Penny Stock (Dropping)

January 28th, 2018

Arrow pointing down.

Everyone not directly related to Doug Martin (with the possible exception of the Bucs) knows Martin is finished with the Bucs. The guy is toast as a capable NFL bellcow back.

Now logic suggests Martin has carried his last ball for the Bucs, but logic also suggested this last year. Logic also suggested Martin should have been demoted to backup yet Dirk Koetter started him 11 times.

So pardon Joe for not being quite ready to write Martin’s Bucs obituary yet. Joe will believe it when he sees it, even though common sense is that Martin’s done. We will see if the Bucs believe that as well.

Joe is noticing a lot of folks on this here website commenting they like San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny. But it seems the BSPN crowd is not as excited. Both helmet head Mel Kiper and Todd McShay are very down on Penny after watching him through the week of practices of the Senior Bowl.

Mel Kiper: He looked like a one-dimensional player in Mobile. He dropped passes and struggled to catch the ball. We know Penny can run — he rushed for 2,248 yards in 2017 — but he needed to show that he could do the little things, and that didn’t happen. He also struggled in pass protection.

Todd McShay: I liked Penny on tape, but he just didn’t seem to be dialed in and wasn’t the same player I studied. He seemed like he fought the ball at times and missed some open holes. Again, it’s only three days of practice, but I thought he’d clearly be the No. 1 back here, and that just wasn’t the case.

Maybe this is a good thing for the Bucs and he can be had with a cheap pick. Regardless, the Bucs must hit on a running back in the draft. If the offense is one-dimensional as it was last year (thanks Doug), the Bucs, just like last year, will struggle.

36 Responses to “Penny Stock (Dropping)”

  1. NFLNut Says:

    SIGN either Lev Bell (pipe dream?) or Carlos Hyde and draft players with higher values like DE, DT, CB, O-Line.

    If we really HAVE TO draft a RB and can’t get Saquon … I like Sony Michel though we might have to spend a 2nd round pick on him which is high for a RB.

  2. Eric Says:

    Other teams can pick up a good running back in the later rounds, plug him right in and go.

    We’re not clever enough to do that kind of stuff.

    Gonna have to burn a premium pick to get one, and even then questionable we pick the right guy.

  3. Bucssuccs Says:

    No. You get what you pay for and in this circumstance you’re getting a one trick pony. Either draft Sony Michel, Ronald Jones, Darrius Guice or call it a day. DO NOT sign an aging running back past his prime.

  4. FuNkYxMuNkEy Says:

    Sony in the 2nd gives us a top all around back that is a joy to watch. He is a triple threat RB he can run, catch, and pass protect. And don’t forget he has speed for days and will be a stud in the NFL. I’m just praying he is still there in the 2nd and we don’t screw up again by waiting until the 5th round to take a RB. Especially in a draft that is loaded again with rb talent

  5. Alaskabuc Says:

    Go get Sony…. Don’t EFF it up Licht

  6. ManzielMadness Says:

    Interesting. Maybe because it was early in the week??

    According to Daniel Jeremiah,

    “Penny showed that he has plenty of burst, racking up 137 total yards (64 rushing, 73 receiving). His 73-yard TD catch showed the versatility that he brings to the table. In a year where we have so many good underclassmen running backs, he had to make a splash in this game to stay relevant. He definitely did that. I think he’s positioned himself as a second-rounder at this point in the process.”

  7. Lunchbox Says:

    If we could get Q. Nelson at #7, slide Ali back to guard, and get Michel in the 2nd, our offense could look much more balanced. We’d probably need to go all defense after that though. Honestly if we were to get Carlos Hyde and then get Nelson at 7, and Center with our R2 or R3 pick and go D after that, I think that could help.

  8. Defense Rules Says:

    @Joe … “Maybe this is a good thing for the Bucs and he can be had with a cheap pick.” Cheap pick? Wasn’t McFlurry a cheap pick also? How’d that work out Joe? If 31 other teams pass on Penney, maybe there’s a reason.

    And Lunchbox, going Nelson in the 1st & Michel in the 2nd would be awesome (both great picks). Minor problem – Bucs’ defense would still suck & we’d be 5-11 all over again. Signing aging FA veterans isn’t the answer (except as bridge players). Bucs’ DLine & Secondary has to be the focus in this draft or we’ll have serious problems going forward.

  9. Reverse Joe Says:

    Joes,
    I’m disappointed in this post. Yeah he had a so so week of practice but was amazing in the game yesterday. As much as y’all call out BSPN, they (McShay/Miler) must not have watched the senior bowl yesterday (and apparently neither did y’all.) He and Daveport showed up when it matters, during the game. Who cares about freaking practice film over game film??!! Y’all can do better than this Joes. And yet y’all are covering the worthless pro bowl over this?! This post was a rare fail on you both. #Ugh #Priorities

  10. MadMax Says:

    HA! I hope his stock does keep dropping so we can get him with a late 3rd/early 4th. So he had a bad few days of practice “Practice? We’re talking about practice?” LMFAO!

