Tampa Bay Buccaneers Have No Clothes, No Running Game

You might remember the children's tale by Hans Christian Anderson titled The Emperor's New Clothes.

The Emperor was parading around naked, supposedly wearing new clothes from a scam-artist turned tailor, and it wasn't until a child had the nerve to cry out "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" that the crowds realized the Emperor was indeed, naked.

So Raheem Morris has trotted out the 2010 version of the Buccaneer rushing attack. And as of last week's wipeout at the hands of those run-crazy New Orleans Saints, the masses are finally beginning to shout out that these Bucs "have no running game at all!"

Oh me oh my.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cannot run the football. So what if they're now 3-2—they are stark naked when it comes to the run.

You'd think it couldn't get worse, but it has.

Scratch the great hope, Kareem Huggins, the Hofstra flash who is lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Check the depth chart at Buccaneers.com and they've still got Jeff Faine as the starting center, still have Huggins as the backup to the venerable-but-running-on-two-cylinders Cadillac Williams.

Sooner or later, you'd think that it would be time to see LeGarrette Blount or Kregg Lumpkin, whoever he is.

We now get the impression that Morris plays Cadillac because he's the only one who can pick up a blitz and protect Josh Freeman. So forget the fact that Cadillac can't get you anything on the ground, he sure as heck can block. Where's Michael Clayton when you need him?

Here come the St. Louis Rams.

It is not fair to measure the Buccaneers against the New Orleans Saints. Just isn't. But the Rams? These are the 1-15 Rams from last year. These are the "We took Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick" Rams, and there will be plenty of comparisons after Sunday's meeting at Raymond James.

Bradford and Freeman will be compared, and the Rams defensive line will be compared with the Buccaneers defensive line. Oh by the way, this just in, the Rams registered SEVEN sacks against Phillip Rivers and the Chargers last week.

Better beat these Rams or the one-win team will show it has made more progress than Raheem's three-win team from last year.

These Rams are 3-3, but they're also winless on the road, which has to help.

And the horrible Bucs' running game will need help, no doubt.

If you want to witness it, you'll have to go to the game. This one along with every remaining home game will be blacked-out.

But that's probably a good thing.

If this game and the rest weren't blacked-out, then more people would see the Buccaneers play.

And more people would realize that the Tampa Bay Emperors, aka, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have no clothes and no running game.