Relevant Feels Like Major Accomplishment
October 24th, 2016
BY IRA KAUFMAN
Little Big Man.
In a dazzling two-game span, Jacquizz Rodgers has personally restored balance to a Buccaneer offense that was careening out of control.
Heading into a crossroads game at Charlotte, Dirk Koetter was distraught about an anemic rushing attack. He talked confidently when taking the podium at One Buc Place, but that’s what head coaches do.
Behind closed doors, Koetter and general manager Jason Licht went through their limited options. Let’s go with No. 32, they decided, like they had much of a choice.
Rodgers, barely 5-foot-6, has come up huge and the Bucs now open a three-game home stand within striking distance of Atlanta atop the NFC South.
Considering the Bucs have owned the division basement for five consecutive seasons, just being relevant after six weeks seems like a major accomplishment.
And Rodgers is leading the charge.
“Baller”
During their 1-3 getaway, the Bucs were throwing on 66 percent of their snaps. Doug Martin and Charles Sims were unavailable or ineffective, and the offensive line struggled to carve decent holes.
Jameis Winston kept facing 3rd-and-8 and a struggling defense couldn’t catch its collective breath.
Enter Rodgers, who was signed Sept. 13, shortly after the Bears released him.
From that opening drive at Carolina, when Rodgers carried 10 times against the defending NFC champions, the Bucs haven’t looked the same. In the past two games, Koetter’s attack is throwing only 45 percent of the time and Tampa Bay boasts a 7-1 edge in the turnover table.
Coincidence? Hardly.
“It’s crazy,” says Mike Evans, who is rapidly approaching the Julio Jones/Antonio Brown stratosphere of NFL receivers.
“He (Rodgers) is a baller and we were very fortunate to get him. Our O-line has been playing great and we’re just playing complementary football.”
While Martin recovers from a hamstring injury that has lingered longer than anticipated, Rodgers enters Sunday’s matchup against the Raiders as the NFL’s No. 25 rusher — which doesn’t sound overly impressive until you realize nobody ahead of him on that list has fewer than his 69 carries.
“I think he has stepped in right in time,” says right tackle Demar Dotson. “I didn’t know the guy was as good as he is, as explosive as he is. I was surprised myself. That first game when he got in there and I saw him run, I said that guy is pretty good. He’s explosive. He almost reminds you of Doug.”
Oakland-ready
In Atlanta, where he played for head coach Mike Smith and an offensive coordinator named Koetter, Rodgers was considered an effective change-of-pace runner, a third-down threat who was never given an opportunity to be the primary back.
That same limited role awaited him in Tampa until Martin and Sims were sidelined and the Bucs were desperate.
Although Rodgers is doing a terrific job evading tacklers, no runner works in a vacuum. Tampa Bay’s offensive line has owned the line of scrimmage in the past two games, giving Rodgers the time and space necessary to display his elusiveness.
After ravaging San Francisco’s porous run defense, the Bucs now turn their sights on an Oakland defense that is allowing 5.0 yards per carry. That’s the second-worst mark in the league next to … the 49ers.
Here’s a chance to use Rodgers again as a weapon to take down another foe from northern California.
Tampa Bay’s offensive line is feeling it right now. Just ask the battered 49ers.
“One of the biggest things that offensive linemen take pride in is running the ball,” Dotson says. “You can see the fruit of your labor when you come out and have a game like this.”
If there’s more to come, Buc fans will be feeling the rush.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:04 pm
seems like all the posts today have dotson quotes. dotson needs to spend more time figuring out how to block and a little less time speaking with IRa and Joe’s
October 24th, 2016 at 4:05 pm
I think a Martin/Rodgers tandem will work out fine the rest of the season, but that could be just me.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:08 pm
Buc1987
Rodgers / Barber you mean. correct??? You don’t actually believe for a minute that Martin is going to come back productive do you. Martin was not playing very well before he got hurt… Ride Rodgers / Barber let Martin come back next year and hope he feels like playing.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:15 pm
Nah. More like Rodgers/Martin. Dougie might have f’d up, now he got real completion in the rb room. Poor Sims will have to slide over to the slot where he belonged from the beginning.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:20 pm
DB55
i just don’t see martin coming back. once he gets hurt he stays hurt
October 24th, 2016 at 4:23 pm
Doug knows if he don’t come back and produce his job is gone.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:38 pm
C’mon tmax, you act like Doug got injured on purpose, or didn’t want to play.
Doug is a guy with a chip on his shoulder, all the time. You can see it in interviews, even when he’s coming off a good season. Rodgers should only be motivating him even more as competition.
