Running Counts
January 19th, 2021
Bucs RB Ronald Jones.
When the Bucs got blown out by the Saints midway through the season, the Bucs handed off the ball four times — four!
It absolutely blew people’s minds. Many thought that was one big reason the slimy Saints seal-clubbed the Bucs so badly that night on national television.
So Hall of Fame selector Clark Judge of SI.com believes the Bucs beat the slimy Saints on Sunday because they were not one-dimensional thanks to their respectable running attack.
Biggest difference between the Saints-Bucs previous game (a 38-3 New Orleans win) and Sunday … other than the final score? The running game. Tampa Bay had one. … … On Sunday, it had 35 rushing attempts, or one more than Brady dropbacks (33 throws, one sack). Brady is most effective in play-action, and that’s hard to sell when you call three runs. At least Tampa Bay learned its lesson.
Brady did less play-action than usual, which really, really surprised Joe and the offense was stuck in the mud too often. When the Bucs offense was on fire after the bye, Brady did a whole lot of play-action passes and threw on first down with pre-snap motion.
But hey, a win is a win. Joe would still rather see the Bucs pass on first down, use play-action and presnap motion against the Packers this coming weekend.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:11 am
Let’s use a baseball analogy: hitting is timing. Now, take that into football. How do ya keep their timing off? Hint: it’s not by being predictable.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:12 am
Not running worked for the Bills this weekend.
Turnover differential is the “Biggest Difference”
S ain’t going to win many games giving the ball to other team 4 times. The Winston Special struck again.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:16 am
When they started that game I was looking at my wife going WTF!!!! I kept saying we need a turnover or a sack…and then boom an INT. TB makes teams pay for turnovers. It is usually followed by a TB score. and they just kept coming. I was wrong about the game plan short of calling for more throws to LF. They ground, pound and screen played their way into a great game. and the runs actually worked due to the screens being effective and maybe the RB’s were in a sense competing with each other…because they both looked great.
GB must be wondering which offense will show up this week. The main thing though is the defense and if they can continue this pace. The TO ratio was the key to the game combined with ball protection. You can bet Rodger game changing pick in the last game is still in his mind. Suh, do what you did last time!
Go Bucs!
January 19th, 2021 at 9:23 am
a win is a win…period…
we havent scored less than 30points since when?….not worried about the offense one bit….
BL IS WORKING MAGIC!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
January 19th, 2021 at 9:26 am
The Saints safeties were lining up so far off the ball, the play action wouldn’t have worked. The Bucs were running the ball to try to bring them closer to the line, before taking a shot over them. Just like New England and all of those playoff and Superbowl wins, Brady took what was available.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:30 am
All of the national media already counting out the Bucs. It’s a damn shame how they hype up only one guy (Rodgers) acting like TB12 and a top 10 defense aren’t coming in. Our defense might not be as good as the Rams but they didn’t have TB12 at the helm.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:30 am
Adding to my last comment. Our offense is much more efficient than the Rams and that will help with our defense.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:40 am
I’m curious to see if any of the JBF regular posters who called Bruce Arians “an old stale biscuit” and doubted our signing of Tom Brady and threw hissy fits when we ran Winston’s crab stealing finger licking butt out of town?
The Bucs are in the NFC championship game!!!!
Where are you?
COWARDS!!!!!
January 19th, 2021 at 9:41 am
Go Bucs!!!!!
January 19th, 2021 at 9:45 am
Green Bay has a lot of different things to consider when defending our offense.
Think about it… our team could go full aggression and do play actions on first down… or they can maul you with a running game/screen game.
Our Bucs have shown completely different approaches in the last two games. Good luck prepping for all of it.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:48 am
Several national media types have commented that the Bucs are built to be a power running team, if we want to be one.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:51 am
Show Me then TD’s is correct: the run worked because the Saints D was daring the Bucs to run or throw short…so they did.
The beauty of this offense coming around is if a D plays the deep pass, the O can gouge with the run, screens and short passes. If the D safeties get closer to the LoS, the deep ball is effective.
