Noted Retired RB: Bucs Worst Rushing Threat
June 27th, 2019
Bashing the birthday boy
Believe it or not, it seems a former stud running back who is paid to study film is not riding the Peyton Barber bandwagon being driven by new Tampa Bay head coach Bucco Bruce Arians.
Before Joe dives into who that is, Joe will confess there is a bit of a divide at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters.
One “Joe” sees Barber as a guy who got his shot last year, worked his ass off every snap and simply didn’t produce enough with defenses keying on the Bucs’ passing attack. Barber averaged 3.7 yards per carry with 871 yards rushing and five touchdowns, plus one receiving TD.
The “other Joe” views Barber, who turns 25 today, as a guy who had a very solid breakthrough season behind a line that didn’t like finishing blocks consistently, a center who was barely average and a right guard who was as bad as Bucs fans have seen in many years. Also, the Bucs weren’t exactly ferocious blocking from the tight end position, or at receiver when DeSean Jackson was on the field.
Regardless, the consensus at world headquarters is the Bucs blew it by not drafting a running back — again.
Retired Pro Bowl RB Maurice Jones-Drew seems to agree. He studied all running backs for NFL.com and named who he believes will be the top running back producers for each team, and he ranked those guys from worst to first.
Without every last detail, Jones-Drew wrote that he thinks Ronald Jones will eclipse Barber this season but Jones will be the worst No. 1 running back in the NFL.
Ouch!
As Joe wrote in early March, the Bucs see Barber as a top-5 running back in 2019. Yes, really. They do.
The Joe typing this believes Barber should be just fine if he stays healthy, even finding another 130 yards to break 1,000 for the 2019 season. It’s Jones and the shaky depth at running back that should have every Bucs fan concerned.
June 27th, 2019 at 10:47 am
32nd best RB in the league, that’s a huge improvement for RoJo.
June 27th, 2019 at 10:49 am
still hard to believe we went an off season ignoring the rb
June 27th, 2019 at 10:49 am
ManU fans are gonna out the Glazers…if only we could that as well.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:02 am
Was also expecting the Bucs to draft a RB this year, but alas it wasn’t to be. I think Barber is a ‘serviceable back’ but not a bell cow (no more than Doug Martin was IMO). Barber & RoJo TOGETHER though could form a decent duo along the lines of Martin & Sims back in 2015 (almost 2000 yds rushing between them AND over 800 more yds receiving for the 2 of them).
I’m still counting on BA to add another veteran RB before the season starts, as well as a veteran OLineman. How that’ll play in is anyone’s guess at this point. I for one am not convinced Barber will be a Buc next season (if he doesn’t do well, he’s gone; if he does do well, his price will go up & i doubt the Bucs are willing to pay big $$$ for a RB).
June 27th, 2019 at 11:04 am
At least our running backs got in the rankings.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:08 am
Waterboy, that was funny
June 27th, 2019 at 11:13 am
It’s just MJD opinion and it doesn’t means it true.
I trust BA opinion more than any reporters opinions.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:17 am
Who needs a running game with all pro QB Jay Miss.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:27 am
I’ve always liked Barber. I’d love to see RoJo totally eclipse him. Barber got 800+ yards under a God-awful Dirk Koetter and George Warhop oline (3rd highest paid). Every opponent and any strong LB or DT knew this line was weak and could boot Benenoch threw the goal posts whenever they wanted.
If RoJo can get his sh!t together, I still guarantee Barber won’t be on the sideline twitilling his fingers on the sideline all day. It’d be a nice one-two punch RB corp.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:35 am
And I always have to put it out there. The extremely naive people pre draft thinking we were going to draft a RB in the first three rounds are flat out dumb after we drafted one in the second round last year.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:37 am
RoJo has 1.9 avg again and he’s a GoGo after 2019. Damn I’m funny.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:44 am
If only there was a stud rb available for pennies this offseason? Hmm no risk it no biscuit? The browns live that saying when they grabbed hunt for nothing
June 27th, 2019 at 11:46 am
This is obviously “I don’t have anything to do other than make an educated guess” season. Therefore all the predictions about the Bucs running game, pass defense and even the record means nothing til these guys strap on the pads and we are 3 to 4 games into the season, at what point of the season did the Bucs under Dungy start winning, They won 6 games his first season, only one more than Dirk’s Bucs last year, the Bucs won 10 the next, why they didn’t see Warrick Dunn and the A train coming, they didn’t see Sapp, Brooks and Lynch coming (not saying we have those guys on this roster, but what defense does in the NFL), the bottom line, they may not see us coming until we are there.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:48 am
Yes yes it’s kinda dumb this talk of worst defense and and worst running back group. Duh your studying film of fired coaching staff and obviously it looks bad. Its dumb to think they wont improve by default just by being a year older and gaining new coaching but these idiots do it anyway oh yea let’s study what they did under Dirk who’s a worse coach and say it wont get better
June 27th, 2019 at 11:52 am
Barbers pad level is terrible when he enters the second level but he does some things pretty good and his feet are outstanding at the line of scrimmage. Terrible second level guy for being 230 lbs
June 27th, 2019 at 11:54 am
raceto10
i agree…
GO BUCS!!!!
