Michael Clayton: Bucs MVP Was Peyton Barber
September 10th, 2018
Night and day difference
Through six Buccaneers seasons, plus a 2010 Tampa Bay training camp, and two seasons with Tom Coughlin’s Giants, retired wide receiver Michael Clayton learned a few things about football.
These days, Clayton follows the Bucs and is part of a WDAE-AM 620 postgame show.
Following yesterday’s video game victory at the Saints, Clayton surprisingly labeled running back Peyton Barber as the Buccaneers’ MVP, even though he had 19 carries for 69 yards.
The early tone Barber set was a true difference-maker, Clayton said, sounding has if he, like Joe, struggled watching Doug Martin for the past two seasons.
“Peyton Barber ran the football, when he didn’t have blocking he was still able to push the pile and make positive plays. He hit the hole when he did have openings,” Clayton said of Barber.
“He was tremendous today. We talked about it in the pregame; he needs to be the Bucs’ MVP. I thought that he ran the ball the way that you want your starting running back to run the football. He was phenomenal.”
Barber was truly special and explosive early and it was unfortunate that the Bucs couldn’t pound the rock with him to close out the game. The running game fell apart late. It would have been a blowout if the Bucs could have found the ground game in the second half.
Still, the Bucs got exactly what they needed from Barber, including savage pass blocking. They put a real threat immediately in the minds of the Saints defense. It sure had been a while.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:56 pm
I thought Peyton Barber ran hard yesterday, and did well enough. But to give him MVP of the game? I don’t know about that. I’d give that honor to Fitzpatrick, the O-line, or Mr. Todd Monken for his playcalling.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:56 pm
@Joe
I still cannot believe Gruden signed Martin?! What the heck is that guy doing in OAK? I am sure Gruden’s team will get crushed tonight. And yeah I was one of the boneheads pinning for us to hire him. Emotions running amok after a dreadful 2017 season. Glad I ate crow on that one.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:57 pm
I was disappointed we didn’t give the ball to him more, if we had the chance is there that this game wouldn’t have ended up being as close as it was.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:57 pm
The offensive line was the real mvp. Fitz played a hell of a game, and he owes his o-line a steak dinner, the only time any saint got close to fitz was well after he threw the ball. Overall it was a bad ass performance by the entire offense. We have to many playmakers to cover, as long as the line can continue to provide the protection they did against the saints, the Bucs have a chance to beat any team.
September 10th, 2018 at 3:58 pm
I wouldn’t go that far, but it was a major factor. Set up the play action and especially a couple of the bombs on third and short. As for the decline of the running game late in the game, well its’ awfully tough to get those yards when they have 7 or 8 men in the box. Barber’s limitation is he’s not a threat to cut outside. Still he did a good job of blocking and running hard.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:09 pm
I dunno, this might be the best stats for a bucs QB…. ever?
CMP ATT YDS CMP% AVG TD LNG INT FUM QBR RAT
21 28 417 75.0 14.89 4 58 0 0 97.1 156.3
And a Rushing TB for good measure.
Peyton was good, but can FitzMagic just own get the proper amount of accolades?
JW Never had 4 TD’s with Zero picks, and his highest passing yards was 405 yards on 9/25/16 (but again with a pick) and also in a losing effort to the Rams….
FitzMagic just had a better game then JW ever did in the pros, give the man his due.
To me, he is American’s QB
September 10th, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Yeah. It was refreshing that the saints safeties had to play closer and it found the 1 on 1 for deep passes.
Breaking the 23 yard run from Barber was huge
September 10th, 2018 at 4:19 pm
On a semi related topic our short yardage game is awful on both sides of the ball. We lost almost every short yardage play yesterday. I cannot consider us a true contender until we can win those battles……on at least one side of the ball.
Dirk I’m looking at you man. You gotta fix this. If not we’re going down……I don’t know how you can fix it but you better figure it out.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:25 pm
Bucs Sam
You’re right. But Jameis did have a game with 5 TDs and 0 interceptions against the eagles.
Gtfoh. Jameis is not worse all of the sudden since Fitz had a career game.
Do u guys honestly believe Jameis wouldn’t have played well?
