yr, Eric, every team in our division has competed and won a division title since 02. Let’s try the building through the draft thing and give at least until next year before judging success.
October 19th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
I usually defend Caddy, but there’s no question that he’s struggled a lot during the last several weeks. Why?? Don’t know. Not sure if it’s him, the o-line, or both. But something has to be done.
No one on the roster is better than Caddy? Maybe so, if it’s just between Caddy, Blount, and Lumpkins. But Earnest Graham is far better than Caddy, however he’s in the fullback category now.
It really blows that Huggins is on IR now. We still don’t even know what we have in him, so now we have wait another year to see. Should they just wait and depend on him or move on and snatch a running back high in the draft next year?
Lumpkins-likely not the answer
Blount-likely not the answer either
Caddy-not giving up on him yet, but things haven’t been looking good for him. maybe he can still be a decent #2.
Graham-good running back, but sadly he’s stuck at fullback.
October 19th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
The most surprising thing to me is that so many folks are surprised our D-line is struggling right now, when we have have two rookie DTs, a 2nd year DT, and a bunch of young no name inexperienced DEs. What exactly were people expecting?
October 19th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
JDouble:
That’s the main reason why Joe has never criticized GMC or Brian Price. Expecting rookie defensive tackles to shine is unreasonable and unfair.
October 19th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
People relax already, Bucs are rebuilding and still a few years away, enjoy the wins and take the losses with a grain of salt. The only bone headed move this team has made is keeping Ruud around other than that they are a DE and MLB away from a decent defense.
October 19th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Just thought I’d mention that Kregg Lumpkin is listed as 2nd string RB and Blount is listed as 3rd string. Don’t know if that will actually hold up on game day. But if so with Huggins and Graham hurt then it looks like we are about to see our first taste of Kregg Lumpkin. Here’s hopin he’s got some mojo.