Mike Evans Talks Bucky Irving
September 24th, 2024
It’s time for Bucs fans to smile. And, well, Joe smiles when thinking about Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay’s electric rookie running back.
The fourth-round draft pick has become a clear fan favorite — literally from Week 1 when “Bucky” chants were heard through The Licht House. And it was about performance. Irving has produced and given fans hope that the Bucs can make their running game great again — or at least as good as it was in 2020.
Mike Evans had a smile in his voice yesterday when asked about Irving on the Buccaneers Radio Network.
“Bucky’s a beast, man. He’s a beast. Watching him in college, he was a beast,” Evans began.
“He’s a different type of back, like he’s a change-of-pace back. He’s hard to see at the line [of scrimmage]. He’s so shifty and small but he’s explosive. And you know, he reads the holes well. And he made some big plays for us. Low center of gravity, like he’s way stronger than he looks.”
So will Irving get the bulk of the Bucs’ carries. Joe gets the whole “change-of-pace” thing Evans reference, but Joe would like to see Irving set the pace.
Joe is confident Irving can handle a dozen carries a game and be a starter with a 1b running back helping carry the load.
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September 24th, 2024 at 4:41 pm
What is Tucker and why don’t we use him?? He runs hard and he’s fast as well. I’m telling you White does not do his job well enough. I think White needs to learn how to run the ball and hit the hole in high gear. And also quit that kinda laying down at the end. Make people have to work to get him on the ground. This Is For Real Man, I’m thinking it’s not going to be to much longer before he goes bye bye. Let’s Go Bucs!!!! Bucky Irving hits the hole wide open every time, learn something Rashaad football is not a glam thing, it’s a play your heart out every down or in Dec. sit on the couch at home thing..
September 24th, 2024 at 4:43 pm
Its not HUMP DAY YET. No one wants to smile. We need to be in full court press talking smack and dogging Baker. Or as the Baker Shaker Cult lovingly calls him, “Bake”. Aint that so cute yalllllll….
Work with me, folks. “Some people” wink wink. Need that sorta thing to motivate them. You know the kind, they make millions playing a kids game
September 24th, 2024 at 4:54 pm
Let’s see what Bucky do as the starting RB. First Bucs play on offense…..Bucky up the middle for a 2 yard loss……Bucky on the outside for no gain…….3 and 1, Bucky up the middle again
for no gain….. There’s a huge difference in starting than coming off the bench when you’re running behind a patched up O-Line…
September 24th, 2024 at 5:14 pm
ONE thing is painfully obvious at this point: Irving has IT. Whatever it means, he has it. He’s a football player and he gives his best. Almost all of the rest of the Bucs team should watch film on Bucky to see HOW TO DO IT. How to have that drive to succeed.
I aint sayin/proclaim’in Bucky Irving will be great, or even really good. Time and injuries will dictate his career. But I will say this: Bucky loves competition. He’s a football player, and the Bucs need more like him.
September 24th, 2024 at 5:16 pm
I mean, for realz guys n gals: As a football fan, who would you rather watch: Irving or JTS?
I rest my case.
We need more football players, guys with heart and spunk and grit…and yeah…geez…Moxie.
September 24th, 2024 at 5:29 pm
Lakeland
Huge difference.
I love the idea of Bucky and what he might be able to do. However, your point it the big BUT…
In addition to your point. Bucky or “Buck”? got a lot of his yard on misdirection plays where White was on the field as the “feature back”.
I wonder if the opposite was true what our PROVEN 1300 plus all purpose yard NUMBER 1 running back would do.
Yeah, lets replace a proven guy with an UNPROVEN guy. Gezzz, is that is not theme of this team this year. I dont know what would be!!!
September 24th, 2024 at 5:38 pm
will this be like last year with Yaya and Bucky won’t start until game 10 haha
September 24th, 2024 at 5:42 pm
@Wisecrack,
I hear you, I really do. In a way, I sorta agree with your premise. We don’t know Bucky is a proven, reliable commodity in his 3 games. We don’t wanna get our hopes up, lest they be dashed.
Dashed like the hope we all had for White. 3 years now, and he’s done nothing. Argue the Oline sucking, that’s valid. But THIS year – 2 backs, same line, one does great things (6 or so YPC?) and the other has done his normal stuff, same O line, 2-something YPC.
One guy has heart and grit. The other hasn’t for 3 years. Who you wanna invest your hope in?
For me, it’s Bucky. White is a WR, not a RB.
September 24th, 2024 at 5:49 pm
Love it! Mike is so right, Bucky is small, shifty, and explosive.
