What Sean Tucker Has Learned In Year 2
August 13th, 2024
Growth from Bucs RB.
Last year on draft weekend, Bucs fans got all excited when Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht signed free agent running back Sean Tucker.
The only thing Joe knew about Tucker was that he went to Syracuse and had a heart ailment that pushed him off draft boards. Watching Syracuse football is not way up on Joe’s fall Saturday priorities.
Joe was tipped off that helmethair Mel Kiper of BSPN was a big fan of Tucker’s. So there’s that. And Chris Simms of NBC Sports had him has a top-5 running back in the draft.
Tucker couldn’t work out in underwear football last year because of his illness. He was given the green light to fully participate in training camp.
Tucker was pretty invisible last year. And Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht said on the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” from Indianapolis that Tucker had a lot of work to do in order to secure a spot on the 2024 roster.
Tucker has been running hard in training camp, especially when he runs off-tackle. That continued in Saturday’s worthless preseason game. Tucker even had the longest run of the game for the Bucs at 26 yards
So Joe found it interesting yesterday when Tucker was asked at One Buc Palace yesterday why he’s having success early in training camp.
“I would say just being able to read a defense and knowing the scheme that we’re in and using it to my advantage,” Tucker said.
So was Tucker saying he wasn’t coached up last year? That’s just what it sounds like to Joe. If he didn’t know how to read a defense, there was certainly some sort of disconnect between Tucker and coaches.
Was Tucker sleeping in meetings? Did coaches last year give up on Tucker? This is all very interesting to Joe.
For whatever reason, Joe thinks it’s good that Tucker is learning his craft this year. A team can always use a running back who busts his tail and hits the hole hard. Especially a team that has been terrible running the ball the past two seasons.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:11 am
I really like Tucker and hope he gets some chances this year. He is by far the fastest RB for the Bucs. Tucker has the break-away speed…and will take a few to the house if given an opening.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:21 am
By the time Tucker was cleared to play last year, the rest of the RBs had a major leg up on him. Couple that with a bad O-line and an unimaginative O.C., and you certainly have a recipe for failure, whether he was paying attention or not in meetings.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:31 am
Ha, just read a story that the Panthers offense was so bad he made them run gassers after practice 🤣
August 13th, 2024 at 9:39 am
“So was Tucker saying”… Obviously he didn’t say that. You are inferring that. He had a bad year last year due to several factors, most of which have been alluded to. After a full-off season and presumably no health issues, he looks like a different player now. That’s what I’m inferring.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:42 am
A few of his runs reminded me of #40. He could be a nice surprise.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:51 am
Dude ran hard and angry.
Irving, too.
They all did.
Nice change, indeed.
August 13th, 2024 at 9:54 am
Poor coaching was rampant last season, in many phases. Accountability was lacking, also. Kudos to Todd (and Dave Tepper) for making changes.
LFG
August 13th, 2024 at 9:59 am
I can’t remember the entire O-line / running back rooms looking that good in the run game in a game in a really long time. So keep doing whatever it is lol
August 13th, 2024 at 10:01 am
He prob wasn’t in his tip-top very best shape for last season due to his medical issue… So, he just ran outta gas while struggling with the playbook and finding his way!? Now, that he has all of that behind him and with an improved O-Line, play calling, & etc. he might just be primed to explode onto to scene.
August 13th, 2024 at 10:04 am
Joe … ‘So was Tucker saying he wasn’t coached up last year? That’s just what it sounds like to Joe.’
You forgot to precede that with ‘Joe’s not trying to stir the pot here, BUT …’. Tucker was the FOURTH RB last year Joe; he probably got minimal snaps in practice (and minimal attention?). And besides, if he’s supposedly the ‘5th best RB in the draft’ (according to Chris Simms at least), don’t you think he’d have some clue on how to read a defense?
I’m not all that fond of Goodwin (as run game coordinator) or Joe Gilbert (as OLine coach) from last season despite their mega-years as NFL coaches, but this is a new year. Heck, I’m not even sure about Skip Peete as our RB coach, but still trying to look at 2024 with an open mind. The past is, oh ya, past.
August 13th, 2024 at 10:21 am
I don’t see this as implying a lack of coaching. I think it would be almost impossible to learn how to read a defense +on the field+ and use it to advantage +in pro-level play+ while you’re basically unable to play the game.
August 13th, 2024 at 10:25 am
I liked that Jefferson kid from Kentucky a lot. Against bartenders, I know. Looks like tough choices in a number of position groups on cutdown day.
LFG
August 13th, 2024 at 10:30 am
Ronde said he is the fastest RB on the roster
August 13th, 2024 at 10:41 am
Dave, that Jefferson kid was running against burger flippers, but he had janitors blocking for him too. That Williams guy who is supposed to be a battering ram didn’t fare nearly as well with largely the same blockers.
