Patriots - Buccaneers: Five players to watch when the Bucs have the ball
by Sander on Aug 17, 2011 10:40 AM EDT
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The Bucs' second preseason game is coming up, and as always in preseason games the ultimate result doesn't really matter. Individual performances, however, do matter. There were a lot of positives and a few negatives to take away from the Bucs' first preseason game. Based on those observations, here are five players I'll be watching closely in the next game.
RB Legarrette Blount
Blount did not look all that different from last year, which isn't necessarily a problem. What is a problem is the fact that he missed at least one very big cut, leaving a lot of yards on the field. That's a problem he needs to fix, as it limited him last year. Blount was pretty good last season, but he can be much better, and I'll be watching to see if he can learn to make the right cuts.
G Davin Joseph
Joseph got a big contract from the Bucs, and looked very good against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Bucs' first preseason game. He was very strong in the run game and didn't get beat in the passing game. But Joseph will face a bigger challenge on Thursday, playing against Vincent Wilfork, Shaun Ellis (placed on PUP) and perhaps Albert Haynesworth. Can he prove he's worth the big contract?
TE Collin Franklin
Franklin was a waiver wire pickup from the New York Jets and has supposedly looked pretty good the past days in training camp. With Luke Stocker still injured he will get a chance to show off his skills. It will be interesting to see whether he can separate from the other tight ends, who have been lackluster so far.
WR Preston Parker
Parker conspicuously dropped a ball against the Chiefs and never actually caught one. Parker is battling for a roster spot and needs to perform to hang on. He hasn't done that so far, so I'll be looking to see if he stands out in any phase of the game - as a punt returner, kick returner or wide receiver.
RB Armando Allen Jr
Allen showed a little wiggle and looked like perhaps the best running back against the Chiefs. He won't be a special player, but he's a kind of running back the Bucs don't have on the roster. If he can produce against the Patriots, he may just make a push to stay on the roster.
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Don’t mind the typo. Blount looked rusty Friday, still he looked good. Allen can step up and be a speed back for us he’s got scat qualities, I was shocked with how fast he came off the ball friday night. If he can come in and compliment the backfield with his speed and be an option for Freeman im with it. I’d like to see Purvis get more passes his way as well. Do we know if Stocker will play or is he just suitin up?
by GoBuxGo on Aug 17, 2011 11:40 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Really want to see more Allen.
He’s currently the only guy on the roster with a build/skillset that no one else has. Hopefully he can make the most of that.
Seems like eveyone is giving up on Bradford
Its a little to early to give up on Bradford like this as a 3rd back
He iis much more talented then Allen is. This year is a shortened offseason Allen has had a big advantage over the other young RBs because of the pro system he played in a ND , While he might look better short term ( this is week 3 of practice) as far as natural talent in practice Bradford looks much better, wheather or not that translate to onfield production is yet to be seen, next 3 weeks will tell
Allen had 1 run for 16 yards
Besides that he had 3 runs for 2 yards. you take out both players long run and on all the rest the avg was the same..Which was Garbage. That has a lot to do with with the line. besides Zutta and Hardman.
We need some upgrades at the back up lineman as far as running a power run scheme . Guys who better fit the system.
I'm not talking about their production
I’m talking about the way they ran, the way they hit the hole etc. I saw nothing out of Bradford. I saw some skills in Allen. Also, if you take out the one big run for Allen, you also have to take out the one where he got hit in the backfield as he took the handoff.
Well not being a smart ass
From being at practice 9 Padded Bradford is the better back. Hands down.. Now that is practice of course and sometime one player will practice better and some players ar gamers..But the fact that Bradford had 10 carries and Allen 4 carries should back up what i have seen at practice.
They have a draft pick invested in Bradford
He’s always going to get more opportunity than Allen. It doesn’t change what I saw.
I’m not saying you’re wrong about practice – I’m not there and I can’t know. I’m just talking abut what I saw in the game.
isnt that what we go by? what we see in the game or what we see in practice?
ill take what we see in the game
by Carlitin1988 on Aug 18, 2011 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe I'm alone on this...
but Blount seemed to wiggle through a hole and stop at least once last week. He was certainly surronded by guys, but he just sort of covered up and waited for them to tackle him. When they grabbed him he started pushing forward, but it was really weird to me. Probably nothing.
No, you're right
Blount did that fairly often last year too. It’s why I don’t think he’s a power runner.
i agree he is not a power runner
He is a big back with Great vision. He runs threw arm tackles on the second level. while he will put a shoulder down in the secondary most of the time he breaks tackles from his size and the angles he sest his body into . if u look at a lot of his runs he realy does not take many hard hits like power backs do. such as bettis , cambell , gearge rogers allstott etc. ..
great body angles
Reminds me a lot of how Walter Payton and Emitt used to break tackles buy not letting DBs get direct hits on them. Something u cannot teach
On top of his size, he does damage to lb'ers
Look at DET game where Lb’er tryed to ride him, and Blount used his weight shift to throw him off!! He stiffarms/ sheds tackles like a beast.. I’m very excited..
Nasty pirate zombie.. Arrgg!
Absolutely
Terrible habit. He braces for contact, while he has the size to punish tacklers. He has more bad habits like that and is really a very raw running back. But he can be so much better with time.
Can we add the entire O-line?
One game of great play was encouraging, but I think the Pats’ D-line will prove a bit more of a test. Want to make sure last week wasn’t a fluke (don’t think it was, but a little confirmation never hurt anyone).
Even though I'm a rams fan and an author at Turf Show Times, I'm a big fan of QB Josh Freeman
I wrote a post about Sam Bradford and Josh Freeman you may find interesting.Let me know what you think? Have a great season Bucs!
Good post
Though I don’t know if I agree with the sternum issue. Freeman did take quite a few hits last year, though.
I remember when McNair broke his sternum...
The wierd thing is this injury happens often to big quarterbacks. I know it sounds odd to pick that injury as something for Freeman to look out for, but it is true. I want this young guy to be great, just as I want sam Bradford to be as well. I want some AWESOME Rams-Bucs games featuring these two guys battling for the NFC crown.
That would be great
Rams-Bucs have already had at least two memorable games (’79 and ’99 NFC Championships)
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