If Not Now, When?
October 26th, 2023
Bucs OC Dave Canales.
“This Joe” has turned the page on the Bucs’ running backs.
(The other Joe holds out hope for the guys not named Rachaad White.)
White has been given way, way more opportunities to show he belongs as an NFL starter than can be reasonably expected in what former Bucs coach Dirk Koetter referred to as a “production league.” And week after week White pukes all over himself.
Done. Over it. Get someone in here who can run to daylight or expect this trash of a running game to be the norm the rest of the season. This is the bed the Bucs have made. If the shot-callers at One Buc Palace don’t care, why should Joe?
Evan Closky isn’t quite there. Yet. But tonight could be the night.
The WTSP-TV Channel 10 sports anchor was running through numbers this week, and he believes the Bills are ripe to have the Bucs resurrect a run game.
If the Bucs cannot, well, it won’t happen this year, Closky twittered.
Here is the pickle both Bucs coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Dave Canales are in tonight: The Bills, the past two games, have been horrible in the first halves of games, facing the Giants and the Belicheats. They’ve come alive in the second halves.
So the Bucs may have an opportunity to strike quickly and hit fast and get a lead on these guys.
But here is the rub: running the ball doesn’t lead to a quick-strike attack.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Can we get him some Molly? That seemed to work for a former Bucs running back
October 26th, 2023 at 1:09 pm
There are so many better RBs in the NFL that are miles ahead of the bucs slugs, this is an indictment on Licht and his inability to put together a decent OL and a D2 RB that is able to compete in the NFL and Lichtr HAS never done that; there are 2nd team backs on teams like the Panthers, Niners, Doplhins, Texans, and Bears, Chubba Hubbard, Jeff Wilson, Donta Foreman, Zach Moss, Williams, Cook (s). There are 2 QBs with more rusihng yards than the bucs RBs, that is a flipping sad stat
October 26th, 2023 at 1:10 pm
This running problem sounds like a Mantra!!!
We are very aware of the problem, each article you read analyst you hear talking heads on TV …… anywhere is the same old song…Sounds boring
October 26th, 2023 at 1:18 pm
a new new running back behind this oline would be useless.
the nfl has consistently showed journeyman rbs can be productive behind even mediocre o lines. while good running backs struggle behind broken ones.
We have one of the worst running olines in football. .8 yards before first contact? that should be on the oline, great o-lines allow many yards before first contact. you used that stat earlier this year to show how d-lines match up with o-lines.
It isnt a running back stat.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:25 pm
closky knows his sh!t…he’s a thinker…
and also most times our bucs start slow….
remember zombie mode last year…
dudes gotta come out that tunnel tonight twitched up like a boxer who hasn’t had a woman in 2 -3 months
October 26th, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Im kinda bummed the Pats beat the Bills last week. The setup for a Buc upset would have been perfect if the Bills managed to pull it out. They will definitely bring whatever A-game they have in the tank to get a win at home.
I think the Bucs will surprise to the upside tonight and they do just enough to squeak out a win
October 26th, 2023 at 1:30 pm
BLAME LICHT.
He is a major problem here.
Without Brady his record is GARBAGE.
Brady was and is the only reason we won a Super Bowl.
Without him, the Bucs have 1 SB win and are completely worthless.
Brady DECIDED to come here. Licht(anyone GM with half a brain) mortgaged the future while we had Brady. Any moron could have done the same
October 26th, 2023 at 1:34 pm
You can’t tell me a running back with vision and can break some tackles won’t make a difference. White goes down when a defender looks at him.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:36 pm
I still see Mayfield throwing it 40 + times.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:37 pm
Just throw the damn ball more. Take off the training wheels.
We’ve all seen Plan-A, and so have the Bills all week during their film study.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:44 pm
If it was just 1 thing that was going wrong with our rushing attack, it’d be easy to fix. Problem is that there are multiple things going wrong simultaneously.
Obviously our RBs aren’t top-tier, but are they REALLY as bad as the combined 3.1 YPC through 6 games indicates? White – 3.2 YPC. Vaughn – 1.7 YPC. Tucker – 1.5 YPC (Edmonds has only had 1 more carry (4) than Thompkins (3) has). I’m thinking that there are 4 OTHER things going on that are just as liable:
1 – We’ve played some good run defenses (5 out of 6 teams we’ve played are in the Top-10 run defenses). Give ’em credit.
2 – We’re telegraphing run plays it looks like. As you watch tonight’s game, see if you can call the run plays BEFORE the play actually starts. I’ll bet you’ll be right 75% or more of the time. I’m sure that the pro’s average closer to 90% or more after watching a ton of film.
3 – Our OLine isn’t consistently good at run-blocking across the whole line. And our TEs haven’t been much help. It’ll be interesting to see if Stinnie & Leverett have any impact on that.
4 – Our passing game frightens no one, so opponents keep crowding the box. Hard for any team to run when that happens. We have to make opponents pay when they do that, and it’s the passing game that makes them pay (especially intermediate & deep passes).
Bucs are just as predictable this year as BL’s offense was last year, just in different ways. I’m in favor of opening up the passing game more (making it less predictable) by using a lot more roll-outs, RPOs, etc. We don’t have all that much team speed on offense to be running a whole bunch of outside stuff, but I’m convinced we’d get better performance by moving the pocket big-time.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:45 pm
I’m with Joe, I wanted this guy to be Le’Veon Bell (his glide reminds me of LB, but nothing else)…but this is more than enough, and frankly not surprising based on this teams track record of sticking with players who are not top flight talent. We are now at the point in the second quarter of the season, that we need to deal draft capital and see if we can make a run in a very weak division, get a stud RB (King Henry) win the division, secure and win a home playoff game and try to get to another Superbowl. Or, let’s follow the Titans lead now and start the Trask era fire sale disposal of high contract players that still have some market value. There are a slew of high caliber QB’s in 24′, might as well build a nest of picks and deal our way up.