That being said, there is no reason to rush him back at this point. Hamstrings are a b!tch and I’m fine with letting him rest until he’s truly actually healed and ready to play. Doug Martin at 50% isn’t helpful to anyone.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:38 pm
Right now Bucs are riding Rodgers & Barber with Antone Smith in the wings. With our OLine blocking like it is, any one of the three can get it done. Everyones’ talking about how Marpet just bulldozed folks, but most of the Bucs’ rushing yards yesterday came on the left side. Yup, Pamphile & Donovan Smith. And by a pretty wide margin. Got a hunch the Oakland game will look much like yesterday’s.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:39 pm
87
I take it you’ve had enough time to see yesterday’s highlights and all the missed FGs? It’s crazy the whole league missing kicks left and right, even gimme kicks from 30y or less.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:42 pm
unbelievable
I like martin. I wish he’d score more but I am a realist and looking at his history when he gets tweaks and pulls it takes a while. I don’t think he is a problem just often injured.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:44 pm
DB55
I just tried to post a link to a compilation video of missed kicks it was hirlarous. Unfortunately joe did not see the same humor in it that I did and the link is gone. I’ll send you a direct message with it.
October 24th, 2016 at 4:51 pm
Let’s not forget about Antone Smith, he was shot out of a f**king cannon on the screen and almost broke that to the house. I’m not sure if we’ve ever had someone with that kind of speed and explosion. Looking at this guys stats and highlight reel, I’m not sure how he’s never really latched on somewhere.
Barber showed some good vision and burst too!
Crazy how three weeks ago, we’re thinking the Bucs had horrible depth at RB and now they look stacked.
Hope these guys keep it up and make for some difficult personnel decisions down the road.
Go Bucs!
October 24th, 2016 at 5:04 pm
fair enough tmax, I get that. If nothing was torn, he should be back after 5 – 6 weeks I would think. A torn labrum or rotator cuff is a different beast, that takes months to heal (and usually surgery).
October 24th, 2016 at 5:15 pm
“Martin was not playing very well before he got hurt…”
Completely disagree 1000%. I thought he was playing fine and looked the same as the year before in terms of his quickness /cuts / etc. We only got to see him in preseason and Atlanta though (I missed the cards game). He looked fine to me week 1 and took what he could get.
Even in Quiz’ other 100 yard day he only averaged 3.4 YPC. THis was the first game all season any of our RBs had a nice YPC and a lot of those holes were massive. Doug Martin only had 25 carries on the season which is less than Quiz has gotten each of the last 2 games.
Trust me we are better off with a healthy Martin & a healthy Quiz vs not bringing Martin back. Quiz is not built to be a workhorse all year. No back really is but depending on him to be that is a bit crazy given his diminutive size
The year Martin sucked he was running into lineman and falling over. You could visibly tell his vision , patience, and ability to make guys miss was terrible. He didn’t look like the bad version of Martin at all against Atlanta in week 1. He had a lot of carries where he had to make a guy miss or break a tackle 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:15 pm
I think Antone Smith has always just been buried on the depth chart. He’s ripped some huge plays, and somehow only has 31 carries in his entire 6+ NFL year career??
October 24th, 2016 at 5:23 pm
500 is a major accomplishment for these Bucs Ira. But can they stay there or go beyond? Jack Del Rio has These Raiders believing. Carr has matured and they got an old Field goal kicker who Kicks’em from 50+ away. Bucs gotta be sharp.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:27 pm
Regarding our backfield we’re doing what good teams do. It is one of the few positions we are deep in. Quizz looks great and I don’t even miss Martin now…….. now we need a running back to make some plays downfield and cover Chris Sims position. Joe can any of our running backs catch the ball?
October 24th, 2016 at 5:31 pm
Quiz and Smith can both catch them ball well.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:43 pm
You guys are not being fair to Martin. He is the best back we have and it’s not his fault that he got hurt. I know is not wise to rush him back, but a healthy Doug is better than all of our back-ups put together. Common Man!
October 24th, 2016 at 5:44 pm
Look we beat 2 really bad teams. Us Buccaneer fans have been pretty low the past few years. It feels pretty nice to be three and three right now but it doesn’t prove much…….m…..all that matters how it affects the team. If they can’t grow confidence from this game realize that they are at home and have a fan base ready to explode then they are just not a good football team. They should be ready to give the Raiders a teethkicking they’re not prepared for. It’s what good teams do coming home after winning two on the road. Well see if this team is ready for primetime or content with mediocrity.
October 24th, 2016 at 5:56 pm
T-max is just a hater. If a guy gets hurt he is soft and just collecting checks. It’s the NFL! Guys are gonna get hurt. Would love to see you out there on the field tough guy!
