“Bigger Array Of Short Passes”
May 20th, 2020
Key cog?
This should get Dare Ogunbowale fans all jacked up and ready to embrace the day.
Ronald Jones took just three more offensive snaps per game than Ogunbowale last season, and Ogunbowale enters this critical year as the favorite third-down running back option of Bucco Bruce Arians. Remember, Arians said at the NFL Scouting Combine that third downs are not for RoJo.
Ogunbowale might even get more work on first and second downs, if two-time Super Bowl winner QB Phil Simms is to be believed.
He told SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio that Brady will bring many more short passes to the Bucs offense.
“The New England Patriots, if they weren’t the No. 1 screen team in the last five year, I’ll guarantee they were in the top-3. They lived off of it. Great deception is their power,” Simms said. “I would say this about Bruce Arians; He’s not about deceptions, he’s about let’s make plays. So he wants the guys, ‘Hold the ball Tom. There he is. There’s a window. Rip it in there.’ And that’s kind of been his philosophy through the years. I saw it with Andrew Luck. I saw it with Peyton Manning. I saw it with Carson Palmer. We saw it with Jameis Winston.
“But there will be a give-and-take there with that offense. No question. It will look different now with Tom Brady in there. He’ll be much more careful with the ball and they’ll have a bigger array of short passes in than they’ve had in the pass.”
Of course, the Bucs are hoping rookie RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn (third round) can hit the ground running, along with fellow rookie back Raymond Calais (seventh round). However, the likelihood of them being go-to players against the Saints on opening day is rather slim, considering the limited offseason and the pressure of that road game.
Joe thinks Ogunbowale is going to get a heck of an early shot to prove himself on a big stage. How fun would it be to see a no-name like Ogunbowale jump from 35 catches last season to 70 this year with legions of fantasy football players trying to figure out why they didn’t draft him.
May 20th, 2020 at 5:57 am
Dare is a hard worker. I wouldn’t be unhappy if he kept being the third down back. Tom will get him the ball faster. When Jameis threw to him it was after Jameis ran around for a while so the whole damn defense was already in the same area as Dare.
May 20th, 2020 at 6:26 am
Last year’s stats probably doesn’t mean much this year, and yet …
o Dare was targeted 46 times & caught 35 of those (76.1%) for 286 yards (8.2 YPR)
o RoJo was targeted 40 times & caught 31 of those (77.5%) for 310 yards (10.0 YPR)
In terms of offensive snaps, Dare got 361 snaps, while RoJo got 415 snaps. Dare excelled on S/T snaps though: 318 to 6. Of note, the only Buc to get more S/T snaps than Dare was Kevin Minter (332 S/T snaps).
At this point, I think it’s virtually impossible to tell which RB Tom Brady will favor (and that’ll be the one to get the most work). All 3 of our primary backs (RoJo, Dare & Vaughn) have a decent chance to become ‘his favorite’. Whoever it is though, I’ll bet that he’ll be the one who best provides ‘the total package’ in terms of running, catching & pass protecting.
May 20th, 2020 at 6:28 am
I was actually hoping Dare doesn’t make this team…
He does seem to be a hard worker but he’s definitely nothing special imho…Rather see the 2 rookie RBs stick and of course Rojo..
May 20th, 2020 at 6:49 am
Yah. Or the tight end could be the short pass / quick release safety valve over the middle. With godwin , evans and 3rd receiver Getting db and safety looks On outside/ longer developing plays.
Ill take gronk (even at 31) over most linebackers in the nfl
And if they match some much smaller db, good luck
May 20th, 2020 at 7:01 am
When Joe picked on Dare, I stated he was a hard=worker……….Joe went off on me asking “how did I know”……evidence is that he was made ST captain….why would the team chose him if he din’t work hard?
I’m not actually that high on Dare but I don’t think he’s that bad either.
May 20th, 2020 at 7:04 am
I like Ogunbowale as a third down option, but both Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Raymond Calais has better upsides and both, especially Calais will be a major factor in special teams. The kid going to kill it as a kick returner.
