“Very Into Technique”
August 14th, 2021
New Bucs RB Giovani Bernard
Protection, protection, protection.
It’s not a lecture from your 11th-grade health teacher, it’s a credo of the Bucs offense.
Protect Tom Brady at all costs, and maybe, just maybe, that’s why the Bucs signed running back Giovani Bernard this offseason.
A long feature on Bernard at TheAtheltic.com (behind a paywall) dives into the fit of Bernard and many of his former Bengals brethren are quoted.
“He’ll be everything that people think he can’t be in pass protection because he’s tough,” said Hue Jackson, who had him as a position coach and coordinator with the Bengals. “He’s tougher than probably anybody I’ve ever been around. He was phenomenal. You look at his size and you think ‘No way!’ but he’s a hard worker who’s very into technique and has an extra motivation to be great.”
Andy Dalton thinks Bernard is a perfect fit, and the famous tribal stats nerds say Bernard is a far better pass blocker than what was shown by Bucs running backs last year.
Of course, Bernard can catch and has done that 342 times in his career.
As Joe has written, Bucs running backs caught 80 balls last season. If Bernard can keep doing what he does best, catch and block, then he may very well be a massive piece of the puzzle this season, one very few outside One Buc thought was necessary.
August 14th, 2021 at 11:25 am
Looks like another superb pickup by LIcht.
August 14th, 2021 at 11:32 am
Is there anyone out there (excluding the medicated) that thinks Gio Bernard isn’t an upgrade from Shady?
August 14th, 2021 at 11:39 am
Gio is our savior. Let’s call him St. Bernard.
August 14th, 2021 at 11:42 am
Nice ! The dude shaved off his ‘70s porn star stache!
August 14th, 2021 at 11:52 am
Gio is TB12’s new toy. Gonna be fun to watch. And it just dawned on me that Brady signed Lenny last year b/c Lenny reminds him of Legarrette Blount & they won a Superbowl together
August 14th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
I think by the end of the season he has the best all around stats of any rb on the roster
August 14th, 2021 at 1:09 pm
Can’t wait for 7:30 tonight! Just bout NFL game pass for the preseason games (because I live in Richmond VA only WFT and Pittsburg on local channels up here.) Got the beer on ice, cuban sandwhich ready to go and wifey went out for the day! LET”S GO BUCS!!!
August 14th, 2021 at 1:18 pm
BucEmUp – I agree. Based on comments ive seen here over the past few yrs, theres a TON of ROJO loyalists on this site as if the guy is Walter Payton or something. Now – I love Jones a lot and he can be fantastic running at times (as well as Fournette) but the reality is that Fournette comes and goes, and from ive heard has looked so-so in camp at best. Rojo is STILL reprehensible catching, and Bernard has *SURPRISE!* looked great. I have a sneaking suspicioun that Fournette and Jones wont be at all pleased with lack of playing time because Gio is playing 50% of the snaps. IF GIO is basically James White in this offense, which Brady craves – I just dont see him coming off the field much at all until its time to burn clock in the 4th.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:33 pm
My prediction is:
1. Rojo will lead yards, snaps
2. playoff Lenny will lead TD
3. Bernard will lead the number of catches
August 14th, 2021 at 1:39 pm
I think that Gio will be the biggest surprise addition. He was a backup in Cincy but much of that had to do with Joe Mixon. Is Gio a “#1” ? I don’t think so. Fournette and Rojo are better runners. That said, don’t sleep on this guy. He can make plays, AND, as someone who will most likely be a change of pace or 3rd down guy, he will see plenty of playing time.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:56 pm
Arians will go with the hot back most of the time and Fournette earned the chance to start the season. That’s what happens when you show up big in the playoffs.
RoJo can run better than anyone on the roster, but a three down back is best. A must in this offense. Expect to see Gio when the going gets tough.
The only way to keep winning is to keep TB12 upright. We are going to see some very creative blitz packages this year.
If Brady has time to throw, our WR and TE corps will eat most every D alive.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:08 pm
Looks old
August 14th, 2021 at 2:10 pm
I know its good to practice in rain / wet field / wet ball cause its florida and bound to play in at least one rain game
But not liking the few hours of rain just before And around game time
This is the bungals. No need to have some try hard do something stupid on the other team. No need to show much
Our second team could best their first team
Wait for good weather next week And play first quarter and that will be fine
And all bubble / third team guys and trask play last preseason game
August 14th, 2021 at 2:16 pm
This is one of the biggest disconnects between football fans and coaches.
Fans absolutely freak out in a bad way about rain (preseason schlock or practices).
Coaches absolutely LOVE it.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:24 pm
Did I just see a 6 game suspension scroll across the NFL NETWORK?!?
August 14th, 2021 at 2:32 pm
Spot on Joe.
I can still remember an old AFC west mud game that Maddon was calling.
A RB comes up from a real scrum with a huge clump of sod stuck in his helmet and facemask. A real old school mud game. Thought Maddon was just going to freaking explode about “real football”
Ah the memories!
August 14th, 2021 at 2:34 pm
@ Jbeachbuc. Yes. Darrius Guice for his domestic violence arrest last year.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:36 pm
Hey Bernard,
Please be ready to pickup those missed blocks on the left edge.
You should be a busy man.
Thanks in advance.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:36 pm
Buxszntkt
He said it was too…hot…szzzzzzzzzz.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:37 pm
@Dr. Ok thanks, got worried for a bit , little gun shy I guess. Didn’t see the whole scroll.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:46 pm
Ok, I’m in NC and the power just went out due to weather, Duke Energy says 6:30 which means 7:30 or later
August 14th, 2021 at 3:43 pm
Rojo and Lenny are nothing special and are close to awful at catching passes. Gio is no superstar, but he does everything well and is a huge upgrade.
August 14th, 2021 at 4:57 pm
Here’s an analogy of Dooosh and the constant negativity of The Durable One:
The company you work for has a nice dinner for all of the employees, the first one in many years. Not only that, they give every employee a $5,000 bonus. You’re ecstatic. You see the chronic complainer (CC for short) of your department, and decide to see if they have anything positive to say.
You: “Nice dinner, huh?”
CC: “The dressing on my salad was terrible!”
You: “Uh, okay…How about that bonus? Awesome, huh?”
CC: “The salad dressing was awful!!!!”
The nice dinner: The Bucs 11-5 season and making the playoffs
The $5,000 bonus: The Bucs winning the Super Bowl
The salad dressing: Donovan Smith
CC: DoooshLaRue
August 14th, 2021 at 6:26 pm
I’ve seen him play a lot with Cincy. He is a very good football player and off the field seems like a really nice guy.
August 14th, 2021 at 7:04 pm
BS talks, money walks. Tonight we get to see how good the new guys really are. Talking is done. Reality can bite hard. Hoping the new guys make great impressions. Who lives up to the hype and who does not. Totally hoping for great results.
August 14th, 2021 at 9:33 pm
No most outside one buc knew gio was a massive get for the bucs because of his blocking, pass catching and big play ability. The only place i saw pooh pooh it was joe