Welcome To Blount Bashing
December 2nd, 2011
ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas cranked out a column yesterday firmly explaining his take on the worst team in the division; this came as part of a preview of Sunday’s division-dungeon bowl, also known as the Panthers-Bucs game.
Joe started reading this piece but barely finished. Yasinskas was bashing and misrepresenting LeGarrette Blount, and for Joe that means Yasinskas either isn’t watching Bucs games, is sniffing common household cleaners, or has it out for the Bucs.
Here’s a small sample (not of the cleaners, but of Yasinskas’ head-shaking content.)
Freeman, who threw 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions last season, hasn’t been able to hit targets. Mike Williams, who looked like a No. 1 receiver as a rookie, has turned into the second coming of Michael Clayton. LeGarrette Blount, who ran for 1,000 yards in half a season in 2010, might need a season and a half to hit that mark again, which might coincide with the moment he finally learns to pass block.
People talked about Freeman, Williams and Blount as “The Triplets” last year. I still think Freeman has a world of potential, but it’s looking like he might end up being an only child. On defense, the Bucs have a lot of draft picks and money invested in their defensive line.
Joe truly apologizes for putting you through that passage.
First, if Yasinskas had bothered to use a calculator, he’d have seen that Blount already is on pace for a 1,000 yard season in 2011, assuming the Bucs hand him the ball an average of 15 times a game. Hitting that amount of carries wouldn’t satisfy Joe, but it’s a safe bet Blount will get that many carries.
With so many available ways to hammer the Bucs for their performance, why would Yasinskas recklessly come after their most explosive weapon, Blount, who is having a good year? Frankly, Joe’s embarrassed for his profession.
As for calling Mike Williams the second coming of Michael Clayton, that’s quite a reach. Nobody’s nearly as bad as Clayton. In Clayton’s sophomore season he caught 32 balls and zero touchdowns. Williams has been playing better lately and already has 53 catches and three touchdowns in his second year.
The Bucs have serious issues, but Blount and Williams surely aren’t part of the problem.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:08 am
JoE !!! Thank YOU for finally acknowledging how this guy is one of the worst writers I have ever read … Regardless of his proffession it is Disgusting. Bash the Bucs for having a terrible Rush Defense … OK .. Cant argue … Bash the Bucs for Questionable playcalling .. OK …
But hey Atleast Derrick Ward had a pretty good game that night against the Fins … and that #27 .. HE SUCKS
What a F*IN Joke … HAHAHAH
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:14 am
jvato24:
Right now LeGarrette Blount is by far the Bucs best weapon. Not even a debate.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:18 am
@Joe: I’m not sure that’s true…we’ve got a pretty darn good punter 😉
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:18 am
I think it’s fair to say Williams is having a poor season, but the Clayton comparison is too early to judge. Frankly, it’s an insult.
I think it’s fair to say Josh Freeman is having an even worse season than Mike Williams. I’ve seen Josh Freeman play 1 good game (N.O. @ home) this season. Drops aside, I’ve seen Williams play a couple of late.
Blount might be the “only child” of this triplet affair. He’s been consistent this whole season when used. As well, his pass blocking cannot be judged b/c he’s rarely been used on 3rd down. When he’s had to pass block, I believe I recall he’s only whiffed his block twice? I don’t recall seeing him drop many passes that’ve come his way either.
You’re right Joe, Pat is flat out wrong about Blount.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:24 am
Blount is a bright spot. This piece is flat out nuts. The ONLY problem with Blount this season is that Olsen has refused to use him enough.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:29 am
Bucs MVP top three candidates: Barber, Blount, and Koenen
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:39 am
Mike Williams needs to prove that this is just a Sophomore Slump.
The comparison Yas makes may be justified because Mike Williams just does not look like the same “Number 1” receiver that he was last year.
He is caught loafing in key situations and just is not making those spectacular catches that are the result of effort (except that first game vs. Detroit in the endzone)
He looks like he has confidence problems right now just like Clayton did after year one and the high expectations that were expected.
As Clayton came back down to earth, Chuckies vitriol only got worse.
I remember Gruden Mike’d up and hearing him just reaming Clayton.
That did not help much either. (imagine Gruden as a College Coach = Joke)
Mike Williams may have better attributes than M.Clayton,
But everyone knows what they say about “Potential”…
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:43 am
Pat Yasinskas has put out garbage like this for awhile. Total braindead, ignorant crap that screams “I don’t watch the games, I just peek at the stat sheet”. He’s awful. Thank you for calling him out Joe.
