Breaking Down Playoff Lenny
December 9th, 2021
All-Pro season?
Here’s a stat Joe is guessing folks don’t know and it is pretty wild.
Take a guess who has the most receptions in the NFL for running backs? Yup, you see him play on (mostly) Sundays locally. Playoff Lenny! He has 58 catches.
Playoff Lenny has morphed into the running back a sect of Bucs fans hollered about in the offseason: a guy who could catch short passes out of the backfield.
Playoff Lenny has almost turned into another running back out of LSU who became a receiving back. That would be Kevin Faulk. The difference here is Playoff Lenny can still carry the rock.
Former NFL and Jags running back (just like Playoff Lenny) Maurice Jones-Drew did a really cool X’s and O’s breakdown of Playoff Lenny during a segment this morning on “Good Morning Football,” which can be seen weekday mornings on NFL Network. Solid stuff.
Closet Bucs fan Peter Schrager loved Playoff Lenny’s left-handed, one-handed catch for a touchdown last week from 17-game-loathing, salad bar-hating, park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking, tequila-shooting, smartphone-phobic, waffle-grilling, trophy-throwing, roller coaster-scared, numbers-rules-peeved, helmet-tossing, football-punting Bucs Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.
That play, Schrager believes, demonstrates how far Playoff Lenny has come as a receiving back.
Schrager even dared suggest Playoff Lenny could be an All-Pro.
NFL Network’s it-girl Kay Adams likes how Playoff Lenny has become a voice in the Bucs’ locker room.
Kyle Brandt believes perhaps Playoff Lenny’s greatest test as a Bucs running back will come Sunday. Why? After that embarrassing loss to the Belicheats on Monday night, not only does Buffalo have its backs against the walls fighting for a playoff berth, Brandt believes the Bills’ defense has had its manhood challenged.
Brandt believes the Bills will be fully determined to throw the kitchen sink at the Bucs to stop the ground game.
You know what strong football teams do? When another team plays all out to stop an element of your offense, the dominant teams still jam the ball down the team’s throats.
You can see the full segment about Playoff Lenny in the NFL Network video below.
Dr. @MJD uses his doctorate in All-22 Studies to break down some amazing plays by @_fournette that make us think he’s become one of the most valuable RBs in the #NFL. pic.twitter.com/82Pop8FQ3n
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) December 9, 2021
December 9th, 2021 at 10:03 am
Glad TB12 had Lenny come here. We needed him in the Superbowl run
Thanks Tommy
December 9th, 2021 at 10:32 am
Love those graphics on the GMF video.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:36 am
Love his stats and love his consistent EFFORT.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:41 am
Not surprised. When Brady was in NE, James White led the league and I believe along with Faulk, Shane Vereen may of held that title when played for the Pat’s.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:43 am
I’d like to see the Bucs pull a Patriots move and run Fournette all day long on the Bills. Get him a 200 yard ground game.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:48 am
I agree, both the Patriots and Colts ran the ball down the Bills throat.
Maybe we should run Lenny on Sunday ?
December 9th, 2021 at 10:56 am
Playoff Lenny is a star! What a singing. Keep him!
December 9th, 2021 at 10:59 am
I have to believe Bill’s are going to think Bucs will try to run it down their throat. Bucs don’t have the power run game Indy and Pat’s have, so I say play action 1st play and make the D start thinking then run it.
December 9th, 2021 at 11:09 am
Godwin downfield blocking like a beast on that first Colts run.
December 9th, 2021 at 11:40 am
And he can run over 21mph! According to NExtGen Stats anyways.
December 9th, 2021 at 11:58 am
Run Lenny over & over. Bills fall asleep. 70 yard bomb TD to Periman to raise TB12’s TD-receiver count to 89!
December 9th, 2021 at 1:18 pm
As terrible as our defense is we’re going to need more points than Lenny can provide. Need to mix it up. I agree, with play action on the first play.
December 9th, 2021 at 1:49 pm
Peeps Lenny is versatile but Jones and Vaughn are both better pure runners and power runners ……. Lenny is big and talented but he’s a softer type runner
December 9th, 2021 at 2:07 pm
Very interesting, Fournette leads all RB’s in receptions.
I did not know that. but in retrospect he has been hauling a ton of passes recently, keeping D’s honest and worn down tackling him in the open field.
