Bucs Need A Running Game
January 22nd, 2019
Bucs must run to win.
Yeah, new Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians likes to throw the ball. And his new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich likes to do the same.
But make no mistake, Leftwich believes winning teams cannot rely on the passing game solely. To win, Leftwich said last week in his introductory press conference, you better have a reliable run game.
“I think you do have to run the ball in this league,” Leftwich said. “You watch these games … late-December football, January football, you’ve got to have the ability to run the football.
“Guys throw the ball around, but as you guys watched [in the playoffs], they’re turning around and handing that ball off because it’s extremely important.”
Leftwich believes the reason teams are running the ball more in the postseason isn’t because of the weather or that coaches suddenly go conservative. It’s because they see opportunities to run — and teams have the horses to do so.
“Every play matters in the postseason,” Leftwich said. “That may not be true in the regular season, but every play truly matters. So you see guys running the ball more in the postseason, as you would every postseason.”
This leads Joe to believe the Bucs will upgrade the running game. If that’s with a free agent (Tevin Coleman?) or the draft (Josh Jacobs?), or both, remains to be seen.
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:11 pm
Just don’t draft Charles Sims!
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:16 pm
Kareem Hunt???
I’d say the guy learned his lesson. Arguably what he did wasn’t as bad as what others on the team (past and present) had done and ownership stuck by them.
He’s cheap and he’s available. Go get him!
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:20 pm
Running game starts with the offensive line run blocking. Before we think of make any changes to running backs, we need to fix our O line.
Stop putting the cart before the horse
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:28 pm
Can’t believe the Bucs would even consider drafting a RB at #5. Not this year. That is a dumb idea.
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:29 pm
@ TGH – I am a Jameis supporter but their is a price to be paid for having him as the face of the franchise. With the allegation when he was at FSU and the Uber incident, the team cannot pick up a player like Hunt because it would be a big PR issue!
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:31 pm
Hopefully someone wants that #5 pick…..we need so much on OL & DL & DB….
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:46 pm
@TouchDownTampaBay
I think that JW situation is why this team can bring in Hunt. He deserves a second chance. Besides from a money stand point it would benefit the cap space
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:54 pm
Go get HUNT ! or y’all go watch the tape on the rb from Memphis ! Kid is outstanding
January 22nd, 2019 at 4:54 pm
Bruce seems to be the patron saint of 2nd chances, call Kareem Hunt’s agent.
January 22nd, 2019 at 5:03 pm
I’d take Hunt in a heartbeat and deal with the heat…
January 22nd, 2019 at 5:07 pm
With our Oline we need Jim Brown, Gale Sayers or Billy Sims
January 22nd, 2019 at 5:25 pm
Who cares about PR concerns?
The few seconds of damning video paints Kareem in a much worse light than reality dictates when you bother to research the backstory a bit and understand what led up to it.
I don’t believe for a second that Hunt is a violent man who hits on women and thinks thats OK. Hunt lost control of himself momentarily in the face of extreme stress brought on by a drunk, very aggressive female who was initiating the physical aspect of the “disagreement”. I’m sure he regrets it. He’s going to pay a HELL of a price for that momentary lapse of reason. Already has – and will continue to for at least 6 games into next season.
Local Law enforcement showed up – investigated – viewed the video – interviewed everyone involved and decided that it was not appropriate to arrest or charge anyone.
That’s good enough for me!
Sign Kareem Hunt now before someone else does.
Even if he’s suspended for 10 games next year – it is more than worth it to have him available at the end of the season/playoffs and moving forward for cheap.
Hunt is a major upgrade at RB compared to anyone currently on the Bucs roster…
And he’s a available for free NOW and won’t cost much to sign.
No Brainer if you ask me.
Bucs were very high on Hunt pre-draft and would have selected him in rd 3 if Godwin who they had rated even higher hadn’t also dropped to their pick.
Now we can have BOTH for the cost of a measly 3rd rd pick….
January 22nd, 2019 at 5:25 pm
Kareem Hunt should be an option along with Ameer Abdulla. Let Jones sink or swim during training camp and pre-season.
