Koetter: Peyton Barber Is “Very Patient”
December 8th, 2017
The Bucs’ best running back, Peyton Barber, had 10 carries on opening day for 47 yards, and then he had two carries through the following six games.
He stayed patient, but that’s not why Dirk Koetter called him “very patient” this week.
Barber is a patient running back. No dancing but no one-trick pony. Barber has vision and is willing to trust his blocking and measure his approach before exploding downhill.
Koetter was asked what makes Barber good during his weekly video sitdown with Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.
“Peyton’s a power back,” Koetter said. “He’s a between-the-tackles runner. Very patient. He’s a guy that sets up his blocks well. And last week in Green Bay, what he did a good job of was making yards after first contact.”
Man, Joe is fired up to see Barber carry the load in the Bucs’ final four games.
He’s got 53 carries on the season. What a great sample size it would be for the Bucs’ evaluation of Barber if they can get him another 70 carries down the stretch.
Joe sure hopes the Bucs put their faith in the young man, versus the alternative.
December 8th, 2017 at 12:48 pm
And gets better and better each game..he should be and needs to be one of our main RBs…
December 8th, 2017 at 12:51 pm
The alternative is garbage. See ya Muscle Hamster.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:01 pm
I hope Barber steps up as our RB1.
At the very least, hopefully he can be our #2.
What a great kid, definitely pulling for him!
December 8th, 2017 at 1:07 pm
If Peyton Barber is the Bucs best Running Back, they are in serious trouble. He’s not even a Top- 5 RB in the NFC South.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:19 pm
@ Lake….short sighted…to be kind
December 8th, 2017 at 1:37 pm
It’d be pretty awesome if Barber showed he could be a workhorse back.
We don’t need an elite back. We need a back who pushes through contact and can get 4 yards a run more often than not.
That’s why I was high on Perine in the draft last year – a power back who can score in the red zone is something we’ve needed. Not a dancing 2 yard gain by Martin or Sims.
There’s no reason Barber can’t be a #1 back for us if he plays the way he did in GB. I don’t care if he doesn’t have elite burst or speed. The dude still chunked out some big gains through screens or breaking a few tackles; and the most important thing was he’s always falling forward.
Frank Gore has been extremely useful for the last few years and is an old man without much of an elite skill set anymore; but he runs and plays smart and effective. That’s all we need imo.
It’d be nice to feel like we don’t absolutely need a RB with a high pick next year. Spend a 4 or 5 again but not a top 3. Those should all go to lineman. Maybe Quinton Nelson and then a DE and DT; on top of signing at least one premiere DE and a RT.
December 8th, 2017 at 1:52 pm
Agreed that IF he continues to play well that he could be the guy. I also agree about the “workhorse” style back LC.
If he can run consistently, it’s a benefit to Jameis as well. A QBs TWO best friends are a run-game and a defense.
December 8th, 2017 at 2:04 pm
What, no caps for the proper nouns Joe? Let me help you out here: Bucs Best Running Back, Possible Future Pro Bowler Peyton Barber. Now that’s better.
December 8th, 2017 at 2:17 pm
@Bucsfanman
For sure. I mean maybe Peyton can’t handle a full workload in a season but he seems built for it. Maybe it was just a fluke performance but he flashed more big plays in that game than we’ve seen from Martin the entire season.
The biggest thing is Barber is a 3 down back who can run between the tackles / pass pro / and catch passes. Martin is a 2 down back who has never been very effective in the pass game.
It just opens up the offense more to have a guy who can do everything. When Martin’s back there the defense can basically be assured that he is either running or pass blocking and don’t need to worry about anything else.
December 8th, 2017 at 2:36 pm
For the Bucs sake, I hope it’s not a fluke. I like the way he runs. Plus it’d be nice to NOT have to address this position with a high draft pick. We need to build the trenches!
#BuildtheTRENCHES
December 8th, 2017 at 3:11 pm
Barber is a lot better than some give him credit for. Maybe he can become elite. I believe he can be.
December 8th, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Too bad the fans, and most importantly the Glazers, arent very patient Dirk.
December 8th, 2017 at 7:01 pm
Maybe Dirk doesn’t want a power back to be featured in his offense. That would also explain why he kept Sims in that role last year.
In any case he is making poor decisions with this team and it’s costing us wins.
December 8th, 2017 at 9:04 pm
Yeah I’d like to see us run with Barber too as Martin has had his time in the spotlight and is done certainly for next year. Barber has potential and we need to see if he is solid. Sure would be nice to save a high draft pick for defense.
I’d like us to get Bradley Chubb and Vita Vea to start
December 9th, 2017 at 11:32 pm
End the Martin loyalty.
Bucs come first. Martin is 2nd or 3rd string.