June 27th, 2019 at 11:56 am
Is Jay Ajayi not a viable option? If not, why?
Marshawn, Blount and Alex Collins all FAs. I’d even love to trade for Chris Warren III. What am I missing?
June 27th, 2019 at 11:59 am
Ahh man, what did I do? Why am I back in the cooler? Freedom felt so good and I thought I was being responsible. Who did I piss off? 🥺
June 27th, 2019 at 12:03 pm
I’m really not anticipating either Barber or Jones to be 1,000 yard backs. We don’t need that. What we need is for a rushing combo to produce 1,500+ yards.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:15 pm
rrsrq: sam wyche laid the foundation for the sapp, brooks defense and that nucleus was starting to gel when dungy came aboard and the players bought in and trusted what dungy & kiffen were teaching. The bucs defense & offense has not once since probably schianos years played like a hard nosed winning football team. The bucs need a new personnel or gm guy to build the franchise the right way
June 27th, 2019 at 12:20 pm
The Bucs running scheme and execution was so bad Barber had to hammer his way to 3.7 ypc.
It’s not the back. It’s coaching, scheme and OL desire.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:21 pm
@Duthsty: Sam Wyche started the whole ball rolling for Dungy…
June 27th, 2019 at 12:23 pm
Hey I have a great idea. Let’s use a 4th round pick to move up into the second round and draft a totally worthless kicker. How does that sound? Our GM and owners are bunch of nincompoops.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:25 pm
Who is more incompetent as a GM? Mark Dominik, Bruce Allen or Licht?
June 27th, 2019 at 12:31 pm
Does anyone really believe anyone, besides the fans of this team, actually watched them play to truly evaluate anyone on this team. They simply look at stats and determine this guy can’t run or that guy can’t cover. They have no idea of WHY the numbers are what they are. Barber is not Barry Sanders but he is more than capable of being a lead back.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:32 pm
The Koetter run game was so predictable, even a blind fan could tell when they were going to run. Opposing defenses weren’t playing pass when the Bucs ran the ball cause they knew we were running.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:36 pm
The Bucs passed on the best college RB of all time (8.2 YPC) at the 70th pick in this year’s draft.
They did get two defensive practice squad players in return.
The NFC Champs get a new starting RB.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:39 pm
A couple questions, has Jones-Drew actually watched tape, because we know most in the national media haven’t seen anything but a stay sheet from the Bucs in years. Then they talk about the Bucs, well because they are payed to. Second, we know Jones-Drew and koetter go back to the Jacksonville days, maybe he can’t imagine or all running game being on his old coach. Loyalties can be a bitch. Maybe the talking heads should have to disclose potential influences and conflicts like the guys on financial news channels
June 27th, 2019 at 12:42 pm
@ Ndog: most fans have no knowledge of the x’s and o’s of football, nor with various scheme opinions.
Somebody should create a “How to Really Watch, Know and Learn Football 101” online course.
An interesting documentary would be about how game plans are developed, top-to-bottom.
June 27th, 2019 at 12:43 pm
I’m OK with this because MJD typically has pretty bad takes
June 27th, 2019 at 1:18 pm
I’d love to see Blount back, all the dude does is score touchdowns and win.
June 27th, 2019 at 1:19 pm
Lots of factors go into having a successful running game… ironically the least of which is a good RB.
June 27th, 2019 at 1:45 pm
Marine Buc Says:
June 27th, 2019 at 12:25 pm
Who is more incompetent as a GM? Mark Dominik, Bruce Allen or Licht?
Let’s do the math…..zero times zero equals zero……zero divided by zero equals zero, zero plus zero equals zero and zero minus zero equals zero…..also zero squared equals zero….therefore:
They are equally incompetent.
June 27th, 2019 at 1:54 pm
DB55
“Marshawn, Blount and Alex Collins all FAs. I’d even love to trade for Chris Warren III. What am I missing?”
Money.
June 27th, 2019 at 2:12 pm
@ tbbf
Lol… I agree. It’s difficult to pick the more incompetent GM. That doesn’t look very good for the Glazer boys does it? I mean they have one freaking job. Pick a competent GM and they are 0-3… I honestly hope they sell the team soon.
June 27th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
To counter MJD’s assessment of Buc RBs, HOFer and NFL.com’s Terrell Davis selected RB Ronald Jones as one of his three young running backs expected to break out during the 2019 season, projecting 750 yards and six rushing touchdowns from the 21-year-old back.
Peyton Barber was knocking on the door with 871 yards rushing and five touchdowns last year albeit with no RG and little downfield blocking from the RT. I’m even excited to see what UDFA RB Bruce Anderson/NDSU can do. Before anybody goes UDFA? Remember RB Phillip Lindsay/Broncos UDFA in 2018 that rushed for 1,037 yards. Lindsay became the first undrafted offensive rookie to ever make the Pro Bowl. Never say never.
