LeGarrette Blount Should Know It's Not About Him, It's About the Buccaneers

Someone needs to pull LeGarrette Blount aside.

Someone over there at One Buc Place should simply whisper: "Hey, LB, got a moment?"

One of the PR gremlins, perhaps the head gremlin, the highest-paid gremlin, should have a quiet moment with Blount and give him a simple clinic on how to handle the inquiring lads from the Tampa Bay Times, the Tampa Tribune and whoever else wants a quote from Blount on the state of the Buccaneers' running game.

In lieu of that, as a public service to the former Oregon running back, we shall give him a primer in "Team 101—How To Come Across As a Dedicated Team Guy."

By now, you've all read about Blount and how he wants to be the main back and he wants to do this and he wants to do that.

Shame on him—or should we say, shame on someone over there at One Buc Place, who should have prepped him for handling the inquiries as to the presence of Doug Martin and Michael Smith on the running back roster for 2012.

What Blount Said to the Tampa Bay Times

"They drafted him (Martin) because we needed him. But at the end of the day, we're both going to play. Don't nobody affect my carries but me, not what he does, not what anybody else does."

What Blount Should Have Said

"It's great to have players out here with their skill sets. In order for this team to win, we all need to produce to the best of our abilities. I'm just here to improve, get better in the areas where I need to improve and contribute the best I can to help our team win football games."

Also, Blount views himself as the starting back, and added the gem: "Yeah, until they take it away."

Maybe Blount is so dense that he hasn't noticed that Raheem Morris isn't in the building.

The Schiano World Order mandates competition at every position, and Blount should know that coming in.

What Blount Should Have Said

"With Coach Schiano, it's an open competition. I know that and I intend to compete hard for the starting job."

Instead, we get the "Yeah, it's mine," attitude.

Blount should also understand some simple math. Three good backs are better than one. You combine the skill sets of Blount, Martin and Smith, and you've got some great possibilities there, a lot of weapons, a variety of weapons for offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.

Something else Blount said in the story stood out.

"You've got to be a competitor and competition is what makes guys better than they would usually be."

Since there was no competition for Blount last year, does that mean he was not as good as he would "usually be"?

Blount also needs to know that his workload depends not only on him.

It also depends on Greg Schiano and who he believes should see more action:

"

"We'll have to see who performs. You earn your touches depending on how you practice and how you play in the preseason, that will determine how many touches you get by percentage, whether it's ball carries or pass catches, sometimes the defense can dictate a little more. But ball carriers? We make that decision."

"

Someone needs to cut that quote out and tape it to Blount's locker.

Someone also needs to whisper in his ear:

"Hey LB, it's all about the team."