Tampa Bay running back Bobby Rainey, a native of Griffin, shredded the Falcons’ defense for 163 rushing yards to lead the Bucs to a 41-28 victory on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
Rainey, who has been cut three times by NFL teams, scored on touchdowns runs of 43 yards and 3 yards and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in the rout.
Against Miami Monday night, Rainey scored a 1-yard touchdown to propel the Bucs to victory. Rainey, the Bucs fourth-string back was pressed into duty after Michael James suffered a broken ankle. Doug Martin, the team’s starter, was already out for the season.
“Well, I expect to go out and do my job,” Rainey said. “If those stats come with it, I will take it. But all the credit goes to the offensive line. They did a great job of blocking and I did a decent job of finding the hole, finding the lanes, and getting it.”
Rainey split carries with Brian Leonard against the Dolphins, when he ran eight times for 45 yards.
Against the Falcons, he was unstoppable.
“He got it going on us pretty good,” Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. “They got it going on us pretty good. They got a good push and that back is pretty good. It was a rough day from that aspect. The big run just opened up everything else.
Rainey, who’s listed at 5-foot-8 and 212 pounds, was lightly recruited coming out of Griffin High where he played played quarterback, running back and linebacker.
Georgia Tech sent a few letters, but he went on to star at Western Kentucky, which he picked over offers from Eastern Michigan and Albany State.
As a senior, He ran for 1,695 yards and 13 touchdowns, caught 36 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns for the Hilltoppers.
He finished as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4,523 yards, but NFL teams were scared off by his size.
After being cut by the Ravens last season he was signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the 53-man roster on Oct. 16. He later suffered a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve.
He received a Super Bowl ring for his role in the Ravens’ championship run.
He was released by the Ravens on Aug. 31 and signed by the Cleveland Browns, who released him in Oct. The Bucs signed him a couple days after he left Cleveland.
He hopes he has found a home with the Bucs.
“Well that’s my motivation – when people tell me what I can and cannot do,” Rainey said. “No man can tell you what you can’t do. If you believe in God, you can do anything.”
