Liam Coen Talks Changes To Running Backs Usage
September 17th, 2024
So how will the Bucs manage their 1-2 punch at running back going forward?
The Tampa Bay offensive coordinator offered some insight tonight.
Liam Coen is a smart coach. He knows lots of good teams have multiple running backs and are happy to share the load.
But how should the Bucs best do that with Rachaad White and Bucky Irving?
Irving is the team’s leading rusher through two games with 84 yards on 16 carries. White has plodded his way to 49 yards on 25 carries.
Of course, White is dangerous in the passing game. He averages 11.4 yards per catch this season. That’s sixth-best among NFL running backs with four or more receptions.
Coen said the Bucs will start to craft the offense more around what White and Irving each do best.
“Bucky provides a spark where you can feel the difference, you know, when he’s in there in terms of the pace of play. And he just does some good things,” Coen told the Buccaneers Radio Network. “But both of them are going to be really good players for us all year long. We need’em. We need them both. We got to count on both those guys.
“And then as we go, ‘Ok, what do they both do really well?’ and start to kind of gear what we do towards those things — so we’re getting the right things out of both of them to get the production we need.”
Joe thinks it won’t be long before Irving has a game with more carries than White. Unless something changes, it seems like the logical evolution of the Tampa Bay offense.
As for why the run game struggled Sunday, Todd Bowles told the Buccaneers Radio Network there were a few missed holes by running backs, but overall it was “tough sledding.”
Ira Kaufman Talks All Things Victory In Detroit, The Great, The Good And The Nitpicking, And More
September 17th, 2024 at 6:26 pm
let the rb situation develop organically, and that’s what coaches are for…
it will take more shape as the Oline develops…
and it sets in stone with the 5 regular behemoths getting steady play
September 17th, 2024 at 6:32 pm
I still think Bucky-Tucker will be better than White-Bucky.
White is avg 2.0 yards/attempt. Anything not White is probably better. Move White to WR.
September 17th, 2024 at 6:36 pm
Profound and enlightening statement from Coen….we need them both
September 17th, 2024 at 6:47 pm
Kinda looks like the Bucs were using Rachaad to wear down the defenses in the 1st half, then transitioning more & more to Bucky in the 2nd half.
In Game 1 Rachaad had 9 rushes in the 1st half, and Bucky only had 3. But in the 2nd half, it evened out more; Rachaad had 6 runs & Bucky had 6 runs.
In Game 2 Rachaad had 6 rushes in the 1st half, and Bucky only had 3. But in the 2nd half, it evened out once again; Rachaad had 4 runs & Bucky had 4 runs.
Interestingly, neither RB was particularly effective in the 1st half of either game. In Game 1, Rachaad gained 15 yds, while Bucky gained 6 yds. In Game 2, Rachaad gained 13 yds, while Bucky gained 7 yds. Neither RB set the world on fire in the 1st half of either game. Some how, some way we’ve gotta do a better job of establishing an effective running game earlier.
September 17th, 2024 at 6:55 pm
As a fan I have the luxury of ignoring the numbers from this week since we didn’t have our true RT out there.
But man, I sure hope he gets back this week. That was ugly.
September 17th, 2024 at 6:56 pm
Without Goedeke, hard to glean anything from that game
September 17th, 2024 at 7:02 pm
I really wish Tucker got a shot, he’s the true RB of the 3.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:02 pm
shhhh Don’t tell.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:03 pm
Our zone scheme seems to be whats not working. Our gap scheme seems to be producing.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:07 pm
They need to get Rachaad White out in space more. Quit running him on 1st down. Get him in space with little dumps, or screen passes.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:11 pm
I think K Hunt is much better than Tucker .
Tucker looks the part but he just seems out of control
And has like very little power…… looks powerful but
Sure doesn’t seem it nor can he catch !!
September 17th, 2024 at 7:13 pm
White is a good RB he is just patient to an extreme and it cost him when the hole is not there. Unfortunately, there were no holes against Detroit. Not for White or Bucky. Bucky is quicker, shiftier, and can make more of nothing though.
