Raheem The Dream Speaks

August 4th, 2009

Special teams highlighted the Tuesday afternoon practice and so did the chatter from Raheem the Dream with The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, on WDAE-AM 620.

On special teams coach Rich Bisaccia:

He’s helped me be a better head coach. Someone should talk to him about this. He does a great job of helping me grow and develop. He gets the other position coaches motivated.

On how important play on special teams is for a player to make the team:

It starts on special teams. If you make a splash there you can play on defense. If you have that mentality they [the player isn’t] just on special teams. They have a chance to be a star.

I like Clifton Smith and Jeff Gooch and Al Singleton.  They all started on special teams. Shelton Quarles was a special teams player and he went from Sam linebacker to the Super Bowl.

If you make your name on special teams you can get help from Rich and the positions coaches. There’s a lot of heart and soul there.

Special teams is a third of the game. That third of the game won the Kansas City game last year.  Who knows how many others? Who knows where we would have been without Clifton Smith in that game?

With Clifton Smith on special teams, the other players now you on every play you have a chance to score and they love it.

Any goals you have for training camp?

We want to score touchdowns on 60 percent of our possessions, that’s our goal. When you are talking about 60 percent you are in the top seven in the league. The Colts were No. 1 with 67 percent.

Thoughts on your team?

We looked like a much better team yesterday. We looked like we wanted to play. But we have to pick it up from there and pick it up for tomorrow.

What is the one thing that fans can count on come Sundays?

“We’re going to be a tough, fast, physical football team. We have to be there. We have to be there. There are questions about us out there and rightfully so. We have to get it all together. I have no problem with the questions. We just have to work toward our expectations and if we do that every day and look straight ahead, we have a chance.

I like the way they let that bad practice go. They grabbed the battle flag and I liked that. I was impressed.

What do you look at in practice?

I look at things I don’t like [from the previous practice] before.

Do you still watch over the defense?

Well, when the offense went 4-14 (against the defense in red zone practice); I told them it wasn’t that you were making bad decisions. [The defense] was making plays. That is what I am looking for.

Is it hard to get used to watching offense?

It’s hard for me to watch defense. I am used to watching offense on tape.  It’s second nature for me. If I see any high tendency that our offense is doing, I let them know and they listen and adjust. It’s second nature for me to watch the offense.

[Wednesday] you will get a good glimpse of the Bucs.

One Response to “Raheem The Dream Speaks”

  1. Mr. Lucky Says:

    Scoring on 60% of possessions? What was the Bucs percentage last year?