This season has been the greatest display of excellent QBing in Bucs history, bar none.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:53 am
BTW: I LOVE how Jones is rubbing the ball with pi$$ed-off anger. It’s like he can break a big one on every run.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:57 am
The Bucs can do whatever they want on offense. There are no good defenses left to face in the playoffs. They just missed on a lot of balls against the Saints. If they are able to connect on those shots, it’s a blowout win vs. just a 10 point victory. Defense needs to show up and play like their life depends on it. Man up, be aggressive and blitz Rodgers into oblivion.
January 19th, 2021 at 9:58 am
@Cobraboy is right. They gave us the run. Should’ve run on 3rd and 2 when we ended up with a field goal. Should’ve run it twice if necessary.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:00 am
Both guys ran hard. I love it.
Against a very physical team
I think i know why less play action. Watch brady in play action. He almost turns back against defense to sell the hand off.
You cannot turn your back on saints defense with their line and superfast dbs who blitz as well. Re-watch the game. I did last night. The oline played great. Dont get me wrong. But brady was getting ball out as quick as possible and a lot of bad throws were him just doing that to avoid getting killed. Any other qb would have taken a few more hits/sacks
January 19th, 2021 at 10:01 am
I know everyone hates it but 3rd and short is when the deep ball is open. We just missed it. Not saying I agree with it but I can see the reasoning behind it. Defense comes up to try to stop 3rd and short
January 19th, 2021 at 10:05 am
I told you
January 19th, 2021 at 10:06 am
i believe we can run on the Packers & we should……..Rojo……quad?…..I don’t think so…..sure looked like he ran very well to me.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:08 am
Snow in the twenties i dont watch much football in that weather but i assume that might help the bucs slow down rodgers?
January 19th, 2021 at 10:09 am
They ran the ball because the D kept the Saints out of the end zone those first 2 drives. If it would have been 14-0 against a fast moving Saints team that the D couldn’t stop the run would have went out the window quick. With the D holding the Saints all night, the run game was allowed to be used consistently.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:12 am
True Miller but they wouldn’t have ran as much if the safeties weren’t deep all night.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:17 am
The run game also allows our O linemen the opportunity to beat up all of the trash talkers on the Saint’s D line.
I can’t imagine how sweet it must have been beatdown Cam Jordan.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:19 am
Defense wins championships.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:19 am
Next Upgrade: On 3-2 in the red zone, run a play to pick up the first down. That way you have 3-4 more downs to get the TD.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:23 am
The Saints made it clear Brady would NOT beat them deep…but he almost did several times.
I am not sure Green Bay is as talented on D as the Saints were.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:31 am
@Mike … “The Bucs can do whatever they want on offense.” Not hardly Mike. Our offense scored 3 TDs Sunday off of 3 takeaways by our defense … and accumulated a grand total of 63 yards of offense doing it.
The Bucs’ offense plays unbelievable COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL. Give them a turnover and they’ll make you pay virtually every time. We beat the Saints that way, and we beat the Packers earlier in the season that way. Look back at our other games & you’ll see a similar trend.
Go back also and look at how many times this season the defense ignited the offense by getting a takeaway. Tom Brady thrives on that, and always has. He will make you pay for mistakes … gotta love it.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:32 am
No mater how much effort the NFL puts into making running and defense obsolete, they are still big factors in the post season when everyone is exhausted and beat up, especially in the cold and snow. It goes to show that some things aren’t so easily removed from the game. Not when they are an integral part of the games foundation.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:34 am
This is not ndog, but with the sh!tty coaching running this team we might have had the number one spot in the NFC. I like to use the stat the Bucs were 4-1 when RoJo got at least 17 carries and four of those games were 100+ yards. The same man defense that beat the Saints was the same that destroyed GB week six. If Toms coaching and BA is just sitting back like he says, you can pay me minimum wage to point out the obvious.
January 19th, 2021 at 10:34 am
Dear Lord please show the following stats to Todd B
Aaron Rogers faced the most zone with drop back percentage; (2019-2020)
SF 83% = LOST
Colts 72% LOST
LAC 67% LOST
Mn. 65% LOST
TB 61% LOST
SF 59% LOST
Think Todd will go back to the zone????
