“This Opportunity Is Huge For Him”
September 22nd, 2023
Here comes Ke’Shawn “Sneak” Vaughn!
The last time Vaughn played the Eagles, he had 17 carries against them in the playoffs of January 2022. Vaughn followed that up with only 17 carries all of last season.
Then he was named fourth-string running back after training camp this season and, by all accounts, had a one-day meltdown that saw him exit One Buc Palace without permission.
Put that in the rear view mirror because No. 2 (No. 3?) running back Chase Edmonds landed on injured reserve this week with a knee injury. The Bucs didn’t sign a replacement, so Vaughn will be active Sunday.
Today, new playcaller Dave Canales said he’s happy for Vaughn, the Bucs’ third-round draft pick in 2020.
“Lotta carries to go around, 60-someodd-runs in the first two games,” Canales said of his run-focused offense. “So just being able to carry the load. I’m excited for Sneak. The guy’s worked his tail off, you know, the guy’s really worked his tail off all camp. To get this opportunity is huge for him.”
Hearing Canales made Joe think of how former Bucs star RB Leonard Fournette talked about how hard Vaughn works and that he feels badly for him.
Regardless, Vaughn will have a shot to impress again. And considering fellow Bucs running back Sean Tucker is averaging less than two yards per carry, Vaughn might not have to do much to stand out.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:24 pm
Hope he holds on to the football and it works out for him.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Enough talk. Deliver. Or leave.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:28 pm
After his no-show fiasco Sneak better hustle and shine ! Fire the cannons !
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:28 pm
Tucker has yet to impress, but the whole run game seems very forced right now and no one really appears to be a standout
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:32 pm
When the Bucs drafted Vaughn I really liked the pick.
He played very well against SEC defenses with a pretty lackluster offensive line at Vandy.
However he has been a total disappointment so far. His fumbling during preseason, inability to break tackles, below average pass blocking and mediocre pass catching ability has consistently earned him a spot in Arian’s/Leftwhich’s doghouse.
My expectations are low but I hope he can contribute and help this team win on Monday night.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:32 pm
Speaking of “Enough talk. Deliver. Or leave.” This is the game our starting RB needs to show the reason we didn’t go after a known commodity in the off-season.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:36 pm
The oline needs to block better before the RB’s will be super successful.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:37 pm
How is it people keep forgetting the Bucs are hamstrung by their cap situation?They are going with what they’ve got for a reason.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:42 pm
Very concerned about the run game too
Bucs VS Vikes – 33 attempts, 73 yards
Eagles VS Vikes – 48 attempts 259 yards, 3 TDs
Again people bash me all the time for being a hater but dude, facts are facts
Our run blocking is very, very suspect – not the runners faults really
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:43 pm
A Bucs Fan Says:
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:36 pm
The oline needs to block better before the RB’s will be super successful.
Absolutely, I don’t think our problem has been the backs.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:44 pm
Run game will be no bueno this week.
Philly’s defensive front is the best and deepest in the league
If the Bucs OLine can manage to open up a few holes and we surpass 100 yards rushing – it will be a very good sign for moving forward….
Canales will still plug away and call run on 35-40% of the plays – but its unlikely to be all that effective.
I think Mayfield and the receivers are going to have to make most of the offensive plays needed to win this game.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:57 pm
Sneak gets his chance. Make it happen. I feel this is the last chance.
September 22nd, 2023 at 1:59 pm
He’s fine – nothing special, but won’t kill you either.
Personally I’d go with someone like, ummm, RONNIE BROWN, who actually has upside, but whatever, what do I know.
September 22nd, 2023 at 2:05 pm
@ Rod
I liked Ronnie Brown as well but the Bucs and the rest of the NFL don’t seem as impressed with him.
He hasn’t been brought in anywhere for a tryout or to join another team’s practice squad.
I think he had a solid preseason but like you said – “what do I know”…
September 22nd, 2023 at 2:07 pm
Bring guys in motion to the left side and let Wirfs lead the way
September 22nd, 2023 at 2:10 pm
I will super impressed if we can rush for 100 yards or so. That would be a great sign. I figure around 75 rushing yards against this front might be a decent day – but it prolly won’t win us the game.
Let’s see what this O-line is made of. Go Bucs ! ! !
September 22nd, 2023 at 2:10 pm
Mr. Fumble is back! Hip hip!
September 22nd, 2023 at 2:12 pm
If you go back & analyze Eagles’ games against Patriots & Vikings, you’ll see 2 passing offenses trying to beat the Eagles’ running offense. Pats & Vikings both lost because the Eagles controlled the game, to include winning the Turnover Differentials.
Patriots ran on only 28% of their plays; Eagles ran on 41% of theirs. Pats lost the TOP 31-29 as well as the Turnover Battle 2-1. Other than that, they did OK … except for the final score of course (25-20 loss). The difference in the ballgame turned out to be the Eagles Pick-6 in the 1st qtr.
Vikings ran on only 16% of their plays; Eagles ran on 64% of theirs. Vikings lost the TOP 39-21 as well as the Turnover Battle 4-1. You don’t win many games with stats like that, and in fact the Vikings lost 34-28 (Minnesota scored 2 TDs in the last 10 mins, but it was a matter of ‘too little, too late).
