LeGarrette Blount (Punctuality, Release, and Trade Rumors)

[michael89156]

Then and now: Five Tampa Bay Buccaneers who need a turnaround

 By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
 In Print: Sunday, July 22, 2012






[DANIEL WALLACE | Times]
The Bucs drafted running back Doug Martin in the first round, meaning Blount likely will need to step up to keep his playing time.
 
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For every action in the NFL, there is usually a corresponding reaction. • Coming off a disappointing season for a team that appeared to lack structure and accountability, the Bucs hired no-nonsense Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, an organized disciplinarian with a square jaw, buzz cut and barrel chest right out of central casting. • The little problems that metastasized into big ones last season have been addressed. • But the transformation is far from complete, and for a handful of players who will be asked to play huge roles again this season, big changes in a short period of time will be in order.







1. RB LeGARRETTE BLOUNT

THEN: His lack of commitment was startling to coaches from the day he was claimed off waivers from the Titans an undrafted rookie in 2010. For the first two weeks after being acquired by Tampa Bay, Blount, who was suspended at Oregon for punching a Boise State player, never made it to work on time and compiled fines of more than $15,000. Exasperated, then-coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik ordered him to hire a car service with a driver to wake him up in the morning and transport him less than 3 miles from his apartment to One Buc Place. After a few weeks, they canceled the car service for one day. And Blount was late. He continued to need a driver to get to work in 2011. But his poor preparation habits also spread to the meeting room, where coaches said he would sometimes fall asleep. On the field, Blount struggled to hold onto the football. He has fumbled nine times in two years, losing six, and rarely played on passing downs. A knee injury at San Francisco prevented Blount from playing in two games last season, and he finished with 781 yards (4.2 per rush average) and five touchdowns.

NOW: Blount will have to compete to keep his starting job. The Bucs traded for an extra first-round pick in this year's draft to take Boise State running back Doug Martin, whom Schiano says reminds him of Ravens and former Rutgers running back Ray Rice. Martin is a more complete back who can play on all three downs as a good route runner and pass protector. Blount, 25, dropped some weight in the offseason and has worked hard to improve his blocking and route running. He also has learned to carry the football high and tight to his body. "It's become a habit," he said. "I don't even notice that I do it most of the time now. Holding the ball down (low) is kind of uncomfortable now. … If that's all you do every time you are at practice with a ball in your hand, you can't help but make it a habit."



WR MIKE WILLIAMS

THEN: Williams, left, led all rookies in receiving with 964 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2010. But he suffered through a sophomore slump and was among the league leaders in dropped passes last year.

The 6-foot-1, 212-pound receiver, who relies on his strength more than speed to get separation, packed on some weight during the NFL lockout last summer. There's some debate as to how much he gained, but coaches insist regardless of where he tipped the scales in August, he lost 15 pounds during the season, and his lack of production would indicate he wore down.

In the final month of the season, he had trouble getting off the line of scrimmage in bump-and-run coverage and averaged two catches for 26.25 yards per game. He finished the season with 65 catches for 771 yards and only three touchdowns.

"Nobody is making excuses for him," GM Mark Dominik said. "He's got to catch the ball more consistently. But I didn't feel a guy who was shutting it down and didn't want to play. He was still competitive, and I like that about Mike."

NOW: The Bucs were aggressive in landing arguably the top free agent wide receiver available, former Charger Vincent Jackson. The 6-5, 230-pound Jackson, above, signed a five-year, $55.55 million deal and gives quarterback Josh Freeman a proven No. 1 wideout.

That means Williams, 25, will be the second option, which could mean more single coverage and better production. Williams worked hard in the offseason and should begin training camp in much better shape. He is also learning more positions so he can be moved around and should be more difficult to bottle up.



LT DONALD PENN

THEN: In many ways, the most important job for the Bucs is protecting their franchise quarterback. And in that regard, Penn is imperative.

He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2010, the year he signed a six-year, $43 million contract. When he's in shape, he can be great. But he has struggled with his conditioning, which is why GM Mark Dominik tied $1 million over the length of the contract to a weight clause.

At least three times during the season and once in the offseason, Penn has to submit to weigh-ins tied to a $200,000 per year bonus. Once the games start, he has to be no more than 330 pounds to receive his money.

Coaches say he ballooned to 360 pounds at times last season, his sixth in the league. Mindful of an upcoming weigh-in, he would wear a rubber shirt under his jersey during practice. Some claimed the routine made him irritable and dehydrated and likely affected his performance on Sunday.

It's unclear if or how many times he failed to reach his weight limit. By agreement, he doesn't have to step on a scale the final month of the season. Not coincidentally, that's when he played his worst football in 2011.

Against Jacksonville Dec. 11, he allowed a first-half sack to Jaguars defensive end Jeremy Mincey that resulted in a Josh Freeman fumble, which was recovered for a touchdown in a 41-14 loss. Freeman was harassed all day, sacked three times, and threw two interceptions as the Bucs turned the ball over seven times.