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:49 am
Bucbeliever – I buy Blount as MVP, but Barber is starting to show his age. While still smart and opportunistic, he is slow and has missed WAY TOO MANY tackles this year. Time to hang ’em up Ronde, you had a very good career and should be proud!
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:57 am
Thanks Joe for finally pointing out what a clown of a writer Pat Crapstinkus is. He’s been blogging on the nfc south since 2008 and always writes the dumbest crap of all the bloggers on their. Blount isnt having a good season? Yea right despite being underused. Dude should be getting it 30+ times a game but our OC’s head is up his butt on gamedays. I bet if blount doesn’t miss those two games I bet he even might be in the top 10 in rushing despite the limited carries. And I think blount might of missed one block this season on third down and is a threat everytime he has caught the ball this year. Mike williams as Mike clayton? Cmon Man!! Youve gotta be kidding me. He didnt start off well this season because he had no offseason to get ready like Dcoordinators were doing all offseason for him. He had to get use to seeing different coverages and over the top coverages. Thats disgusting. I also think he was facing intense pressure to go out and make plays like his rookie year and being voted in the top100 players made him press resulting in the bad drops. And Freeman see williams really. He had no offseason to improve and look at film. Thats why he made the big leap from his 1st to 2nd year, the lockout hurt him.Other Dcoordinators didnt sit on their butt all offseason not gameplanning ways to take away what he was good at. These guys are gym rats and put in the extra work but hard to do that with no offseason. Watch when we have a good year next year PAt Crapinkus will change his tune.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Buc Neckid:
That’s why Joe has long said that Chucky would be a horrible college coach because he has zero patience.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Clayton never came back down to earth! As for Gruden being Clayton’s reason for dropping pass after pass is hog wash! How did Clayton do when he was gone with that new big “check is in the bank” contract? And just where is this blocking WR now?
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:10 pm
THANK YOU JOE
I was reading this last night and stopped right after i read what you posted. I scrolled up to look for the little comment tab but saw that there were already 165 posts so decided it was not worth it. At times I like pat and his posts, sometimes they are very insightful but things like this make me mad. My best friend is a falcon fan he will see this and be like oh they suck yada yada yada when last week he was sitting on the couch next to me rooting for blount because he is on his fantasy team and saying how he has never seen a guy run like blount before how he is a big man but runs like a small back. this is coming from a kid who played four years of D1AA football also. If a person like that reads it and agrees obvioulsy every non buc fan is going to believe him as well.
All in all because of this website I have turned my head to much ESPN BS the past year
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:11 pm
on top of that blount is the number one must start player for NFL networks fantasy list. How could blount be that bad pat
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:11 pm
I know hes blocking for the Giants. It was sarcasm! In the last two years, he’s played in 11 games and has 2 catches for 19 yards with them!
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:14 pm
The offensive woes are primarily due to game planning. Teams studied film on the Bucs last off-season and learned how to contain the Bucs offense. What’s frustrating is the Bucs do not change anything week after week. They need more screen passes and bootlegs to throw the defenses off balance. The Bucs opponents have obviously game planned to limit the big play and key on Winslow and Williams. They seem to be ok with letting Blount get his 5 and 10 yard carries because they know that eventually the Bucs will abandon the run. So far it has worked.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:17 pm
I love it when all of these ‘experts’ like to diagnose what’s wrong with the Bucs when it’s apparent they don’t even bother to watch the games. I could see how it wouldn’t be the funnest thing ever to watch a Bucs game this year, but when it’s part of the job, I expect a little more out of these hacks. 90% of what I read is garbage. I’m thankful there’s a site like JBF that posts intelligent Buccaneer topics that actually make sense, not ‘THE BUCS SUK BCUZ THEIR STARS SUK’ garbage like this.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:24 pm
The Williams comment is even more misinformed than the Blount one.
And, that was hard to do!
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@Joe
Well played Joe, well played. 😉
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Joe, your buddy Duemig continues to say that Gruden “ruined” Clayton. And “look at who was throwing to him”. He admits that Clayton came in his second year out of shape and got in Gruden’s doghouse. Most players then would bust their butt to GET in shape and work hard in practice to earn back the HC’s trust. But Clayton had the “money in the bank” already. He was an excellent blocking WR for the running game, but that’s not what you pay a #1 WR, first round draft pick to do. Call out Deumig if you are going to call out Yasinskas too.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
That guy is a joke. I’ve busted him multiple times not watching the game on his blog.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:40 pm
No one paid any attention to Yasinkas when he was in Tampa anyway, so I guess this is payback ?
