Too Early To Panic?
August 19th, 2018
Here is a stat that you don’t need the PFF tribe to dig up, but it may be equally alarming.
Running back and second-round pick Ronald Jones has a grand total of 11 yards on 12 carries in two preseason games.
Somewhere in northern California, Muscle Hamster Doug Martin is snickering.
Now Joe is not going to bury a guy who is a rookie after only August games. But dang, this is not a good sign. And it is not as if Jones is lighting up the Bucs defense in practices either. Sure, he flashes once in a while, but not that much. And to be blunt, his practices haven’t been that much better than what he’s doing this preseason.
“It’s not for a lack of effort,” Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said of Jones’ slow start after last night’s game.
It really got Joe’s antennae up when Bucs TV color analyst Ronde Barber suggested Jones is an open field runner and that is where he can show off his talents and not a power runner. Too often, Jones appears to be fighting through gang tacklers to try to get an opening.
Welcome to the NFL!
And oddly enough, just after Barber mentioned Jones might be a better slot receiver, guess who lined up at slot? Yup. That would be Ronald Jones. And this is a guy who isn’t exactly Fred Biletnikoff catching the ball.
Joe isn’t ready to hit the panic button yet, but let’s just say Jones’ struggles in preseason running the ball have Joe’s attention.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:06 am
Dont panick yet. I dont think they are using him in the run game like they will during the season. He seems to like those 1 cut type of runs. He hasn’t had a chance at those yet. I think hes working on seeing the hole and getting used to the speed of the game. Hes not hitting the hole like he did in college. Once he does…you’ll see that rocket our GM spoke of.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:07 am
If Jones ever hits a hole like Barber did early in the game running right…it would have been a TD…that said he has not looked good running into the back of his OL pushed back on there heels…absolutely need to focus on running the ball game 3…I’d only give Barber 4 runs and a pass then sit him down…simply can’t take a chance of injury with him…I may not even treat game 3 as it has been traditionally treated “dress rehearsal”
August 19th, 2018 at 8:08 am
I agree it’s a bit worrisome. Keeping fingers crossed he can work throughit.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:08 am
Looks like it could be another Jason Licht bust. Time will tell.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:16 am
Try pitching it out a few times and see what happens.
He’s small and fast.
Let Barber work the middle.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:16 am
For all that has been written about this staff’s inability to develop a CB, I contend they are way worse in developing an RB. Koetter requires them to do so many things, the young RB forgets they are there to run the ball. Ronde sees how to use RoJo. Why can’t this staff?
And no, its not too early to panic. He looks like a confused runner to me. Lets just hope Barber will produce and that it doesn’t take three years to develop Jones.
Don’t look now but McNichols is looking like he’s going to make the team for San Francisco. Thats a stacked RB room. He flashed way more in camp and preseason than Jones has this year by my recollection.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:17 am
Too early to close the book on the kid, but definitely a need for concern. I hope the game will continue to slow down for him and he can relax and be patient. He’s obviously talented, just needs to have the speed of the game come to him.
With max effort and additional practice I think he will be fine. I think his recieving skills are far from refined once he stops thinking so much out there I think he will do better.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:19 am
I’ll tell you what it’s not too early to panic about….. the DEFENSE. The tackling was atrocious. Kwon looked mediocre at best and that’s putting out mildly.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:19 am
BTW, Ronald Jones is a classic one-cut runner. He needs to work between the tackles. He’s a slasher.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:21 am
I agree with Joe – he seems like an open field runner, not an in-between type of running back. Too bad his hands suck. Maybe we can trade him for McNichols.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:22 am
kerryon johnson should’ve been the pick, him and barber reunited again . would be a good 1 , 2 punch
August 19th, 2018 at 8:23 am
“Maybe we can trade him for McNichols.”…Muscle Hamster and McNiclos got ZERO carries yesterday
August 19th, 2018 at 8:24 am
Jones looked timid and slow. I also noticed that he looked to run the ball towrds the sidelines way too much. He needs to out his head down and fight for the extra yard. Barber looked like he picked up a step.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:26 am
I liked Johnson also. It’s def too early to tell. Chubb looked terrible game 1 too. Slightly better game 2. Barkley had 1 nice run then nothing. Give it time.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:33 am
“Somewhere in northern California, Muscle Hamster Doug Martin is snickering.”
Why so. It wasn’t Jones who replaced him. It was Barber.