Bucs can beat the Eagles if we (1) play solid defense; and (2) use a similar relatively ‘balanced’ attack to what we used in the Bears’ game. Bucs will come out ahead 24-20.
September 22nd, 2023 at 2:37 pm
The O-line is terrible at run blocking. Fix that and you’ll fix the running game
September 22nd, 2023 at 3:13 pm
Defense Rules Says
Bucs can beat the Eagles if we (1) play solid defense; and (2) use a similar relatively ‘balanced’ attack to what we used in the Bears’ game. Bucs will come out ahead 24-20.
I hope you are right D but I don’t see how you came to that score.
Offense put up 20 on the Bears and although they left some out there the Bucs will have to play at least as well as last week to have a shot at 20. 3 TD’s and a FG is a tall order against the Eagles unless you were thinking 8 FG’s. This could be a Bowles Type game where the D has to hold them to 1 less than 20.
Pittsburgh’s defense scored twice the other night but it was against a team with real problems.
Might come down to a turnover one way or the other.
Win or Lose it will give Folks a Good idea of what is there and things to come. Regardless of what Herd say’s Baker did not come to a team with no or low expectations. Now if the Bucs were 1 and 31 the last two seasons that statement might hold water.
Go Bucs.
September 22nd, 2023 at 3:29 pm
See how the first play up the gutts go first.
September 22nd, 2023 at 3:43 pm
Great analysis, DR! Everything you said made total sense. I only have one problem with it. What made you think bringing logic and reasoning into this thread was a good idea?
That never seems to go well here. LOL
September 22nd, 2023 at 3:52 pm
Sneak is a hard runner, he just needs to hold on to the ball. Hope he does well as Tucker has not shown much. For that matter neither has White. Hope Canales gets a little creative with the running game,as the Bucs are not going to get much up the middle against Philly.
September 22nd, 2023 at 4:03 pm
Watched McCaffrey last night he makes it look effortless. 49er’s line did ok but he finds space where there is none. There are very few RBs like him but it would be nice to have someone close to that. Not sure how much volume Vaughn will get. Any opportunity is better than no opportunity.
September 22nd, 2023 at 4:28 pm
We have seen everything Vaughn has to offer , and it ain’t great. Runs hard , but with no vision and no breakaway speed. Vaughn is an average receiver-Vaughn is Meh.
Certainly no reason not to offer ROJO league minimum to rejoin the squad , because quite frankly when it comes down to running the ball he is better than anyone on the roster.
September 22nd, 2023 at 4:43 pm
It’s game three for a new team. Lot’s of pieces are still coming together. They appear to fit but are not yet solidly in place.
Does anybody here think the Bucs have played their best game yet? That 90 yard 2nd half drive by the Bears, the TO’s needed to beat the Vikes on the road.
It hasn’t always been pretty but it has revealed this team has heart, something that seemed to be missing last year for DOZENS of reasons I won’t bother rehashing.
I like D.R.’s prediction if the guys play to their abilities.
September 22nd, 2023 at 4:48 pm
I just hope Canales has the common sense to not run our backs between the guards. We have one of the weakest centers in the league and will be man-handled by the likes of Carter and Davis. Please Canales, put this game in the hands of our talented receivers.
September 22nd, 2023 at 5:31 pm
I think one of the only good games Vaughn had was against the Eagles in the playoffs, if my memory is correct. So, there’s that.
September 22nd, 2023 at 5:46 pm
Filthydelphia will try to stop Evans and Godwin. Canalas is working on up the gutts runs for good yards. Filthys are running scared.
September 22nd, 2023 at 6:15 pm
@TonySoprano you aren’t lying. Hainsey has the worst lineman this year. I can’t even say he is smart anymore because he’s not only struggling to get push he’s missing assignments/blocking the wrong guy.
September 22nd, 2023 at 8:51 pm
Been saying this for years.. he has the best vision of all the rbs we’ve had in the last 2-3 yrs
September 23rd, 2023 at 12:06 am
His so called initial failures are the fault of an inept coaching staff.
They should have been feeding this guy the rock all along-
Good enough for a solid game of 17 Carrie’s in the playoffs, then sat on the bench?
Moronic organizational decisions- just like letting go of Suh and JPP prematurely, as well as whitehead.
September 23rd, 2023 at 6:26 am
Time to show out for every one of our RBs.
Lets face it, none of our guys have looked all world. Yet.
Make em some holes to run through O line!
Go Bucs!
September 23rd, 2023 at 1:59 pm
The Bucs desperately need an elite running back. It’s really the only thing they are missing at this point
September 23rd, 2023 at 3:10 pm
Only thing he has sneaked through has been cuts some how
September 23rd, 2023 at 7:32 pm
Gbuc62 wrote: “Speaking of ‘enough talk. Deliver. Or leave.’ This is the game our starting RB needs to show the reason we didn’t go after a known commodity in the off-season.”
How do people like this think the Bucs could have just gone out and grabbed a known commodity. The Bucs were in negative salary cap position for pretty much the whole offseason and until the recent structure of Shaq Barrett’s contract, were still at negative cap space.
It’s simple, have a great O-line and you can plug pretty much any RB in the world in there and he will look good. A bad O-line will make the best of the best look like crap. The success of White, Vaughn, Tucker or whomever will be solely dependent upon the O-line’s play and the play calling of Canales.