ProToppers: Falcons’ coach weary of Bobby Rainey

Our good friend Mr. Chad Bishop shared this tweet earlier this morning, linking to a Tampa Bay Times piece featuring one of our favorite ProToppers.

Bobby Rainey and his Bucs are gearing up to face their division rival in the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow night, and as the article says, Falcon head coach Mike Smith knows 43 all too well. Rainey had a 163 yard, three touchdown performance in the Sunshine State last year against Atlanta, in what coach Smith referred to as “his coming out party.”

"There’s not a whole lot of area to hit. You’ve got shoulder pads and knees – that’s about it. He’s very compact."

Smith’s description of Rainey sounds very much like a former Falcon running back in Warrick Dunn – a small guy who just kept moving his legs and picked up a handful of yards on each run.

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Rainey himself was quoted in the interview, attributing his success to patience

"That’s the hardest thing for a player is knowing that you belong and you’re capable of doing the things that you see other guys do. It’s being patient waiting for the right opportunity, the right team to put you in that right fit for you."

Rainey will look to capitalize on a performance in which he got the start in the absence of Doug Martin, and went for 144 yards, but was kept out of the endzone.

How do you think Rainey will fare against the Dirty Birds tomorrow night? Will he ever full out out-shine Martin and win the Bucs’ starting job? Let us know in a comment below or on twitter at @WaveTheRedTowel.