And I would love to see a RB who can’t get yards when he gets in the ‘open field’.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:34 am
licht has zero clue he passed on 8 rbs last year & missed on guice & freeman this year, 5-11 gm picks 5-11 players
August 19th, 2018 at 8:38 am
Altered
McNichols has 10 carries for 28 yards.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:38 am
This team needs Ronald Jones to be the next Alvin Kamara or Kareem Hunt. RBs picked in the 2nd round are supposed to be dependable starters. You can’t miss on 2nd round players.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:42 am
Don’t ever think to blame the world beating o line
August 19th, 2018 at 8:45 am
Rojo has not showed much at this point, but Jason Licht has got to be extremely pleased how well so many of his other draft picks are playing(Stewart, Whitehead, Davis and Watson have all looked really good so far).
August 19th, 2018 at 8:48 am
@Drome, I agree you are not supposed to miss on second round players but Licht has a way of doing that.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:51 am
This o line is pathetic at run blocking.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:58 am
He’ll figure it out not worried plus Barber looks good enough
August 19th, 2018 at 9:01 am
I expect they will reveal he has an ”injury” and put him on IR to save roster spot. Severe Fumblitus is official diagnosis.
August 19th, 2018 at 9:06 am
GoBucs
That’s a point I was going to make. Don’t know if the OL sucks but they played poorly in the run game last night.
OK guys let’s pick our biggest reason to panic. Both QB’s played as we expected.
Defense had some moments and some bad run defense at times.
But overall it was a preseason game and so that means we give guys a little more leeway….but if you want to panic……PENALTIES!!!!
Again allowing for preseason…but not THAT much.
So the coaches wear tshirts all week at camp saying “Discipline Driven”. Can our guys even read or is it just impossible for our OL to stop killing us.
Take ROJO…people keep kvetching and I understand that but he had a nice run of 8 yards wiped out because of….wait for it…ANOTHER PENALTY!
Given this team’s horrid history with penalties last night was just Deja Vu.
Can anybody here talk me down from the ledge. Do we believe the Bucs will EVER stop with all the penalties in time for the season?
August 19th, 2018 at 9:11 am
Man did I take heat on this site for saying we should have taken other backs
August 19th, 2018 at 9:26 am
Bad OL doesn’t help. No depth.
August 19th, 2018 at 9:32 am
It’s week freaking 2 in preseason, 1 big run and all will be forgiven/forgotten
August 19th, 2018 at 9:44 am
You all remember how many games it took Martin before he blew up in his rookie season? It wasn’t until the Vikings game when the pro game slowed down for him and then he blew up. I would say have patience but know even if he becomes great many will turn their backs on him even if he has one down year such are Buc fans.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:13 am
Jones strength is not between the tackles. He did have a nifty run where he made the corner but the play got called back.
It’s interesting that folks thought RB was deep going into training camp, and now that position looks thin. Imagine what the running game would look like of Barber goes down.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:26 am
Ronald Jones is what he is. He is a very quick and fast small running back which is just koetter’s type of runner. He needs a crease to get going because he is too small to break tackles in the NFL. They knew who he was when they drafted him. Now it is a coaching job to get him that open space he needs to be good.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:50 am
It was mentioned in the broadcast and deserves mention here. The Bucs passed the ball an awful lot last night. TOO MUCH SO!
Anyone here who believes that we can win week in and week out without a sound rushing attack hasn’t been watching Buc football lately. Not enough attention or effort has been placed on establishing the run so far this pre-season outside of Barber’s brief outings. This is what should concern Buc fans.
We NEED Jones to be that guy. We need the explosive plays. The fact that he has looked less than pedestrian against future UPS drivers should concern ALL Buc fans.
I’m not panicking, it is pre-season! BUT, if what we are seeing is a preview of play-calling in the regular season, predominantly passing, this will not end well IMO. We absolutely HAVE to have balance.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:52 am
We need a right tackle and guard
Also Donovan is pedestrian
It blows my mind how Jason doesn’t see these things
August 19th, 2018 at 10:55 am
I think we would have been better off with more of a power type running back, with our O Line. So far, Jones has looked like a complete and total bust, our worst running back, by far.
August 19th, 2018 at 10:55 am
No smart football analyst / scout had Jones ranked as high as the Bucs picked him / passing on several Guys who were ranked higher.
We all knew this.
Not ideal in size.
Suspect hands.
What could go wrong?
