Graham Believes He Can Be Weapon In Pass Plays
June 1st, 2010
The Bucs were back at One Buc Palace today, sweating through the latest round of OTAs.
Some players decided to hang out and talk with some of the pen and mic club. Good guy Backwards Hat, aka Rick Brown of the Lakeland Ledger, caught up with Earnest Graham, who currently is projected as a fullback.
Brown Twittered that Graham is hoping to be a weapon in the Bucs passing game and Brown believes that very well could happen, not unlike how Chucky used running backs as pass receivers.
@rickbrown91 Graham thinks he can catch 50-60 passes out of the backfield. Remember the years Michael Pittman was among the team’s leaders in catches?
Joe believes Graham could be a helluva good fullback and has shown flashes of being a solid fullback in periodic assignments in years past, even with Chucky.
The prospect of getting more touches for Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Graham is a good thing. One way to do that is to have Graham play fullback.
June 1st, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Pittman was a leader in catches because we’ve never had a QB with arm strength worth anything. Let’s get real.
I love Graham and he will do well in a FB spot. But 60 catches? I don’t know…
June 1st, 2010 at 2:58 pm
I want to see EG at fullback and see them get him 10 touches a game, whether it be running or catches. I could definately see him at 35-45 catches, but if he gets anywhere near 60 it will be because of one of two things:
1. The offense is a powerhouse and everyone is thriving (don’t think so)
OR
2. The offense is struggling and having to dump it off alot.
So, no offense to EG, but I hope he gets 40 catches and about a 120 carries on the year.
Unfortunately, they did not show that they knew how to get him the ball and Caddy at the same time. On top of that, they have been talking like Ward is going to be more involved.
We’ll see.
June 1st, 2010 at 3:13 pm
I agree with Graham, the more he is on the field the better it is for him and the Bucs. He is excellent with the short passes and YAC for a 1’st down. Go Graham!!!
June 1st, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I tired of seeing Graham getting screwed around!! Here, you have a guy who could be breaking off big yardage and taking it to the house, but no he has to do this BS fullback work. Absolutely ridiculous. He’s not getting a chance to show what he has. I admire Graham for his unselfishness, but I really don’t understand how he can feel happy about the role he has with this team. Talented guy and he’s just going to waste.
June 1st, 2010 at 4:56 pm
They need to go back and look at the film of the 2007 and use Graham the same way.
He is a punishing tailback who gets better as the game goes on and wears out the defense. NOT a fullback.
If they wanna win, name him the starter and feed the man the ball. Its a proven formula, leading to a Division Title in 2007.
June 1st, 2010 at 4:58 pm
He sucks at fullback , he’s a below average lead blocker, and it’s a total waste of his talent.
Put him back at tailback and get a real fullback !!
June 1st, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Eric, Eric , Eric:
“If they wanna win, name him the starter and feed the man the ball. Its a proven formula, leading to a Division Title in 2007”
You have a lot of fond, if not selective, memories of the great Gruden days.
I am an EG fan, but you probably give him too much credit. The Bucs went 9-7 and won division but they also signed Garcia, Cato June, Petitgout, Carter, Askew.
You have a lot of fond, if not selective, memories of the great Gruden days.
June 1st, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Its not a Gruden memory, rather an EG one.
Didn’t he have his best year in 07? Im merely suggesting take a look at what he does best and let the man play.
June 1st, 2010 at 8:52 pm
@ Radio Mushmouth
I totally agree man. Let’s go out and actually get a guy that plays the fullback position!
When you pull out that tape of EG from 07, you see a pro bowler. 900 yards, and 10 TD’s, that’s pretty good and he wasn’t even playing in 16 games.
Do you recall all those long runs and long TD’s he was able to break off? Not just in 07, but in 08 also before he got that injury midway through the season. We that back in our offense. We didn’t have enough of that those plays last year. He’s not the fastest guy in the world, but the thing that makes him good is that he’s able to find a hole and when he does he just powers his way through. He keeps on running and is a big guy who’s hard to bring down.
Graham is our best running back in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, Cadillac and Ward are good too but I just think Graham is better all around. More breakaway runs, Avg yards per carry, etc.
He’s also the healthiest of the group. In EG’s 7 year career with the Bucs, he’s been on the bench for most of the time. He didn’t even play until 07. add in half of 08 and that’s only 1.5 seasons of mileage. kind of hard to believe but it’s true. Yeah he may be 30, which is what some of you will mention, but he probably has the health of a 27 or 28 year old. He’s got a lot of football left in him. He hasn’t had that many hits or injuries.
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:58 am
What about that 275 lb Fullback out of Clemson we signed with the soft hands ? I guess we will just have to see what shakes out in training camp.