I’m not at all worried about the RB room. I’m more concerned about the O-Line than anything and that includes QB play. Do not be surprised if an experienced pass-catching RB is added during training camp. The first practice of training camp is Friday July 26th. The pads go on a 4:pm Sunday July 28. These practices are open to the public. Take some time, watch the RBs, you may be surprised! Go Bucs!
June 27th, 2019 at 3:35 pm
Could be true, but the difference between the #10 RB in football and the #32 RB in football is so small, those numbers can completely switch in only a few games.
June 27th, 2019 at 3:40 pm
JoeBucsFan, I don’t know why this is an ongoing story. Every season is a completely different experience and there’s enough evidence that Koetter was pass first with little desire to develop young running backs (Peyton Barber included). The new coaching staff is coming in with balance in mind, with a hell of a lot more experience and a track record of success. Why are we even talking about this in June?! We’ll see what happens but hope that this site eat it’s words in November if the running backs are playing well!
June 27th, 2019 at 3:50 pm
Rod, the top 32 RBs in football that MJD is ranking is not based on stats but what he has evaluated on game film. 32 rank is exactly where the bucs RBs should be. The sad thing is the bucs could have drafted 4 of the top 10 he ranked but due to the piss poor management the bucs are stuck with the 32nd ranked RB and bottom 5 OL.
June 27th, 2019 at 3:52 pm
Duthsty Rhothdes – Yeah I know what he’s saying, and I’m saying the actual difference in the quality of players is very small. Also the Bucs had Ryan Smith as a starting corner – they need corners and safeties a lot more than wasting another pick on a RB. Dopes you don’t get that, that think in back to back years you need to be drafting a RB highly when you’re starting Chris Conte, they’re not very smart football people.
June 27th, 2019 at 4:06 pm
MJD lost his street cred with me years ago ….
June 27th, 2019 at 5:11 pm
Allbuccedup Says:
“Who needs a running game with all pro QB Jay Miss.”
You answered your own question in the same sentence.
June 27th, 2019 at 5:29 pm
Licht is the worst Marine Buc. Worst record at 27-53, had the most top 10 picks to start with (5 in 6 seasons, OJ Howard was the only pick starting outside of the top 10), had the most money to spend on free agency.
If you give someone the ingredients to make an incredible meal and they give you a ham sandwich and you compare it to people whom you have ham cheese and bread to and think they are all the same I have news for you, they are not all the same.
June 27th, 2019 at 5:43 pm
Lord Corn: couldn’t agree more.
June 27th, 2019 at 5:53 pm
SOE
Touche’
June 27th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
If Brate is healthy the Bucs trade him to the Patriots for a RB.
June 27th, 2019 at 6:58 pm
Rob thinks better play calling will help, when the defense is keying the run coming. A simple shotgun flea flicker would burn the hell out of the “predictable run calls. Rob’s Head would explode trying to key in on the TV screen witch receiver would be wide open, via better route running or simply out running/speed. Evans? Godwin? OJ? 🧐
June 27th, 2019 at 7:22 pm
Some MJD past comments.
January 2018 said that he would take Case Keenum over Drew Brees.
Also said Titans would beat Patriots in the playoff.
In 2017 draft he would take Joe Mixon over every other back including McCaffrey, Kamara, Fournette, Cook, and Hunt. Was he evaluating for Jason Licht?
Andy Reid is better coach than Bill Belicheck.
When asked what kind of woman he would like to meet in 2010, he said a woman who speaks a foreign language that he does not understand.
He is not the brightest of commentators in my opinion.
However, he did have 4 TD’s against the Buc’s once.
June 27th, 2019 at 8:30 pm
Damn,
Barber looks like the Soul Glow guy in that pic!
June 27th, 2019 at 10:32 pm
Duke Johnson could be intriguing. Run pass dual threat back that Arians loves. Why not trade a mid to late round pick to take a flier on him.
June 27th, 2019 at 10:34 pm
You have to have a non predictable offense in order for any running back to be good. Bell or anyone else would’ve sucked here the last 3 years.
It’s not the backs, folks. It’s the offense. Not sure why that’s so hard to comprehend.
June 27th, 2019 at 11:30 pm
I feel confident we will have quality depth. Keep an eye on Bruce Anderson, and Dare Ogunbowale. These guys aren’t slouches, especially Bruce rb/kr/wr
June 28th, 2019 at 7:00 am
Yeah I think Bruce was their guy all along when they knew they were going heavy at DB.
Make no mistake, this RB group will do way better than most media types say they will.
Pretty easy to say a group who sucked last year will suck again when no one of NOTE was added.
MJD is a horrible analyst of Football.
June 28th, 2019 at 11:41 am
Well at least the “other Joe” can see how much our poor run blocking contributes to our woeful run game 🙂