They definitely need them both.
Step 1 is getting the line to gell and play together better.
Run blocking was below average in game 1 and horrible in game 2.
Pass blocking was very good in game 1 and below average in game 2.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:17 pm
Beeej Says:
September 17th, 2024 at 6:56 pm
Without Goedeke, hard to glean anything from that game
I’d disagree. Rewatching the Detroit game now…. the entire O-Line pretty much stunk frankly. Wirfs, Barton, and the rest were getting pushed around or missing assignments left and right. Coen and Carberry can snap back to reality after all the good vibes from Washington and figure out how to fix it now, hopefully.
Skule didn’t ruin our run game. Goedeke being back is NOT going to fix the run game. Switching how many carries Bucky or Rachaad get is not going to fix the run game.
Sorry, but in spite of all the confidence we had that the O-line would be greatly improved during the off season, I’ve yet to see much evidence during the games for that being the case. Hoping they get pissed watching the tape and show BIG improvement soon but I’m worried at this point.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:31 pm
We need to see Tucker get some carries.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:42 pm
Yeah, well, the Detroit Lions are not chopped liver either. Plus, they weren’t dealing with injuries. Coen is doing exactly what this Bucs fan was hoping for. He’s getting more and more comfortable with his offensive players. That translates into being creative and versatile. Canales drove me nuts by not doing it. Football music to my ears.
September 17th, 2024 at 7:45 pm
Get white involved in screen passes, I would also like to see more targets to the TEs. Coen isn’t using the entire offense yet, but will need to starting with the Atlanta game. The games are going to get a lot harder and Coen needs to open up the offense.
September 17th, 2024 at 8:44 pm
Bucky Irving
16 carries for 84 yards
Long 30 yards
Without the one 30 yard carry
Bucky Irvine
15 carries for 54 yards.
3.6 yard average
Just like Leonard Fournette(2022) and Rashaad White(2023)
Less than 4 yards a carry
September 17th, 2024 at 9:30 pm
Why not put them on the field at same time? Line up white as a fullback, Bucky behind him as tailback, Evans and Godwin at receiver? Even if White or Bucky swing outside to receiver in motion, defense still has diagnose pass or run.
September 17th, 2024 at 10:48 pm
Problem is…they can’t stop using white or teams will no swing pass is going to him when he is in there
September 17th, 2024 at 10:55 pm
Umm…
Clear as mud…
Go Bucs!
September 17th, 2024 at 11:05 pm
Hilarious. A “let’s see what we have in Trashk” guy now says “let’s see what we have in Tucker.”
Read GoneGator’s post. This OL in its entirety was out of synch run blocking. Fix that and the running game will hum. Otherwise Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmit Smith would have trouble averaging 2 ypc.
September 17th, 2024 at 11:25 pm
One thing I loved was that both white and buck were in there together at the same time. When that happens, defenses can’t key on one player or the other
September 18th, 2024 at 12:35 am
@Dave Pear – 100%
O-line got roasted on Sunday.
September 18th, 2024 at 1:42 am
This Oline could suck all year. Barton is the only real improvement from last year. The guards are still suspect at best. I’m not sure the euforia was warranted. Maybe the new coaching can turn it around. No more Skule to hamper the chemistry.
September 18th, 2024 at 2:00 am
Maybe we’re being too picky here. WE WON THE GAME 20-16. Must’ve been doing SOMETHING right to score 20 points against a very formidable opponent, and to limit them to only 16 points. And in fact we did a lot right … offensively as well as defensively.
Bucs’ offense only got 47 plays Sunday against Detroit … 23 rushes, 19 passes plus 5 other passing opportunities (aka, sacks). That’s a 49.2% run-pass ratio (pretty close to a 50-50 split). Take away the 5 sacks & the kneel-down at end of game and we had 42 plays gaining 256 yards … 6.1 YPP. Not too shabby actually.