    What did he do in the actual senior bowl game? yeah. What has he done in college? yeah.

    Drop penny drop, right into the Bucs later rounds. I know whats there as do some others here 😉

  11. Joe Says:

    Who cares about freaking practice film over game film??!! Y’all can do better than this Joes. And yet y’all are covering the worthless pro bowl over this?!

    Who cares about Senior Bowl practice over the game? NFL GMs, scouts and coaches. They all clear out after practices on Thursday.

    Go look at the past MVPs this century of the Senior Bowl and you will be very underwhelmed if not alarmed.

    As far as the Pro Bowl, there were/are tons of Bucs-related storylines there. Joe was just one of many Bucs media outlets that were there.

  12. Reverse Joe Says:

    @MadMax

    Dude he made some plays in this game, including a 73 yard TD bailing his QB out of trouble while he was running for life. He sprinted past defenders down the field and embarrassed a safety on sick juke move before the score. He would’ve had a rushing TD too had he not slipped out of bounds in the red zone. Dude is a playmaker period. Doesn’t make sense his stock is failing is what I’m saying. Joes didn’t do their homework here. I hope we get him too btw. Oh yeah he also play plays special teams. 7 freaking returns for TDs last year. Oh yeah per PR he wants to play for the Bucs!! Why not post that here!!

  13. MadMax Says:

    ^ Yup! I wasnt even thinking about the TD returns he had in college….another area of need for us. And he wants to play for the Bucs? Thats just icing on the cake right there 🙂

  14. Joe Says:

    he wants to play for the Bucs!!

    Well no sh!t. Let’s do some math here:

    *Bucs have no starting running back so the guy has a better than average shot of making the team.

    *No state income tax in Florida and relative moderate cost of living.

    *Great weather living on the water.

    Gee, what running back *wouldn’t* want to get drafted by the Bucs?

  15. Reverse Joe Says:

    @Joes,
    Well they are wrong then. Kenny bell was also a good practice player and look how that turned out lol. And as for the Pro Bowl defense, we all know the only interesting thing about the pro bowl is GMC trying to recruit Talib and Bennet which he has no control over btw. The game is a joke and I barely read any reports come coming from it. Bucs fans should’ve been focused on the Senoir bowl this week. A learned a lot from it, the most being don’t take too much from what u see from practice or workouts. Game film is what matters. How many rookies over the years combine warriors but sucked on game day…..again for example see Kenny Bell.

  16. Reverse Joe Says:

    @Joe,
    I know one who wouldn’t…….Levon Bell lol (another fail.) Man I could’ve sworn one of you said on Ira’s podcast that Tampa isn’t an attractive place for free agents cause one we suck and two our division. Which I get. Man Joes I think u should stop now. Lmfao

  17. Lunchbox Says:

    @Defense Rules Yeah I know, I’d also be happy if we could get Vita if Chubb (most likely) is gone by 7, but I’d feel better if we could trade back to maybe the teens (?) to get him. #7 is pretty high for a NT. Don’t know where Will Hernandez will go but he looks good too. I like Penny too if the price is right lol. My point being that while defense is a GLARING need at several positions, if our O-line suddenly becomes a strength, that can take a lot of pressure off the Defense. From what I’ve been reading it seems like FA Dline won’t be very plentiful this year. We’ll see, but I just feel like there’s a better chance for us to fix the Oline with a couple good picks than the Dline.

  18. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Still beating a dead hamster…

  19. The Buc Realist Says:

    Can run and is terrible in pass-block???? We already have that guy on the roster and why it was last resort to see the field!!!!!!! Maybe NFL GM licht will get a RB that can catch, block and run so we can have a starting RB!!!!!!!

    Fix the “real” issuse, the “trenches” !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    GO Bucs

  20. darin Says:

    They said alot of the same things about kareem hunt. Then hunt was the mvp of the game and had a nice year Id say. Im not lobbying for penny because i havnt watched all the guys yet but I do like penny if he makes it to round 3 like hunt did. I think rounds 1 n 2 must be linemen, unless some guys make it to free agency that arent supposed to.

  21. Bird Says:

    Yah. He had a pretty good senior bowl game Was in running for MVP

    He caught a ball and took to the house for 60-70

    They need a guy. No question. Hope they pick the right one. Michel is my favorite but appears he has moved from early second to first rounder so there’s that.

