Yeah, Arians Said It With A Straight Face
December 13th, 2019
Joe is heading over to the Big Storm Brewing Co. taproom after hearing this gem from Bucco Bruce Arians.
The comment sent Joe immediately out for a walk to reconnect with nature and the balance of the ecosystem.
The Bruce Arians Show runs weekly and those watching it at Buccaneers.com could see Arians was sporting a straight face during the following exchange.
Host Casey Phillips asked Arians, “Which position group have you seen maybe improve the most so far this season?”
“I would say our running backs. Other than a couple of blitz pick-ups, I think they’ve gotten better and better all season,” Arians replied.
Joe is speechless. The running backs?
That answer was as comical as the Bucs running a pre-roll commercial on the video for Hyundai while the show is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.
Tampa Bay ranks 28th in yards per carry this season. The running game is awful. Remove Jameis Winston’s effective scrambling, and that yards-per-carry number is deplorable among the RBs. It’s a worse average than the 3.65 yards per carry Peyton Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers combined for in 2018.
Interestingly, Arians implied his safeties had the most room for improvement as a unit. Joe thought Arians was going to say cornerbacks were most improved through the season, or the linebackers, but running backs? Man, Joe will need a little time to get over that.
Joe just hopes the regime realizes something must be done to upgrade at running back next season, mysterious improvement or not.
December 13th, 2019 at 3:58 pm
Arians’ comment infers that OLine or Playcalling may need improvement- yeah
December 13th, 2019 at 4:10 pm
That is surprising unless he thinks the terrible running game is 100% on the shoulders of the offensive line.
December 13th, 2019 at 4:14 pm
If the other units have regressed in his mind….then maybe he is correct.
December 13th, 2019 at 4:15 pm
Unless it’s all coach-speak (B.S.), that probably is a good indication which way he’s leaning as far as off season roster changes, at least with those two positions. Seems as though Safety would be a higher priority for an upgrade in his eyes, although there’s no reason you can’t upgrade both positions.
December 13th, 2019 at 4:24 pm
D-Line is obviously the most improved unit, but we aren’t talking about JW potentially throwing for 5000+ yards this year (with arguably the best WR tandem in the league) without the threat of a cogent run game. Last year we had PB…that was ALL we had. ROJO is showing hands that were not on display last year, PB has now added running off-tackle to his repertoire (albeit minimally), and Dare knows when and where to be…and reel it in. They get better and better every week. Todd Bowles is an outstanding defensive coordinator with lots of picks and cash invested on his side of the ball. So, relatively speaking, it’s hard to argue what the RBs have contributed this season. But…WT(H) do I know…?
December 13th, 2019 at 4:24 pm
BA’S BS is awesome. Straight face…. hell yeah viper’s have a better rb room.
December 13th, 2019 at 4:25 pm
i agree with BA about the safeties…..
whitehead hit hard but gets lost in coverage early and often….
we need a vet FS to keep whitehead and the CBs in the right position in coverage….
regarding the RBs, i saw improvement…werent we dead last, last year….lol…
GO BUCS!!!!!
December 13th, 2019 at 4:39 pm
The RB back bar was pretty low coming into this year so I can see where he thinks they are the most improved.
Barber being Barber same player
RoJo has improved from last year
Dare is maybe an upgrade from Quiz Rodgers. He’s not worse. Maybe same.
So yeah Rojo’s improvement is relevant for position improvement.
December 13th, 2019 at 4:57 pm
Hey, Joe, off topic, but should we scoop up Janoris Jenkins?
December 13th, 2019 at 5:03 pm
THIS!!! This is why I continue to vote no confidence every week.
December 13th, 2019 at 5:04 pm
Arians says a lot of stuff…..that’s literally why the media loves him. Its what he says in the offseason behind closed doors is what will be telling and i’m guessing it will be “we need talent”.
I wont be shocked to see the Bucs pull a trade for Leveon Bell. Gase is not a fan of having so much cap space in a RB and he’s simply not producing for what he’s eating up on the cap. Maybe we trade Brate and a pick….give Darnold a solid target at TE, we get a running game for Winston. Then we see what he really is. No more excuses….no more he doesn’t have this or that. It will be put up or shut up time.
December 13th, 2019 at 5:04 pm
Soul Glow 25!
December 13th, 2019 at 5:15 pm
Did he add that our running game is “totally fixed”?
December 13th, 2019 at 5:31 pm
Joe you are correct… The Running Game is bad. That is different than the Running Backs are bad. Maybe next time..
December 13th, 2019 at 5:35 pm
Remember Joe how you were obsessed with Koetters view of RB’s primarily for their blocking skill as opposed to running talent?
Is this not just another version of Koetter’s bombs away offense.
BA loves to toss the rock deep just as much as Koetter so for him an RB who can block and give his passer time to complete those deep routes may be more to his liking than a pure runner.
I’d just like to invest enough to get a true athlete who can block, catch the football, and yes RUN the football.
December 13th, 2019 at 5:36 pm
You guys no technically speaking the running backs have improved correct? Yeah before joe tells me it’s not saying much I know. Issue would be with O line or play calling. O line has made holes when it mattered it may be playcalling cause they don’t trust Winston to not fumble on a RPO or all these up the guy plays.
December 13th, 2019 at 6:19 pm
So unfair to blame all our ineffective running to OL and playcalling. RBs must be held accountable.
Not saying we the OL don’t have issues run blocking but the RBs are very much a part of the problem.
RoJo rarely makes anybody miss. I mean rarely. And he has no long runs ths year to proove it. Last week his couldn’t hit an edge. The week before he couldn’t hit an edge. Ridiculous to not blame these guys for not producing.