September 10th, 2018 at 4:26 pm
Agree with Clayton that he ran the ball well in the first half. MVP though? C’mon man! Fitz put up one of the greatest aerial attacks I have ever watched. There is no debate over who the MVP of this game was.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:32 pm
“It would have been a blowout if the Bucs could have found the ground game in the second half.”
OR….converted a 44 yard FG to ice the game with a three possession differential.
If before the game somebody had said the Bucs will have a 16 point lead midway through the 4th quarter we would have made fun of them. Then say oh it gets better…if we can convert a 44 yard FG the game is OVER!!!
September 10th, 2018 at 4:33 pm
Barber is just what this team has needed. He was good in passpro also. Quizz, though, was lights out picking up blitzes, one the best games I’ve ever seen from the third down back.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:36 pm
Barber is, and has been, very reliable. Glad he’s on the team.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:42 pm
Jimmy, in response to another post. about Shaun Wilson.
No doubt Barber two big runs made a difference but Shaun Wilson had one carry for 6 yards up the middle. IMO Barber will wear out if not spelled by another back in games or over the course of a long season. Rogers had two carries for 1 yard. ROJO is still trying to figure it out . Koetter has got to develope a two prong running attack and protect Barber from injury.
September 10th, 2018 at 4:56 pm
Would’ve like to see Barber run three straight when we settled for a FG. I think we had first down and goal on the 3 yard line. I think we tried to throw to Freddie Martino on one of those plays.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:06 pm
indirectly i agree. Barber’s running set up so many explosive plays off of play action. he gets an assist on DJax’ big play and a few other key playaction passes
September 10th, 2018 at 5:29 pm
C’mon……….it HAD to be FITZ!!!!!!! WIthout a doubt!!!!
September 10th, 2018 at 5:36 pm
I just need 4.5 TD’s this season Peyton. Gotta get in the end zone when given the chance at the goal line. He was given one touch inside the 5 and took it to the 1. Then Fitz called his own number. dern! ..almost got me one
September 10th, 2018 at 5:39 pm
You can’t find the run game when you let the other team score on almost every possession. When you know without a doubt that the opposing team is going to continue and score at will. When every wr on the field is being served cushion coverage on a silver platter and absolutely nobody is assigned to covering Alvin Kamara. Barber would have rushed for a crap ton of yards if this defense were even slightly below average but they’re not…..this defense is the equivalent to the dried up crust scraping out of the bottom a retired portpottie shell
September 10th, 2018 at 5:41 pm
More of this, PLEASE! We did not focus enough on the run-game later in the game. Barber is the type of back, IMO, that would get better as the game and the defense wore on. As well as we were passing, the run-game should have loomed LARGE in the 2nd half. Adjust to the adjustments.
Fitzy is the unquestioned MVP in my opinion!
September 10th, 2018 at 5:51 pm
Jp_09 Says:
September 10th, 2018 at 3:57 pm
The offensive line was the real mvp.
DING DING DING!
When did Bucs QBs ever have that much time last year? When were running backs ever getting holes consistently (in the 1st half) like that last year?
3 out of 5 starting positions on the o-line have a new player. Yet somehow that barely gets mentioned despite being the main reason why our offense was so successful? You think Fitzpatric is having his career best game if he’s running for his life all night? LOL.
@Bucsfanman – it looked to me like Barber and/or the line was getting a little gassed later in the game. I think he needed Wilson to take2 or 3 runs earlier in the game to keep him fresher for the end. He’s never had that kind of workload before.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:57 pm
Joe you really need a disclaimer at the top of your site explaining why you call him “America’s QB”. Only about 50% of us get it…the rest are well….them.
September 10th, 2018 at 5:58 pm
Barber made a contribution, but MVP? Ask Koetter, he gave the game ball to Fitz, and he wasn’t wrong…
September 10th, 2018 at 6:04 pm
What does Michael Clayton know about football?
Not only a bust, but a HUGE mistake a la “Rock star.”
September 10th, 2018 at 6:34 pm
Quite a few Bucs had a very good game. However, the MVP by far was Fitz.