October 24th, 2016 at 6:07 pm
TouchDownTampaBay
you sir need to raise your standards take off your fan boy skirt… I am hardly a hater I just have higher standards than most and do not accept excuses for bad play. You are right guys do get hurt but not as often as GMC and Martin do…
October 24th, 2016 at 6:13 pm
Antoine smith look fast we need that
October 24th, 2016 at 6:18 pm
OK, I’m reading that we can’t rely on Rodgers because he’s “diminuitive”, so Martin got to be our guy because he’s “big” and won’t get hurt. Yeah, OK, he’s injured right now and he was injured last season too, but still…uh, everybody knows big guys don’t get hurt (so much). Really? Rodgers weighs 205, not that little. People say “little” when they mean “short” and seemingly can’t tell the difference. And any trainer will tell you a compact (short) 200+ pounder is more durable than the taller guy.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:41 pm
When Martin went down it took the Bucs too long to give the ball Quiz. They damn well better keep giving him the ball. He has been very effective…………….Whats not been effective is our third and short. Dirk Koetter has had two years to figure out 3rd and short and we still suck at it. It needs to get figured out like this week. I’m tired of this play calling letting us down on 3rd and short. I don’t understand why the New England Patriots are the only team in the league that can QB sneak every time and get it.
October 24th, 2016 at 6:57 pm
Here’s the good news….because of Rodgers, we can wait and make absolutely certain that Martin is 100%…..we can also rest him….and perhaps there will be no dropoff….remember when Martin went down how well Mike James ran & then Rainey? Our Oline deserves lots of credit here. Although we run too much on 1st & 10 and seem to go to the well one time too many in the red zone, our playcalling is good.
And…..I saw some noticible speed with Antoine Smith.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:21 pm
Buccaneers … I’m with you on the QB sneaks. A half yard for someone Jameis’ size shouldn’t be that difficult with our OLine.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Hey guys we are looking good at the rb position but you guyd are looking at the wrong position and what im afraid of…
The #2 wr should be shep with equal snaps as evans on the other side. As alot of you know i was not happy with vjax production.
I think slow adjustment koetter is going to split the wr2 and its a big mistake. Get jameis and shep build chemistry and have defensive coordinator s fear doubleing evans full time
What was the difference yesterday?
Shep replacing vjax and having 3 explosive plays.
If vjax was there it would be a field goal game
Its about opening the fieldup creating holes for all our recievers and runners
2 go routes on both sides with all the middle open for brate and hump. How are the safties going to stack the box
Its shep and the wr2 position!!!!!!!!!!!
October 24th, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Our Oline is great at run blocking but I think they are a little too small to be great at running between the tackles ingoal-line situations and they give up too much push……..im not sure if this plays a factor in a QB sneak play butt it is certain that Hawley is not the largest center to run behind………They need to figure something out though, either insert a bigger jumbo package or have Winston roll out with a run option seen like good plans to me……….Trying to run up the gut clearly isn’t working and it’s getting ridiculous watching us continue to try to run that same play every time we’re in 3rd and 1
October 24th, 2016 at 7:34 pm
Love you are so right. KOETTERr has been very slow to adjust. It was obvious with Quiz, it’s been obvious with third-and-short, it’s been obvious with paying attention to time outs, and it’s been obvious with Russell Shepard. At least he can do is keep Russell Shepard out there and see if he can perform the same as yesterday. Russell Shepard was a huge reason we won yesterday. Tons of critical of catches that were made with ease.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:36 pm
We’re a better team when we’re not trying to force the ball to a bell cow back.
Do not fix what isn’t broken. Rodgers has earned the starting nod until he loses it, Martin can spell him when he returns.
Like many on this site stated in the offseason, Martin’s running style makes him more prone to injury, he needs a running mate to lessen the abuse he takes in a game.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:36 pm
Kobe…not love*
October 24th, 2016 at 7:42 pm
What the he’ll was Adam Humphries doing yesterday? His horrible job catching punts could have cost us the win. One pass was thrown his way and he dropped it. We might need to put somebody back there who can handle the job and Humphreys sit for a minute.
October 24th, 2016 at 7:55 pm
Why cant it be love?
Are you female?
Do you believe in fate?
October 24th, 2016 at 8:26 pm
Feel the Rush!!!
Yeah! I like it!
October 24th, 2016 at 9:01 pm
Jaq Rodgers is helping us win games. Keep him in even when Martin can go. Until Jaq stops producing or gets hurt, there’s no reason to fix what aint broken.
October 24th, 2016 at 9:29 pm
If that offense line keeps playing like they are, Joe can avg. 1000 yards behind them.
October 25th, 2016 at 11:58 am
ride it while it lasts. at RB it seems like once you lose your lead RB, the rest drop like flies too. who knows how many more games of this rodgers can give us, but we will eventually need a healthy doug back to either prevent Quiz from breaking down or to replace Quiz after he breaks down