LeGarrette Blount Welcomes Competition
May 15th, 2012
- Blount was busy catching passes today as Doug Martin nursed a hamstring tweak
There were several things that caught Joe’s eye today at the Bucs’ OTA open to the local Tampa Bay chapter of the pen and mic club.
Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount was catching passes out of the backfield. Several in fact.
Quick, someone alert Greg Olson!
Joe didn’t see Blount drop one pass, but Joe cannot confirm he didn’t drop any.
Blount, who should have been the bellcow of the Bucs last season but was jerked around in several ways, including a grand total of five carries — FIVE! — in the season opener against Detroit and seemingly shoved aside for the world renown Benn’d-around play.
Blount said he knew the Bucs were going to bring in a running back in the offseason and welcomes the competition now coming from first round pick Doug Martin (who was held out of practice today with a tweaked hamstring, so said Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik) and speedy Michael Smith.
“I feel I am still [the No. 1 back] until someone takes it away from me,” said a slimmed-down Blount. “Nobody can effect how many carries I get than me.”
Joe thinks the competition — and an offensive coaching staff with a clue — will get the most out of Blount.
In his rookie year, trying to prove himself against veteran and fan-favorite Cadillac Williams, Blount shined.
May 15th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Good for Blount. I really hope the competition brings out the best of our entire team.
May 15th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Beast of a man.
May 15th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Id say our running backs are set we dont need to worry about nothing.. Just go out and prove it!
May 15th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
It’s not that Blount couldn’t learn it last year, but the coaching staff just couldn’t teach it. I’m stoked to see Blount this year with some proper coaching.
May 15th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
This is great to hear from him. I hope they become the most dominant rb tandem in the league.
May 15th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Spoken like a true professional. It’s obvious that the story about tantrum Blount would throw if they drafted Richardson, was nothing more than a fabricated story by the New York media to get a juicy story.
May 15th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Merril Hodge on ESPN today, almost came out against John Clayton’s video the other day stating that “Blount and Martin need each other as much as the Bucs need them both,” and really stressed that he believes they will be compliments and neither will be a “bell-cow.”
Analysis from 1,000 miles away should always be taken with a grain of salt, but I think this is much closer to the truth than the drivel spewed by has-been Clayton. Who btw has the creepiest smile in the world when he is signing off on his reports for BSPN…
May 15th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
I have never seen Blount have difficulty catching passes. he dropped only a couple last season and caught 15. Cadillac dropped nearly half the balls thrown his way until his last two seasons with the Bucs… plus Williams had a neck issue that kept him from ever being a good pass blocker until the last few years as well… yet nobody mentioned it.
Blount is fine…and for the reports of Blount not being effective at catching the ball “because he can’t make the first man miss”… did I miss something? After nearly every catch last season, Blount made the first man miss or ran through him or over him, etc.
People say stuff that has no basis in fact because other people are saying the same nonsense. Blount not being able to catch or pass block ranks right up there with black people not being capable of being good quarterbacks. Hopefully Blount gets a chance this season to show the ignoramuses how stupid they are the same way Warren Moon, Doug Williams, Michael Vick, and Josh Freeman (I hope) shut up the naysayers.
May 15th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
PFT and Charlie Campbell are the guys smearing Blount for the most part.
In fact, PFT just put up another story on Blount painting him in a negative light. The differences are uncanny in how Joe reports it and they do.
I don’t know what “NY Media” is supposed to mean, but it sure seems to be coming from a bull’s a$$.
May 15th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Be careful walking to your car Doug.
May 15th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Great to hear his attitude towards the competition! Two great backs can only be a positive thing for our team. Also, I hope Smith keeps doing well and can hopefully earn himself some playing time this season. If we are going to run the ball as much as Schiano wants too. That means Madu is gone though you would think if Smith continues to do well. I hope we could keep him on the practice squad just in case. I’m so stoked to have a real coaching staff again!!
May 15th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Does anyone else here have the same wet dream of the bucs having a top 10 running game? It happened a couple times when we got Carl nicks but when we got Martin it started happening every night. Don’t know bout y’all but I’m geeked about the upcoming season.