NOW: Coach Greg Schiano has challenged Penn and other veterans on the offensive line to be better leaders. Penn, 29, will benefit from left guard Jeremy Zuttah moving to center, and should love playing alongside Saints free agent guard Carl Nicks.

The team also hired former Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad to direct the most veteran unit on the team.

"We've got to keep No. 5 (Freeman) upright," Schiano said. "He got hit way too many times last year."



CB AQIB TALIB

THEN: A year ago, he began the season in the office of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Suspended for the first game in 2009 for punching a St. Petersburg cab driver, Talib was indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a incident in Garland, Texas, on March 11, 2011. Goodell let him remain eligible for the season, saying he would monitor the case.

On the field Talib, right, struggled. He was flagged for a critical unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in a loss to the Bears. On his way to the locker room after the game, he berated the official who flagged him with a profanity-laced tirade.

It was not dissimilar from the time he exploded on NFL side judge Boris Cheek following a loss at Baltimore in 2010. The league became involved in the matter with Cheek. But officials decided not to report Talib's abuse of an official following the game in England.

A hamstring injury slowed him during the second half of the season, and he was placed on injured reserve with two games remaining. He finished his fourth NFL season with only two interceptions.

NOW: The Bucs were so uncertain of Talib's status heading into a trial scheduled for this offseason, they signed Lions free agent cornerback Eric Wright, left, to a five-year, $37 million contract. But last month, the case against Talib was dismissed. Coach Greg Schiano has said Talib, 26, has a clean slate. He was a fixture at One Buc Place in the offseason. The hamstring injury appears to be behind him. With Ronde Barber moving to safety, Talib will pair with Wright at cornerback and should help improve a secondary that allowed 30 touchdown passes last season.

"It got a little loose last year where people got a little too loose around the building," Talib said in a radio interview recently. "So Schiano definitely came in and brought that order back to the building."



QB JOSH FREEMAN

THEN: Freeman struggled last season, throwing 22 interceptions and only 16 touchdowns. The third-year quarterback missed one game with a sore throwing shoulder but played through several other injuries, at least one of which the team attempted to conceal.

He was injured on his final play in London, striking the thumb of his right (throwing) hand on the helmet of Bears defensive end Julius Peppers. Because the Bucs had a bye week, Freeman did not have to practice and the team wasn't required to file an injury report with the NFL.

A week later, still recovering from the sprained thumb, he spent part of a day off at a local gun range. But the weapon he was firing recoiled and gave him what shooters call a slide bite, a deep laceration on his right thumb.

There was debate about how many stitches he received, with reports ranging from a few to double digits. The day after the accident, GM Mark Dominik summoned Freeman to his office and told him the organization was not going to talk about the gunplay.

He was limited in practice when the team returned to work that week in preparation for a game at New Orleans, but the thumb issue did not appear on the injury report.

When Saints team officials saw Freeman being interviewed on NFL Network later that night with a heavy wrap on his right thumb, they asked the league to make sure the Bucs included him on the next injury report. The team complied, listing only a sprained thumb. Freeman followed Dominik's gag order. He played well against the Saints, going 27-of-37 passing for 281 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions. But the Bucs lost 27-16 and Freeman missed two wide open receivers for likely touchdowns.

In the four weeks after the thumb injuries, he passed for five touchdowns and six interceptions while losing four straight games. Three weeks after the gun range accident, word leaked out about the cut thumb. He apologized for his poor judgment.

NOW: Freeman, 24, dropped 20 pounds in the offseason, down to 235. Coaches talk about his rededication. He has spent a lot of time with new offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan and quarterbacks coach Ron Turner trying to improve his fundamentals and footwork.

In fact, most of the offseason was designed to get him back on track and surround him with more talent: the free agent signings of receiver Vincent Jackson and guard Carl Nicks, drafting running backs Doug Martin and Michael Smith.

Coach Greg Schiano believes Freeman put too much pressure on himself.

"I think (he's) a guy that's putting the brunt of the blame on his own shoulders," Schiano said. "There were a lot of breakdowns, things that he had no control over. At the end of the day, we're going to start from scratch.

"We have a new system, new coaches, new people, and we're just going to try to build from ground zero, build it up and see where we can go with it."

[The Anti-Java]

1. RB LeGARRETTE BLOUNT

THEN: His lack of commitment was startling to coaches from the day he was claimed off waivers from the Titans an undrafted rookie in 2010. For the first two weeks after being acquired by Tampa Bay, Blount, who was suspended at Oregon for punching a Boise State player, never made it to work on time and compiled fines of more than $15,000. Exasperated, then-coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik ordered him to hire a car service with a driver to wake him up in the morning and transport him less than 3 miles from his apartment to One Buc Place. After a few weeks, they canceled the car service for one day. And Blount was late. He continued to need a driver to get to work in 2011. But his poor preparation habits also spread to the meeting room, where coaches said he would sometimes fall asleep.





