Negative Runs & Doug Martin Territory

November 12th, 2019

How bout the Bucs’ running game!

Two touchdowns against the Cardinals, featuring good vision by Ronald Jones and a sweet jump cut by Peyton Barber!

Joe’s got a little sarcasm in his fingers today. The Bucs’ running game is very inconsistent and overall it’s not very good.

Lots of fans, and even some folks at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters, are crowing about Ronald Jones as the new starter. Bucco Bruce Arians has talked about RoJo earning the job. But meanwhile, he’s averaging 3.4 yards per carry through his last six games (72 carries for 246 yards). Those are bad numbers.

That total sounds familiar: 3.4 yards per carry is what Barber is averaging this season.

Yesterday, Bruce Arians was lamenting too many negative runs against the Cardinals in his day-after news conference. The Bucs are among the league leaders in that area.

Jones’ 4.0 yards per carry for the season is decent, and better than Sony Michel, Devonta Freeman, David Montgomery, Joe Mixon, David Montgomery, James Conner, David Johnson and Austin Ekeler, But Joe is a bit concerned about Jones’ recent decline. Hopefully, he can turn that around.

In back-to-back seasons, Doug Martin averaged 2.9 yards per carry as the Bucs’ full-time back. Joe gets very nervous anytime Bucs running backs get within half a yard of that horrible memory.

50 Responses to “Negative Runs & Doug Martin Territory”

  1. Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:

    The BIG Surprise with Jones, is the screen pass. Jones will continue to get better, as he continues to add confidence.

  2. Clw JB Says:

    BUCS CUT VHIII

  3. Go Bucs 72 Says:

    Hargreaves got third prize.

  4. chargedcbh Says:

    WOW Bucs cut VH3 and nothing from JOE! C’mon MAN!!!!!!!!!!! lol

  5. doolnutts Says:

    Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa — I do agree with the screen passes which is generally considered an extension of the run game. One of the bigger knocks on Jones is that he cannot or did not catch a lot of balls in college. It has been a pleasant surprise.

  6. Waterboy Says:

    Big statement releasing the #11 pick in the draft just a few years ago.

  7. 813bucboi Says:

    see ya VHG…..

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  8. doctor_berto Says:

    Its very obvious Rojo is the superior back so hopefully he gets bulk of the carries going forward. Also, a celebration should be in order due to the recent release of Hargreaves!!

  9. tmaxcon Says:

    813bucboi Says:
    November 12th, 2019 at 10:27 am

    see ya VHG…..

    Please accept my sincere condolences. May the convenience store gods be good to the little fella

  10. Tbbucs3 Says:

    Another one Lichts the dust…and another one gone and another one gone another one Lichts the dust!

  11. Sarasota Garey Says:

    Hargraves is gone?

  12. Bucfan33 Says:

    Hargreaves was waived! Accountability!!!!!!!!!

  13. zzbuc Says:

    BYe BYe VHIII….u can play good or bad, that´s fine….What you can´t do is lack of effort……So I hope you go with Swaggy Baker Brent and Mikko Grimes, and you never come back…..

  14. Mike in MO Says:

    Hopefully the GM who drafted him and the rest of that useless 2016 draft class is fired next. How many lives does he have?

  15. Mike in MO Says:

    Accountability will be served when Licht turns in his keys to OBP.

  16. BucFanFromOH Says:

    Holy cow what a waste the entire 2016 draft was! How does Licht get a pass on whiffing on an ENTIRE draft? Including historically BAD moves like trading up for a kicker!

  17. Buc believer Says:

    Accountability??? Is that what Bucco Bruce means when he has a coach for virtually every player on the team? I guess he can just fire them and say”I’m holding them accountable!” Until people realize he’s the problem but by then he has banked fat stacks of cash. Brucie is one smart cookie!

  18. Lamarcus Says:

    Bye Vh3

  19. 74 Bucs fan Says:

    ““After thoughtful consideration over the past few weeks, Coach Arians and I came to the conclusion that we needed to make this change,” said Licht. “Decisions such as this are always difficult, but we felt it was in the best interest of our team to part ways with Vernon at this time and allow him to explore other opportunities. We are disappointed that it did not work out here for Vernon and we wish him continued success moving forward.””

  20. JonJohn Says:

    @joe you are the only one I know that doesn’t see jones improvement and get excited. You watch every single game and you know that our O line isn’t getting the push it needs. Every time jones gets past the 1st level he seems like he is about to break it, just give it some time.

  21. Ship Thief Says:

    Do we receive a compensation draft pick for vh3?

  22. 74 Bucs fan Says:

    A wake up call – loafers will not be tolerated! Worst draft class in history of the NFL!

  23. Uncle Says:

    Joe you’re late to the party on this VHIII stuff.

  24. PUGS&BUCS Says:

    If only there was a running back that was on the draft board when we reached for a player we had redundancies at…. maybe that player had experience with JW under center…. man, I could imagine that guy having an MVP season right now.

  25. Tbbucs3 Says:

    Half the people on JoeBucfans could’ve drafted better than Licht in 2016 Not only are all these bust not on the Bucs anymore but the NFL wants nothing to do them them!

    Caleb Bennenoch got cut by both the Panthers and Patriots in the month of OCTOBER alone.

    What is going on in the scouting department? Why are not being held accountable? This is so frustrating.

  26. jmarkbuc Says:

    somebody better check on 813….

