Not Sold On LeGarrette Blount
August 25th, 2011
Even a guy walking around with a white cane could tell the impact that LeGarrette Blount had on the Bucs last season.
Connie Chung was depressed because the Bucs rushing attack was so impotent early in the season. Opposing defenses rarely concerned themselves with the Bucs running attack, instead schemed only to stop the pass.
The moment Blount started running wild on defenses and teams began to adjust to the run, that opened up passing lanes, and voila! Offense!
The Bucs win at Arizona was a perfect example of Blount’s impact on the offense.
But Christopher Harris of BSPN isn’t buying this. He is of the mind Blount is all hype and that if Blount was truly valuable, he’d be on the field on third downs.
It’s not that I’m calling Blount a potential bust. I think he’s got too much job security for that, and he doesn’t strike me as an inordinate injury risk, jumping or no. I just don’t see an excess of upside. For all the Buccaneers’ beat reporters writing stories about Blount “looking good” catching the ball during training camp, the big man hasn’t stayed on the field for third downs much at all this preseason, and Earnest Graham and/or Kregg Lumpkin look like the pass-catching backs in the Tampa offense. Blount caught all of five passes last season, and I didn’t see any evidence in either of the Bucs’ exhibition games to date that indicates he’ll even threaten 20 grabs this year. And an offensive line that a few years ago seemed promising now just seems bleh. The tackles, Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood, got new contracts this summer but are at best average in my eyes. Davin Joseph got a huge extension at right guard but hasn’t yet proved he’s the mauler he was supposed to be when Tampa took him in the first round of the ’06 draft. Center Jeff Faine is very strong when he’s in there, but he’s missed 12 games the past two seasons combined. It’s not a bad group, but it’s pretty average. I know much has been made of new offensive line coach (and former Vikings coach) Pat Morris, the subtle implication being that Adrian Peterson enjoyed running behind a Morris line, so maybe Blount suddenly has AP-like openings. But while Blount is surprisingly shifty for a guy his size, he doesn’t have anything close to Peterson’s long speed, nor, I would argue, does Tampa have any lineman who could match up with guys like Steve Hutchinson or Bryant McKinnie in their primes.
Later, Harris went on to claim Blount is the 20th-best running back in the league and Joe had to do a double-take. Ah, ha! Joe noticed that Harris qualified this as “fantasy back.”
That explains it. You know, Joe reads feces like this and toward the end of the story he notices it’s is about “fantasy” football, which just reinforces Joe’s theory “fantasy” football is pure horsemanure.
Fantasy football — keyword, “fantasy” — is to real football like Rachel Watson is to Joe’s bedroom.
Only in “fantasy” football would an alleged sober person suggest Blount is a low-rung NFL running back.
August 25th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Yeah, in FF you want guys that score TDs. It drives fantasy guys nuts when they have a back that gets the ball allot, hits right under the 100 yard mark, and they bring in some other guy when it is time to score.
August 25th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I just don’t know how anyOne can argue that any player is good or not based on one year. I’ll save judgements after I’ve seen two seasons of work which is why I am hesitant to get too excited about this season.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
“Davin Joseph got a huge extension at right guard but hasn’t yet proved he’s the mauler he was supposed to be when Tampa took him in the first round of the ’06 draft.”
Do Pro-bowls count in fantasy?
August 25th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
My girlfriend call it my Football Fantasy…. Which is just about right.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
First off, who the hell is Chris Harris? (Crying laughing!) This is a classic case of a guy just flat out being uneducated. Really.. Anyone who knows football knows better than to make idiotic remarks such as the ones I just read. Hey Harris!! You moron!!! Tell me how many catches Micheal Turner had last year? How long did it take for AP to stay on the field on passing downs? Everyone is just not made to be an analyst. That’s the worst breakdown I’ve ever heard. You can do better than that BSPN!!
August 25th, 2011 at 2:25 pm
@ Joe “Connie Chung was depressed because the Bucs rushing attack was so impotent early in the season. ” LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maury just cried a little.
A BUST? How can he be a bust? He was on the Titans practice squad? Blount has all the tools to be great. He just needs to keep focus and his head straight. I think Rah will get that out of him. Christopher Harris you are a douchebag.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Joe’s not so sure.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
We get it, Joe. You hate:
1) ESPN
2) BrightHouse
3) Fantasy football
4) The NBA
Anybody that likes any of those things must be an idiot. Way to not alienate readers.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Guys, keep it in perspective. He is strictly referring to “Fantasy Football”. There are a bunch of backs that “fantasy owners” want on their team before Blount. That is why they have separate shows, magazines, web article, etc for “fantasy”…That being said, who cares, he is still a great back so far. No need to get worked up over “fantasy” analysis. Shoot, they have Freeman at 10 or 12. The only Buc that broke the top 10 spot this year is K2.
August 25th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Honestly I do not care if Blount can ever be a good 3rd down back. All that matters is he is money on 1st and 2nd downs when given the carry. Isn’t Adrian Peterson a 2 down back anyways.
I however am not sold that Blount will be as good of a runner last season. Blount’s success certainly had a lot to do with his skill set, but the guy was also hungry and was playing with a chip on his shoulder to prove the world what they passed on during draft.
Will he be that hungry again this season? I don’t know. We have seen too many backs that feel complacent after a season of success and praise and are not able to repeat it again because of the lack of that desire to prove.
August 25th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
I actually think Blount is a great steal for FF. He’ll grab the goal line and the majority of carries. People will pass over him for more big names (Brandon Jacobs, Grant, Carolina twins, and Lesean McCoy). I’d quickly pull the trigger on Blount on my fantasy team over those other guys. I usually do a RB,RB as my first 2 picks and I can see Blount on my team for 2nd pick.
August 25th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Jonny, if he wants to make more than rookie min, he better still have the hunger. The backs you are talking about may have had the big contract either through the draft or right after the year you are refering to. There is no reason I can see that he goes soft on us.
August 25th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
I played fantasy football once and felt like i sold my soul. I can’t cheer for anyone who isn’t on the Bucs roster unless they’re playing a division opponent. I can’t have a fantasy roster full of Bucs players because thats just not how it works. I guess I’ll just cheer on real football.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Except that AP never really had McKinnie or especially Hutchinson in their primes either…& I bet most scouts would put Penn’s year last year up against any McKinnie year.
August 25th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
The guy is an idiot, but he was right about one thing. Our Offensive Line is blah…if the last PS game is any measure of it.
As to fantasy football, I won a championship the first year I played it…and then last the next two years because I didn’t put as much effort.
I don’t play it now because I just don’t have time and I hate rooting for players that might be on opposing teams to Bucs.
August 26th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Joe do not knock fantasy football til you try it. Possibly the most addicting thing, love your takes but your missing out on this.
August 26th, 2011 at 10:30 am
jarrett:
People can play fantasy football all they want. Just Joe has a bug up his rear end when clowns like this columnist try to bring “fantasy” into reality.
Fantasy sports just isn’t Joe’s thing. He’s tried it and it bores him, and yes, Joe once won his fantasy baseball league. Joe’s a wierdo in the sense that Joe doesn’t need gambling or fantasy sports to get into football. Joe can watch damned near any football game on TV and get into it, just because of the love for the game.
Joe finds studying Xs and Os much more appealing that drowning himself in stats.
(Joe used to put money on games but it got to a point that Joe was getting stressed out near the end of a game because of the damned point spread. It got to the point where Joe said to himself, “What the hell and I doing?” and Joe quit gambling on games.)