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Bucs RB Blount still believes he's the starter

LeGarrette Blount went into the draft hoping that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't select Trent Richardson. The good news for Blount is that the team never got a chance to take Richardson. The bad news is they got back into the end of the first round to select Doug Martin out of Boise State.

Everyone around the Bucs expects Martin to start right away. Unlike Blount, he's a complete back that can play all three downs. Just don't tell Blount that. He says he's the No. 1 guy "until they take it away."

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"I had the idea they were going to draft another guy," Blount said via the St. Petersburg Times, noting he's lost 5-10 pounds. "I've been showing I can be an every-down back ... them drafting a running back might be what I needed to become an every-down back.''

Consider us skeptical. If Blount needed competition to get motivated, that doesn't bode well for him. Martin's skill set is more diverse. If nothing else, it's a good problem for the Bucs to have.

Other Bucs nuggets from their first day of OTAs, courtesy of PewterReport.com

  1. Ronde Barber took snaps exclusively at safety. The Bucs confirmed Barber is making a position switch.
  1. Martin was not 100 percent because of a hamstring problem, so Blount took all the first team reps.
  1. Kellen Winslow, Brian Price, and Dezmon Briscoe were among the no-shows at practice. No excuse was given for their absence.
  1. It sure didn't take us long to forget that OTAs don't really matter.