RB situation

[cvillebucfan]

This is your contibution to the subject?
Very impressive.

Its contribution....

[alldaway]

Caddy's number was called few times last season becuase the defense was not that good early (had to go pass heavy play calling) in the year and the run blocking as Gruden stated throughout the year was horrible.

[alldaway]

BTW it hurts that the Bucs best o-lineman (Buenning) was not on the field enough while Mahan dazzled us with his uncanny ability to look like a bullfighter waving a red flag.

[dbucfan]

Clearly everyone has the right to express opinons.  The spelling and grammar corrections are designed to be annoying and that was successful.

Let's see how Caddy plays with a NFL qb - and perhaps a NFL caliber Oline before saying he is a bust.  Darn few runners are successful without the threat of a pass, or without effective blocking.  Marginal rbs can be made to look pretty darn good with both a successful qb and cohesive offensive line.  JMHO.

[bradentonian]

Trade Carnell Williams to the Redskins for Clinton Portis???
It makes since,because Williams is a brusier back in Joe Gibbs system and he loves the big RB's,and Portis is the opposite. I like Carnell though

'Skins aren't stupid enough to make that trade.  Also, while Caddy has a hard-nosed running style, he definitely isn't a "bruiser"; he and Portis are about the same size.

[Fresh]

Trade Carnell Williams to the Redskins for Clinton Portis???
It makes sense,because Williams is a brusier back in Joe Gibbs system and he loves the big RB's,and Portis is the opposite. I like Carnell though

'Skins aren't stupid enough to make that trade. Also, while Caddy has a hard-nosed running style, he definitely isn't a "bruiser"; he and Portis are about the same size.

I know,i was just throwing something out thier. Portis is a faster then Caddy,and has more explosion then Caddy,Carnell is a tough runner. Size doesn't matter its how he plays.

[sma2680]

Ugh...these stupid posts on Caddy.  Caddy is the best offensive player on our team.  We aren't going to trade him, nor will we trade for some other starting RB who will want starter money. 

As for Jeff Garcia needing a pass catching back to be successful....he made the pro bowl 3 times with Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow as RBs, neither was a proficient pass catcher.  If you remember, much of the success of the Eagles last year was attributed to Morningwheg taking over the play calling and rushing the ball more than Andy Reed who typically relied on the short passing game.  With an improved O-line, a decent QB, and being healthy, Caddy will have a good year. 

[fsubob]

The only running back I know who could have a more productive season with OUR line last year would be Barry Sanders.  He didn't need a line to produce.  Caddy will be fine this year. 

[kennard19]

Caddy was getting hit in the back Field all year. It is not his fault that no one was scared of the pass. He will be fine this year. He had some great 2 yard runs this year. Give him a break.

[bradentonian]

Trade Carnell Williams to the Redskins for Clinton Portis???
It makes sense,because Williams is a brusier back in Joe Gibbs system and he loves the big RB's,and Portis is the opposite. I like Carnell though

'Skins aren't stupid enough to make that trade. Also, while Caddy has a hard-nosed running style, he definitely isn't a "bruiser"; he and Portis are about the same size.

I know,i was just throwing something out thier. Portis is a faster then Caddy,and has more explosion then Caddy,Carnell is a tough runner. Size doesn't matter its how he plays.

I agree, but IMO that running style combined with his size is responsible for his injuries

[1sparkybuc]

Other teams in the league have bad OLs and worse RBs and still manage to post respectable yardage in their ground game. The Bucs were pathetic. I have the NFL package on DirecTV. I saw every game. Great RBs make plays on their own once in a while. Caddy didn't. The OL will take some time to gel next season but the schedule is weak. Maybe he will erase all my doubts. I really hope so, but I still believe he can't do it all without some help. He played RB by committee in college in a much shorter season. Mcgahee could fill the bill nicely if he didn't cost too much. We need an alternative. If we lose Caddy, we are screwed.

[1sparkybuc]

Clearly everyone has the right to express opinons. The spelling and grammar corrections are designed to be annoying and that was successful.

Let's see how Caddy plays with a NFL qb - and perhaps a NFL caliber Oline before saying he is a bust. Darn few runners are successful without the threat of a pass, or without effective blocking. Marginal rbs can be made to look pretty darn good with both a successful qb and cohesive offensive line. JMHO.

Never said he was a bust, just that it's not reasonable to expect him to carry the whole load.

[alldaway]

Other teams in the league have bad OLs and worse RBs and still manage to post respectable yardage in their ground game. The Bucs were pathetic. I have the NFL package on DirecTV. I saw every game. Great RBs make plays on their own once in a while. Caddy didn't. The OL will take some time to gel next season but the schedule is weak. Maybe he will erase all my doubts. I really hope so, but I still believe he can't do it all without some help. He played RB by committee in college in a much shorter season. Mcgahee could fill the bill nicely if he didn't cost too much. We need an alternative. If we lose Caddy, we are screwed.

THE only RB that has looked good behind a poor o-line is LT.   No back in the league comes close to a future Hall of Famer in LT.  And he looked even better with a good o-line these past few years.

[PoorRichard]

I have lost confidence in Cadillac Williams and I believe Gruden has too. I understand the issues with poor blocking but when your QB is a rookie the logical thing to do is run the ball. Two years ago, Gruden beat him to death. Last year, if Gruden used him, it was as a decoy most of the time. IMO we have a serious need for a RB yet we show no real concern or interest in improving the position. Is it a smokescreen to cover our real intentions in the draft?

Several decent RBs have changed teams already and Buffalo wants to trade their guy. Not one word about the Bucs. How can they be confident in the players we have now? It's going to take more than the OL upgrades to make our ground attack productive.

Couldn't disagree more. If Gruden has lost confidence in his top 5 RB after one bad year then he has almost no chance of saving his job. Last year we couldn't run b/c teams were stacking 9 in the box and forcing us to throw. They knew Grads had a pop gun arm and couldn't read D's. I expect Gruden to lean more on Caddy this year and let him prove his worth behind an improved Oline and  vastly improved play from the QB.

Trading for McGahee won't accomplish anything but destroy a fragile lockeroom and ruin an otherwise decent salary cap position heading into '08.

[sma2680]

Other teams in the league have bad OLs and worse RBs and still manage to post respectable yardage in their ground game. The Bucs were pathetic. I have the NFL package on DirecTV. I saw every game. Great RBs make plays on their own once in a while. Caddy didn't. The OL will take some time to gel next season but the schedule is weak. Maybe he will erase all my doubts. I really hope so, but I still believe he can't do it all without some help. He played RB by committee in college in a much shorter season. Mcgahee could fill the bill nicely if he didn't cost too much. We need an alternative. If we lose Caddy, we are screwed.

First, no team had a worse O-line and starting QB combination last year than us.  Second, Caddy was injured all year with the herniated disc.  If you remember, we were pathetic in all offensive aspects last year...

Second, while players are expected to make plays on their own, few RBs, even on bad teams faced as many 8 and even 9 man fronts as the Bucs did last year.  Clearly teams schemed to tempt us to try to beat them with the pass b/c of our poor qb play.  Think of how many games were passes outnumbered rushing attempts...

Caddy is a good back, he like everyone else on offense suffered last year.  He will be better as the players around him improve.