Blount helps the Bucs clear a big hurdle Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune, published 1 November 2010 The transformation of the Buccaneers from old and creaky to young and feisty came with planning and foresight. The blueprint included a new head coach who says whatever is on his mind, a franchise quarterback and young receivers, and key defensive pieces. Something was missing, though. Good teams need the kind of running back opposing defenses can't ignore while they concentrate on stopping the pass. So say hello to LeGarrette Blount. He just might be the something else they've been looking for. In a game Sunday that had so many abrupt turns spectators risked whiplash just trying to keep up, the rookie battering ram in the Bucs' backfield was as valuable as anyone dressed in pewter. He scored two touchdowns, including the eventual game-winner in Tampa Bay's 38-35 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. Blount also had his first triple-digit day as a pro, carrying 22 times for 120 yards. Ground cover like that helped buy Josh Freeman some extra time, which he turned into an 18-for-25 day with a touchdown and 121.8 rating to go with, ho hum, his usual fourth-quarter comeback. But that's where we return to Blount. It was anything but comfortable for the Bucs when they took over at Arizona's 6-yard line, ahead by three with 2:10 to play. Everyone at University of Phoenix Stadium knew where the ball was going. You don't risk a pass here, not that deep in your turf with the two-minute warning bearing down. So Blount took the handoff, worked his way around the right side and, glory be! He broke into the clear. Hey, first down — not bad. Oh, wait. He was still running. Arizona safety Kerry Rhodes, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound man, came up to challenge the 250-pound mass of thunder rolling dead at him. "Not a lot of safeties will try to hit me on my shoulder pads and I'm not going to juke anybody," Blount said. So as Rhodes went low, Blount went airborne. Someone goes that high, they ought to file a flight plan. A gasp went through the crowd as Blount hurdled over Rhodes and kept running. "He's as athletic a big guy as I've ever seen," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "That's about as impressive a play as I've seen in my 14 years here." Blount had gained 48 yards by the time he was tackled and the Bucs were one step closer to backing up the boast by Coach Raheem Morris that they are the best team in the NFC. Well, they are five-dash-two, as former coach Sam Wyche might have said. The story today, though, is one-hundred-twenty and the man who got those yards. "Every time he touches the ball you hold your breath a little bit," Morris said. "You don't know what's going to happen and what he's going to be able to do, and what tackles is he going to break." He is also the equivalent of found money for the Bucs, an undrafted free agent plucked off the waiver wire when Tennessee tried to slip him through to the practice team. It's hard to tell what they were thinking, based on what we've seen. Tennessee saw the same stuff. Blount has pulled this kind of leap before, in college for Oregon against Oklahoma State and Boise State, and in the preseason for the Titans. That was against Arizona, too. "I can't say enough about him," tackle Donald Penn said. Blount showed one other big-time trait: the ability to shake off a mistake. Arizona turned his fumble into a 21-yard touchdown return in the third quarter, bringing the Cardinals to within 31-28. It's the type of break that can crush a young back, and young team, on the road. Arizona had momentum and the crowd was back into it. Blount said he suffered a stinger on the fumble; his arm went numb after a hard hit. He stayed down on the field for a few minutes before making his way to the sideline, where he underwent a concussion test and was cleared to return. "He came up to me on the sideline and said, 'I'm fine, Coach. Put me in there,'" Morris said. He was fine. Blount carried 12 times for 73 yards and a touchdown after his fumble. "Now we just have to concentrate on whoever we play next week," he said. "I don't know who that is. I'll find out when we get to the office." Psst … it's at Atlanta, with first place in the NFC South on the line. We're into November and the Bucs are in the national conversation with a running back who is making noise. That's something else.