December 13th, 2019 at 6:24 pm
Ronald Jones longest run this year is 25. And he got 136 attempts. That’s pathetic.
December 13th, 2019 at 6:34 pm
Hmmm. I wonder which team he’s talking about?
December 13th, 2019 at 7:12 pm
BA likes to talk a lot of BS.
I just watched a mock draft that had the Bucs at #16 drafting D Swift RB out of Georgia way too early.
I think the Gumpster Fire should trade a DB (SMLB) for Darrell Henderson who is chomping at the bit after being red-shirted by the LA Rams.
Imagine, a 3rd down back that would take those 4 yard check downs 75 yards to the house?
December 13th, 2019 at 7:30 pm
….. still floggin that dead Henderson horse huh?
December 13th, 2019 at 7:32 pm
What exactly should the Bucs running backs be doing different? Like what cuts are they missing, what tackles are they not breaking? In general I don’t think there’s any question that Ronald had been playing better… until he got benched. Plus Barber is a solid low end guy – nothing special but isn’t going to kill you. The RBs aren’t messing up – there’s just nowhere to run. The offense is the 3rd leading offense in the NFL in yards and points, we’re setting every offensive record (except for turnovers where they’ve been much higher in the past), the Bucs are one of the top time of possession teams – so what exactly is the need for an arbitrary average per yard rushing offense? The Bucs move the ball at will and control the clock – so what’s the issue?
December 13th, 2019 at 7:45 pm
Rod Much go back and watch the Jacksonville game. First series. RoJo gets the ball off left tackle and has one guy to beat to get to the edge for a big game…….If you listen to the broadcast you can actually hear the announcers voice jump. The announcer knows what a big play looks like when it’s developing.
When a RB gets isaged in space like that he’s gotta make guys miss and get his team them big yards. Ronald had another play last week where he could have hit the right sideline and again could not make the guy miss.
His OL has gotten him to the second level many times this year. He is making anybody miss bro. Hasn’t been good.
December 13th, 2019 at 8:23 pm
Rojo, Barber and Dare O can catch the ball, too. Hope BA/BL see that.
December 13th, 2019 at 8:45 pm
Agree it’s 100% on the o-line. I’ve seen Barber and Jones get most of the yardage on their own. Our O-line needs some major help and should be addressed n round 1.
December 13th, 2019 at 8:52 pm
“What do you call Ryan Jensons fat behind?
Assisted tackle”
Kobe Faker
December 13th, 2019 at 9:24 pm
also don’t forget the right tackle is literally useless in run blocking.
December 13th, 2019 at 9:46 pm
Yep, we need that big long safety thats fast and can also blitz…since we’re picking in the teens, I saiah Simmons might still be there…..if not, then Delpit.
December 13th, 2019 at 11:50 pm
Arians is hilarious!
December 13th, 2019 at 11:59 pm
Btw, might be able to get rb zakk moss (utah) in the 3rd if we dont sign a vet.
December 14th, 2019 at 12:08 am
Buy a prime time, young RT. Chuba Harrison, RB, OSU in the second. Peyton Barber is FA next year. Let Jones and Harrison battle it out for the number one spot. You say safety so Grant Delpit in the first would be sweet. Teammates with White at LSU. Dean and Davis at Auburn. All these young guys are hungry learning from Bowels. Both lines are stacked in r1-r4. Trade back into the third and stack the trenches r3-5.
December 14th, 2019 at 12:10 am
1st – Simmons or Delpit (safety)…(simmons is hybrid also can play LB if we cant keep Barrett)
2nd – Marvin Wilson, DT (Sapp 2.0 beside Big V if we dont keep Suh and since D Brown is out of reach)
3rd – OT Becton for RT, or RB Z. Moss
4th – Julian Okwara, DE/OLB (broke his leg and needs to heal which is why he’ll drop but a very good prospect here….remember, Barrett went undrafted)
not sure about the rest yet…..
December 14th, 2019 at 3:53 am
Or he was solely talking about RoJo which isnt a lie….I mean compared to last year he has greatly improved maybe if they used him more consistently he could even be a middle of the pack RB
December 14th, 2019 at 4:36 am
BA & TB have exhibited a similar tendency all season long: If you don’t perform, you sit. That’s awesome IMO; players need to EARN their playing time. Mistakes are costly as we’ve all seen, on defense, offense AND special teams.
You don’t get to make many mistakes and still win the game at the NFL level. On any given Sunday, any NFL team can beat any other team … especially if you help them win. That to me is why turnovers are so deadly. Not only did you kill that drive AND potentially give up scoring points yourself, but all too often you literally GAVE points to your opponent. That’s a huge swing (in points AND momentum), often in just a matter of moments. And yes we do NEED to improve our RB stable for next season.
We’ve seen all 3 RBs make plenty of mistakes this season … pick the wrong hole, miss a blitz pickup, etc. To say that they’re the most improved though MAY be correct, based on where they started in BA’s eyes. Realistically though, those 3 were all we could AFFORD this season. All 3 TOGETHER are barely making what Brett Perriman makes ($4.2 mil vs $4.0 mil). Heck, 34-year-old Demar Dotson made more than that all by himself this year ($4.8 mil).
December 14th, 2019 at 10:21 pm
I miss Dunn and Alstott. Is it too much to ask to pick up a running back that is an actual threat to defenses?
December 15th, 2019 at 9:53 am
I agree with Buczilla. I also miss an offense with a FB, especially too. We need to put Vea in at FB in every short yardage situation.