  27. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Vernon Hargreaves has been cut!!!!!!

  28. Tbbucs3 Says:

    Oh for those taking victory laps on Ronald Jones for average play, he isn’t all that either.

  29. Dusthty Rhothdes Says:

    Laremy Tunsil was the pick….licht blew an entire draft when will he be cut and why didnt these morons trade hargreaves at the trade deadline

  30. TBUC North Carolina Says:

    If Hargreaves is not claimed before Patriots turn, watch Beliceck grab him and turn his career into something great! Unbelievable… but that’s how the Pats roll!

  31. jmarkbuc Says:

    Dusthty

    Who was gonna trade for a slow, short, lazy corner who was afraid to tackle?

  32. Bucsfaninafghanistan Says:

    @Joe

    Nfl network is reporting set the bucs are about to waive Vernon Hargreaves. Any word on that?

  33. DB55 Says:

    They need to feed Rojo 18-25 times per game and you’ll see impressive numbers. As of today they are still splitting reps 50/50 around 11 reps per game each. Bell cows needs 20 carries per game. FIX IT!!!

  34. SOEbuc Says:

    If we get a good OT in the seconds or third round, could make a huge difference. His good patience getting through holes and vision would continue to get better with time. RoJo has hands now and the Bucs finally running a screen. One of his best qualities at USC.

  35. Buczilla Says:

    Barber is not good and Jones, while no longer a bust isn’t someone that scares opposing defenses. We need a legit number one running back to have some balance, especially if we are keeping Winston (please no) or draft someone to replace him. Of course, all of this is irrelevant if Licht is still calling the shots after this season. Sad times.

  36. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    No one will claim VHIII off waivers. His contract is too much.

    After he clears waivers, a team might pursue him. Maybe. Stupid is as stupid does.

  37. unbelievable Says:

    lol, stillllllllll talking about Doug Martin, and pretending a sub-par o-line doesn’t have a massively negative effect on the run game.

    lol

  38. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Rojo may not bee an elite RB yet, but he could become one. Last year, everyone gave up on him. I would think you are would have learned better by now.

  39. BUC CHEEKS Says:

    We’re VHFREEEEEEEEE👍😃👍

  40. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Jones needs to break a long run…..that will improve his numbers greatly….

    And, we are too predictable in the run game…….need to play-action on 1st downs……run draws on 2nd down…..

  41. SmittyToiletBowles Says:

    Oh no Joe! Is he a bust again? How bout stopping the nonsense of running Barber so much. Surprised Barber is averaging that every first down play he is in there the other team knows whats coming.

  42. Petty Officer Buc Says:

    Glad VH3 is gone. Wrong kind of attitude in both practice and the locker room, yet he never had the skills in the NFL on the field to justify his lack of effort in practice. And JPP clearly had enough of his antics and fetishes for white women over football.

    Thankfully he won’t be around to infect these young corners with contagious negativity and attitude.

  43. BUC CHEEKS Says:

    Nice job in 2016 LICHT!!!!!!!! You BUSTER!!!!!!!!! Worst DRAFT ever!!!!!!

  44. Bigdaddy66 Says:

    The o-line play is sadly inconsistent when it comes to run blocking.
    Fix the O- line fix the running game.
    Dot is the weak link as far as the running g game is concerned and I’m not sure D Smith is much better in that area.
    I’m not down on Dot ,he’s just getting up in years on bad pins.
    He’s a true buc and works hard every game but careers come to an end.

  45. 813bucboi Says:

    jmark

    no need…lol…

    unlike most, i root for every buc thats on the roster…..VHG failed…simple as that….time to move on….

    folks have to find a new scapegoat….lol…

    GO BUCS!!!!!

  46. passthebuc Says:

    Why would you expect a good running game when the opposing D’s want JW (AKA the turnover machine) to throw. The Joe’s and the crazy Florida state fans just do not get it. Watching the game Sunday, the opposing QB had the ball out of his hand on an average of 2 seconds. For JW it was the high 4’s. He does not see the field which causes him to stare down his receivers. He does not lead his receivers in the underneath routes which accounts for low yards after catch. If it were not for the great routes and hands by the best receiving corps in football, JW would have the worst offense in football. If they re-sign JW it is because the Glazers need an excuse to move the team to London.

  47. tnew Says:

    Time to throw.. Winston 2.46
    Murray 3.09

    Who’s stats.. Nextgen. Lets be accurate, Its too easy.

  48. LongSeason Says:

    Negative runs by a RB are usually the result of poor offensive line play plus great defensive play. If a RB is tackled just as he is getting the hand-off then blame the O-line. Our line doesn’t run block very well so they make up for it my not pass blocking.

  49. whaaatttsss uuuup Says:

    you are not factoring in the fact he had 70 something receiving yards!! you always skew the numbers Joe to fit what you blabbed about previously!! you wanted Rojo gone and you can not stand that you were wrong and now are trying find any number you can to be somewhat right!! give the SECOND YEAR RUNNING BACK (really his first considering his low number of carries last year) a little time to perfect his craft!! he is the best running back we have had in a long time …. and if you actually did any research and knew what you were talking about you would know he had the same type of college output … good but not great his first 2 years and then busted out and was one of the best!!!

  50. HowMuchIsAnEarOfCornInTampa? Says:

    Take that Joe!!! …Still the best out there, but gotta call you on things now and then…