Raheem The “Stickler”
November 23rd, 2011
The A-Train weighed in on the Bucs, including concern for LeGarrette Blount's genitalia.
Joe loves to hear and share various takes on the state of the Bucs from former Buccaneers, especially guys connected to the red-and-pewter era.
Yesterday was Bucs icon Mike Alstott’s turn to weigh in during an interview with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, on WDAE-AM 620.
Alstott was adamant that the young Bucs individually are simply making mistakes that young players have to make on their own to experience and correct. Coaching, Alstott said, is not an issue. He called Raheem Morris “a stickler” to detail from everything he knew of Raheem when Alstott was a player and Raheem was an assistant coach.
Alstott said that while limiting padded practices under the new labor agreement will extend careers, overall he’s no fan of how their loss affects a team.
The A-Train said Father Dungy consistently used the carrot of skipping padded practices as a reward for peak performance in a game. Alstott said that was a great, effective teamwide motivator but Raheem doesn’t have that luxury, or the benefit of the practices themselves.
On LeGarrette Blount, Alstott expressed some concern for Blount’s genitalia when he hurdles defenders. Alstott would prefer Blount run over the players that take him on low. (Joe was glad to hear the groin take, since Joe has been harping on this since Blount started flying. The potential helmet to, um, helmet contact is a level of bravery no man should risk.)
But Alstott was very upbeat on Blount, praising his technique against the Packers — “getting skinny in the hole” — and called it arguably the best game of Blount’s career.
November 23rd, 2011 at 10:18 am
Alstott needs to show up at a practice and show lagarette how its done…lower that shoulder and run em over…the hurdle is his trademark but defenders are keying in on such gestures…its getting to the point kellen winslow is trying to mimic blount instead of rocking his own trademark with is…act like a lil b@#$% when he gets any contact I think he forgets he’s playing football lol
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:02 am
I laughed and cried at the same time, Sunday, watching Winslow trying to hurdle a fully upright Packer at the end of the game. What the…?
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:06 am
Ah the days of the A-trian. Back when we werent mired in self inflicted ineptitude.
Wonder how the “stickler” has managed to preside over the 31st ranked defense? Something aint sticking.
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:19 am
lol at eric….a-train went through the same growing pains and a-train made a bunch of mistakes as well.the team will get there and Rah is the right coach…
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:24 am
To compare Coach Dungy’s masterfull turnaround of a franchise that had been in a 15 year playoff drought to the current coaching staff and team is delusional and outrageous.
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:31 am
@ SkookumSmitty
The worst part was that the defender was still about 4-5 yds down the field so by the time he landed he was finally within hurdling distance of the defender. That may be the #1 “C’mon Man” of the season
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:39 am
I know I yelled c’Mon man watching kellen hurdle get trapped in mid air reaching for a first down that wasn’t anywhere near him. This team lacks critical game time situation awareness and when there in hurry up offense it seems like no one is in a hurry. There motivation controls there time of possession. This team is slowly turning me into a alcoholic this season lol especially winslow.
November 23rd, 2011 at 11:59 am
Faster than a speeding semi,
More powerful than a locomotive,
Able to leap linebackers in a single bound,
Look down on the field!
It’s a man!
It’s a runningback!
It’s Peterbilt Blount!
Faster than a speeding tri-cycle,
More powerful than a Yugo,
Not able to leap linebackers in a single bound,
Look down on the field!
It’s a man!
It’s a non-blocking Tight End!
It’s Private Win-slow!
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Helmet-to-helmet could be the line of the year. Good Job, Joe… Happy Thanksgiving.
November 23rd, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Please do us all a favor Joe – start banging the drum for Norv Turner. Bang it loud and bang it often. He will be available and you are our voice.
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Please do us a favor Joe – do not bang on Norville Turner’s drums.
Returning to the topic at hand, I wish Blount would just pound through defenders. An occasional hurdle attempt if the first down marker is nearby isn’t bad but I worry for this guy.
Winslow has been hurdling would be tacklers long before Blount. He just doesn’t bust huge runs after. His failed attempt was pretty good though.
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Sorry I meant his failed attempt was pretty funny
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:37 pm
espo:
Norv is a good quarterback coach, nothing more.
