Did Blount Ask Out Of Tampa?
June 26th, 2013
The Bucs’ former manbeast backup running back, the pride of 2010 Buccaneers history and an extraordinary talent, LeGarrette Blount, likely had enough of being a “Buccaneer Man” and asked to be traded, so claims Luke Hughes of NESN.com out of Boston.
Hughes shared the vibe he got from what Blount didn’t say while being peppered by media questions after a Patriots practice earlier this month. Blount’s attitude also is impressing Patriots coaches.
Per the trade, Blount has remained tight-lipped since coming to the Patriots, but a little question dodging at OTAs sure made it seem like he requested it.
That uncertainty isn’t an issue for the Patriots, and neither is his attitude thus far. “I love him in the meetings, I love being around him,” [running back coach] Fears said. “So, we’ll see what he does when it counts. That’s when you’re really gonna love the guy, when he gets out on the field and makes some things happen.”
Good behavior will help Blount in his quest to make the final roster, but, even as a former 1,000-yard back (2010), nothing is guaranteed — a feeling he knows quite well. “I’m always going to feel like I have something to prove,” Blount said. “It’s just as a football player and a competitor, I’m always going to feel like I have something to prove.”
Blount requesting a trade is a fresh angle Joe hadn’t explored. It makes sense.
When Blount agreed to a new contract from the Bucs this winter, rather than have a restricted free agent tender slapped on him, it not only freed up the Bucs to trade him, but it increased the odds Blount wouldn’t have to spend another season grounded as a backup running back in a one-back system. Blount’s agent would have been wise to push the Bucs to move Blount and/or make him easy to trade.
Regardless, Joe wouldn’t have traded Blount for a seventh-round pick. He was good insurance. Heaven forbid Doug Martin goes down injured this season, Joe suspects that would lead legions of Bucs fans to wish Blount was pounding the rock behind Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph and maintaining his 4.6 yards per carry career average.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:14 am
I wish Blount was still here and we could’ve fit him into the playbook. He is/was a stud.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:17 am
Just wait til Blount whiffs on a block and someone nails Brady. The Hoodie will bury that guy so far on the bench, you’ll forget he is even on the team.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:27 am
2010 Blount would be good insurance. However, someone who doesn’t want to be a backup and be a team player isn’t good to have on your team.
Also, 2011 and 2012 Blount sucks. You know, that guy that dances with his happy feet at the line of scrimmage before he gets tackled for a loss. Yeah, that guy. He blows.
Good riddance.
Blount won’t even break 300 yards in 2013.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:28 am
there’s a good chance he wont make the team. He’s not a 3rd down back as we know, nor is he good in short yardage. Good luck learning their complex offense.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:35 am
You don’t gain 1,000+ yards in limited games behind a crap-ass O-line when everyone knows you’re going to run the ball without being a superstar talent. Mistake to let him walk.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:44 am
Yeah, he was such a superstar that we only got a seventh round for him. The entire league was salivating to get their hands on him. Too many flaws in his technique. If you can’t block in this league you can’t run.
June 26th, 2013 at 10:47 am
I wish Blount all the best on the rest of his football journey. He made many fans while in Tampa.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:04 am
Blount was a productive albeit controversial RB for Chip Kelly in Oregon. When the Bucs began shopping Blount and Kelly could have easily picked him up and didn’t was telling.
I think Blount can be productive if a team is willing to work around his shortcomings. Bellichick doesn’t appear to be the patient and nurturing type of coach. we’ll see!
Not to relish in anybody’s misfortune, but the Bucs could be 4-0 at the bye with the TE situation at the Patriots and the loss of SLB Victor Butler and no solution at LOT at the Saints. Go Bucs!
June 26th, 2013 at 11:06 am
Blount is history! …let it go! … behind this line we could potentially have 3 RB’s that can have 1000 yard seasons. But not if the Dougernaut has anything to say about it. He gonna get his.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:11 am
I have to agree with the Right, Honorable SNOOK.
Blount has all the talent in the world to be a 1,000 yard back, but I think he lacks the professionalism and work ethic to be second banana to Doug Martin and it REALLY showed when he came in during spot duty.
You need a guy who’s FIGHTING and GRATEFUL for the snaps he gets. Not a guy who’s pissed he’s not playing.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:11 am
@ Macabee Why is it telling that Kelly did not pick up Blount? The Eagles have two very good running backs. Could it be that Kelly did not pick him up because there was no need at running back?
