Did Morris betray Ruud?

[michael89156]

‘Rah’ betrays Ruud
by Tom Balog
Copyright 2011 Sarasota Herald-Tribune



TAMPA — There’s a cold hard lesson that every Buccaneer player needs to take from the departure of free agent middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, who was perhaps the  player closest to Raheem Morris, this side of Ronde Barber, in his first two years as Tampa Bay’s head coach.

 Morris publicly stated last year at one of his podiums how he and Ruud went to dinner together during the offseason, to talk football and life. Their friendship stretched beyond One Buccaneer Place, as they have been spotted hanging out together on other occasions this year.

 ”Barrett was more than just my ‘Mike’ backer, he was a close friend,” Morris said Sunday. “I wish him nothing but the best. I hope he goes on and proves us wrong and makes it happen. But it’s time to move on.”

When Ruud’s contract expired after last season, and he desperately wanted to remain a Buccaneer, for the rest of his career, how much influence did Morris try to exert upon general manager Mark Dominik to keep around the player who had been Tampa Bay’s leading tackler for the past four seasons?

 The answer: Not enough, if any at all.

 The translation for the rest of the Buccaneers: Despite however much Morris tries to be close to you now,  someday, at contract time, he will not be there for you. He will disown you, just like he apparently did Ruud.

 As a head coach, Morris certainly was not there for Ruud. And if he was not there for Ruud, who is he going to be there for?

 The upshot of all this, is that it undermines the people-person image of Morris, who is by nature a good guy.

 There is no excuse for Morris, if him and Dominik are really that close, for him not privately telling Dominik in the offseason, “‘Hey, look, man, we gotta keep Barrett for another year or two. He’s my guy.”

 Because, look at what an embarrassment it is now for the Buccaneers, that the Tennessee Titans signed Ruud to a one-year contract.

 You mean the Buccaneers couldn’t have done at least that much?

 Or did Dominik — and Morris — have such a low opinion of Ruud’s play, after a season in which he made 118 tackles, to lead a 10-6 team, that he was not worthy of being re-signed?

 I guess so.

[blind melon]

Typical Blalog.

[lazoran]

Ruud actually betrayed Bucs fans.

[PewterReportSR]

Wow. The premise of this article is just wrong in sooooooo many ways!

[Tobias Funke]

Not even Java could spin something that hard.

[BucBalla85]

lol When I read these the more I think I can be a writer and blow these guys out of the water.

[Bucsfan x]

Tom Balog betrayed my ass when the paper this article was printed on did not clean it well enough after going to the bathroom.

[Durango 95]

This is actually an attack on a personal level, calling Raheem's character into question. WoW. For Balog's sake I hope he was drunk when he wrote this.

[Biggs3535]

The translation for the rest of the Buccaneers: Despite however much Morris tries to be close to you now,  someday, at contract time, he will not be there for you. He will disown you, just like he apparently did Ruud.

 As a head coach, Morris certainly was not there for Ruud. And if he was not there for Ruud, who is he going to be there for?

Does this dingleberry think this is summer camp football?

In spite of all of the people who devoured the coach-speak of Morris, Ruud wasn't the player on the football field the team desired.  He's a guy that will probably be a better coach than player, even though he gave a "A-minus" performance on football field last season.

[Foedus]

I actually think this shows what a great coach Raheem is, it doesn't matter how much he may like if you aren't getting the job done.  Your Gone.  I think he was very honest he has always said "I will tolerate you till I can replace you".  Or something like that.

[DaRealdeal]

This article is epic.

At this point everyone should know that you can't take Balog seriously. Just read this article he put out about Clayton in 2010. The title of the article is priceless.

http://bucshots.blogs.heraldtribune.com/15072/claytons-legacy-bigger-than-football/

Could anyone be more clueless?

[Skull and Bones]

I actually think this shows what a great coach Raheem is, it doesn't matter how much he may like if you aren't getting the job done.  Your Gone.  I think he was very honest he has always said "I will tolerate you till I can replace you".  Or something like that.

you honestly think he would cut Barber?  I don't.

[3rd String Kicker]

I've not heard of the author of this article... and after reading it I can understand why I haven't heard of him.

[Biggs3535]

This article is epic.

At this point everyone should know that you can't take Balog seriously. Just read this article he put out about Clayton in 2010. The title of the article is priceless.

http://bucshots.blogs.heraldtribune.com/15072/claytons-legacy-bigger-than-football/

Could anyone be more clueless?

lolz

[bashear]

Terrible article. First of all, how does the reporter know what was said between Raheem and Dom? Or know what was not said? Seems like he's guessing. Seems like he noted the departure of Ruud and assumed Raheem said nothing in his favor.

It would be crazy if Dom no longer thought Ruud was the answer at middle line backer, but Morris stepped in and begged Dom to resign Ruud because of the relationship between Raheem and Rudd. Now, Morris might think highly of Rudd's play and might have wanted him back, but to say he wanted him back because they're "friends" would be shocking. Yet, the reporter is taking a shot at Morris for, in the reporter's mind, not going to bat for his friend.

I don't get to see a lot of Morris behind the scenes, but even watching the limited sound bites on TV I get the feeling that, if you play well, he's your guy. If you don't, you don't have a job. Raheem knows that if the Bucs don't play well, he doesn't have a job. If you're a player with the Bucs, you're in the same boat as Raheem, basically.

The reporter doesn't see the irony of making the case for Ruud to be re-signed when Ruud was only able to get a one-year deal from the Titans.

At the end of the article, he closes with a "guess." How about going out there and getting some answers instead of guessing?