August 19th, 2018 at 11:38 am
Not a good sign when an undrafted RB is far superior to a guy they spent an early 2nd round pick on. Jones definitely has the look of what may eventually be a complete bust. If he hadn’t been taken in the 2nd round I would assume he was simply camp meat. He should count his lucky starts that he was taken in the 2nd because if not, he probably wouldn’t make it to opening day.
August 19th, 2018 at 11:39 am
Unless a rookie RB comes running out of the tunnel after two pre-season games with his helmet on backwards, no shoulder pads and wearing only one shoe I don’t think you can call him a bust, I agree with the assertion that the transition from college, the speed of the game, pro style defenses and the incredible complex play book he has to deal with can take more than one offseason to digest. Way to many fans are ready to give up on rookie players after just a few plays.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:09 pm
I find our front office’s ability to evaluate talent to be more “alarming”. This involves more than just draft prospects but also seeing if veterans should stay with the team. How many chances did Doug Martin get to prove that he was a #1 back? Let’s give the kid more time (he was a 2nd rounder; what choice do we have?!).
August 19th, 2018 at 12:21 pm
I wonder how high Jones was on the draft board and if Licht would have rather had Rashaad Penny, Sony Michele, or Nick Chubb but they all went higher than expected.
I will give Jones until game 8 to prove his worth before I hit the panic button. All he has to show is that he can get better. Start catching a couple more balls here and there, show that you can actually be coached and improve. At the end of the day he is still a rookie.
August 19th, 2018 at 12:37 pm
The issue is high RBs are supposed to be plug and play not developed. Developed? Dumbest thing I have ever heard for a top ranked RB.
August 19th, 2018 at 1:46 pm
Other than the two TD runs last week, the run blocking has been horrid. I am starting to get concerned about Rojo though. He looks very tentative. Shaun Wilson had a couple nice, shifty runs. Better keep him over Sims.
August 19th, 2018 at 2:51 pm
Ok that’s it, RoJo should be hanged, drawn and quartered.
August 19th, 2018 at 3:23 pm
Trench all you have to do is watch him on the field. He is small and seems to get zero push. It is way too early to know for sure but he just doesn’t seem to be the guy that will cure our running woes.
August 19th, 2018 at 3:45 pm
“The problem is our 199lber is a confused bipolar runningback”
He is a straightup 1 cut between the tackles runner without NFL size and strength to break initial arm tackles
With his size/physicality limitations, He should swing/break outside but he doesnt possess the shiftiness, elusiveness and change of speed acceleration to break to daylight
“RoJo is the Sheldon Cooper of the NFL”
Kobe Faker
August 19th, 2018 at 4:01 pm
Licht needs to bring in an actual NFL RB. I have been saying this for a while. Jones is going to hurt the offense until he is ready. This season is too important to screw up. The window is closing. Peterson is out there now. No-brainer!
August 19th, 2018 at 4:39 pm
wish we could get a big back like d. Henry or Fournette a back that could bust tackles and wear out the opposing team
August 19th, 2018 at 7:09 pm
T Rex… when the most important thing to the head coach is blocking and blitz pick up they HAVE to be developed. If they are allowed to just go play and run instinctive then ok. Jones is being asked to do things he’s never really had to do. This takes time.
August 19th, 2018 at 8:16 pm
Why not sign Adrian Peterson to a one year prove it deal. He and Barber would be the compliment we need to keep defenses honest. The one thing I noticed in these last pre season games was the LACK of running yardage. Becoming a one dimensional team is extremely dangerous especially with the difficulty of our schedule this year. I’m not saying Peterson is a long term answer but he would give our offense the boost we desperately need. WHAT DO YOU THINK JOE?!?!
August 19th, 2018 at 8:33 pm
The Bucs need to make sure they keep Ogunbowale who can break tackles and has the speed to backup Barber if he gets injured. Jones first needs to get into the weight room and build up his arm and leg muscles. As far as building up the OL and stopping the rediculous penalties the Bucs need to get a real OL Coach as good as Buckner is on defense. As to the poor tackling Koetter doesn’t allow any tackling in practice, what do you expect? The Preseason should help them get back up to speed on tackling.
August 19th, 2018 at 11:00 pm
Call the Bills. You have a relationship with them via the Allen trade. Trade for Shady McCoy. The Bills will be rebuilding with Peterson, McCarren or Allen at QB. McCoy should be cheap since he has 1 or 2 good years left in the tank. Want to see this offense take off? Get Shady!
#Get After It!
August 20th, 2018 at 6:38 am
Was so excited for RoJo but huge letdown so far. Huge. At least by now we would have seen SOME flash