Buccaneers RB LeGarrette Blount has a new way of carrying the football. He hasn't used it in a game yet, and nevertheless it already feels completely natural.
"It's become a habit," said Blount after a Tampa Bay Buccaneers mini-camp practice last week. "I don't even notice that I do it most of the time. Holding the ball down here [closer to the stomach] is kind of uncomfortable now."
Blount's new ballcarrying technique – one that by Greg Schiano's insistence he will share with every Buccaneer who gets his hands on the pigskin – is most commonly described as "high-and-tight." The ball ends up buried between the forearm, the upper arm and the chest, carried a few degrees off of vertical so that is against one of the numbers on the player’s jersey. One point of the football is buried under the crook of the elbow and against the chest, protected by all the arm muscles, not just the forearm. The hand is over the other point of the football, taking away another point of entry for prying defensive hands.
Ball security has been an issue for Blount in his first two seasons, as has pass protection. He is reportedly improving in both areas this summer.
Buccaneers news