January 22nd, 2019 at 5:30 pm
Let’s win for a change get lev bell !
January 22nd, 2019 at 5:57 pm
One guy made sense to me about Kareem….’Win at all costs”.
Many of you would sign Jack the Ripper if he was around and could run in the NFL.
Stop defending these actions. It makes you just as disgusting as he was. What freaking video are you watching?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eOacEsSFnI
Hunt was in his freaking hotel room totally safe. HE comes out and starts mouthing at the woman who was also spoiling for the argument. This may have been a continuation of an earlier argument but clearly Hunt was safe in his room…with bodyguards…before busting out to hit the woman. This wasn’t a redo of Joe Mixon…she did not stand there calling him N. HE came out of the hotel room and precipitated the violence…he could have…he should have…just let it go and stayed in the room. Hey who doesn’t want to get in the last punch!
Hunt came OUT of the hotel room to attack her…he pushed, punched…his guys grabbed him and jerked him back to the room with another woman…probably a PR type trying to encourage him to return to the room.
One of the bodyguards then gets slapped by the woman who by now was really upset after getting punched and shoved. Then in the melee that guy and the girl go to the ground perhaps pushed by others. He has trouble getting up….she also appears to be wobbly…and when she falls again…MANLY Hunt comes running OUT of the safety of his room and bodyguards to break through to get in a kick while she was down.
What the hell are you guys thinking? Is she wrong because she didn’t “tap out” in time so Hunt feels the need to kick her while she is DOWN!!!!
One reason I have trouble seeing him as a Buc is because if and when he makes it back to the NFL I’m rooting for some giant Suh kind of guy to light that wuss up like a Roman Candle. A 6 foot 200 lb chicken spit is safe behind a hotel room door with his bodyguards to protect him.
Let’s see how he does against Suh who would enjoy kicking Hunt while he’s down.
So if you have no morality and ALL that matters is winning…I at least understand that…but please stop defending disgusting cowards who not only smack a woman but come running out of a safe hotel room…breaking through his own bodyguards to get a kick in. PUHLEEZE!
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:03 pm
OL > RB
First thing first.
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:05 pm
“You need the use and production of the runningback
To defeat the linebackers and exploit the defense, the running back has to run and receive passes on every down
the days of 25 plus carries and earl cambell is over
the weakness of belicheck defense is the pass catching runningback. damian williams and Kareem Hunt eariler in the year destroyed his defenses
Mcvay only chance is to have gurly and cj in open space against the pats linebackers”
Kobe Faker
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:08 pm
If it’s win now get Bell and draft one in the later rounds.
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:10 pm
Got to have a decent 0 line!!!!!
Without good blocking?????
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:23 pm
I doubt this team goes for Hunt, but we’ll see…
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:36 pm
You can also control the ball using a short passing game and use screenplays if you have an imaginative OC. But this also requires new players on the O line and or a new scheme. I have faith we will improve this aspect of the team, really more concerned with the D at this point.
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:39 pm
I’ll hold my breath on Kareem Hunt. You never know how it’s going to go with troubled players. They might be interested and meet the guy and get a real bad feeling. They’ll never sign him if they don’t feel comfortable about it.
I’m sure what happens behind closed doors can be just as important as to how the guy looks on film. It aren’t that simple to just say he’s a upgrade……..sign him now!!!
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:44 pm
Agreed jersey. Dirk’s RBs had problems making any plays whatsoever in the passing game.
I really hope that whichever RB they bring in here can make plays on passing down………Lots of people saying ya gotta fix the OL first but even without fixing the OL there is plenty of room for improvement from the RBs.
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:48 pm
Maybe Licht can draft the worst RB in the entire draft for three years in a row. The draft hat-trick.
January 22nd, 2019 at 6:56 pm
What are they projecting Hunts suspension to be? Six games or more?
January 22nd, 2019 at 7:07 pm
Whatinthebuchappend
I’ve been saying Jonah Williams at #5 and if you can fix the oline to create more holes for a RB, Darrell Henderson (Memphis) would be a sick second round pick or third round steal. Has such amazing vision and serious jets. Strong legs that can break tackles. Sick ass combination of him and PB.