September 24th, 2024 at 5:52 pm
WiseCrack,
I’m not saying that Bucky gonna suck, I’m only saying….. let’s see what he do as the featured back. We know what he can do as the change of pace back. But l wanna see how good he will be …..as the man…..and teams are game planning him. We had the exact same problem with KJ Britt backing up Devin White. And he performed well, very well as the starter for a few games. But now teams has films on him, and he looks worst than Devin White. And his backup is out performing him..
September 24th, 2024 at 5:57 pm
D-Rok
Not gonna lie. You’re not much understanding the primes and you are not really demonstrating Wisdom in your attempt to Crack the code. Rather just inserting random feelings and emotions about what you HOPE vs what you KNOW.
What we KNOW, is White is a bad as when he gets the ball in space or when ran properly.
What we KNOW, is Bucky is flashy, people giggle when the chant his name and he might even carry a big stick???
But he still cant hold Whites jock at this point based on their respective careers.
Not sure why we cant just enjoy having two really good running backs. Kinda like when White backed up Playoff Lenny?
September 24th, 2024 at 5:58 pm
Jake been there since the beginning Says:
What is Tucker and why don’t we use him?? He runs hard and he’s fast as well.
^^^^^^^
Tucker was the best RB is preseason. He broke off the biggest runs. Not sure at this point why they aren’t giving ST a shot. White’s 2 yards per carry and years of underperforming shouldn’t win him any loyalty.
September 24th, 2024 at 5:59 pm
Luke Goedeke is going to be cleared from concussion protocol to play vs the Eagles per JC Allen.
September 24th, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Lakeland
100% thats how I took it.
What I was adding is that White was the field for a few of Bucky’s big misdirection runs. You know the ones, the plays that got people chanting his name!!!
September 24th, 2024 at 6:01 pm
Exactly
September 24th, 2024 at 6:04 pm
Also was back door relating Bucky supporters to Trask supporters. 🙂
September 24th, 2024 at 6:07 pm
But its an entirely different circumstance for QB than it is RB and LB and so on.
Like Dennis needs to start over KJ and I LOVE BRITT the man for real. He is me, love that guy. But the team needs to be better at his position. Dennis provides that with EQUAL experience. No debate to be had.
September 24th, 2024 at 6:16 pm
Bucky is simply a better RB. It’s not some funny feeling, and it’s not because he has a catchy name, it’s because he’s CLEARLY a better runner than White. Then add in the fact that he can also catch the ball out of the backfield and you have your answer. We’re wasting snaps on White.
September 24th, 2024 at 6:19 pm
Sorry but your head coach is Todd Bowles and he’ll do the same thing to Bucky that he did to yaya. Even though it’s obvious Bucky is better he probably won’t start until after the bye week or later regardless of it costs us wins or not. Tony dungy was fired for less so I really don’t understand the Glazers fascination with .500 ball every year and sadly no one is trying to change because we keep barely winning the division
September 24th, 2024 at 6:32 pm
J dropping some truths.
September 24th, 2024 at 6:35 pm
Wisecrack I’m not really sure what your reasoning is for anything when it comes to Bucky? Okay, I “guess” you are saying hold your horses when it comes to benching White BUT White is the one who cannot hold BUCKYS jock if you want to get technical.
If you compare BucKys AMAZING first 3 games of his career to Whites FiRST 3 games of his career. No comparison. Ummm After 3 games White had 8 carry’s 15 yards and only 2 receptions for a whopping 7 yards. Bucky first 3 games: 25 carrys for 154 years AND an AMAZING 6.2 yards per carry with high school blocking. And more receptions also. Yea Whites career is now tracking as a third down back on passing downs because he is a one trick pony. Receiving. No slight on White, but he has had a couple of YEARS to develop as a runner and he hasn’t. And if he hasn’t done it by now, with RBs that means they never will. So let’s play to his strengths, receiving.
September 24th, 2024 at 6:44 pm
Bucky needs to start. White is on the final year of his contract, he hasn’t earned a second contract so why are we starting him? Same with JTS. Time to send a message to players who aren’t getting it done, I include YaYa, and Mauch. You’re not starting, we’re giving someone else a starting opportunity. When you come off the bench try earning your job back by balling out. If not, you’re going from the bench to the street. If that doesn’t light their fire it is time to move on.
September 24th, 2024 at 6:54 pm
Is Bucky a proven top 5 all purpose yards type player?
I will stick with White until the line and play calling is the same for both.
White backed up Lenny his rookie year and Brady was never gonna be ok with a rookie RB.
AI bots post dumb stuff and PUSH false narratives all the time. Yall cant be real people!
September 24th, 2024 at 6:56 pm
Or you are getting your info from the AI. Cause AI is more reliable than the internet. Everyone knows that.