Effort Laudable, But…
July 10th, 2019
Teachings apply to football.
A quote from a legendary sports figure came to mind recently when Joe listened to words from America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
A few weeks ago, Jameis appeared on Adam Schefter’s podcast and Schefter asked Jameis where in the world would the Bucs get rushing yards in a running attack that was dreadful last season (but Schefter didn’t ask the question in so many words) — an area of the team the Bucs willfully ignored upgrading in the offseason.
Of course, Jameis talked up hard-working, hard-running, strong-effort, too-little-results Peyton Barber.
“I think he is a prolific running back,” Jameis said. “The run [type] that he does is very hard-nosed, north-and-south.”
There is no question that Barber has the heart of a lion, which is highly commendable. Yes, he works hard. Yes, he gives great effort. All laudable traits for a high school player or perhaps a college player.
Not so much as a professional runner. Not in a league that former Bucs coach Dirk Koetter often referred to as a “production league.”
Too many folks get mad at Joe when he points out Barber’s lack of production. Oh sure, the bouncing around and feet-churning and tough-as-nails effort looks cool on TV. But shouldn’t that be the bare minimum expected from players paid hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars a year?
When that effort and hard work doesn’t add up to yards gained, what’s the point? Joe’s UPS delivery man works hard, too. You sure as hell wouldn’t want him as an NFL running back.
Many coaches in all sports look at legendary basketball coach John Wooden as sort of a pied piper among coaches. His famed “Pyramid of Success” is often used across sports and business platforms as a foundation to build successful if not winning programs.
Why does Joe invoke Wooden into a post on Barber? Simple. When Joe gets hammered by fans who excuse Barber’s lack of production because of his effort, it reminds Joe of a famous quote from Wooden.
“Don’t mistake activity for achievement.”
July 10th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
You know what else works hard?
Washing machines, and they dont get praised for it…
July 10th, 2019 at 1:12 pm
🙂
July 10th, 2019 at 1:14 pm
So, I don’t understand why you keep knocking Barber. The man did rush for a little over 800 yards with a crappy line. I believe we all agree the line was crap correct? Heart means a lot in damn near everything and so does effort. So Joe, stop with the nonsense on Barber for once. The one tracked mind thing isn’t a good look for someone who’s in the field that you’re in.
July 10th, 2019 at 1:45 pm
roster aint complete….duke may still be on the table…..
GO BUCS!!!!
July 10th, 2019 at 1:51 pm
I guess you have to be an underachieving overpriced drama queen that plays with batman dolls to get any respect from Joe.
July 10th, 2019 at 1:58 pm
rojo will be comeback player of the year under arians. He didnt have a problem catching passes when asked.tomin college and hrs bulked up to.220lb.
ITS ALWAYS BEEN COACHING!!!
July 10th, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Comeback? He never arrived!
July 10th, 2019 at 2:13 pm
No, production means everything. Chris Conte played with heart and effort. Are you suggesting he should still be starting for the Bucs? Why not? If not, why are you applying a double-standard?
July 10th, 2019 at 2:20 pm
It’s was barbers 1st year as a starter cut the dude some slack. O-line didnt help his cause as he was hit a lot in the back field. Also dirk was predictable everyone an there grandmothers knew wen we were going to run the ball. Better coaching an schemes being less predictable is going to help a lot. Guess what if barber still doesn’t do any better this year than last then cut him an move on. I would even go on to say don’t judge any draft picks under the last staff as they couldn’t develop anything. Real coaching is going to go along way
July 10th, 2019 at 2:21 pm
@admin, yea, and one season of running the ball in an offense where the run call was obvious, and the right side of the line was horrific, tells you that Barber is no good. Your lack of ever playing a down, quarter, minute, or inning in any meaningful way exposes itself with every opinion you spout. What a toxic site you’ve devolved into.
July 10th, 2019 at 2:36 pm
Lol if heart and effort was damn near everything……There’s no reason to have the combine. No reason to believe that a 6.5 40x would be a hiddence for a corner being successful in the league. Or a 5 ft 8 165 lbs center…..
All that matters is heart and effort..
Think…if that is the norm…why are movies like the karate kid, rocky, rudy, Hoosiers, etc etc…..popular.? If everyone knew the team with the biggest heart was going to win..then the underdog is the uber talented, over sized ,
Goliath. There’d be no reason to watch. Consider the money these films made and continue to make…..means that under dogs with huge effort and giant heart happen so infrequently that when it does happen..it’s worth its own feature film or espn 60 for 60….
If only Goliath knew ahead of time that David was all heart and desire….