Jesus H.    Never heard about all that.   Hope he has turned over a new leaf.

[Skull and Bones]

Yep.  Blount has a loser mentality.  There were some reports that had come out over the past two years about it but most here didn't want to hear it.  Sure he has some talent but I am very happy we drafted a RB high.  Everyone wants to now blame Morris for everything since it helps them cope with rooting for a team that got blown out in their last 10 games and sure he deserves a lot of it but so does Dominick, who is still here, and so do the players.  You don't lose 10 in a row without losers like LGB.  He has the talent to be a lot better than what he has been.  Hopefully he's pushed to improve or he should be pushed out.  At least we are hearing positive things.

[CyberDilemma]

1. RB LeGARRETTE BLOUNT

THEN: His lack of commitment was startling to coaches from the day he was claimed off waivers from the Titans an undrafted rookie in 2010. For the first two weeks after being acquired by Tampa Bay, Blount, who was suspended at Oregon for punching a Boise State player, never made it to work on time and compiled fines of more than $15,000. Exasperated, then-coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik ordered him to hire a car service with a driver to wake him up in the morning and transport him less than 3 miles from his apartment to One Buc Place. After a few weeks, they canceled the car service for one day. And Blount was late. He continued to need a driver to get to work in 2011. But his poor preparation habits also spread to the meeting room, where coaches said he would sometimes fall asleep.





Jesus H.    Never heard about all that.   Hope he has turned over a new leaf.

That's what I've been telling you guys for a long time. I heard rumblings that they have had problems or "internal issues" with Blount from the get-go. Are you supposed to reward a guy like that who basically thumbs his nose at authority by giving him 30 carries a game? How does that look to the rest of the players? Morris and Olson were damned if they did and damned if they didn't....thanks to Dominik who left the RB cupboard pretty damn bare last season. You can't really cut a guy with this much talent but his act is getting old. I think this will be a very telling year for the guy with Schiano at the helm and a whole new stockpile of RB's. If Blount doesn't eventually get it together, he will probably end up being used to pound the rock in garbage time....which might not be a bad way to use him. That's basically what Gruden did with Alsott until he ran him off the team.

[Dolorous Jason]

...and this is why those who think this clown is going to learn the mental aspects of the game like pass blocking , and beat out a  talented hard worker like Muscle Hamster , are probably deluding themselves.

Jdouble is going to cry when he reads this article by the way, lol.

[tripblood]

I'm gonna go with Quincy "algae" Black, McCoy, and Mason Foster.. Our defense is garbage

[JDouble]

Yeah. That news about Blount sucks. Hope the kid grows the **CENSORED** up real fast, cause we don't need guys like that on the roster. Schiano isn't going to deal with it either. Sucks this came out publicly though, because if he doesn't change and can't cut it with Schiano....this hurts his trade value.

[BucBalla85]

I said for a while that I heard he had been a problem. Me thinks we will hear more about that when he is no longer on the team. I do think he can turn it around under Schiano though.

[BucDaFackUp]

I think the threat of losing his plum job might scare LGB into being disciplined...if that won't do it then he will end up as a journeyman player that never lives up to his potential.

[JDouble]

If Belicheat got Randy Moss to buckle down and be a professional, it's possible for Schiano to get Blount on track....but honestly it has been my experience that most guys that have no work ethic or pride in their work by their mid 20's, don't ever develop it. Very disappointing.

[The Anti-Java]

Yeah. That news about Blount sucks. Hope the kid grows the **CENSORED** up real fast, cause we don't need guys like that on the roster. Schiano isn't going to deal with it either. Sucks this came out publicly though, because if he doesn't change and can't cut it with Schiano....this hurts his trade value.

Agree.   Something tells me Schiano won't be providing "car service" for LeGarrette.

[Madman]

Penn was fat, Blount was lazy and Freeman was stupid. Sums up the 2011 team.

[Skull and Bones]

That's why they are on double secret probation.

[Uncle Stan]

I said for a while that I heard he had been a problem. Me thinks we will hear more about that when he is no longer on the team. I do think he can turn it around under Schiano though.

We heard, very early,  similar comments from Mark Cook at the G2G. Virtually everything Mark said, eventually became public knowledge.

[Knucknbuc]

This doesn't really bother me a whole lot. I think this whole team last year had this sense that they had arrived last year and that everything was gonna be given to them. Hell I would have fell asleep on Greg "benn- end-round" LOlson  was trying to tell me a "offensive gameplan" if thats what you want to call it. LGB has already shown to me that he is taking this extremely serious this year and that he wants it. With him losing weight, being chippy when any questions are asked about his starting job, hell even him showing up to schiano's first presser tells me that you'll see a more motivated LGB this year.