Copy Cat League, Running Game Edition

I just wanted to weigh in on something that kept popping into my head while I was watching the game again.

Why don't the Bucs utilize the same kinds of running schemes as the Panthers?

I'm dead serious about this.

People always call the NFL a "copy cat league" because when one team has a success running a certain scheme then before you know it you will see other teams trying to do the same thing. And if there is one thing the Panthers have been good at over the years its running the ball.

Hell its part of the reason why we signed Keydrick Vincent this offseason.

But its not enough to just pick up their former players, why not pick up some of their plays.

Don't get me wrong, we run some of the same plays that they do. But we don't use them with the frequency or precision that they use them. And when you think about it our offensive personnel blocking wise is pretty similar to the Panthers.

A lot of what they do involves getting the defense moving one way and then cutting one guy on the back side so you have a cutback lane. Usually its a fullback or a tight end leading up on a defensive end or outside linebacker and they just cut them and the running back starts hard to the strong side then cuts back for nothing but open road.

And the Panthers themselves don't mind copying other teams. They ran a play yesterday that they definitely copied from the Saints, where they fake a bootleg to get the defensive end up the field then run a split belly inside of them. The Saints used the same play last year and killed us with it.

So why don't we take some of the things our opponents do well and use it against everybody else?

Ill tell you this much, it would help our tight ends a lot because Carolina finds ways to put their tight ends in favorable positions to block defensive ends and linebackers. Rather than always keeping them on the line they will put them just a little outside of the box and then have them come back in and crack on a linebacker. I think Kellen Winslow would be much better served in that set up. One thing is for sure, he isn't doing so hot trying to block a defense end right in front of him.

I would love to see the Bucs run a bunch of split bellys and Ram belly's this week and mirror the Panthers' running game. I think its a perfect scheme for Cadillac too because he likes to make one cut and then get down hill. It seems like it should be a no brainer.

So why not?

Bucs Vs Jets Vlog: Tight Ends Killed Us In The Running Game

I said last week that I might do a vlog for this game and so here it is. I am going to tell you what other people won't or can't say, our tight ends are killing us in the running game. That is a personel problem, and a coaching problem. Check out the video and let me know what you think...

Make Up Your Mind

When the season started we were told that the Bucs were going to use all four of their running backs in the run game. Although most people were skeptical they assured us that they would make it work. They pointed to the New York Giants as the model they would go by. On my own I offered that the Bucs were only doing this to justify dropping Earnest Graham to third on the depth chart. The truth was, in my mind, that they didn't want to ask Cadillac Williams or their free agent pick up Derrick Ward to run down on punts and kickoffs. Earnest Graham, being the team first guy he is, would of course do it without complaint. But I wasn't happy about the situation because I thought his play over the last two years warranted him being more than an afterthought. I also didn't think that the carries would ever work out where each guy's talent would be maximized to the fullest. Still I was willing to be open minded about it and see how it all worked out.

Now after four games the Bucs are totally flip flopping on their running back rotation. Instead of using all four guys as they initially said they would, now offensive coordinator Greg Olsen is saying they are going to go with one main guy, Caddy. Now don't get me wrong, Caddy has been playing better than I could have ever imagined he would coming off another knee injury. But I can't for the life of me understand how it makes us a better team to keep D Ward and Graham on the sidelines for the overwhelming majority of the game. Not only will riding Caddy more increase the probabilty that he might get hurt again, it will also probably lead to him being gassed in the fourth quarter, especially during hot home games.

It was unsettling enough to see Coach Raheem Morris fire the offensive coordinator the week before the first regular season game, but to now totally flip the script on the running back rotation can only serve to erode confidence in him and the rest of his coaches even further. The last thing you want to appear to be as a head coach is out of your league and I am not saying that Coach Morris is. But perception tends to be reality when it comes to pro sports and the perception right now isn't good. I hope that the change ends up working out and the offense takes off in the second quarter of the season, but if it doesn't a lot of people are going to be point to this decision as a sign that the new Bucs coaching staff doesn't know what they are doing.

It is what it is.

Bucs Bits

There are two bits of Bucs news that I wanted to comment on. The first one is about Jermaine Phillips going back to safety.

TAMPA - The Jermaine Phillips experiment is over – for now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris said Tuesday the plan to shift Phillips from safety to outside linebacker has been shelved while free safety Tanard Jackson serves a 4-game suspension to start the season.

Geno Hayes will get first shot at the weakside linebacker spot while Phillips returns to the secondary, joining Will Allen and Sabby Piscitelli at safety.

"You've got to have three safeties and I'm not confident at that spot past Will and Sabby,'' Morris said. "I was starting to see something special out of Jermaine. He's been unbelievable … you talk about unselfish. But he'll be a safety at that point (September). It will be Sabby, Will and Flip (Phillips). That means Geno has to step up, Adam Hayward. One has to step up and become that guy.''

This was a move that I was never sold on to begin with. Its a different world when a guy moves from Safety to Linebacker. But there is a really really easy fix. Somebody ought to have already called Derrick Brooks and begged him to come back for one more year. The guy is in shape, he recently had work outs with the Saints and the Raiders. And if there was ever someone who could keep this team together with the turmoil they are about to face with a new Head Coach, a new starting QB and a new cast of characters on Defense its Brooks. It never made sense to me why they cut him especially when the only rationale that would have made sense, that they wanted to get bigger at Linebacker, was proven false when they moved Phillips up to his old position.

I think this would solve quite a few problems for the Bucs right now and to me it should be a no brainer. And trust me on this, Brooks is a guy who wouldn't hold a grudge and would probably jump at the chance to come back.

The other bit of news is about Cadillac Williams getting a start this week.

Running back Cadillac Williams, mounting a second straight comeback from serious knee surgery, will start at running back for the Bucs in their preseason game against the Dolphins Thursday night.

In announcing that news, coach Raheem Morris also revealed how he intends to use his running back rotation throughout the season. As will be the case on Thursday, Morris said the starter will get two series, followed by another back playing the next two series and a third getting a single series.

Asked if that would remain the case throughout the season, Morris replied, "if it works, that's what I'd like to do. I want to go into it with that thought." Morris left open the possibility that the rotation could be altered based on a particular back having a hot hand.

Coach Morris' statements aside, I think this is the strongest indication so far that Caddy will not be on the team this year. The only reason they could possibly have for wanting him to start in the third preseason game when its obvious that at best he would be the 3rd team Tailback is so that they can show case his skills for another team in hopes of either trading him or being able to waive him and have another team pick him up. I was kind of wavering on whether or not they would end up jettisoning him after Kareem Hudgins got injured in the Jacksonville game but my guess is they got good news on Hudgins coming back in time for the regular season to start. I know that most people will look at Caddy getting a start as a good thing but in the NFL everything isn't always what it seems.

Welcome Back Cadillac

It looks like Carnell "Cadillac" Williams will be ready for the start of Tampa Bay Buccaneeers training camp. I am a big fan of his and I love his hard nosed style of running the ball. However at this point I have to wonder how much he will our should pay this year. With Earnest Graham the probable starter and the addition of Derrick Ward I am wondering of maybe the Bucs should just ease Williams back into the flow this year with an eye on having him all the way back into the mix next year. I know with the salary cap its not usual to take that kind of approach in this day and age but I just don't think they should try to rush him back into the line up considering the injuries he has gone though the last two seasons. And I really hope they don't end up cutting him in a cost saving move either. I think he will be a really good running back in the long run but they are going to need to exercise some patience with him.