July 10th, 2019 at 2:39 pm
So weird that people see how defense improved although very little when switching from raheem to schiano and they acknowledge that all day long but act as if players cant improve under this proven winner. Its pathetic on the part of fans giving writers opinions more weight than their own. I’m hoping writers have to eat crow and fans realize they know just as much and turn on this “writers” who talk like it’s a foreign concept that teams dont improve under new coaches. Sean mcvay is the latest but people forget legion of boom was built when Pete Carroll came on board with his scheme. People are so strange in tampa thinking the team will suck because they expected playoffs last year and the COACH didnt deliver. It’s the coaches job to maximize talent and mask deficiencies. Green bay game is classic Dirk koetter, great game from winston, 100 yards rushing from barber and they still lose. I just dont see that happening under BA. Nor do I see being up 24-0 against the Redskins at halftime only to lose.
July 10th, 2019 at 2:46 pm
And a team that has lost 22 games in two years, hasn’t been to the playoffs in a decade, worst home record since Chucky was fired in NFC is a solid pasture of sunflowers and butterflies with a rainbow in the horizon?
Don’t come at Joe for pointing out the (many) faults of this franchise.
Good luck finding any reputable site or NFL reporter claiming the Bucs have even an average running attack.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:03 pm
Gil and bucs fan,
Predictability is not a reason for poor performance. Look at the passing game, it was predictable and it was successful.
Look at the teams who are going to run first and second down ..run heavy teams…they’re successful but predictable.
And the first year as a starter…..means zip in the run by committee age.
Other players who have been in the that situation have been successful
So it’s not a valid excuse.
Koetters play calling…lol….he didn’t call but one game…..remember prior to the first game all the talk about monkens pre season success and how koetter was to stubborn to allow him to continue calling plays? I recall that quite clearly. Seems like a good amount of fans have selective memory or intentional blind spots. Odd considering the time spent ,invested , in being a fan. But it’s possible that the month long drama of who would be calling plays
and the endless speculation. …just tired some people out and they missed the resolution. If that’s the case, monken won. Except for the redskins game.
The battle for play calling duties. ……now you’re up to date. This should go a long way in an effort to appear to your friends, family and coaches workers as an informed fan , a go to guy.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:05 pm
Barber got a lot of yards that other backs would not have gained last year. On top of that he impacted games with his physicality……..If you think a big hit has an impact you just don’t know football.
But quit looking to P.Barber for all the answers just because he is the best we got. That aren’t his fault.
In a perfect scenario you would have a flashy runner compliementing Barber………Impacting the game with splash plays. Then you have Barber impacting the game by bruising defenders.
You’re looking for Barber to do it all and that’s naive. He is a solid durable back who you can rely on. Give him a few more holes and his production goes up……Give him a running mate that can take a few to the house and our rush attack looks great.
There is a reason why the broadcasters who call our games give Barber a lot of credit. Pay attention.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:07 pm
There will always be players you think you want but can’t get. Every running attack is incomplete when the blocking and or scheme is suspect. Couple that
Barber proving he needs far less evaluation than ROJO at this point. The real question in my mind will RoJo step up and become the weapon Licht expected him to be. There were a number of other backs that did show up and play well.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:10 pm
Jimmy,
I like the way you think on this. Couldn’t agree more.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:12 pm
Barber is a good RB with a pathetic O-line. Drafting more RB’s or signing FA RB’s doesn’t change the fact that the O-line is a joke.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:30 pm
Our run blocking and design was not good last year, but i also don’t think Barber is an elite back.
He seems like a serviceable guy but we need Rojo or someone else to step up and add an explosive element or we will probably suck again running the ball
July 10th, 2019 at 3:43 pm
What do David Johnson, Lesean McCoy, Carlos Hyde, and Leonard Fournette all have in common?
They all ran for fewer yards per carry than Peyton Barber last year.
I guess these are all crap backs that should be delivering for FedEx.
I’ve even heard posters pounding the table to sign Hyde last year, and we need to trade for Fournette.
July 10th, 2019 at 3:44 pm
Ok you beat the drum alot about this non producer and we finally all come to agree that Barber is no good. Then what? We can’t do silly squat about it so no point to keep writing every week about it. What are we supposed to do? Cry
Still love you Joe
July 10th, 2019 at 3:50 pm
“The key and major must achievement of a team building GM
is to foremost build and sustain a competent offensive line
*INDY GM Chris Ballard
2019 it seems Golf cart Bruce is making the same mistake as our Gump
*In the 4th Quarter our oline will crumble and our pass and running will be futile because of that
Without a competent oline we are foolishly year after year putting lipstip on a 5 win pig”
“You cant develop a QB without a competent offensive line”
Kobe Faker
July 10th, 2019 at 4:05 pm
Kobe…..What if they develope an OL player like Cappa for example. Wouldn’t that be part of building a line.
