“Probably Not That Much”
November 24th, 2018
Ronald Jones fans should expect to wait until next year to see much of their favorite son.
Yes, Dirk Koetter proclaimed yesterday that Jones is healthy enough now to play in games. However, Koetter was down on how much Jones will actually will see the field.
Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network, Koetter replied to a fan question regarding whether fans will get to see a lot more of Jones as this season progresses.
“Probably not that much,” Koetter said, citing that Peyton Barber is his guy. “We still have some games remaining; we’ll see how it plays out.”
That doesn’t sound like a coach eager to get a deep look at the No. 38 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, even if the Bucs are eliminated from the playoff chase with one more loss.
Jones, of course, had one of the worst preseasons in the history of NFL running backs. And he wasn’t running decisively in the regular season in very limited work.
Still, it would be nice to get a better feel for what the 21-year-old speedster can do. But Joe does understand that 24-year-old Peyton Barber also is still a developing player and his earned his touches.
Jones should enjoy a fresh start under the new Bucs head coach next season.
No snoozing on TAMPA TWO. Buccaneers legend Derrick Brooks brings the video juice to his preview of the Bucs-49ers game with Ira Kaufman. Plenty of other Bucs chatter, too. Brooks is lit!
TAMPA TWO is a twice-weekly production of The Identity Tampa Bay with JoeBucsFan.com, presented by Caldeco Air Conditioning & Heating.
November 24th, 2018 at 7:09 am
With their jobs on the line both Jason Gump and Dork Koetter sure had a STELLAR 2018!!! Good job boys!!
November 24th, 2018 at 7:27 am
hahahahhaa^
November 24th, 2018 at 7:44 am
We’ve seen enough already, to sum it up? BUST, BUST, BUST
November 24th, 2018 at 7:52 am
Blew it with Vea pick too…2 down run stuffer in a passsing era…I’m ok with later round picks but 1&2 is as bad as it gets
November 24th, 2018 at 7:57 am
Bright side is a new head coach gets more OTAS. So that’s more time to work with the younger players. That could really help make up the time vea, hargraves, Stewart, Davis, even justin Evan’s has missed. Our young guys look so lost all the time. That’s coaching to me.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:03 am
Damn it is rough being a head coach in the NFL. Rojo is a bust at this point, but rather than simply saying that, Joe has to throw in a jab at Koetter by talking about the “new coach” being a fresh start for him. It seems as though Joe is hoping the Glazers are reading his posts so that he can remind him he wants a guy to lose his job. I am not a big fan of Koetter at this point, but he does have the offense running way better than any Bucs offense ever has. Be careful what you wish for Joe. Licht has screwed up consistently with his choices on defense and no coach is going to be able to come in and magically fix that side of the ball. There are no guarantees that the new coach will be able to put up the same numbers on offense that Koetter and Monken have.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:07 am
Donte Freeman looked like a bust his rookie year under Koetter. The next year he exploded as a R.B. after Koetter was let go.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:14 am
I’m ok with using Rojo on a limited basis…….I would like to see Cappa in a game…..and, all those describing any rookies as ‘busts” may regret that as time goes by.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:17 am
Good insight, @Hodad. — Just looked it up, you are correct that Freeman only had 65 carries in that season under Dirk, averaging 3.8 yds per carry. — Ever since then, he has been an explosive back.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:17 am
Thanks for pointing that out, @Hodad. It’s fairly obvious that Dirk has no fondness for young RBs. It will be interesting to see what the next coach can get out of some of these young players. Player development has not been a strength of this regime.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:17 am
Jones is just warming up….
November 24th, 2018 at 8:35 am
Each week it is more clear how useless this coach is.
November 24th, 2018 at 8:49 am
“There was a head coach that demanded klueless to run the ball. In 2016 we were 1 of the top running teams.
Lovie as HC, Klueless as OC and Gump as Gump… Not the greatest but they worked well together and was trending up.
Would have loved to have seen them together for a few more years
“January 6 2016, Redneck Shakespearean Tragedy”
Kobe Faker
November 24th, 2018 at 8:51 am
the bucs gm should be the 1st to go …the lack of talent and a lot of missed draft pics is his fault.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:00 am
How much y’all wanna bet that when Koetter meets the turk all of Ronald Jones issues will magically be solved by the next coach/OC we hire and he’ll have a Devonta Freeman type of sophomore breakout?
After all it was Dork that couldn’t figure out how to use Freeman as a rookie in ATL.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:17 am
Kobe with yet another idiotic post. Yeah the good old days of that Lovie Smith offense! GFOH!
November 24th, 2018 at 9:17 am
@Joe Blahak
It’s only my opinion, but I think Vea is going to be fine. More than fine. He was not drafted to replace Gerald McCoy…as some people seem to think. HE was drafted to replace Beau Allen and play a Booger McFarlane role.
And I think he’ll be better than Booger starting next year. Getting him experience now is important to his development though.
As to Rojo…well, I like Koetter, but he seems to be self destructing at this point. He should not rule anything out.
