Dave Canales Talks Key Run Metrics — The “Fantastic” And The Disappointing
September 14th, 2023
Offensive coordinator Dave Canales.
Tampa Bay’s run-first offense was a mixed bag on Sunday and offensive coordinator Dave Canales explained.
Fans saw what did and didn’t happen, but Canales threw numbers at it.
“A good metric for us and for Bucs fans listening is we try to have a 50 percent efficiency rate on runs. And an efficient run is four yards or more. We were at 52 percent in this first game, so [that] was just fantastic,” Canales told the Buccaneers Radio Network.
“Now that being said, where can we go? We had zero explosive runs in the run game. That’s where the backs really start to get the feel for how this run is gonna hit; ‘Now who is the defender that’s unblocked here that I got to find a way to make miss on a second level?’ Those things come with reps and time.
“And let’s remember, we didn’t play Rachaad a lot in the preseason to kind of get those live-tackling reps, but he’s got a lot of carries in his career. So I think [our running backs] taking those finishing runs on their own terms and setting those things up, it will come. But they were definitely in tune with what we were doing and getting us the yards we needed to get it started.”
The Bucs’ running game was not good Sunday, but it was just good enough to help craft a victory. And Canales stuck with it. He didn’t panic and was in lockstep with the philosophy of his head coach.
Joe admits to cringing when Canales referenced Rachaad White not getting much work in preseason, so it might have affected him in Week 1. If that’s the case, then Todd Bowles should have had White get more work in preseason. Some players need it to be their best; some don’t.
Joe expects a better run game Sunday against the Bears. The offensive line looked quite solid in Week 1, and that should only improve this week considering the linemen’s limited experience at their positions.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:43 am
(Yawn!) Just throw the dam ball to Mike and Chris.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:50 am
mike will drop it.
white has to get better at lanes and breaking tackles.
I was high on him….. but I saw several missed oppportunities last week by him and the #2 back looked better.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:51 am
The best/quickest way to improve our running game right now is to give Sean Tucker more carries/touches.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:01 am
Sean Tucker. I am confident that over the course of time, he will be our leading rusher.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:11 am
I did not see a terrible run game.
Granted, not stellar runs, explosive runs. But enough 4+ yard runs to keep the D honest.
It was unlike in the past when every run was stuffed by just the DL.
You HAVE to keep the LB’s looking for the run before the Canales play-action game works.
I understand what Canales is saying, and expect the run game to improve. If not, it’ll be another long season.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:18 am
No we didn’t hit any explosives, but I also didn’t see us losing 2-3 yards on any plays blown up in the backfield. If we get 4-5 a run it keeps us on schedule and the whole playbook open. I re-watched the game and just watched Mauch and Goedeke. Outside of Goedeke’s hold he and the rook did well.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:22 am
3.4 ypc keeps the O ahead of the chains.
Of course, I’d like more. Everybody does.
But unlike many games in the past, when you stay ahead of the chains, more of the playbook is open.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Soooo….17 out of 33 planned running plays gained 4+ yards? Doesn’t sound as bad when you put it that way
September 14th, 2023 at 11:25 am
As usual agree with you Cobra!
Like everyone I can see room for improvement but that’s the exciting part. The Bucs did well in a very challenging situation. New OC…new QB…new OL for the most and new RB’s with one season experience between them.
Cobra a question for you since you been so involved in the actual game. I never got past high school. But I was always told the OL has a SLIGHT advantage in that they obviously know where the play is going and have practiced it but also the OL gets the first move…they know the snap count.
In Minnesota that “advantage” became a challenge! There was no snap count, nobody could heae and so it requires some real coaching and finesse just to remain in sync.
For a recently assembled OL I was impressed! BTW that OL featured 1 rookie with a bad back, a Center forced into action after injury(thankfully had last season at center) the star of the entire show was switching positions…the RT a second year man switching positions as a 2nd year guy and a brand new piece at LG.
We’ll know more after the Bears game but based on just ONE game this OL totally overperformed IMHO. Perhaps this is why Ali Marpet was so blown away.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:31 am
White’s a little slow but he makes up for it by being indecisive.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Lipstick on a pig.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:36 am
Jack Burton Mercer,
Hilarious! And unfortunately true… Time to give Sean Tucker more carries and see what he can do with the increased opportunities…
September 14th, 2023 at 11:39 am
Am I the only one that thinks the O line looked horrible last week? I think that they got owned on the blitz’s. The right side was getting run over. Hopefully they will look better against Chicago as Philly and the Saints are going to be tough.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:42 am
If they are going to be effective running the ball the O line needs to focus on the down lineman first.
If you go back and watch the 2nd and goal play before the Trey Palmer TD you will see all 3 interior lineman moving to the second level before White even gets the ball.