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:42 pm
One thing about Blount is he doesn’t look particularly strong for his size — his arms don’t look well-defined. I assume he could gain some strenght without sacrificing speed. That might make him more effective in short-yardage situations, and it might make him more inclined to run through open-field tacklers rather than try to jump over them.
Not meant as a knock, just that it’s fun to think that a guy who’s been so productive could have a clear avenue to improvement.
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Norv Turner…seriously? We don’t need another “offensive genius” in Tampa who can’t get his team over the hump. Been there, done that. No thanks.
November 23rd, 2011 at 1:56 pm
joke, his arms look like bulk muscle instead of ripped muscle, also, you do not use your arms to run. He tends to go over player that are getting ready to hit him low. It is hard to run thru a guy hitting you around and below the knees.
Why all the hate for K2, he had a good game on Sunday.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:01 pm
LOL THIS CAT ASKED FOR NORV TURNER!!! LHEWG;khgwkohwg24gjn[amw
That might be the most incredibly stupid thing I’ve ever read. Norv freaking Turner? People really hate Raheem so much they’re willing to ask for Norv Turner? WHY DO YOU THINK HE’S BEING FIRED FOR A REASON FATHOM. He’s a terrible head coach that can’t get an uber talented San Diego team deep into the playoffs and probably won’t make it this year. That’s a joke, so is he.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:20 pm
Dont laugh – norv is 45-28 in san diego and he has won 3 playoffs games there in 4.5 years. Rah rah is WAY behind that pace and remember what biasaccia said about why he left: bc of the opportunity to work with great coaches like Gruden and Turner. Whoops, who got left out?
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Let’s assume Raheem comes back next year for the sake of argument, but is on the hot seat. I think that is the most likely scenario. Let’s also say for the sake of argument that we’re hiring a new OC and DC.
So, in this scenario, why would any big name coordinator on either side of the ball come here when the head coach might be on the way out? The candidate pool for us would not include any successful big names. Young guys looking for their break, or older guys on their way out looking for a last shot would be available.
Does Norv fit the old guy last shot type? Not as an OC imo. Good teams would want him.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Wow, I never thought I hear something so moronic NOT come from thomass, but then again, he’s the first idiot to jump on getting Norv Turner! Thomass, go hump fathom’s leg, you two idiots deserve each other!
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Meh…Try money and the chance to advance to the HC position. Maybe a DC comes in, the D rises but they still do not win. Then the new DC takes over. I do not think this will happen, but it makes sense. I would like to see a DC brought in, but I do not think it will happen.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Meh:
Joe fully expects Morris to return but as Joe has written before, next year will be critical for him. Few NFL coaches survive four years without a playoff appearance. That’s just life in the NFL. Throw in the fact ticket sales are sluggish, that doesn’t help matters, and yes, Joe knows that is not under Raheem’s control at all, but at the end of the day, the NFL is a business.
Assuming the Bucs would want to add a defensive coordinator, just who is going to come in and uproot his family for one year? No NFL assistant, that’s for sure, but a college guy just might.
Here’s a name to throw out: Perhaps the most underrated defensive coordinator in college is very likely going to be unemployed through no fault of his own, Tom “Scrap” Bradley at Penn State. He runs a form of a Cover-2. Word is he has already reached out to Mike Tomlin and Lovie Smith looking for work, knowing that Penn State is going to clean house, and is tight with those two guys. What do those guys have in common with Rah? Well, both are former Bucs assistants well-versed in the Cover-2.
Do the math.
Not saying the Bucs will hire Scrap Bradley, but it’s a name to keep in mind if the Bucs are going to hire a defensive coordinator.
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:57 pm
don’t need another coach [yet] we just need a little patience
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Joe, That sounds about right. That would be a good fit, if anything happens…
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Joe, I haven’t thought about him specifically, but that is exactly the type of guy we could realistically nab for next year assuming Raheem stays. I was more responding to the Norv comments. I just can’t honestly see him coming here under Raheem.
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Man i wish we never loss Thomlin.. What a HC he has turned out to be. He was always my favorite asst. Coach!