May 20th, 2020 at 7:13 am
Just a little history on Calais. He posted the third fastest 40 time in the combine. Was a high school state champion in the 100 meter dash. Averaged 25.2 as a kick returner and posted 886 years, 7.8 yard average on 117 carries as a RB in college.
May 20th, 2020 at 7:13 am
You said it Joe, he’s a no name. Limited talent. The highlights I’ve seen of Vaughn catching screen passes, and taking them to the house be it college is much more impressive then anything I saw out of Dare last year. Wouldn’t make sense to me to have Rojo a 2nd round pick, and Vaughn a 3rd round pick sitting on the bench on third down watching a no name get important 3rd down snaps. Add Calais to the mix who was at least drafted, and has more speed. Dare will be lucky to make the team.
May 20th, 2020 at 7:20 am
They will keep 4 RBs probably, especially since Dare plays a lot of special teams. TJ Logan is probably the odd man out this year. Last year it was Barber, Rojo, Dare, and TJ Logan. This year it’ll most likely be Rojo, Vaughn, Dare, and Ray Calais. Dare will be around more than likely.
May 20th, 2020 at 7:27 am
Its like getting a thousand little cuts, and before your know it, youre bleeding everywhere.
May 20th, 2020 at 7:52 am
You guys remember how much Kobe was hyping up Dare last year and how much better than Rojo he was going to be?
Dude’s a clown but that doesn’t stop him from pretending like he can predict the future.
May 20th, 2020 at 9:23 am
Alabama – Thanks for the info on Calais. I suspect he may be a real sleeper pick. Hope he can fix the Bucs return game. It has been poor for years.
May 20th, 2020 at 9:57 am
Dare has a great story. But talent wise. He shouldnt be on the team.
May 20th, 2020 at 10:21 am
ncbucsfan … I think it’ll be an interesting battle between TJ Logan & Ray Calais. TJ is basically a middle-of-the-road returner; nothing special but steady. Calais was impressive as a return man at Louisiana-Lafayette & is faster, but how well his game translates to the pro-level is anybody’s guess at this point. Remember Jeff Demps? Lightning fast, but couldn’t get on the field, IMO because his speed didn’t translate into production.
In any event, I’m betting that special teams gets a LOT of attention this year. The only way I can think to describe our S/Ts performance last year is ‘We sucked’.
May 20th, 2020 at 10:22 am
IMO Dare is a hard worker ( special teams captain ) and that tells you all you need to know about him. He clearly earned his teammates respect and is a obvious contributor on st, however I really believe that they can find a better option as a 3rd down back. Kinda reminds me of Sheppard few years back ( great in locker room, great on teams ) but not what a contender is looking for as a wr, even a 4th or 5th wr. I totally agree with most who say that the Bucs can do better, seems like the team is turning the corner as far as expectations. Gone are the days of ” good story” type players and bring on the talented players please lol. But if he earns the right to suit up and a spot on the 53 then so be it. I just envision a 3rd down back as a player with a lil more ” juice ” not just a good blocker in pass protection. I know $$ is tight these days due to the cap, but IMO I’d rather see them kick the tires on a back like Freeman or Lewis, who can be had on the cheap more than likely
May 20th, 2020 at 10:23 am
@ Alabama
Yes Calais is type of wild card that can provide that JUICE
May 20th, 2020 at 10:48 am
@Defense Rules
Thanks for that tidbit. I appreciate your fandom
May 20th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
They desperately need too find a proven veteran R.B.. Dare ain’t gonna cut it.
May 20th, 2020 at 12:36 pm
No we don’t need a proven running back…Brady has already proved he can work miracles with average Joe’s.
We need to squeeze every available penny in to the Defensive side of the ball.
Defense wins championships and Brady will make sure we don’t turn it over.
May 20th, 2020 at 1:54 pm
@TBBF and Dan
Largely agree with you guys about Dare. I might be a little more enthusiastic.