Or what if they get Max potential from one of our high priced players? Isn’t that part of building an OL?
If the talent was t there then we wouldn’t been able to put up all them yards last year. It don’t work that way in the NLF.
July 10th, 2019 at 4:09 pm
I think we are getting more than we payed for in Barber……Hum!!!…..let me see….in what round did we draft him?
July 10th, 2019 at 4:09 pm
“Don’t mistake activity for achievement.”
Well lets compare say Earnest Graham’s achievements at this point in his Buc career. He had a total of 156 yards for his first two years and then added another whopping 59 yards in his third year before Cadillac’s injury finally gave him a chance when he broke through for just under 900 yards in his fourth year.
I get the difference. Graham was viewed as a blocking back…he was also stuck behind an all pro level back in Cadillac. He didn’t get the chance. When he did everybody thought great.
My point is simply there are tons of examples of good…sometimes even great players who get overlooked and then blow up when they get their chance….
Yeah Barber got his reps last year…on a team that admits it had major problems run blocking for the run. Yet he still managed 871 yards. UH….if the line improves even marginally and Barber plays the same that projects to a decent chance he’ll have a 1000 yard season…in a pass oriented attack.
I get that Payton Barber will never be Saquon Barkley…a MAJOR talent differential. But dang Joe you’re being far too critical.
Barber may improve yet again and he can at least be Earnest Graham. JW is AMERICA’s QB. HE IS THE MAN!!! We’ve spent two first round picks and a third rounder on his targets and they have proven to be very talented. We have a lot of other targets behind them. Remember #WeaponsforWinston
We’ve got them. Now we’re also demanding a top running game so that our “top” QB can find his “top” targets?
My point is simple. Barber is not Barkley or a top ten back…but he’s not chump change either. With a good line…and better play calling…Barber will be fine…not great but certainly serviceable.
So here’s a newsflash in case folks have missed Licht’s handiwork. This is a PASSING team not a running team.
July 10th, 2019 at 4:10 pm
And there lies the problem. He thinks his RBs are prolific and he also thinks the same of himself. He is a liar, thief, womanizer, homophobic piece of garbage. He would have been long gone if he was a man of a different color.
July 10th, 2019 at 4:10 pm
Agree with Jimmy.
July 10th, 2019 at 4:11 pm
We less then a month away from our first game.
If this OL can’t hack it we will see it firsthand. Til then this is a new team and new Era. Concerns are valid until they show it and that it. Calling it a mistake is not legitimate.
July 10th, 2019 at 4:12 pm
Ryan Smith suspended for 4 games for PEDs! That’s just perfect!
July 10th, 2019 at 4:20 pm
@74 Bucs fan best news I’ve heard all day. That dude is burnt toast.
July 10th, 2019 at 4:21 pm
Agreed….several years, and lots of hype about working hard and a lot of desire….it’s time to do what you are signed to do. No taking plays off or missing whole games because of selfish stupidity. Yeah, Barber would probably be all that he needs to if only he had the team around him to help. Oh wait, sounds like Winston.
Get results or they both can’t GTFO soon enough. The clock is running….
July 10th, 2019 at 4:22 pm
Well you can almost write off R.Smith from the 53 man roster.
He was gonna have a tough battle to hold his job to begin with. Losing that battle off the field might be too much to overcome
July 10th, 2019 at 4:46 pm
Joe you are dead wrong on Barber. The guys gets nowhere because he fights off tacklers left and right. Tacklers that should be blocked but are running free. I’ve seen Barber take 5 yard losses to 2 yard gains, that’s not on him, that’s an oline issue.
He doesn’t have breakaway speed but he can’t be PRODUCTIVE as a player and get you 4-5 yards a pop. Saquan Barkley would be pedestrian behind this oline.
July 10th, 2019 at 5:00 pm
Effort was never the problem, lack of touches was. The Bucs never committed to running the ball under Koetter, they’ve been a pass first team since he came on board. The other problem was, we fall behind in so many games, we have to pass the ball just to keep up.
July 10th, 2019 at 5:05 pm
I’m not ready to dismiss the Joes’ site as toxic for reasonable pessimism. It’s way skewed to “half empty” versus “half full” but at least the daily love letters to the new kitty-cat GMC and the recurring “OMG we have rookie saviors playing key roles” rants have stopped. RB is a valid question mark, but Bucs are a pass first team and Barber is a far cry from some scrub off the street… let’s not dismiss 800 yds as nothing. I’d love to see Duke land on the final roster but am willing to hold the criticism until we see if all this RoJo revival talk is fact or fiction.
July 10th, 2019 at 5:11 pm
Pretty sure the main reason Barber had to work so hard for his yards was because the run blocking was so terrible. That being said if koetter gave him 3 more carries a game he would have been a 1000 yard rusher.
