Bucs Need LeGarrette Blount
September 19th, 2011
There was no question, just like last year, without having LeGarrette Blount tote the rock multiple times the Bucs offense can look stagnant.
Look at the first half of yesterday’s win over the Vikings. The offense had but three first downs and that was mainly because Blount had just five carries in the first half.
That all changed when the Bucs decided to feed Blount the ball and he began to make Minnesota’s defense play.
All the while, Blount was not upset about not being used enough, so writes Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune.
It went beyond those 67 second-half yards and scores. Blount was a one-man momentum machine, and he insisted he did not run angry or out of frustration or a need to prove a thing to his coaches.
“I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t frustrated. I just wanted to get something going,” Blount said. “I don’t get frustrated. Last year, I didn’t play until the third game.”
Still, some of us were starting to wonder if the Bucs staff remembered that Blount was in fact the featured back, or realized that if they couldn’t run against Minnesota’s defensive line, well, the Bucs had serious issues.
Just like last year, when Blount showed up and got enough carries, the Bucs offense changed almost overnight. It’s a simple formula yet effective.
Feed Blount the ball. He’s youngry!
September 19th, 2011 at 8:06 am
Blocking in the first half was rotten. It didn’t matter what we tried it was going to fail. The team shook off the doldrums and decided to make things happen in the second half; that’s why it worked.
September 19th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Your right Jack it was rotten. I loved how Zuttah played though. Go back and watch the play where Blount hurdeled another dude, watch Zuttah complete domination on that block. He drove that guy like 15 yards downfield.
Zuttah played to keep his job yesterday. In fact Id say he probably had the best day of any of our olineman yesterday. Very impressed with how he responded to being inserted into the starting line, Props Zut
September 19th, 2011 at 8:27 am
Blount is a game changer, there is no doubt about that. And for us to win, he has to run well. But Jack Burton is right. The blocking in the first half was horrible. Did you notice something strange yesterday? I mentioned it several times in the open thread. We started running to the LEFT side. That’s so strange for a right handed team. Right handed means we set our strong side to the right- that’s where the TE is at. But in The third quarter, we ran left more than right- running behind Penn and Zuttah, instead of Joseph and Trueblood.
Joseph and Trueblood did get good blocks in a couple times in the 4th quarter. Listen, they aren’t as bad as Black and Hayes( whom the Bucs are FINALLY acknowledging suck), but Joseph and TrueBlood neither one play at a consistent NFL level. Good guys, work their butts off, team players both!! But just can’t consistently open holes for the Running game- like the first half. Their pass blocking is worse.
We have to get some linemen that can play the run game successfully, because Blout is a game changer, and critical to our sucess.
We have to consistently open holes for him.
Instead of signing those two to big contracts, we should have addressed the line with some talent, for both Freeman and Blounts sake
September 19th, 2011 at 8:31 am
I was beginning to wonder what the hell Olsen was thinking only giving him 5 touches in the first half. Dude needs to learn that the offense runs through Blount
September 19th, 2011 at 8:59 am
i have to give it up to that o-line in the 2nd half. lorig and stocker did a really nice job too. i don’t know why they don’t run more straight ahead iso’s out of that i-formation with blount and lorig.
September 19th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Vince- I agree with you, Brother. But Blount had 5 carries for 4 yards in the first half. That’s horrible.
Somebody has to block for the guy. In the first half, nobody did- or for Freeman! And that’s a big problem!
September 19th, 2011 at 9:04 am
Travis: Speaking of Zuttah- that was a BS holding call on him.
I’m not sure if getting Blount the ball in the first half would have done much if the O-Line run blocks like they did in the first half.
They have GOT to start games better on offense and it all starts with the O-Line.
September 19th, 2011 at 9:08 am
Dave- exactly !
Just read an article that makes it sound as if Raheem demoted Nlack at half time- in front of the whole team!!
First- that’s what that slacker deserved
Second- I bet that’s why blocking improved on the second half! Demoting Black scared Joseph and Trueblood in to doing their damn jobs!
September 19th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Blount is the key to the Buc’s offense. We need to get him going earlier and more often. Once Blount is wearring teams out, throw on them.
September 19th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Jeez, what game were you people watching?
– “The offense had but three first downs and that was mainly because Blount had just five carries”
– “[Olsen] needs to learn that the offense runs through Blount”
– “Blount is the key to the Buc’s offense.”
In the game I was watching, we won with two fourth quarter touchdowns, on drives of 80 and 61 yards, where Blount got a total of exactly two carries. Heck, he had 8 carries in the whole second half. Yep, a difference of 3 carries between first half (0 points) and second half (24 points).