FEAR THE BEARD!!!!!!!
September 10th, 2018 at 7:11 pm
BucTrooper Says:
September 10th, 2018 at 6:04 pm
What does Michael Clayton know about football?
_____________________________________
He knows that regardless of what they say, the check is in the bank.
September 10th, 2018 at 7:12 pm
BucTrooper Says:
September 10th, 2018 at 6:04 pm
What does Michael Clayton know about football?
_____________________________________
He knows that regardless of what they say, the check is in the bank.
Lol what an arsehole
September 10th, 2018 at 7:13 pm
@Brian
That beard could unify particle physics, end world hunger and stop global warming all before breakfast!
September 10th, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Barber played a man’s game on Sunday, that’s for sure.
He hit the hole like a bowling ball and stayed healthy
September 10th, 2018 at 7:31 pm
Oline…..Fitz…..Then Barber
September 10th, 2018 at 7:51 pm
Clayton may have had no me too many hurricane drinks in Nola before making that assessment. Fitzpatrick and the entire OLine, and DJax are way ahead of Barber. Although, Barber did make some damn good pass protection reads
September 10th, 2018 at 7:54 pm
Michael Clayton. Really!
September 10th, 2018 at 7:55 pm
Michael Clayton. Really!!
September 10th, 2018 at 7:57 pm
It was clearly FITZ’s game to shine. Barber played well but disappeared in second half. If Fitz doesn’t run for 11 yards and a 1st down, who knows what we would be saying tonight. GO FITZ
September 10th, 2018 at 8:31 pm
What our old blocking? WR is trying to say is “look how easy it is to throw the ball when you have a decent run game”
With the receivers and TE(s) we have P. Barber only needs to be decent for the offense to thrive.
September 10th, 2018 at 8:48 pm
Todd Monken called a good game. I did not know what the plays were gonna be. Like in the past. Fitz gets the ball out of his hand quicker then JW. It does make the oline look better. I like to see JW with Monken calling the plays. He was good in preseason him calling plays. Like to see more of Shaun Willson. He may be our best rb. And for god sake get a defense.
September 10th, 2018 at 8:51 pm
“Ive been on the Barber bandwagon for a long time however we might need Wilson to stretch it outside quickly away from Mr Fletchet Cox his comingup sunday. Inside between the tackles might be futile with FCox, the non injuryed Samoan Ngata and Bennett”
September 10th, 2018 at 11:10 pm
The MVP was Dirk finally realizing that he was crippling the offense and handing over the reigns to someone else. Dirk was a very good OC, but as a HC he’s been terrible at calling plays. The deal, so far, with Monken is that he’s using the pass to setup the run and being aggressive, like a modern OC should do unless you have a dominant offensive line and an all-pro RB. I just hope Monken stays aggressive and Dirk doesn’t shut him down like he did yesterday with 8 mins to go. The Bucs played a ton for those offensive weapons, so use them. Yes, it will backfire at some point, but so what, don’t coach scare and play for FGs like Dirk has done for the last two years, instead go balls to wall and win some f’n games and the dullards who still think it’s 3 yards and a cloud of dust, tell them to sit on it.
September 11th, 2018 at 4:01 am
Michael Clayton sucked at football and he sucks as a commentator. Contrarian for the sake of being contrarian.
Nobody in their right mind would overlook Fitz’s performance to hand MVP honors to anyone else. I mean the icing on the cake (see what I did there?) was him running for 12 yards to put the game away. That man played outside of himself and carried that team to a victory and stole victory from the jaws of implosion. Nobody has the ball more in their hands than the QB. The OL, WRs, Todd Monken, and Barber get a huge slap on the back but that W doesn’t happen without Fitz’s other worldly play. Period.
Michael Clayton, stfu. You had your chance to do your talking on the field.
September 11th, 2018 at 10:11 am
Of course Clayton wants to take the attention away from the WRs who managed to catch every ball they touched and got open deep, two things he was never able to do as the Buccaneers #1 blocking WR.
September 11th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
Of course it was Fitz but Barber played a heckuva game. Love the way he finishes runs, punishing safeties. Big upgrade from Dougie.