lawofmurphy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 NFL.com reports while Bucs RB LeGarrette Blount proved to be a surprise addition to the offense in 2010, he was still considered a liability on passing downs because of his poor pass-blocking skills. Heading into his second season that no longer seems to be a huge issue. "He’s come a long way,” coach Raheem Morris said Monday of Blount. “That’s a credit to (running backs) coach (Steve) Logan’s coaching and it’s a credit to the effort the kid has put into it. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that -- he’s come a long way in a year’s time.” While Blount's status as the team's starting RB isn't in jeopardy, his improvement in pass blocking is key because it will lead to more playing time. “Being able to block and being able to stay in there sometimes on third down to help out will definitely be a big time move for him,” Morris said. “It’s a big step for him.” Is anyone as high on this guy (in non-PPR leagues) as I am? I think he can finish in the top 10 and seems like a great value in the second or even third round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Is anyone as high on this guy (in non-PPR leagues) as I am? I think he can finish in the top 10 and seems like a great value in the second or even third round. I may be in the minority, but he didn't impress me when I did see him play. His stats were ok last year, but for his size he did not run through people. I did not watch him play often but when I did I wasn't wow'ed by him and I usually follow my gut. If he's there for cheap or later rounds, sure I'll take him but I will not upgrade my view on him based on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I may be in the minority, but he didn't impress me when I did see him play. His stats were ok last year, but for his size he did not run through people. I did not watch him play often but when I did I wasn't wow'ed by him and I usually follow my gut. If he's there for cheap or later rounds, sure I'll take him but I will not upgrade my view on him based on this. The thing is though, he is one of the dwindling few that you don't have to worry about a RBBC situation with. He might not be the best RB out there, but the Bucs will give him the opportunity to put plenty of Fantasy points up for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I don't have the confidence in him. I traded him as soon as I could with some nice return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawofmurphy Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) I may be in the minority, but he didn't impress me when I did see him play. His stats were ok last year, but for his size he did not run through people. I did not watch him play often but when I did I wasn't wow'ed by him and I usually follow my gut. If he's there for cheap or later rounds, sure I'll take him but I will not upgrade my view on him based on this. Fair enough. I'll be honest (and throw away all objectivity) and say I've been watching his highlights from last year and they make me giggle like a school-girl. Admittedly, he didn't face the toughest run defenses last year and I do worry about a little Anthony Thomas repeat...but he played well in limited action against the Steelers and Ravens too. I'm not upgrading him based on this info...I tend to not put one iota of credence into any training camp speak. But I do think there's a difference between "This guy is gonna get 1500 yards this year" and "Hey, he has improved his blitz pickup." The latter is a bit more down to earth praise. Oh well. As Savage Beatings pointed out, there aren't a ton of backs that appear poised to get the number of carries Blount is lined up to get. I'm on board EDIT - is an 8 minute highlight video...weeeeee Edited August 10, 2011 by lawofmurphy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Fair enough. I'll be honest (and throw away all objectivity) and say I've been watching his highlights from last year and they make me giggle like a school-girl. Admittedly, he didn't face the toughest run defenses last year and I do worry about a little Anthony Thomas repeat...but he played well in limited action against the Steelers and Ravens too. I'm not upgrading him based on this info...I tend to not put one iota of credence into any training camp speak. But I do think there's a difference between "This guy is gonna get 1500 yards this year" and "Hey, he has improved his blitz pickup." The latter is a bit more down to earth praise. Oh well. As Savage Beatings pointed out, there aren't a ton of backs that appear poised to get the number of carries Blount is lined up to get. I'm on board Did he make you laugh because he was good or bad? Everytime I saw him run, he ran right into a defender and didn't bull him over like someone his size should. There was one highlight where he hurddled a defender which was impressive, but for someone that size i rather see him bull his way into the endzone. To be honest, I think it's too early to tell if it will be RBBC. It's not like hes as good as Adrian Peterson where you can say no one will overtake his job. If he doesn't perform they will NOT keep him in there and it will turn into a RBBC. In today's FFL, we have to work with RBBC because it has become part of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkirc Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I think news of a player like Blount, who last year was a liability on passing downs, improving his blitz pick up, could move him up some baords. If he is in there on third down more, he may be able to catch a few passes. That being said, we hear this kind of talk from coaches all over the league. Until we see the actual RB rotation, you have to take this with a grain of salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 My biggest concern with Blount last year was his inability to pound his way into the end zone. He should have been able to knock defenders off the line, but he was repelled more than he should have been. He has allot of issues but has some upside. If his personality doesn't get in his way, he should be a fine back. But I think his ego and arrogance will be his down fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawofmurphy Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Did he make you laugh because he was good or bad? I dunno...I posted that video and see him bowling through defenders aplenty. I'm not saying he's Earl Campbell, but he's not Dickerson either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I dunno...I posted that video and see him bowling through defenders aplenty. I'm not saying he's Earl Campbell, but he's not Dickerson either. Highlights are great. I'm sure I can put together a few min on JeMarcus Russell highlights too. I've been wrong many times in fantasy world but I still follow my gut. If he's there late I'll take him but I don't want to reach at him either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historymike Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Highlights are great. I'm sure I can