January 22nd, 2019 at 7:11 pm
Good RBs need an offensive line great RBs are great no matter who is blocking
January 22nd, 2019 at 7:14 pm
“How many teams have offensive line problems and need players?
32 and not 31…32 teams need better oline help
the college game and spread offense is creating crap oline players
we need a pass catching running back that will exploit the linebackers on 1st and 2nd down
Byron called alot of short slants and crosses for Fitzerald…
we need to spread the defense and get them out of the box
a good rb screen game can destroy any defense”
Kobe Faker
January 22nd, 2019 at 7:49 pm
Waterboy-Ameer A. was the back Arians and his staff were targeting in the 2nd round and had to Settle for David Johnson the following round. So we know Arians thought highly of AA.
January 22nd, 2019 at 8:18 pm
either Jones was the worst bust ever (surpassing Jackson), or he was so poorly coached to border on the incomprehensible.
in either event, we need running backs. All of those teams Sunday had them.
January 22nd, 2019 at 8:22 pm
Kareem Hunt will be suspended for at least 6 games, not worth it.
January 22nd, 2019 at 8:27 pm
As someone else stated earlier, I’d sign Hunt and deal with the backlash later…We’ve been known to have a few guys with “Red Flags” ….
January 22nd, 2019 at 9:03 pm
We used a high 2 on jones..
Live ba but, u have to provide him some talent
We have the worst stable of backs in the league
January 22nd, 2019 at 9:32 pm
Mike Weber, Ohio St. please. Has the power, has the moves and can catch.
January 22nd, 2019 at 9:41 pm
Also a good running game keeps the ball out of the hands of other teams high powered offenses in today’s NFL. It’s one way to slow them down.
January 22nd, 2019 at 10:44 pm
With the way the position of RB has been devalued by the NFL…Teams can scrap together 3-4 low budget options to get by with, without breaking the bank on top draft picks / high $$ FA’s…No damn way Licht drops the #5 pick on Jacobs or any other RB in this class. Period.
Only “Josh” I can see Light drafting @ #5 is OLB Josh Allen-Kentucky!
January 23rd, 2019 at 3:03 am
SOEBUC yes , yes , yes exactly what I’m seeing from Henderson..2nd Rd..dude has vision and feet with power and speed..can hit the home run , can catch well and boy oh boy I feel he will be a great buccaneers..spend first pick on defence , scoop up Henderson and draft oline after that with oline in fa as well…BA could really work with Henderson and he would be taking over barbers spot in no time with barber spelling him on occasion.
January 23rd, 2019 at 6:55 am
Koetter said the same thing last year during pre season.
We shall see if they address OLine in draft and free agency.
January 23rd, 2019 at 7:58 am
Pay Tevin Coleman.
January 23rd, 2019 at 10:40 am
Man some of you guys are reaching…Coleman? He’s been the complimentary #2 back most of his NFL career until this past season when Freeman landed on IR. A stud RB he was not in 2018. Someone said Abdullah!?!? Unlike ROJO who has only had one limited season to show us he may or may not prove to be a second round bust (I think he’ll improve vastly this year, but we’ll see) Abdullah has had several years and now multiple teams in the NFL to prove he’s a utter second round bust. Hunt had a strong season before the TMZ video broke, but I’m not sure he’d have success in Tampa with the run blocking we saw on display last year. Fix the players or change the run scheme first and maybe we find we’ve already got the RB’s we need? If nothing else we can give whoever we get to run the ball a fighting chance to not get immediately tackled 2 yards in the backfield every other handoff.
January 23rd, 2019 at 6:56 pm
I don’t get why no one is saying anything about Barber. The guy had some pretty good games but was never allowed to get into a rut hem and used consistently. It was alway pass pass pass. They would never even hardly try and run the ball, and we had good runs they would just pass the damn thing. I still like Barber and think he can do it if the line gets a little better and you actually try and run the rock. Maybe I was watching the wrong games this year….. but I didn’t even see them commit to the run at all and really give him a chance.