IMO teams can always use these kind of glue guys…who just STFU and do their job to the best of their ability. Dan and TBBF mentioned it but Dare’s contribution to team chemistry is off the charts.
Ogunbowale walked onto the Wisconsin football team as a cornerback. He eventually switched to running back and racked up over 2,000 total yards and 15 total touchdowns. He was voted team captain his senior year.
NOTHING has ever been given to this guy! For me he is easy to root for. No he’s not the next coming of Zeke or even ROJO but he does contribute.
I get Joe’s point that last year we expected too much out of him. He is a role player who earns his keep on ST and we were force feeding him into playing more reps.
IMO Dare will be fine this year and may surprise a few folks…he may have trouble getting touches though. If somebody with more talent is available at a decent price…like Devonta Freeman, although I do not know what he expects…I would not be surprised to see another FA RB signed at least for training camp.
May 20th, 2020 at 2:08 pm
Belligerent…and D.R. feel free to add your two cents.
“Defense wins championships and Brady will make sure we don’t turn it over.”
This is certainly the common wisdom and so I do not take exception other than it always seems a bit simplistic to me.
If stated…”Defense wins championships more frequently than offense” I would absolutely agree.
I would also agree that our D has a chance to catch our O this year if everybody plays to their potential. Yeah a big IF.
But I think the 2017 SB kind of challenged that assumption for at least that season. Bill Belicheat the legend of defensive coaches goes out and lets the Falcons run up a 21-3 lead at half tack on another score for a 28-3 deficit…real defense there eh.
But our current QB saved Belicheats bacon with the largest comeback in SB history!!!
Again that was exceptional and in the long run I certainly agree that it’s probably easier to build a smothering defense than spend years throwing darts at a draft board hoping for the ONE QB…and then needing to draft #weapons for the guy.
May 20th, 2020 at 2:15 pm
NCbucfan, A Rojo, Vaughn, Dare, and Ray Calais as our RB’s this season? Yes! I will run with that, an athletic rookie RT, two green Vets, with two green Rookies. All HUNGRY!! And FAST!!
The TJ Logan & Ray Calais ST/RB competition will be a good battle. I liked what we saw on ST from TJ before he got injured. I hope whatever that was, has healed well. I would have liked to have seen TJ get a series of plays last season. Same with whoever we go with this season. Calais’s highlights show he is going to bring a Great competition. He looks fast and shows some nice shifty moves. Nice hands. He gets a step separation, forget about catching him. Gone. Nice late-round draft pick player. It will be awesome to see all the competition with our RB’s.
Go Bucs!
May 20th, 2020 at 3:12 pm
I wouldn’t be shocked, or angry, if Ogunbowale gets cut.
May 20th, 2020 at 3:31 pm
@ Stpete
That’s cool and thanks for the info about his history. I am a little more in his corner now than I was, although I trend to support all our players and get behind them even more so with the “lunch box” type workers. I seem to agree with your opinions more times than not. I just am REALLY EXCITED for this season and absolutely believe that a true championship team has to have players like this guy. I admittedly am a Bucs homer, but this team composition in the locker room is just as impressive as on the field…I could name player after player who are “locker room ” guys….Honestly gotta tip my cap to Licht and his staff for that part.
May 20th, 2020 at 8:14 pm
Dan
Thanks and I certainly likewise agree with your post. I too candidly confess to being a homer but isn’t that part of being a fan?
And like you the “lunch pail” guys are always appreciated and I like the “locker room” guys better as well.
And like you Dan….I’m “REALLY EXCITED”.
May 20th, 2020 at 10:50 pm
Oh my… goodness…. the Bucs need to scout local bars for a running game. There has to be a jacked up bar patron that can do better.
May 22nd, 2020 at 12:48 pm
I’m pretty sure, if healthy Dare’s going to be the 3rd down back this year because, like James White before him, he’s better at that than anyone else. Whatever film you’ve seen of RB draft picks is not going to put them in Brady’s trust.