put together a few min on JeMarcus Russell highlights too. +1 for the laugh. I think Blount is a very serviceable RB2, but I am not expecting top-tier RB1 from the dude just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawofmurphy Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Highlights are great. I'm sure I can put together a few min on JeMarcus Russell highlights too. I'm pretty sure you can't I've been wrong many times in fantasy world but I still follow my gut. If he's there late I'll take him but I don't want to reach at him either. I posted the highlight video in response to the criticism that he isn't a physical enough runner. I think 8 minutes of highlights can at least show off a running style. I don't trust ANYONE'S "gut" because it's not as reliable as #'s. He averaged 5.0 ypc and ranked 15th in DVOA%. And 7 guys in front of him in that (BJE, Brandon Jacobs, Ivory, Felix Jones, Michael Bush, Greene, and Addai) were in timeshare situations. I think it's a legitimate argument that Blount faced a fairly easy run defense schedule (Atlanta, STL, Detroit, Arizona, Carolina, etc.) so I'm interested to see how he does against better tests...but yeah...the #'s are pretty good for him as is. I think they at least suggest he's being well undervalued as a marginal 2nd back being taken in the 3rd or 4th rounds. Edit - Mixed up a few of the DVOA rankings. Edited August 10, 2011 by lawofmurphy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingd Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Highlights are great. I'm sure I can put together a few min on JeMarcus Russell highlights too. I'll take that bet I like Blount at his current ADP territory. If he hypes up into the top 10 RB ADP I'll pass but if the alternatives are Greene, Bradshaw, Matthews and company I'll take a shot at the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I dunno...I posted that video and see him bowling through defenders aplenty. I'm not saying he's Earl Campbell, but he's not Dickerson either. College? Must have been. I seem to recall him getting stood up on 1st and Goal 4 straight times at the end of a game last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 College? Must have been. I seem to recall him getting stood up on 1st and Goal 4 straight times at the end of a game last year. That didnt make it into the highlight tape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturphy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I don't trust ANYONE'S "gut" because it's not as reliable as #'s. You don't have to trust someone else's gut. But, I'll go with my eyeball test over the numbers from last season every time. On any player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 1007 yards 6 tds. Not bad for a rookie season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawofmurphy Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 College? Must have been. I seem to recall him getting stood up on 1st and Goal 4 straight times at the end of a game last year. Yes...let's ignore all the good plays and focus on the worst ones. I could say AP is bad on the goal line cause the Dolphins stood him up four times towards the end of their Week 2 game last year. But then we both know that's not accurate right? It would be kind of petty, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Yes...let's ignore all the good plays and focus on the worst ones. I could say AP is bad on the goal line cause the Dolphins stood him up four times towards the end of their Week 2 game last year. But then we both know that's not accurate right? It would be kind of petty, right? Sure, but it's also petty to compare a guy with maybe 10 total starts and done some nice things to Adrian Peterson who has an established NFL track record of being a bad-ass. Ap has that, Blount does not. Perhaps a better indicator would be his 1st and Goal from inside the 3 record. I'll bet dollars to donuts APs is still better. Don't get me wrong, I like Blount but he showed last year he was a bit better than ok at being a starter and that's about it. He hasn't shown elite results yet. AP has, so that's a really poor analogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturphy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Don't get me wrong, I like Blount but he showed last year he was a bit better than ok at being a starter and that's about it. He hasn't shown elite results yet. AP has, so that's a really poor analogy. This Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawofmurphy Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Perhaps a better indicator would be his 1st and Goal from inside the 3 record. I'll bet dollars to donuts APs is still better. I'm not saying Blount is better than AP at GL running/power running/overall running. I'm saying picking out three rushes out of 200+ isn't nearly enough to make ANY kind of determination about a back. It's as silly to do for Blount as it would be to do for AP. For the record, the Bucs were average last year in "Power" situations as a whole, ranking 17th. Of course, we're talking about a subject that connects OL play and RB play more closely than many other RB numbers do. So I dunno how much to really take away from that positively or negatively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I like Blount at his current ADP territory. If he hypes up into the top 10 RB ADP I'll pass but if the alternatives are Greene, Bradshaw, Matthews and company I'll take a shot at the guy. This. What I like about him is where I think I can get him. I'm not going down the William Green path again and grabbing a guy like this in the top 15. But I'll take a long look around 20-something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 1007 yards 6 tds. Not bad for a rookie season. Let's qualify that a bit. That's his stats in only 7 starts and 13 games. Blount didn't hit double digit carries until week 6. He was signed off the TEN PS and joined TB on September 7th. So that was his production without gettting the benefit of OTAs or a preseason with TB, and also in a partial season and getting pulled on passing downs. Now if he plays a full season as the starter from day 1 and also gets to stay in in passing situations? You're looking at RB1 production here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Let's qualify that a bit. That's his stats in only 7 starts and 13 games. Blount didn't hit double digit carries until week 6. He was signed off the TEN PS and joined TB on September 7th. So that was his production without gettting the benefit of OTAs or a preseason with TB, and also in a partial season and getting pulled on passing downs. Now if he plays a full season as the starter from day 1 and also gets to stay in in passing situations? You're looking at RB1 production here. I hope so. I just traded for him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 in the few 10 team mock drafts I've done so far, he's usually gone before the start of the 3rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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