In fact, Mauch didn’t even chip before releasing and didn’t get a hat on a single guy. Je was also running backwards when Tucker caught his screen pass which was blocked everywhere if he blocks at all.
On the 2nd and goal run both DTs absolutely sandwich White AT the line of scrimmage. No sense moving to the second level if your tackles haven’t been able to establish the seal.
Good news is this is fixable and could help the run game tremendously.
When the LBs are stopping the run from busting, then worry about the 2nd level, but when your longest run is 6 yards, there is something intrinsically wrong with blocking the down lineman.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Breece Hall coming off like an ACL injury needed no reps lol dude was immediately breaking tackles again.
I was optimistic about White but week 1 I give him a C- or D+ type grade. Especially after watching other games / RB’s who made plays out of nothing or at least generated explosive plays on well blocked plays vs minimal gains.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:55 am
DC is Mr. Positive!! The run game will get better with more experience! Mr. Positive will have an easier time pointing out the good execution! I do like him a lot! LFG
September 14th, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Let’s face it, Licht has been bad at drafting RB’s. The good news is he’s been good finding UDFAs so hopefully Tucker has a chance. No more excuses for White. If he looks the same this week it’s time for a change. Backs should be ready to run out of the gate like race horses. They shouldn’t need a lap around the track to get used to racing. White needs to hit that finish line.
September 14th, 2023 at 12:41 pm
Tucker is the best RB the Bucs have – needs more carries.
September 14th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Good points about why not play White in preseason and about Hall coming back with no preseason and playing well. Not a fan of White. And running his mouth about signals was just stupid.
September 14th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Love White in the shotgun and in pass protect. He’s not a bellcow though.
September 14th, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Hear! Hear! Salute to the Oline.
Looked solid. Build on the W.
September 14th, 2023 at 2:06 pm
Dave Canales … ‘A good metric for us and for Bucs fans listening is we try to have a 50 percent efficiency rate on runs. And an efficient run is four yards or more. We were at 52 percent in this first game, so [that] was just fantastic’.
Guess I missed something in the translation. Of our 33 runs, 3 were kneeldowns (-3 yds) so those shouldn’t really factor in. Of the other 30 runs, here’s what Pro-Football-Reference says they gained:
o Minus 1 yd … 1 run
o 0 yds … 4 runs
o 1 yd …. 6 runs
o 2 yds … 4 runs
o 3 yds … 4 runs
o 4 yds … 5 runs
o 5 yds … 5 runs
o 6 yds … 1 run
o 7 yds or more … 0 runs
So that’s 30 actual runs plus 3 kneeldowns for 33 total runs.
Of those, 11 runs were 4 yds or more … 36.7% of 30 actual runs. If you factor in the additional 3 kneeldowns, the percentage gets even worse (33.3%). In any case, seems like a long way from the 50% goal that Canales says they shoot for (no clue how he determined that they were at 52% on the day, but we most likely didn’t get the full story of how they develop their analyses).
I see it more like you did Joe: ‘The Bucs’ running game was not good Sunday, but it was just good enough to help craft a victory. And Canales stuck with it.’
But we shouldn’t kid ourselves. It accomplished goals of (1) eating up the clock; and (2) keeping their defense ‘honest’ in that they couldn’t just focus on our passing game. IMO that opened up the passing opportunities somewhat. But without the 3-0 Turnover Differential we would’ve lost that game handily, even with our defense’s excellent performance. Our run game needs to improve significantly, and I’m confident that it will.
September 14th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
I said it last year and I will say it again. This offense needs some juice. Dont get me wrong, I have been pleased with what JL did through the draft and UFAs… seriously well done. Love the rookies. And I really like Tucker. But we need some more juice and a HR hitter. Palmer will bring that to the WR group. Tucker is a nice piece. Would love to add Jonathan Taylor but I am afraid cost is just too high. I have to keep telling myself patience. Bucs are not winning the SB this year. Just keep building back the roster intelligently.
September 14th, 2023 at 3:34 pm
White is not special. Just like we said about Vaughn.
Tucker has more upside and attributes but we don’t have a “special” RB on the roster.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves.
September 14th, 2023 at 4:05 pm
Re: resting White in the preseason… he’s a second year guy who was only a part time starter as a rookie.
He absolutely needed to, and should have played in the preseason.
September 14th, 2023 at 5:01 pm
@spbf: Yes, the O’Line has an advantage…for maybe 1/2 second. But like the DL does not know what’s coming, the OL does not know what DL stunts are coming.
So it’s pretty much a wash.
It all comes down to winning 1-on-1 mano-y-mano battles between the tackles on the LoS. Great teams win 5 consistently. Good teams win 4. Win 3 or less, and coaches get fired and QB go on IR.