  22. martinii Says:

    This is the time of the Buc’s offseason when any idea about how to fix this mess is purely guesswork so brainstorm away. I think we should fix one system completely. I think we should finish the offense. Go for Nelson, 2 running backs, the best OT we can find. and maybe a center. Bring in a few rotational defensive players, but focus on scoring potential and and long productive drives. The reason I take that stance this year is because Passrush is weak in the draft which will probably wind up in reaching for mediocre players. focus on offense while the draft is loaded, then in 2019 work on defense. IMO

  23. Jeagan1999 Says:

    I like both the Georgia RBs. Living here in the Atlanta area I got to see a lot of Bulldog games, and both these kids are dynamic runners. Michel is a very fast, fluid athlete with great speed! Chubb is a bowling ball….bouncing off and rolling over defenders! Either of these guys would be a great addition to ou lackluster running game!

    Would love to see how the Joe’s rate both these guys!

  24. Jeagan1999 Says:

    There’s also a kid named Ryan Nall that plays FB for Oregon St. that reminds me a little bit of the great Mike Alstott! Big, muscular kid with surprisingly nifty feet, and a good receiver out of the backfield. Might be a good late round/ UDFA pickup! Pair him with a guy like Sony Michel, and we got us Thunder and Lightning 2.0!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ixEddCsVYw

  25. Birdman Says:

    Here’s a stat Joe, you can use this one. Since the year 2000, the earliest the 12th running back selected in the draft has ever been taken is the 4th round, and in that particular year there were 5 1st round running backs somehow. Anyways, go look at the running backs who declared and it’s pretty easy to find 12 that would improve our roster.
    Round 3 or 4 is where we score our running back this year. There are so many good players at RB this year that one will eventually slip to a round they don’t deserve to be in.

  26. BucEmUp Says:

    Find that Jerome Bettis clone out there somewhere. A monster that eats linebackers.

  27. Not there yet Says:

    It sounds like a great thing, an actual replica of Doug Martin. I have no faith in this current staff because I believe they’ll be cheap enough to go out and get a one dimensional back AND still miss out on addressing key positions

  28. DanBucsFan Says:

    @Lunchbox… Im with you. No blue chip de when we pick so solidifying o line and rb would be good start

  29. BucsFanInNC Says:

    This kid has the total package. Other than Michel he’s my favorite RB we have a realistic shot at. Michel looks like he’s 1st rnd now. Hopefully we can get Penny top of the 3Rd or trade back into the bottom 2nd rnd to get him.

  30. Joe Says:

    Still beating a dead hamster…

    Good one, and accurate!

    🙂

  31. gambelero Says:

    We had a thread where we talked variance and standard deviations. Add in a present value analysis and it points to what Nut, Realist and Defense Rules say. For running backs, the difference between 2-4 drafted backs and the 8-10 backs in this draft is much smaller than the difference between the 2-4 oline men or edge rushers and the 8-10 oline men and 8-10 edge rushers.

    And there’s a reason stud oline men and edge rushers in their prime are so hard to find in free agency. Teams don’t let those guys go. A Duncan or Chubb can be the anchor of the team for a dozen years while running backs become has beens at 28-30.

  32. SoCalBucFan Says:

    Both of those ESPN clowns do not know want they are talking about Penny. The guy running this site is almost as bad.Sometimes it looks like he posts after he drank too much.

  33. Buxfan Says:

    My choices would be in the 2nd round..

    1. Derrius Guice
    2. Ronald Jones
    3. Sony Michel

    In the 3rd and beyond rounds..

    1.Kale Ballage
    2. Martez Carter
    3. Mark Walton

  34. Rrsrq Says:

    I will take this one trick pony and watch him work hard to improve, this was his bowl game

    “Penny, a consensus All-American who received a first team nod at running back on the CBS Sports team, rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries. This was the fifth straight game that Penny topped 200 yards, tying an FBS record that currently shared with Marcus Allen (USC, 1981), Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State, 1988) and Jamario Thomas (North Texas, 2004)”

    He also showed up in the Senior Bowl, so one thing he does, is show up when he is supposed to…, his over 2000 yards rushing, also shows his consistency and if I am not mistaken he led the NCAA with a 30 yard kickoff return average and over his career about 6 TD returns of kicks, ijs

    But if we get Michel or Chubb (Nick that is, cousin of Bradley), I’m still good, but I am no scout, but production says a lot

  35. Capt.Tim Says:

    And we all know what uncomfortable spot where that Hampster crawled to die.

    Dont we, Coach Koetter

  36. MarineBucsFan Says:

    There will be a good running back available with our 2nd round pick. But I specifically want Sony Michel.

    A lot of mocks have a run on RBs in the top of second round. We might have to move up a little to ensure we get him, he will move higher up draft boards as the offseason progress ie Combine/Senior Day

    He is already my RB2!