Was not that one reason he was recruited, his pass-catching ability?
December 9th, 2021 at 3:16 pm
Listnfrmafar, I thought the same thing. The running attack reminds me of the Pat’s when Brady was there. A lot of short passes to the the RBs. The biggest difference in Tampa is the many deep balls that Brady has thrown over his time here. Now that defenses are scheming to take away those from Evans and Godwin, the underneath game is becoming more dominant.
December 9th, 2021 at 3:38 pm
Love football history the BUCCANEERS are making. So much fun being a van.
December 9th, 2021 at 4:27 pm
I think Rojo has 5 catches this year.
Where are all those folks wanting Rojo over Lenny?
December 9th, 2021 at 4:33 pm
I like the underneath game, especially with a D that has a hard time stopping teams.
It’s like a ground game but in the air. Grinding. Time-consuming.
With the occasional deep shot.
December 9th, 2021 at 4:35 pm
Eckwood you can have your opinion but I say this to you.
Did you not see the Super Bowl and Rojo not get the TD on 2 straight downs. On neither down was Rojo hit behind the line of scrimmage. Where was the power there. When I was watching those plays I said Lenny and his huge butt would have scored.
Did you not see the Indy game where Lenny bowled over guys many times.
What in Keyshawn Vaughn’s 34 rushes of his whole NFL career or any of his college career make you positively say that Vaughn is a better and more powerful runner than Lenny.
December 9th, 2021 at 4:42 pm
Stop the long stuff, Brady kills with 1000 short slices. Stop the underneath, Brady stabs deep.
Pick your poison, take what is given.
The secret to the sauce is the best OL in team history.
December 9th, 2021 at 4:55 pm
I heard on one of the fantasy football shows that Fournette is the NFL’s leading pass catcher at running back. He did have over 70 catches just a couple of years ago, so he can catch, but the big difference this year is that he looks natural catching the ball, like it’s no longer a struggle. Last year he caught the ball better than Ronnie, but that’s an incredibly low bar to pass. This year he just looks like a 3-down pass catching back, like a pick worthy of the 1st round (even so, at #4 overall, he’d still be way overdrafted). It’s pretty remarkable the way he turned everything around since that Vikings game where he was inactive. All credit to him for changing things up and doing something different.
December 9th, 2021 at 6:33 pm
what is Rojos college number? maybe he should change it
December 9th, 2021 at 7:20 pm
Been saying Lenny put Gio to sleep with his pass catching this season. Lenny is now a top gun both pounding the rock and catching passes. Rojo comes in to give Lenny a blow and surprises defenders with his explosive speed hitting the hole. Nice combo for the Bucs. Gio got a lot of looks early in the season but Lenny is a tank with soft hands to boot. Gio no longer the 3rd down guy.
December 9th, 2021 at 7:59 pm
Perfect situation for some misdirection/trick plays. Get them over committing.
December 9th, 2021 at 8:01 pm
The secret to the sauce is the best OL in team history.
******************************************************
It’s the grunts in the trenches that win the season.
Either the ones who protect the QB and open holes for the running back, or the ones who punish and chase the QB and shut down the running lanes.
The accolades are few(especially on offense) and most go unknown to the casual fan, but the entire game rests on their shoulders.
Without good play in the trenches, all other aspects of the game fall apart.
December 9th, 2021 at 8:11 pm
Big difference from that Dallas game when he stone handed that screen pass that turned into an int! Even though Rojo is a more fluid runner he doesn’t have the heart that Lenny has. Lenny at times is painful to watch but he’s our most effective runner. The only thing is he needs good size holes to run thru. The Colts game proved he is our best rb. Definitely should run him a lot in the beginning. Brady is great at adjusting to what defenses show him
December 9th, 2021 at 10:48 pm
We now have the team we BUCS fans have wanted since Gruden got us one in 2002! We have the players to do it again this year!
December 11th, 2021 at 12:36 am
Geno,nice take,, didn’t berate him for his opinion, I like that,, fournette has definitely stepped up,no more going down on arm tackles,,the Bill’s can be had in the run game as we seen last week and against Indy, which will open up the passing game, control the clock,,with play action mixed in and Josh Allen can’t do any damage in the passing game,,now hopefully the BUCS coaching staff realizes this also