Against Washington the Bucs’ offense had 61 plays … 30 rushes, 30 passes plus 1 sack. That’s a 48.9% run-pass ratio (again pretty close to 50-50). Take away the 1 sack & 2 kneel-downs at end of game and we had 58 plays gaining 403 yards … 6.9 YPP. More better.
The 2 offensive game plans had many similarities IMO, and especially that they both strived to achieve some semblance of a ‘balanced attack’ to remain as unpredictable as possible. The major difference in productivity in our running game was really Bucky’s 31-yard scamper in the Washington game.
Take that 1 long run out of the equation (and the kneel-downs), and the 2 running games were on a par. In the Washington game, we ran 27 times on the other runs for 83 yards … 3.1 YPC. In the Detroit game we ran 22 times (excluding the kneel-down) for 71 yards … 3.2 YPC. One long play can make a huge difference.
The real differences between the 2 games IMO were (1) our offense’s inability to sustain drives in the Detroit game; and (2) our defense’s inability to get off the field in the Detroit game. Our offense had 10 drives against Detroit (disregarding the last kneel-down drive) using 46 plays … 4.6 plays per drive average. It had 8 drives against Washington (disregarding the the last kneel-down drive) using 59 plays … 7.4 plays per drive average. BIG difference.
But a similar thing held true with our defense. Detroit’s offense had 11 drives using 83 plays … 7.5 plays per drive average. Washington had 9 drives using 56 plays … 6.2 plays per drive average. Significant difference … to our defense. Those 2 INTs in the Lions’ game were HUGE in the final analysis.
September 18th, 2024 at 5:07 am
Too many long runs for Irving. It skews his average!
September 18th, 2024 at 5:27 am
We’ve seen 2 games and I’m mostly focused on the interior OLine, I believe it’s fast becoming time to see what Elijah Klein can do. I haven’t been impressed with either Brederson or Mauch in the run game or pass pro. Personally I would like to see Mauch moved to LG and Klein play RG, what do guys think.
September 18th, 2024 at 5:58 am
I have Bucky waiting and ready on my fantasy bench. I not only believe that Bucky is going to be RB1 I’m counting on it. He is clearly the better in-between the tackle runner. If we seen it the coaches do too. White will still get his carries and catches. He is an especially great route runner and dangerous in space. I can’t wait to see some more screen passes pop for 30 like they did in week 1. The blocking is a thing of beauty.
September 18th, 2024 at 7:07 am
I saw White lead-blocking for Irving on a play and was pretty excited about it.
September 18th, 2024 at 9:06 am
I love both backs they compliment each other very well. White is more fluid were as Bucky seems to have a lot more power and punishment. I think it also helps bucky when he comes in the defense is a little tired and just get rammed by his power. Going to be a really fun season and if the run game can get more efficient watch out.
September 18th, 2024 at 1:17 pm
There was a run game against Washington, so we’re only talking about one game, v. the Lions: a huge game where doing whatever it takes to win was the focus.
And Coen did what Canales always failed to realize: “play your best players.” And that’s Baker and the best receivers, Chris all day, Mike double-teamed and the run-game served show keep the Detroit defense worried and enable the pass-game.. Mission accomplished.
It’s about the last game you’d want to use for an assessment of the running-backs; it was a heavily pass-game oriented game. The O-line concentrated on protecting Baker in the pocket, especially without Goedeki.
Use another game when the the O-line is at full strength and a different defense to deal with, imo. There will be games with big stats on the ground to come; 2.1 a carry in this game is actually far from representative; why use it?
September 19th, 2024 at 7:07 pm
I think Ko Kieft is a fullback trying to be a tight end because “that’s how he was drafted and what he played in college”. There have been many players who have had to change positions when they get to the NFL for a variety of reasons. Could Ko get a tough 2 or 3 yards to move the sticks on 2nd or 3rd and short? Just because he’s listed as a TE is he condemned to only block and occasionally catch a pass? I miss the days when there were big, bruising fullbacks toting the rock and putting the hurt on LBs. Look at it this way… what’s he doing for us at TE?