And the next coach might make something of Rojo. Or cut him. We’ll see.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:17 am
Last year joe mixon did not look good either, he couldn’t steal any carries away from gio Bernard or Jeremy hill, but now this year he looks like a totally different rb, so I am still very hesitant to label Jones a bust yet…..I think a full off season in the offense plus hopefully better run blocking next year and he will break out…..barber has only really been effective the last couple of games because the o-line has been a little better at run blocking, so I am hopeful to see Jones get some snaps and a chance this year to get going.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:20 am
Kobe Faker Says:
“There was a head coach that demanded klueless to run the ball. In 2016 we were 1 of the top running teams.”
Clueless Kobe.
In 2016, the Buccaneers were 24th in rushing. That’s not one of the top running team, you twit. Didn’t expect someone to actually call you on that, did ya?
http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&offensiveStatisticCategory=RUSHING&conference=ALL&role=TM&season=2016&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=RUSHING_YARDS_PER_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-n=1
November 24th, 2018 at 9:22 am
So we don’t need to see much more of Jones (Thank God)
And Barber is still a “developing player”?
For Godsake, why is it every other team can draft IMPACT RB’s that REALLY contribute in their rookie season and beyond, but we can’t?
Really, it takes 5 years for us to “develop” a running back?
Once again, this team has NO SCOUTS and NO PLAYER EVALUATION.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:29 am
Last year joe mixon did not look good for Cincy as he could not grab carries from gio Bernard or Jeremy hill but this year he has proven to be a bellcow type rb with pro bowl potential, so I’m not down on Jones yet….a full off season to absord the offense and hopefully better run blocking next year and I think he will prove why he was drafted as high as he was…..barber has only really produced the last couple of games as well so it’s not like any of our rb were tearing it up, I think thats more an indictment on our o-line run blocking than our rb’s
November 24th, 2018 at 9:30 am
Sounds like they are hiding Jones…having fallen for his highlight reel of toss sweeps vs slower college players. The pre-season realization when fantasy met reality scared them. He would have been cut if he wasn’t the 38th pick in the draft. Some people get fired from their jobs in a blaze of glory. Licht sure butchered this year’s draft when the Bucs desperately needed a youth/talent infusion.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:33 am
What Vea and Jones… and Stewart have done as rookies doesn’t concern me. It often takes time for players to develop. With most teams, players don’t play unless they’re ready. It can take time.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:38 am
It’s really simple – outside of a couple of pass catchers (in an offense that caters to them), our coaching staff cannot develop young players. We talk about a lack of talent and missed draft picks, but you can’t ignore the fact that many of our obviously talented young players have not gotten any better since their rookie years. IMO, you can’t judge these young players until you actually give them a chance to develop.
November 24th, 2018 at 9:59 am
We’re saving him for next season! Lmao!
Brilliant! You can’t make this stuff up!
November 24th, 2018 at 10:14 am
Devonta Freeman didn’t excel in Atlanta until after Koetter left. Hopefully the same will happen for Ronald Jones.
November 24th, 2018 at 10:18 am
Just saw the Hodad post and it looks like we were thinking the exact same thing!
November 24th, 2018 at 10:27 am
This is why Koetter is going to get fired. Barber is his man. We are 3 and 7 for heavens sake. See what we have in Jones ,for we already know what we have in Barber, a average at best RB who most likely is a back up on most other teams. Koetter did this last year with Doug Martin, continually playing him when Barber was clearly better. Koetter did this at Atlanta as previously said, playing Freeman on special teams, and not letting him on the field. Seriously we can’t find a better running back on waivers than Koetter’s pet Rogers. Koetter is too bull headed to change, so the bucs need to do the changing.
November 24th, 2018 at 10:37 am
Well said Joe!
November 24th, 2018 at 10:58 am
Just a thought but last time I checked Tampa is in the South and the South is known to have the most talent rich environment for college football. How about we tell our scouts to just go ahead and focus their efforts (call it cost cutting if you like) on scouting players from this region.
Our success rate of drafting talent from the left coast has been poor at best. Keep it simple stupid.
November 24th, 2018 at 11:30 am
^^^ Well said, JabooBuc. — Not to mention that some of the best Bucs of ALL TIME came from right here…… including Hall of Famers, Warren Sapp (Miami) & Derrick Brooks (FSU).
November 24th, 2018 at 11:50 am
I think Jones has potential under a new coach and an O-line that can actually run block. Otherwise he has no chance here. Also, play calling for him has largely been pretty bad as they are unable to create any type of separation. Love to see him in more wheel routes, he has the speed.
November 24th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Bonzai Kobe was right. We were a top rushing team under Lovie. Top 5 I believe. He just got the year wrong. Lovie was not here in 2016.
24th is pretty shameful considering he took over a top 5.
November 24th, 2018 at 2:59 pm
rojo spotted on a raft being pushed out to sea by jason licht at clearwater beach…as he was floating away licht threw rojo his burgundy coat for good luck at sea…rojo actually caught it…highlight of his career so far
November 24th, 2018 at 3:18 pm
Thank you, Licht. The worst RB in the draft chosen for the second year in a row. Both of which were absolutely zero help to the roster when they needed it most. This is not an exaggeration when I say he got absolutely nothing out of both backs. You have to go out of your way to choose that poorly.
November 24th, 2018 at 5:05 pm
Way too many of you idiots calling these rookies busts going into the 13th week. Be as mad as you want at Jason Licht for thinking he didn’t make the right picks, but don’t totally hate these young guys just yet.
November 24th, 2018 at 6:57 pm
Give him the rock dirk is trash