RoJo & The Playbook
August 12th, 2019
Talks playbook
BY ZACHARY SEIFTER
Manbeast JoeBucsFan intern
He’s been the main attraction of training camp.
Every coach, every fan, and pretty much anybody who cares about the Bucs have wanted to see what he’s made of. And he hasn’t disappointed.
Ronald Jones looks to be reborn under new coaches and their complete confidence in him. After Friday night’s game in Pittsburgh, RoJo is only four rushing yards shy of matching his 2018 preseason total.
Coming off an abysmal rookie season, reports claimed Jones had trouble getting down the playbook. And there might be some truth to that.
When asked today by JoeBucsFan.com today what’s different this season, RoJo went right to the playbook.
“I guess with this year, just my understanding of the playbook and you know, my assignments on every play,” Jones explained. “Last year was a big learning jump. You know, just adjusting to the speed of the game and all that. So, this year I have a year under my belt, and I feel a lot more comfortable.”
His 4.5 yards per carry Friday night blow last year’s stats out of the water: 1.9 YPC in the regular season and 0.8 in the preseason.
Many will say it’s just four carries, but it’s significant progress. And progress is something any Bucs fan will take right now.
August 12th, 2019 at 10:26 pm
He looked confident and like he was playing at 100% effort as opposed to last years seemingly 70% effort where he looked timid. And of course the other big factor was he had the room to run this time. That’s starting Oline player great. Granted it wasn’t against the stealers best, but enough can not be said about the upgrade at RG at least based on that small sample size. I’ve gone back with my NFL pass and rewatched the first drive 5 times in a row focusing on each Olineman individually. Guess what folks… Cappa played the best out of the entire group. Marpet did a great job as well but on that first drive Cappa was the best Olineman. Was great to see.
August 12th, 2019 at 10:35 pm
So if the playbook is/was the issue, isn’t he learning a brand new playbook and offensive system this year as he was last year doing the exact same thing? So the difference must be the coaches. The difference must be who’s teaching it and how. The difference is we have quality coaches and teachers all over this coaching staff…starting from BA and Tom Moore all the way down the list. Safe to also say that Todd McNair is a heck of a lot better coach than Mr. Spencer was/is. Although I already knew that when he diagnosed RoJo’s troubles catching the ball due to a weird technique and hand placement/alignment he was using prior. He diagnosed that immediately, something the other coaches had 20 (16 regular and 4 preseason) games and a whole offseason to accomplish and couldn’t. I think we’ve heard and seen all the signs that coaching matters and this coaching staff is a tremendous upgrade over the previous regime.
August 12th, 2019 at 10:46 pm
Agreed, JGhoti86. Let’s see if it translates to regular season wins.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:21 am
Coaching, coaching coaching. And let’s not act like they called Ellington off the couch to pound the rock for us. The man is getting paid to bring RonJon along in the BA way. Head ball coach knows a thing or two.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:22 am
So far every I’ve been hearing this season why the Bucs sucked so bad last year comes down to coaching and injury.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:25 am
Not sure what it is about Koetter’s playbook but Devonte Freeman struggled his rookie year before Koetter left Atlanta. Jeremy McNichols who had 8 carries for 44 yds the other night also struggled with Koetter’s playbook.
August 13th, 2019 at 1:54 am
Whatever the reason, I’m GLAD! We get the real RoJo this season. And apparently, better OL run blocking.
Go Bucs!
August 13th, 2019 at 2:48 am
Rojo struggled mighty his first year in college. Same as last year as a pro.
He just takes time to get comfortable with his new environment and responsibilities. While I agree the current coaching staff has taken a different and seemingly better approach with Rojo there’s a big difference between a rookie and a 2nd year player. There’s so much to process year 1 that some players get overwhelmed. Especially, immature players as Rojo has been identified by mcnair.
Year 2 there’s a thousand less things to deal with and the player knows what to expect. This isn’t coaching it’s experience and why some fans discount the value of it and put all their eggs into one blame the coach basket is just simple minds demonstrating the limits of their own intellect.
I’m not discounting coaching, not at all. Rather pointing out the , at least I think it is, obvious additional factor in the equation. The player himself.
The other missing component, in what is an extremely one dimensional opinion, is the win now or be fired conditions that Koetter had hanging over his head. He didn’t have the luxury of bringing a player along slowly. He either won now or he was gone. If you’re a pro there’s nothing but performance .either you can or can’t. If you cant, next man up. That’s life in the NFL. This isn’t high school or pee week as many fans seem to believe. Get the job done or someone else will.
Paychecks make it a business. Did Rojo earn his pay last year, no. Who’s to blame is really immaterial as if he doesn’t deliver this year he’s gone like koetter. If he’s gone isn’t because he lacked the talent.
August 13th, 2019 at 4:03 am
Some GRRREAT observations in this comments section. And everyone’s right … ALL of those factors play into the reasons why RoJo is on the upswing this year IMO.
Immaturity was a big factor in RoJo’s case I think, especially considering that he was only 20 when he was drafted & had a TALL mountain to climb when he got here (little pass-catching or pass-blocking experience didn’t exactly help his case with Koetter I’m sure). Our OLine’s pass-blocking last year wasn’t exactly top shelf either. Perhaps Koetter’s playbook was daunting for a new RB, who knows.
Todd McNair’s coaching seems to have made a big difference. So has putting on some weight (in the form of muscle) probably. A different playbook may have helped. The Bucs’ OLine seems to be improving & that has surely made a big difference. RoJo’s running AND catching with more CONFIDENCE it looks like, and I think it’s the result of all those factors, to include having a year under his belt. Really excited to see how all of that translates to game performance starting Sept 8th.
August 13th, 2019 at 6:38 am
I’ll give RoJo credit. He didn’t blame it on the coaches. In so many words he
admitted he was a bit confused about his assignments at times and also a bit overwhelmed by the speed of the NFL compared to college. That would cause him to play tentatively.
IMO, if ROjO had come out of a different school like Alabama for instance, he might of been a bit more prepared to play in the NFL. I believe there would have been more focus on fundamentals like blocking.
ROJO will be helped by the new coaching staff,extra muscle and his
determination to get better.
August 13th, 2019 at 6:56 am
The help from Andre Ellington cannot be discounted……Ellington knows the system and I’m sure he’s been in Rojo’s ear.
For that reason alone, Ellington was a good acquisition.
August 13th, 2019 at 7:21 am
Some coaches are better teachers than others. It’s not just about XOs if all the players aren’t all understanding it.
August 13th, 2019 at 10:00 am
PAC 10 is soft man
Backs coming from playing sec defenses are seasoned to the max.
August 13th, 2019 at 4:40 pm
Destin,
STFU with your stupid SEC worship. There are tons of more successful PAC-10 RBs than SEC. The best RB of the last 10 years played in the worst defensive conference in the NCAA for Oklahoma. Do you think playing in the SEC really helped Trent Richardson, Derrius Guice, Leonard Fournette, and the other underperforming SEC RBs last season? Quit the stupid bias. The constant spewing of dummies only wanting SEC players is old and has proven to be stupid. STFU with it already.