Hell with all this Coaching talk. I got a couple neat little thoughts. What about asking Dungy to do what Holmgrem and Parcells as done in consulting for a team.
How has Lane Giffin done out in college? maybe him and Mr. Monte would come to Tampa..
Or maybe just maybe we can Cax D. Brooks, or Hardy Nickerson to come in and be a D coach… Just thoughts of people with links to what made this team what it was before Gruden tore it down.
Loosing Bissacia was a horrible loss. That dude could have been a great DC. He had a REAL connection with players, hell he was normally the guy in the pregame huddles shouting the mantra!
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:39 pm
BTW that’s just me living in a dream world scenario there ^^^^
November 23rd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
941:
Before we start cannonizing Mike Tomlin let’s remember he took over a loaded team one year removed from a Super Bowl win with one of the greatest defensive coordinators already on staff and a borderline Hall of Fame quarterback already on the roster and perhaps the best general manager in the NFL picking talent. Pretty hard to screw that up.
November 23rd, 2011 at 4:17 pm
When I said this was not a 10 win team and they are probably going to win just 7 games this year – I was called a moron (by some who predicted 13 wins lol).
Who is the moron now?
November 23rd, 2011 at 4:42 pm
^^^^^^^ No….one…….cares.
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:04 pm
-Norv Turner? Spare me.
-Some guy named “scrap” or ANYONE associated with Penn State football? Spare me again. I don’t care if he did nothing wrong, there is a black karma cloud around that whole situation, and that’s the last thing we need here.
-LANE KIFFEN!?!? Please, for the love of God!!
You people crack me up. Sure Rah hasn’t lived up to the success of last year, (9th in scoring defense) but you don’t go replacing your village idiot with some other village’s town goat.
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Seriously – look at Norv turners offenses while he has been OC anywhere. He is a bad head coach, but find me a single freaking year his offense wasn’t in the top ten. Then go try to recommend another OC with a better record – hint: you won’t find one! He will be the best OC available and his track record is 100x better than Greg Olsens.
Joe – run the stats before saying he is just a good an coach. His offenses have always been among the leagues best. This team needs experience at the OC and DC positions if they won’t have it at HC.
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Thomas,
Why do you take so much pleasure in our losing? Is your life so empty that being right is that important to you? You are loving this losing streak, it’s what you live for. Kind of sad, don’t you think?
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:34 pm
@ Hawaiian
Sorry man, I forgot the first rule of fight club–ignore thomass and his asinine comments!
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Fathom:
Joe didn’t know Greg Olson was a rank rookie as an NFL coach?
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Leighroy:
Put the bourbon down. There are few coaches more repected than Scrap Bradley.
God forbid you ever work for a place that is implicated in wrong doing, no matter your innocence. Only an ass or a dumbass would say such a thing, which is it with you?
November 23rd, 2011 at 6:00 pm
I would have no problem bringing in Norv as a coordinator, I wasn’t laughing at that. I thought you meant bring him in as head coach, which is a terrible, terrible decision.
November 23rd, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Joe, there were few coaches respected more than JoePa about a few weeks ago too, and there are simply too many unknowns about this whole situation.
I’m not discounting this man’s credentials as a coach, and as a fellow human being, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but all things being equal when faced with the options, I would look elsewhere.
The facts are that this coach is involved in the biggest breakdown of institutional control which took place over decades, enabled by individuals who morally made questionable decisions throughout the university and football program.
I just wouldn’t touch him with a 10 foot pole until all the question marks are cleared (which will probably take years), and wouldn’t fault an employer for having similar concerns if I was the one in question.
It is simply good business to question everything, and evaluate all your options. All I am saying is, gimme some more names because the ones mentioned so far are not worth the time or effort.
November 23rd, 2011 at 7:33 pm
K2 – I would laugh at that too. But tell me he wouldn’t be a massive upgrade over oley?
Joe – Oley has overseen one top 10 offense in his entire career – I think. With Bulger in St Louis he might have done it one year. Before Tampa he only even had a few years OC experience. His baffling calls and lack of ingenuity in the run game smells like rank rookie to me. There is no exploitation of a D’s weaknesses on a weekly basis…only the same nerve racking calls we’ve seen all season.