January 19th, 2021 at 10:37 am
I meant BL not Todd B. SMOTHER THEM just like you did yesterday. If it starts to go bad, adjust. But don’t wait till halftime
January 19th, 2021 at 10:47 am
I just read Brown’s knee MRI showed no damage, and he’s day-to-day.
Great news!
You KNOW if any player can play, they will. Only one game is bigger than the NFC championship…;)
January 19th, 2021 at 10:47 am
What eff are u talking about. BL is the offensive coordinator
January 19th, 2021 at 10:48 am
Awesome Cobra
January 19th, 2021 at 10:49 am
Packers have a better ST ( excluding kickers) than the Bucs. That plus the weather could become a major factor in the game. Still, Go Bucs!
January 19th, 2021 at 11:03 am
Gaudy passing numbers are great in the beginning of the year for fantasy football purposes, but this time of year defense and ball control offense win championships.
I’ll say the same thing I said last week. In order for this team to continue to win these games they need to run the ball at least 25-30 times minimum and Godwin and the TE’s need to move the chains. Try like hell to average at least four or five yards on 1st down.. Scotty Miller, Antonio Brown, and Mike Evans will get the flashy plays, but the running game and our ball control receivers will win it, along with the defense.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:08 am
And to further illustrate my point of which Buc is the best weapon… Ronald Jones. He averaged over 5 yards per carry and had a 40 yarder called back by a very questionable holding penalty. All of that on one leg. One leg and the dude is basically 14 carries for well over 100 yards. When he is in the game, defenses fear him and the run and everything opens up.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:10 am
The rb’s gotta love running behind behind Ryan Jensen.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:24 am
It would be really interesting to see stats on which teams capitalize the most off of turnovers. I feel like we’ve been one of the best in the league this year.
Now I wish we could capitalize as much when we force a 3-and-out too.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:26 am
@tbbf I think he re-aggravated it towards the end of the game though…
Hopefully he is good to go. RoJo has some incredible burst and his ability to break tackles this year has been a beautiful thing to behold.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:32 am
@unbelievable
But in BA’s presser, he mentioned Rojo’s CV & his finger….but not his quad….
Also….did Joe do an article on Vita Vea returning? Or, did I miss it?
January 19th, 2021 at 11:39 am
Can we please STOP taking deep shots on 3rd and short. Get the 1st down move the chains and take calculated shots. Early in games I just feel it’s better to establish a rhythm for Brady and the offense instead of the no risk it philosophy. Once he gets going he’s like a surgeon with his passes but when he misses early it seems he’ll be off most of the game and don’t get me wrong he was only off by a bit on the deep ball to Gronk and the one to Godwin before half (although we all know that’s a catch Chris can make but I’m thinking the finger is becoming an issue for him.)
January 19th, 2021 at 11:39 am
Yeah there was an article yesterday about Vea.
Re: RoJo- it sure looked like he pulled up gimpy after his last run, but who knows? I just hope he can go. Would love to see him knifing through the Packers defense next weekend.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:54 am
WHAT WILL WIN THE GAME …
1. Bucs run game. Control the clock, field position, and TOP.
2. Turnovers. Win the TO battle = Win the Game.
3. FG/PAT. Got to make your field goals.
Check the boxes and the Bucs are headed to the Super Bowl.
January 19th, 2021 at 11:55 am
I am hoping so bad….so bad we can get RoJo back.
Fournette has been really good too. He is running really hard. Taking every positve yard he can get. Wiggling his way beyond the line of scrimmage. Very solid.
The only issue is that he cannot break that last tackle to get the splash play. And he has missed several of them the last two weeks. One of the Saints even brough him down with 3 fingers.
You just cant convince me that RoJo wont break off a big run if hes healthy. In fact, he did just that on Sunday(of course he fell victim to a botched holding call).