Blount is an important part of the offense, just like the fullback or the slot receiver. It’s important for him to be running well. But he ain’t magical. The offense does not run through him, it runs through 5. He’s not the key, the key is 5. And he’s not the difference between three first downs (1st half) or 24 points (2nd half) — that’s the whole offense, particularly the O line.
September 19th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Why aren’t we also using Blount out of the backfield for short throws? I’ve seen him catch everything thrown at him in practice and he is a much bigger problem for the defense once he gets past the line of scrimmage.
September 19th, 2011 at 10:29 am
@Joke
Without Blount running effectively Freeman has no chance in the passing game. The offense does start with #5, but without #27 pounding the rock consistently and effectively the defense just gas to key on Freeman and Winslow. So, yes the offense does have to go thru #27. He may not be magical but he sure is effective when used properly.
September 19th, 2011 at 10:43 am
They’ve been taking Blount off the field way, way too frequently. I’d also like to see him catch some passes out of the backfield because he looked very dangerous doing that in the preseason.
It’s almost like it took 1 1/2 games for the Bucs to stop being so conservative on offense and stop being afraid to use Blount on a regular basis (no clue whey they were afraid in the first place, either).
Also, once Freeman stopped looking at Williams & Winslow on every single damn pass play as his only options, and started quickly progressing to Parker, Benn, Briscoe & even Stocker, did you notice how that also opened things up dramatically?
Come on, guys. Don’t be afraid to adjust quickly on the fly. If they’re locking down on certain players then don’t wait an entire half before looking to your other options. The great teams always take what the defense gives them and they don’t wait 30 minutes to do it!
September 19th, 2011 at 11:46 am
Joke
You are right, he STILL did not get enough carries, but he made a HUGE difference. He busted a few runs and scored a TD, those things caused the defense to open a little.
Benn’s TD was because of the play fake to Blount. Watch it. 4 defenders are around Blount, the LB from the other side of the field is watching Blount and the safety is taking steps in. Basically, over half the defense is keying in on Blount which left Benn 1 on 1 with no help for the CB over the top.
Blount and the BUCS NEED to have him carry the ball 20 times a game.
September 19th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
It’s all about Blount! Which us scary. We got nothing, and I mean nothing, behind him if something were to happen to him
September 19th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
I love how people look only at the stat sheet at the end of the game , and then can’t figure out why Blount didn’t get many carries.
The answer is simple . We were going three-and-out in the 1st half and getting in long yardage situations. You can’t rack up a ton of carries as a RB when the offense loses 2 yards on 1st down, which puts you in a passing down and distance, and then going three and out.
It comes down to blocking better and sustaining drives , if it improves you will see Blount get worn out. Look a little deeper than the stat sheet , morons.
September 19th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
flmike,
You seem to be completely ignoring how we scored those last two TDs. Blount got one touch in each drive. Again, this idea that our 2nd half offense was revolutionarily different because Blount got 8 touches (vs. “only” 5 in the first half) is, well, it’s just crazy.
Yes, it’s important for each piece of the offense — including Blount — to be performing well. We’re obviously a better offense when he’s peeling off big runs. But there’s just no evidence that the “offense [has] to through #27”.
September 19th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Look at it this way…grahm was on the field allot more in the first half. He did a decent job, but the defense is not scared of him breaking the big run. When Blount is on the field they have to play honest and account for him. They do not need a gang of dudes to tackle EG. Blount being on the field, touches or not, imporves the offense.
September 19th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
The threat of the run is what got Benn’s td. Watch the TDs, the one to Benn especially since the play fake to Blount (which only works if there is a threat of him to run) drew half the Minn D to the right side of the offense which left Benn 1-1 with the db to the left of the offense, easy catch. Then the winning TD was a Blount run. I understand your point, but my point is, this offense doesn’t work without a power run game, doesn’t have to be Blount but there has to be a run game to open up the passing game.
September 19th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
I agree, flmike…The play action threat made the Vikings flinchy. They bit, more than once, on fakes to Blount, opening up other options.
September 20th, 2011 at 12:13 am
C’mon McBuc, what do you have that says Graham was on the field a lot more in the first half than the second? First half, Graham got 4 touches. Second half, he got 6.
Blount got 5 touches in the first half in 23 offensive snaps (22%) and 9 touches in the 2nd in 35 offensive snaps (26%).
All you guys seem to really want to believe this idea that the game “changed when the Bucs decided to feed Blount the ball”. It’s just not true — they didn’t use him much more in the 2nd half.
Hell, they gave Blount the first two carries of the first half, and that drive ended in a punt. They opened up the 2nd half with a pass, and then ran Blount — for 27 yards and a TD.
There simply was not some major change to forcing more offense through Blount in the 2nd half. The _real_ difference was in what happened when he got the ball — 0.8yds/carry in the 1st, 8.4 yds/carry in the 2nd.