Key Confidence Game For RoJo
September 27th, 2020
Leonard Fournette has never played a full NFL season, and he had a significant injury history in college.
Joe’s not trying to jinx the beast of the Buccaneers’ backfield. Joe is just acknowledging how important it is to have a strong No. 2 running back if you’re a team banking on Fournette carrying a big load every week.
In the 2019 and 2020 offseason, a huge theme vocalized at One Buc Palace was about praising Ronald Jones, and Joe assumes that was about keeping RoJo’s confidence sky high because his confidence is a bit fragile.
The Bucco Bruce Arians regime doesn’t really talk about RoJo competing and earning his touches. It’s always more about RoJo is the man, and takes like that.
Of course, Joe has been paying attention since last season, which is why Joe was not surprised the Bucs went running back in Round 3 of this year’s draft and pounced on LeSean McCoy and Leonard Fournette in free agency. Joe never bought the all-in with RoJo spin. However, RoJo remains an important piece of the puzzle for a team that wants to play in February.
Joe sees today’s game as a good confidence-building opportunity for RoJo. He squeezed in a stiff-arm touchdown run last Sunday among his 7 carries for 23 yards, plus 2 catches for 2 years. Joe thinks the TD run was enough for RoJo to not hang his head.
If today he can complement Fournette with something like, say, 8 rushes for 38 yards and a good screen-pass effort, Joe thinks that could be another building block for RoJo to eventually happily and confidently accept his role as a No. 2 back.
September 27th, 2020 at 1:02 pm
Wait until he gets on that tb12 diet! 😉
September 27th, 2020 at 1:20 pm
The way I see it Ronald is fighting for his job. Leonard set the bar last week and if Ronald dont match it Fournette will be our bellcow. RoJo could force a comittee backfield with a big game. He has basically one drive to proove it……If its the same old for Ronald then Fournette will t take over.
September 27th, 2020 at 1:22 pm
Yes sir nothing says success like relying on a running back who had a really poor rookie season and then a sub par- medium season in year two!
September 27th, 2020 at 1:22 pm
We tolerated RoJo until we could replase him. That was a good quote from Gruden.
September 27th, 2020 at 1:23 pm
The Buccaneer offense is designed for heavy deception. Most teams have 4 or 5 reliable stars the Bucs are loaded with them. I wish we could pose the question to all OC in the league, ‘If you had the Buccaneer offense to work with could you win the Super Bowl?” I wonder how many of them would say YES! How about BL?
OF COURSE HE WOULD SAY YES!
GO BUCS!!!
September 27th, 2020 at 1:26 pm
Rojo seems to be missing that NFL RB “X Factor”… I can’t quite put my finger on it, but he’s lacking something.
Maybe his running vision isn’t so elite. Or maybe he’s initial burst to hit a hole is too slow. Or maybe he lacks the patience to let blocks develop.
I’m not sure what it is, but Rojo is missing something that other elite RBs have.
He’s probably a super nice kid, hard worker, great top line speed, and a great athlete, no doubt. But some athletes are better college game performers than in the pros.
Elite NFL RBs can often turn nothing into something. Those runs that you immediately think are going to be stopped for no gain, yet somehow they bounce off and pick up 3 yards or even turn it into a longer run. I just don’t see Rojo doing that.
If you watch McCoy when he touches the ball, he often makes so many people miss as well as he gets low and sort of ‘squirts’ ahead for extra yards. How many of those 3rd down catches last week to McCoy look like for sure he’d be stopped short of the 1st yet somehow he was able to pick them up? This is what Rojo lacks in my opinion.
I think Rojo is a decent RB. I just don’t think he has elite potential.
Keyshawn Vaughn may have that elite potential and we need to find out. He had massive production at Vanderbilt behind one of the worst O-Lines (and nearly no effective passing game) in college football. Yet he terrorized top SEC teams like UF and LSU with big games.
Fournette also needs to be the starter. We need a bigger back to POUND on the opposing defense is start wearing them out. It’s like a boxing match. Physical attrition takes its toll over the course of a game. Defenses get worn out as time goes on. Fournette speeds up that process by being a bigger back that can really pound people.
September 27th, 2020 at 1:42 pm
Drafting Vaughn & bringing in McCoy & Fournette is not an indictment of Rojo….but it is an indictment of Peyton Barber, Dare & whoever else we cut….
September 27th, 2020 at 1:44 pm
Does it really matter if rojo or fournette get the start? Fournette is a better back until Rojo proves different. Besides itz a passing league and Arians is going to throw.
September 27th, 2020 at 2:02 pm
Im watching this Raiders game and looking ahead thats gonna be a big test for us. Their defense is no joke. On offense they like to run the ball so that should be a big benefit for us since we can take that away.
September 27th, 2020 at 2:26 pm
We drafted 2 RBs and signed 2 more……make no mistake, Rojo is being tolerated until they find his replacement. He’s nothing special other then experience in the offense.
September 27th, 2020 at 3:27 pm
Unless you are a team with a hands down everyone knows that you have a dominant RB the smart/ only thing you can do is RB by committee and favor the hot hand…. I really don’t care as long as they move the chains and burn the clock
September 27th, 2020 at 3:47 pm
JimmyJack – Gruden kicking a FG when he’s down by 13 with 8 minutes to go. LOL! He thinks he has Monte coaching that defense to bail him out — but he doesn’t.
September 27th, 2020 at 3:49 pm
JimmyJack – Also Carr, on 3rd and 7, at the Pats 20, down by 13, throws for 2 yards, he didn’t even try to get the first down. That’s why Gruden hates him, the guy is a coward. Carr ended a game last year against the Jets where on 4th down, last play of the game, at the Jets 3 yard line, he throws the ball out of bounds to end the game. The guy is such a coward – and he cares more about that INT column than the W column.
If Mariota was healthy, Guden pulls Carr after that 2 yard throw on 3rd and 7 needing 2 TDs.
September 27th, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Rojo is just ok Fournette is a stud when it comes to running backs. The bucs need to use him at least 75% of the time.