Its not the end of the world. We can still win with Fournette. He is very good and will probably break a long one if he keeps getting good looks……I just want every stud we can get on the field in Green Bay. We might need every one of em.
GO BUCS!!!!
January 19th, 2021 at 11:56 am
Agree with the low-percentage deep passing on 3rd & short……needs to stop…..especially when we are in opposition territory…..run on 3rd & short….then run again….or short pass…..WR or RB screens…..
Also…..stop with the empty backfields except for 3rd & long…..Empty backfields telegraph passes…and prevent play action options…..also 1 less player in protection….
If you insist instead of empty backfield…..line up with the RB & send him out for a pass…..McCoy is good at this.
January 19th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Also wanna mention how good Brady has been passing the ball to his RBs in space. They havent been too good recieving the passes but its been a big part of our ofensee reguardless.
Brady has transformed our offense this way. Its makes us that much harder to defend. Its a big reason why we see less in the box and more coverage from the defenses we face.
We will see how the Packers game goes. Yall will tell me Im crazy but if we get a good matchup to use our RBs in the passing game Im calling for McCoy to get involved. Hes our best pass catching back.
January 19th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
run game will be huge vs the packers….imo, we can pound them right up the middle….fournette and rojo played well together…they fed off each other….
tyler johnson and scotty miller will be add a new wrinkle to the mix….please godwin, bring your hands!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
January 19th, 2021 at 12:19 pm
jimmyjack
lol…yeah shady at this point in the game is crazy….idk..shady scares me with ball security…
GO BUCS!!!!
January 19th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
That was a vintage Tom Brady Playoff Performance. Tom was masterful even with Mike Evans being ineffective against Lattimore, Godwin not having a great game, AB being hurt, and Gronk ineffective as well. Tom Brady showed everyone how to win when everything isn’t perfect. He made enough plays to allow us to win, and the same cannot be said for Drew Brees.
January 19th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
Will that is a really good argument. But for your own sanity you may wanna accept the fact that they will not stop.
Those plays are risky. But you might be forgetting what this offese is called brotha. Biscuit offense baby!
There is something to be said in finding big plays in 3rd and short. Just one defender overly agressive to defend the line to make can blow up the whole play……but either way its a fun debate.
I also liked us taking the shot on 3rd down by midfield. I thought the Saints defender got the INT. In that worse case scenario its just the same as a punt basically.
January 19th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Lol….. Jimmy you’re right even my wife says, “babe they can’t hear you yelling WHY at the tv.” Trust me I get it and love when we hit them I just hate doing it early in the game and by early I mean our 1st or 2nd drive of the game where we haven’t established anything yet. It just seems like a waste of a down and takes away from establishing a rhythm and don’t get me started on the fact that we need to do everything we can to keep our punt team off the field since we refuse to kick away from a returner. Smh
January 19th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
Will … If you ever figure out WHY you yell WHY at the TV on those 3rd-and-short deep passes early in the game let me know, will ya. I think my TV’s tired of being yelled at when the Bucs do that because it just seems to stare back at me and besides, the announcers NEVER answer my question.
I love to see games start off with the Bucs just OWNING the 1st quarter. Just downright pummel the opposition & let them know that they’re in the middle of a dogfight, and your dog is much meaner than their dog. By the same token though, nothing drives me nuts more than seeing our offense get multiple 3-and-outs early in the game, and then watching us fall behind because of that. I obviously prefer the ‘Score early & often’ approach, and OWN THE GAME from the git-go.
January 19th, 2021 at 1:30 pm
the BUCS should also focus on their special teams. Opening minutes of that saints game was terrible for the Special teams giving a return punt all the way to bucs territory twice (good thing the second one has a flag). It should never happen again.
January 19th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
LOL
Glad I’m not the only one yelling at my TV, only to get silence in return.
January 19th, 2021 at 2:56 pm
I doubt I’ll ever figure out how to stop yelling at the TV but heck that’s part of the fun being a sports fan.
January 19th, 2021 at 3:57 pm
Unbelievable
Think I saw this morning… Bucs 128 points off turnovers #1 in the league.
Might need to verify.