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Joe you absolutley nailed it on the head with ALL your points on Pat. There is no way this guy watches any of the games on the Bucs and his articles prove it. I can’t read his articles anymore because i’m so sick of the stuff he puts on paper before actually evaluating it first. He is only one sided and has man crush on the Saints anyway. I’m glad I can atlest count on you to give a good honest take on the sittuations that involve this team. You should do us all a favor and try to talk some sense into this guy. On the other hand maybe not because it will probally get you more readers when his readers get sick of it and look for something else to read like I did.
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Ever since I read a ridiculous column regarding the NFC South in The Charlotte Observer Yaskinas wrote in September 2005, I’ve been convinced he’s had it out for the Bucs, and I’ve never been able to take anything he’s ever written seriously. I rarely read anything he has to say, because I don’t respect him as a sports columnist/sports journalist/sports writer, or whatever he’s trying to be.
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:16 pm
That’s the biggest pile of swill I’ve read in a LONG time. What a marmatard. I’m sure we could all name about, oh, 31 other teams in the NFL that would LOVE to have Blount on their team.
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:52 pm
I don’t recall them ever being referred to as “the triplets” either. This guy is a buffoon.
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Here is the bottom line: did yastinkas exaggerate re: Blount and to some extent Williams? Yes of course.
Is his conclusion wrong that the Bucs are the worst team in the division wrong? Probably not. I would prefer to be the Panthers total package with studs like Ron Rivera and Cam Newton, Williams, Stewart, Smith, Shockey, Olson etc – yes both defenses stink but I would take theirs before ours any day.
I love Blount, Ronde, DJ, Penn, Clay is impressing me, Price if healthy but the Panthers are a force to be reckoned with next year.
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Blount is a monster. There hasn’t been a player like him in the NFL who can cut around you, run over you or hurdle you. His yardage after contact is ridiculous and he might be the best runner in the NFL when you get him past the line of scrimmage.
Anyone who doesn’t recognize Blount’s ability is a moron (looking at you Greg Olson). The offense should be catered to Blount, not vice versa. We should be going I formation and pounding teams, but instead we remove Blount from the game by passing and going into shotgun.
December 2nd, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Blount is going to run the ball down the Panthers throat on Sunday!
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Blount will never be in the pro bowl because Olsen will never give him the ball and let him get the stats he’s capable of achieving. Olsen sucks and has to go.
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:48 pm
I love it. It takes an outsider to unite all the fans on JBF…Except Thomas, who may as well be a Panthers fan, since next year he plans on being a Jags fan.
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:04 pm
You guys who bash ronde for the most tackles are idiots.
He is a corner with WAY more tackle opportunities than most 180lb corners trying to tackle 240lb backs by himself without help from our bad dl and lb units.
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:36 pm
thomas 2.2 – If Ronde’s role in this defense is to stick his nose in there and make tackles, he is failing at it this year. Watch the games. At 180 lbs, he should try to WRAP UP the guy and not try to knock him down with a lightweight hit. YOU are an idiot if you think he is worth bringing back next year. I loved Ronde, but his time is up.
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:48 pm
If you remove Ronde from this defense they tackle virtually noone. Period. Yes he misses tackles but he is still a better tackler than everyone else on his team. Watch the goal line hit on Rodgers vs. Green Bay. This is on track to be one of the worst defenses in NFL history, now remove its best player – week after week the Brees’, Newton’s Schaub’s etc point out Ronde as playing at a high level – noone else. Stop talking you are clueless if you think Ronde is the problem. You would be laughed out of the room of experd with that opinion.
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:51 pm
experts
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:59 pm
I didn’t say Ronde was THE problem. He is, however, part of the problem. Anyone who misses that many tackles is PART of the problem. Don’t put words in my mouth, idiot.
December 2nd, 2011 at 6:00 pm
You poll every head coach, off/def coordinator – 80% plus will tell you that Ronde is the teams best and most valuable defensive player over this season. So to in any way blame Ronde and not the horrible coach is ridiculous. Ronde’s tackling stats are not horrible if you consider that rarely if ever does a corner/nickel get himself involved on so many one one on run stops when the rb hasnt been touched 5 yards downfield.
December 2nd, 2011 at 8:36 pm
So thomass, now you want us to believe you know all the off/def coords and have spoken to them all about ronde’s play? Please spare us all with your lunacy, just go away now instead of waiting for rah to come back next year!