Playoff Lenny No. 21
June 20th, 2021
Where is he ranked?
Late June and through much of July is the season of lists.
Joe calls it “lists season” because everyone it seems has a list of some sort to guide us through the Juneteenth and July 4th holidays until training camp.
So the folks at Gannett, parent company of USA Today, decided to do something rather smart. They have a website devoted to lists. Not quite as brilliant as OnlyFans, but you get the drift.
Yesterday, Barry Werner of USA Today ranked each team’s No. 1 back. Of course, this list has flaws.
For example, Werner doesn’t know who the No. 1 back for the Cardinals will be, but this mystery man is ranked No. 27. Now how the hell do you rank a ghost?
When it comes to the Bucs, Werner believes Playoff Lenny will be the Bucs’ go-to guy. Werner has Playoff Lenny ranked 21.
Leonard Fournette seems to have found the magic that he had in Baton Rouge (and frequently lost in Jacksonville). He will have to keep it going to keep Ronald Jones Jr. off the field. It will be interesting to see if the former LSU star can carry the pressure of posting another successful year.
No. 21 seems a bit low for Playoff Lenny. Joe’s not saying he is top-10 but 21? If we are to judge Playoff Lenny by the way he ran in the playoffs, Playoff Lenny could be a top-10 back. If we are judging the season as a whole, Playoff Lenny is more towards the middle of the pack.
Couple of other curious spots: Werner has Cam Akers No. 19. That seems way low for Akers. Werner also has Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire at No. 17. That seems a bit high. CEH did not blow up last year like so many thought he would after a big opening day.
June 20th, 2021 at 12:27 am
Does a 1st rounder who pouts and only plays good when he has no competition in the playoffs a higher grade??? Me thinks he’s in the right spot until he proves otherwise during the season.
June 20th, 2021 at 3:03 am
I agree with 1 and 3, but the rest of that list makes no sense to me.
June 20th, 2021 at 4:52 am
When Rojo is healthy he’s the lead back. BA will switch it up and go with the hot hand more than I’d agree but Rojo is 1a, Lenny 1b. The Two schools of thought here is do you want to keep your back fresh or do you allow your back a chance to get in a rhythm. In this case I believe in the rhythm method.
June 20th, 2021 at 7:11 am
I still stay alternate starts. Keep ’em fresh for 10 starts each.
June 20th, 2021 at 8:18 am
I think Rojo runs just as hard uf not harder and would of had a bigger role in the SB if he didn’t have hands of stone.
June 20th, 2021 at 8:36 am
RoJo had a quad and thumb injury during playoffs. Before that he was dealing with Covid 19 exposure.
Fournette played great during playoffs, but RoJo is the number 1a guy when 100%. Fournette will get 8-10 carries per game when RoJo is healthy.
June 20th, 2021 at 8:41 am
Rojo hits the line way faster than Lenny. Before the playoffs Lenny seemed to hesitate looking for a big hole and too often got stuffed. In the playoff games he he hit the line much faster and broke through arm tackles for good gains. If he starts the season with the same determination that “playoff Lenny ” showed he should get a lot more touches. But Rojo averaged over 5 yards per carry which is ” bell cow” production. Based on last years regular season performance Rojo deserves to be featured, but Lennys effort in the playoffs earns him more touches early on to see if he can match that production. If he does we have two excellent backs to spell each other over a long season.
June 20th, 2021 at 9:15 am
21 is reasonable for Lenny…for the start of the season. The key is where do he and Rojo end up and the end of the year?
June 20th, 2021 at 2:15 pm
Hey Joe I know you remember, ” the Ghost to the Post” refering to Dave Casper of the 1970’s Raiders. lol That is the only way to measure a Ghost in the NFL lol.
GO BUCS!!!!
June 20th, 2021 at 5:17 pm
Lenny may be #21 on this list but RoJo is #1 in your heart