Pistol
October 26th, 2023 at 1:48 pm
optimisticbucsfan Says:
BLAME LICHT.
^^^^^
You’re on an island. Bad take. People who pay attention to the Bucs know what Licht has accomplished.
You yourself cannot love Evans, Wirfs, Winfield, Godwin, Camarda without loving Licht. You cannot appreciate Zyon, Goedeke, Hall, Kancey without appreciating Licht. You cannot celebrate being 2xNFCS Champs and Super Bowl Champs without high-fiving Licht. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but your opinion is garbage.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:49 pm
Im not willing to turn the page on anything 6 games into the season. This team does not appear to want to roll over just yet. They are still playing hard for Bowles. Atlanta particularly exposed this offense by heavy contact early in the routes to disrupt the timing. There are adjustments to be made. Im not defending anyone, I just point out what I see. Baker’s elusiveness, and timing are his strengths. His accuracy is average and if you get him moving, it disrupts the timing- to the tune of 6 of 12 when targeting Godwin last week. Less timing routes- more go routes. We score more than 20 tonight!
October 26th, 2023 at 1:57 pm
I don’t think Molly is what Rachaad needs. He needs to get angry and run that way. Start filling him with roids and then load him up on meth on game day.
October 26th, 2023 at 1:57 pm
I don’t think it is possible to separate the wheat from the chaff at this point. The Oline is so miserable there is no way to accurately judge the RBs.
October 26th, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Our center and guards are the issue. They can’t run block. How do you expect any RB to perform well, if your Oline gets pushed around. I still think White is a 3rd down back. Bucs need to find an every down back in the draft or FA, but we need Oline help first. For now, Canales needs to get creative and rely on the Pro-Bowl WRs he has. Also, run more screens, or something, just stop trying to rely on your interior Oline. Its the definition of insanity at this point. If Canales can’t adjust, then he was not ready to be an OC. To me it looks like he is trying to do things with a personnel package that doesn’t fit the scheme. Either way, figure it out!
October 26th, 2023 at 2:16 pm
A D. Henry trade is about the only thing that could and would add excitement to the rest of this season. Too bad Jon Robinson isn’t still the Titan GM…maybe he would throw in a pony keg for Licht to make the deal happen.
October 26th, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Chase Edmonds is going to go off tonight. They have to see of White is the problem and he is. Edmonds will open eyes tonight, just before he gets injured. Again.
October 26th, 2023 at 2:58 pm
SlyPirate first thing you have said on this site I agree with.
October 26th, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Joe-
Why are you torturing yourself? We all know the Bucs running game will NOT expose a porous run defense. We have 2 years of data to support that assumption.
October 26th, 2023 at 3:17 pm
Joe said, “running the ball doesn’t lead to a quick-strike attack”
Of course it does. Running the ball helps set up explosive plays. Joe talks like football is either all run or all pass. The best teams to both well.
October 26th, 2023 at 3:43 pm
See my last post. 5 days till Halloween?
October 26th, 2023 at 3:53 pm
What about the kid Munch liked. What happen him?
October 26th, 2023 at 3:58 pm
Our top runner is Mayfield.He runs sll over the place trying to escape the D line.
October 26th, 2023 at 4:27 pm
Not to pile on, but the good backs see a seam and exploit it. Nick Chubb would be hitting 4ypc and a couple home runs. White was a good college back but the holes close faster in the NFL. Sort of like the Trask fanbois not realizing those 1 yd windows he exploited in college shrank to 10″‘.
October 26th, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Rushing numbers during Harold Goodwin’s tenure as running game coordinator:
2019: 95.1 ypg (24th)
2020: 94.9 ypg (29th)
2021: 98.4 ypg (26th)
2022: 76.9 ypg (32nd)
2023: 77.8 ypg (29th)
October 26th, 2023 at 5:18 pm
Change of plan tonight. Get up 14 -0. Then we’ll run the heck out of the Bills defense.
October 26th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
Is it too late to sign playoff Lenny for tonight’s game and fly him in?
October 26th, 2023 at 5:43 pm
Rushing numbers during Harold Goodwin’s tenure as running game coordinator:
2019: 95.1 ypg (24th)
2020: 94.9 ypg (29th)
2021: 98.4 ypg (26th)
2022: 76.9 ypg (32nd)
2023: 77.8 ypg (29th)
So when Ali Marpet retired, Bucs averaged 21.5 yards per game less. I think I see the problem…
October 26th, 2023 at 5:48 pm
Have Palmer go down on some fly patterns to loosen them up, attack with Mike And Chris and second half establish the run game to eat clock and get the hell out of there with a win!
October 26th, 2023 at 6:02 pm
Bills gave up 200 yards in each of two loses. All the others were 100 or less. Rank 11th in Passing Defense. I don’t see Allen having 3 stinkers in a row. Hopefully Mayfield doesn’t. Can’5 understand the line having Bucs almost a 10 point underdog.
October 26th, 2023 at 6:11 pm
If the Bucs can run tonight that means any thoughts Licht had in maybe trading for a running back will be flushed down the toilet.
October 26th, 2023 at 6:33 pm
@ sly – I’ll bet you $1000 rigfht here and now…if we have a losing record that Todd and Jason are both GONZO?
How’s that for garbage. Put your money where your mouth is buddy.
Deal?
October 26th, 2023 at 7:36 pm
And what do you expect Canales to say? We suck because my boss Licht and Todd screwed up? Not a path to success