And the bucs ruined the trade value for Blount for not allowing him to run more last year. Blount has tremendous talent and as a buc fan, I would much rather have proven talent backing up Martin. Blount will be good with the Patriots. Last I checked, they do not have a RB that is considered in the top half of the league. He will get his chance to shine.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:20 am
Brian Leonard has the potential of being the power back in this system so the lost of Blount won’t be as bad. Blount was good but the NFL is what have you done for me lately type of league. In 2011 when he was the featured back he didn’t show much. I say give the young guys on the team a try, maybe we might have a great 3rd down back on the roster.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:27 am
@Tiny tim
Stevan Ridley was pretty good (1263, 12TD) so he would have to make the team as a 3rd down back which Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden are good at. The Patriots tend to keep 4 RB anyways since they do not use a FB. With the TE situation gone for half the season they will most likely run more.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:37 am
Tiny tim,
I’m an agreeable chap, let’s buy your theory for the moment. As I said, we’ll see! Now one could debate whether the Bucs ruined Blount’s trade value by not giving him more opportunity to run or it could be that he didn’t earn it. But let’s see if he balls out with the Patriots. I’d be more than happy to say you were right, but on the otherhand……..!
June 26th, 2013 at 11:45 am
the guy has some great god-given abilities but field vision is absolutely not one of them. i’m pretty confident that by season’s end the pats will have easily “won” this trade, because they are so good at utilizing players’ strengths, but unless there was a complete change of philosophy for our offense his time to be a difference maker for the bucs had passed. the guy had no ability to find the hole in our zone blocking scheme. with both Pats TEs in trouble and welker gone, i can see the Pats evolving into more of a pounding run team riding ridley, blount, and co and letting tom brady change the call whenever he sees a vulnerability in the defense. good luck to them if they make the mistake of using blount as a short-yardage back, though
June 26th, 2013 at 11:53 am
If he was only required to “tote the rock” in this offense, it would have been great to see him stay. Unfortunately for him, it requires much more than that.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:56 am
Macabee makes a great point. If Chip Kelly didn’t want him for a measly 7th round pick then that is very telling.
I think the problem with Blount is that he was an above average runner but below average in many other areas as a running back. While his catching was underrated it still wasn’t even really “average”. His blocking skills just never seemed to improve. Blount, to me, seemed like the living definition of a one dimensional player.
With that said, Blount was worth more to this team than a seventh round pick. While Michael Smith, Brian Leonard, and Mike James could end up being nice backs, Blount has done it before. It seemed liked Blount was the ultimate insurance running back. Not good for five carries a game as a back up but could give you decent production in a full game in case of injury.
I just have to ask, are any of you comfortable with any of the running backs on the roster not named Doug Martin to start multiple games? At this point, I am not. Maybe one of them shows up big in the pre season to ease the discomfort but even then I don’t know.
Fingers crossed for a full, healthy season from the Dougernaut.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
@ Sneedy 16. I am not sure if Blount’s problem in 2011 was he did not show much. He missed 2 1/2 games due to injury, he/the bucs ran the ball fewer times than in the previous year and he still rushed for just under 800 yards with a 4.2 ypc. Its tough to have a running game when you are down by 21 pts at the half or did we forget the awful 10 game losing streak? The bucs were forced to abandon the running game early most games. So Blount’s value or skill was not reflective all the time.
@ Macabee. It has nothing to do with whether or not Blount “earned” his carries. The bucs said he worked hard and the pats coaching staff says the same thing. Sometimes a player does not fit your scheme or an organization does not recognize talent. Do you think Wes Welker did not “earn” more playing time in Miami or do you think they did not recognize talent? Understand?
June 26th, 2013 at 12:17 pm
@pick6
I don’t think Chad Johnson, Albert Haynesworth can say that they utilize their potential.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:22 pm
Luke Hughes really took a leap on this. No one has even hinted that Blount asked to be traded. But this reporter goes by what Blount “didn’t say?”
That’s what I call shoddy reporting.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
To further expand…a real reporter would have picked up on the clues and then decided whether or not to investigate further before even suggesting it. Luke Hughes decided to report it without anything more than an assumption. That sort of thing just ticks me off.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
why wouldn’t he ask out of tampa. he is a former 1000 yard rusher who wasnt getting any playing time. I dont blame him one bit. not being able to effectively use him is really my only gripe with this coaching staff.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
I like Blount but I think at best he has only 3-4 good years left in him if he isn’t already ruined by a lack of playing time.
It’s a shame, because I think he could have had multiple 1K+ seasons by now had he played more. He still might, but not as a 3rd or 4th stringer.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Wes Welker started the last few games in Miami. Miami just ended up getting outbid by New England, plus if he would’ve stayed in Miami he wouldn’t have had the career he has have. Miami never had a good QB since Dan Marino.
Blount shined his rookie year and disappeared. If he was a QB then maybe I would say it was a good move, but he isn’t. Blount’s main issue as a running back is that he needs carries to get going . When he is under 10 carries his average is around 3.2, so a 3rd down back is not what his role is. I like blount, but he isn’t Steven Jackson who can still average over 1000 years a season on a crappy team with no OL.