He also averaged 4.4 yards a carry on power runs.
Also I’m pretty sure every single patron has heard this Joe’s spiel about Barber at least 5 or 6 times by now. And most have heard it in excess of 20 times. Enough already. Find something new to say about the subject.
July 10th, 2019 at 5:24 pm
Hodad…you have to admit though, there were not many games where were able to run the ball as the primary offense plan. With the D, they were constantly playing from behind, or having to pass…which is part of why Winston was giving the ball up so much.
July 10th, 2019 at 5:49 pm
PB is exactly the same back as Ernest Graham, Eric Rhett, very similar to James Wilder and better than Michael Pittman…but back then run game was the primary focus
PB is an 1100 yard back with a balanced offense and in today’s NFL that is plenty of punch to keep the D honest
Not a franchise back, not a Pro Bowler, but a good back capable of wearing down a D with a play caller committed to the run
July 10th, 2019 at 5:50 pm
“Graham was viewed as a blocking back…he was also stuck behind an all pro level back in Cadillac. He didn’t get the chance.”
Henderson was stuck behind the starting back (Taylor) at Memphis, yet he managed to rush for 1900 yards, score 27 TD’s, led the nation in yards per carry and yards after contact. No excuses!
July 10th, 2019 at 6:09 pm
Why are people complaining about Barbers’ output? Is he Barry Sanders? No. But have we forgotten how quickly our OC abandoned the run-game and how poorly the O-line run-blocked? Do you want more yards? Give him more carries and block better!
July 10th, 2019 at 9:24 pm
He would be great as a short yardage back. Get a lot of tds and short yardage first downs. But he is not an everdown back. He can’t take one to the house. If Barkley or Gurley we’re behinf the same line last year they would have still gotten 1200. Because the ones that barber only gets 15-20 on they would have went the distance and gotten 50-70. Or even if they didn’t take it to the house they would have gotten 10–20 more yards do that one run a game and that’s an extra 300-500 yards. That’s the difference of an elite back and barber. This isn’t the 90s anymore where you hand the ball to emit Smith 28 times a game and he gets 5 yards a Carry and finishes with 140. You get 12-18 a game and need to break one good one 30 plus to get your yards. And barber just doesn’t have that. This fan base just celebrates mediocrity to much he tries hard so he will be better. Know he is what he is a guy that gets positive gains but no explosive big gains. No team is scared of Peyton barber. They would love to see him get 30 carries a game. Because he would average 3.3 a carry and not even get 100. A guy that can take it to the house at any time changes the way the defense has to play you. Barber to me is an afterthought it is jones who we need to step up. If he can regain his usc type of running that would make us that much more dangerous. I think we should take a flier on Jeremy Hill. He is coming off ACl surgery. But if he has the drive to get one more big contract could be an instant upgrade at the position. He had a tremendous first two years and then got complacent and thought it would be easy. But now knowing this is his last chance you will most likely get the hungry rookie version. It would be a league minimum contract that is worth the risk to me. It doesn’t make are runningback room worse that’s for sure
July 10th, 2019 at 9:26 pm
Sorry for the babbling did t know my post was that long worked a 16 hour day and didnt get to talk to anyone.
July 10th, 2019 at 10:05 pm
Still “smarting” that Jason L. did not do more, to draft Dalvin Cook, who will prove to be annual Pro Bowl RB for Vikings after this year. Cook will make Kirk Cousins (a .500 win QB), look like a Pro Bowl QB in 2019.
Love Peyton Barber effort – but the dude does NOT strike FEAR in defenses, like Dalvin does.. or so many other RB’s who were options for Bucs.
Can only “wish” that Rojo, has juice….to take a handoff, juke and run distance…at least 3 times this year.
July 10th, 2019 at 11:45 pm
Barber is similar to what Eddie George was, if you need 3 yards he’ll get you 4. and if you need 6 yards, he’ll get you 4.
Barber’s a durable guy who would benefit from having a head coach who’d use him in a way that would wear defenses down, and take pressure off the QB.
The opposite of Dirk. I believe by run:pass ratio we had one of the pass heaviest offenses in the history of the game in 2018. I’m not sure if that’s right of if I’m totally making it up.
July 11th, 2019 at 11:47 am
@Gerald
As a former journalist and now longtime JBF poster I gotta say that was an exciting post.
Everybody here knows everything. Some are so obsessed with being right and football experts that they actually repost takes from JBF they had in the past to say “I told you so”.
You on the other hand turn out to be an HONEST poster!
As a former journalist I need attribution of facts. Either gleaned from someone else or whether it was simply an opinion.
For a guy to come out and clearly admit he’s just stating his opinion and not certain about the fact he just used….is just a refreshing change.