September 14th, 2023 at 5:05 pm
Unbelievable … When Fournette wasn’t re-signed, White was gifted the #1 slot. He keeps getting 2.3 yards at a clip and he’ll be ungifted that slot pretty quickly I have a feeling.
September 14th, 2023 at 5:12 pm
Architek … I want to see what Chase Edmonds can do. Obviously not very big (5’9″ & 210 lbs), but over his previous 5 years he averaged 4.5 YPC on over 400 carries. Not a bunch of mileage on those tires. And that was mostly with Arizona where he was the 2nd, 3rd or 4th back depending on the season. Never had to take the beating that the lead dog takes?
September 14th, 2023 at 6:29 pm
Cobra thanks for that info! I like your ratio for success. If these guys continue to improve they should win a high enough % from your chart to be competive.
BTW I think Goeddeke got beat cleanly once but I didn’t really watch line play that closely.
It just seems that the Vikes got that early pressure from clever blitzing. DC and BM figured it out at half and it’s all good.
September 14th, 2023 at 7:02 pm
I think our o-line will continue to improve over time. I think White will improve, but like others here I like what I see from Tucker and Edmonds.
Average ypc over the course of a game can be a little misleading. Also “efficiency rate of 4 yards or more”. I prefer “effective or successful” runs of any distance. If we need 2 yards for a 1st down….did we get it? If yes it was a Win. If not it’s a Loss. We want to get 4 yards on 1st down…did we get it? And so on.
We had no long runs last week to skew our average one way or another but if we have one drive where we run the ball well and then 2 drives where we can’t buy a yard, that’s no bueno and a 33% success rate in my book.
Side note, Lenny is in talks with the Colts. Wonder how cheap they’ll get him if he signs. Say what you will about last year, but the dude had almost 1100 yards from scrimmage behind a horrid o-line, could pass pro (right Micah?) and 6 TDs (as many as Evans). He’d be our RB1 right now if he’s in shape.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:05 pm
Joe says: Joe admits to cringing when Canales referenced Rachaad White not getting much work in preseason, so it might have affected him in Week 1. If that’s the case, then Todd Bowles should have had White get more work in preseason. Some players need it to be their best; some don’t.
But, but, but you said the preseason games are worthless…numerous time! Constantly actually. So why are you calling for White to have more needed reps in worthless preseason games?? LOL
September 14th, 2023 at 9:45 pm
So last year Leftwich decides White is our RB2. What a vote of confidence! In training camp this season, White is gifted RB1. He never plays in preseason because he was RB2 per Leftwich. Nobody has the guts to say otherwise, and because Tucker was limited in camp. Somebody, Canales?, needs the balls to say Tucker is RB1 and Edmunds is RB2. The only reason White is playing is because we drafted him, any other team, he would be cut. I hate to say this because of his character, story, and effort, but he doesn’t have the talent. Put him on special teams and he’ll contribute.
September 15th, 2023 at 4:47 am
Damn 2.3 yards per. I maybe do not understand “metrics” But when you need 2 and get zero it is infuriating to me. It should be to Canales. 4 runs of zero yards or minus is too many.
I agree that with more snaps the O Line and White should get better and get better in space. The mid zone scheme requires a coordinated effort.
There is also the 8 man in the box thing. When some teams see that, you know they just check to a play that defeats it. If they are crashing the LOS then Play action, Screens and quick passes to the TE behind it. But that’s just me. No analytics needed for that brilliance.
Canales saw it and adjusted a bit in the second half. We do not need to regularly run the QB to defeat it. That is asking for a trip to Tampa General.
To they’re credit Canales/Mayfield did that early. Mayfield was not hitting them. I believe the passes to Kieft were just that and also called to defeat the blitzes. That gets teams off the LOS and out of a lot of the blitz business. Keeps them honest after you hit a couple. We need to hit a couple.
Go Bucs!
We need to do a better job of that.
September 15th, 2023 at 4:50 am
2.3 yards per. I maybe do not understand “metrics” But when you need 2 and get zero it is infuriating to me. It should be to Canales. 4 runs of zero yards or minus is too many.
I agree that with more snaps the O Line and White should get better and get better in space. The mid zone scheme requires a coordinated effort.
There is also the 8 man in the box thing. When some teams see that, you know they just check to a play that defeats it. If they are crashing the LOS then Play action, Screens and quick passes to the TE behind it. But that’s just me. No analytics needed for that brilliance.
Canales saw it and adjusted a bit in the second half. We do not need to regularly run the QB to defeat it. That is asking for a trip to Tampa General.
To they’re credit Canales/Mayfield did that early. Mayfield was not hitting them. I believe the passes to Kieft were just that and also called to defeat the blitzes. That gets teams off the LOS and out of a lot of the blitz business. Keeps them honest after you hit a couple. We need to hit a couple.
Go Bucs!
We need to do a better job of that.