June 26th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
A great talent that this team wasted, just like how we wasted Earnest Graham
June 26th, 2013 at 1:35 pm
What Sneedy16? If Miami thought Welker was a talent, they would not have let him go. And the point about being outbid is a joke. Its not like the patriots paid him a ton of money coming off of a 600 yrd campaign where he started in your words the last 2 games. Like I said, some organizations do not recognize talent or the may not fit a scheme and you can’t always blame a player for their lack of playing time. Gilbert Brown would have never played for a tony dungy cover two scheme, but it does not mean he did not “earn” playing time. Blount’s disappearance is more on the organization.
June 26th, 2013 at 1:57 pm
I was the biggest Blount fan. Letting him go was retarded. And in fact, as good as Doug Martin is, they should have capped him last year at 15-20 touches and given the rest to Blount. He was too talented to sit on the bench. And he wasn’t far from Martins talent, if at all. Good move by The Pats. Jeeze.
Worst move (my boy) Dom has made IMO
June 26th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
When we face him, he is going to run over our guys ass’s. to show Shiano he f’d up not playing him. I really wish the truth would come out why Shiano got pissed with Blunt. There was war and Blunt lost. Just hope he can salvage a carrear .
June 26th, 2013 at 2:52 pm
@Tiny tim
The Patriots wanted Welker and were going to get Welker. The Patriots were going to sign him after he sign his tender look it up. Instead of biding him up the traded for him for a 2nd and a 7th. The fact is the he was an up and coming player and the dolphins wanted him that’s why they signed to the 2nd round tender. They knew he fit the scheme they were running and a 5-8, 185 lbs slot receiver/returner wasn’t all too popular.
If you can’t beat out the next man then you didn’t “earn” the position. Just like the job market. If I can’t beat out the next guy the yeah I didn’t “earn” that position. You think that New England would give a second thought about starting Doug Martin over Blount heck no, so don’t pull that scheme thing with Bount. He got out performed and that’s that.
June 26th, 2013 at 6:06 pm
There are literally dozens and dozens of RBs around better for an offense the LB. He is such a poor pass blocker and route runner that he is near impossible to have in the game for pass plays.
Add to that his penchant for fumbling and his struggles in short yardage, he is really limited to being a first and ten, second and short to mid yardage back.
Players with that limitation aren’t players for long. He is likely to be cut by the Pats, or were serve a very, very limited role for them.
June 26th, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Blount will most likely IMO be a monster with the Patsies with Brady and the team he had around him.
That being said, there simply was not use for Blount here with Dougie here..
And what we needed him for which was short yardage/goaline he just plain sucked at, I wish him the best with the Patsies. He was just unfortunate of THE arrival of one of the next great back IMO (knocks on wood) jajaja
June 26th, 2013 at 6:31 pm
An unfortunate casualty*
June 26th, 2013 at 7:07 pm
Use some common sense people. If Schiano thought there was a place for Blount then why in the heck would he let him go and pick up Leonard and James?? Blount obviously had flaws that just couldn’t be compensated for in this system. It’s not that they didn’t try. We need a back that can grind out 4 yds every carry, not lose yardage one carry…gain 1 yd the next, get stopped for no gain, gain two yards, then break off a 15 yd run and it suddenly looks like a 4 yds per carry avg. Martin is just a better all around back and he’s a far more decisive runner. He has great vision, sees the hole and hits it hard. Blount dances around the line of scrimmage looking for a hole and by then it’s too late.
June 26th, 2013 at 9:59 pm
Blount will tip-toe to the line and get tackled for no gain on 4th goal. That’s what he’ll do when it counts.
June 27th, 2013 at 2:39 pm
@ sneedy16 – List of players who received little to no playing time from one team and exploded with the next team either because previous team did not recognize talent or said player did not fit the system. (because obviously you did not understand the Welker analogy)
Donald Penn
Al Harris
Steve Young
Brad Culppeper
Joe Horn
Jay Novacek
Brett Farve
James Harrison
This type of list can go on and on. You can come up with as many reasons as you like, but my point still stands. Some organization can recognize and foster talent while others slip and miss out. Its not always the players not “earning”
time. And so what if Martin is the better back. It does not excuse the bucs for not running Blount at all. Most teams have two headed monsters with one back being more skilled than the other. Bad coaching on many levels.
June 27th, 2013 at 7:45 pm
Agree with Patrick on this one. A waste of talent, that may well come back to haunt us.
Blount can run the ball. Right thru many NFL defenders.
We’ll see if Bellacheat is able to make use of Blount’s abilities.