August 13th, 2024 at 10:43 am
Like: Sean Tucker
Dislike: Dave Canales
August 13th, 2024 at 10:48 am
Liking Tucker and hope he does well this season. He looked good on Saturday.
August 13th, 2024 at 11:08 am
Maybe that also explains why White danced too much last year instead of hitting the hole? It’s hard to hit a hole if you don’t understand where the hole is going to be since you weren’t coached adequately.
Isn’t there a new running back coach this year, to go along with the new OC?
August 13th, 2024 at 11:09 am
White ran like he didn’t know how to read a defense or scheme last year too. The difference here is Coen and his staff vs. Canales and his staff. Tucker has been looking good. His off-season work seems to be paying off. His burst to space on that 26 yard scamper was impressive. The Bucs just might have the big RB we’ve been clamoring for for so long.
August 13th, 2024 at 11:10 am
2023 was a redshirt year for the young man. He couldn’t train properly with the heart issue. He was away from the team and not able to get into the playbook. His coaches stunk and his IOL couldn’t block. This is the year he can prove himself and his performance in the preseason game was 100% improvement over any snap he took last year. Rooting for him.
August 13th, 2024 at 11:18 am
Both the OL and RB players have said they understand the offensive scheme, play design, and defenses better than last year. This seems to come from Coen and his position coaches. We are seeing more players looking at their tablets too. The players seem to love this offense and it showed in the Bengals game.
August 13th, 2024 at 11:33 am
Maybe because simpleton Dave Canales ran a very basic scheme and was clearly in over his head all season and now we have a real coordinator. I love Canales going to Carolina, it strengthens the Bucs and ensures the Panthers will be terrible for this season.
August 13th, 2024 at 11:42 am
Right on, Fred . Jefferson showed better than Williams. Coen knows Jefferson from Kentucky obviously. Looking way better than last year as far as RB depth.
August 13th, 2024 at 1:06 pm
I respect Dave Canales but that being said, each and every day I am a little more thankful to the Panthers for hiring him away. I am so far extremely impressed by what I have hear and witnessed regarding the new look offense. It will be hard to stop this team if we can run the ball at will become our defense should also be better. I am such a Bucs homer and I usually am at least cautiously optimistic going into each season but this year it just feels different. It feels like championship level energy. I can’t wait.
August 13th, 2024 at 1:43 pm
IMO there’s far too much negativity dropped on Dave Canales. Arians was a stud. BL was not, though it’s hard to tell just how bad he was, and circumstances did him no favors in 2022.
Canales got his shot because Leftwich was fired at a time when all the pretty girls were taken (so to speak). The downside was that he had no experience and little clue as to play calling per se. But he did bring great upside in his ability to relate to players and get them up. His rough start was papered over by the team bailing him out. By the second half of the year his technical deficit improved and his personal skills showed through.
Some fans seem to think Canales cheated or shortchanged them. He did nothing wrong, and nothing that every other coach (and most every fan, truth be told) would do. He got a shot at one of the 32 head coaching jobs in the world. He took it. He’d be a fool not to. He might not work out for Carolina.(See, Raheem Morris). Or he may show he has head coaching skills in him and deliver winning football in a year or two. Go in peace.
Meanwhile, the Bucs and Todd Bowles lucked into an opportunity. Now with Coen we have a complete and proven OC. His Xs and Os are an obvious step up and may rank him elite as an OC.
Let’s be happy moving forward while we wish Canales luck for 15 games a year.
August 13th, 2024 at 1:50 pm
Tucker finally looked like he belonged … when playing against 3rd and 4th stringers.
Doesn’t mean much unless you can do it against better players, but hey, it’s better to make some plays than not make plays.
Watching his college tape, and watching him last year, I have no idea what people see, he looks like as basic of a north/south runner as there is, although he did look pretty quick vs those future Wendy’s employees he was going against on Saturday.
August 13th, 2024 at 4:21 pm
Does Joe post an article full of questions because he wants to drum up guesses from his readers? Or because he’s afraid to ask those questions at press conferences?
August 13th, 2024 at 4:37 pm
Yay Sean Tucker! Yay running backs!
Go Bucs!!
August 13th, 2024 at 6:09 pm
Hoping here Tucker gets some carries in garbage time in the 4th quarter versus the Commandos
August 14th, 2024 at 4:57 am
I have high hopes for Tucker and I feel like Big mouth Simms may have been correct for once.
One thing that I noticed is that Tucker looks way more fit and bigger this year. Could it be that he really wasn’t fit last year? Despite what was said at the time? The dude looks rocked!
Go Bucs!
August 14th, 2024 at 7:39 am
“Watching his college tape, and watching him last year, I have no idea what people see, he looks like as basic of a north/south runner as there is, although he did look pretty quick vs those future Wendy’s employees he was going against on Saturday.”
I could see saying this after last year, but after watching his college tape if you don’t know that he’s a compact blend of speed, power, and can turn that all on to break long runs then you’re just being negative to troll/you’re blind irl.