Fournette’s Usage And Speed
September 21st, 2020
Sneaky speed.
Who said a big guy like Leonard Fournette cannot kill a defense with speed?
NextGen stats show that is just nonsense.
Jenna Laine of ESPN dug those stats the NFL uses to track players from sensors on equipment. And so far this year, only one NFL running back has run as fast as Fournette did when he scored on his 46-yard run yesterday to seal the Bucs’ win over the Stinking Panthers.
Bucs running back @_fournette’s 46-yard rushing touchdown with 1:56 to go was the second-fastest time of any ball barrier this week (behind only Raheem Mostert) at 21.44 mph, per @NextGenStats. It was also third fastest of all ball carriers so far this season.
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 21, 2020
Also, per NextGen stats, Fournette had the most action for the Bucs yesterday.
#Buccaneers Running Backs Snap Counts
Leonard Fournette – 25 (44%)
Ronald Jones – 20 (35%)
LeSean McCoy – 10 (18%)#CARvsTB | #GoBucs— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 20, 2020
Is this a sign of things to come? We all know park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring Bucs quarterback Tom Brady has a history of not feeding young players the ball after they make a grievous error. And it seemed someone (Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians? Brady?) decided to shut off the faucet on RoJo after he butchered a handoff from Brady in the second quarter.
After a fumbled handoff exchange between Tom Brady and Ronald Jones in the 2nd quarter, Fournette assumed a bigger role in the offense:
Before Fumble
➤ Jones 48%, Fournette 28%After Fumble
➤ Jones 26%, Fournette 58%#CARvsTB | #GoBucs— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 20, 2020
So were those additional touches by Fournette a result of someone on the Bucs losing faith in him or not?
Guess we will find out when the Bucs travel to Denver to face the beat-up Broncos on Sunday.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:02 am
Yeah I noticed the Panther DB (Jackson?) Couldn’t seem to gain on him deosite not being far behind him. That was telling of the big man’s speed
September 21st, 2020 at 9:04 am
Amazing how some backs fall off so quickly. McCoy used to be a great back and now he’s on the verge of being cut.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:07 am
813bucboi Says:
September 18th, 2020 at 10:17 am
i thought the throw was a little behind the WR….
so if we put up 30+ vs CAR and get the W, will folks give BL credit or will they say brady/BA called the plays?…lol…
ON TO CAR!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
September 21st, 2020 at 9:10 am
Enough playing around with Jones. He has had his time to develop. It is time to move on.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:15 am
BL might be on the falcons HC list…..DQ is done…
GO BUCS!!!!!
September 21st, 2020 at 9:29 am
Of course “someone” lost faith in him. Brady looks like he’s going to have a freakin aneurysm. The rest of the team is like the bad news bears. Dropped balls, wrong routes, bad routes, penalties, and mental errors.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:31 am
Fournette will be the main ball carrier by week 5. Rojo just doesn’t have it. Receiving a hand-off is football 101, inexcusable.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:37 am
I thought for sure the Panthers D Back would catch him, but he actually pulled away!
An entire house full of people here were on their feet during that run!
September 21st, 2020 at 9:37 am
Not to belabor, but was part of that hand-off issue, Brady’s doing/?
September 21st, 2020 at 9:51 am
ROJO will continue to start, but Fournette will get more carries- a fresh Fournette in 2nd half works in Bucs’ favor
September 21st, 2020 at 9:51 am
Fournette has always been known as a guy with breakaway speed. Not sure why it’s assumed he wasn’t just because he’s 230 pounds. Without looking it up I believe he ran like a 10.5 100 meters (a real man’s sprint unlike the 40.) Anyone that knows track knows thats elite level at hs level. 10.08 (ish) is Olympic qualifying time. That being said, outrunning the DB who had an angle on him was impressive. Guy is the real deal – should be starting moving forward. As joe mentioned, ronald Jones didn’t do that in 3 YEARS. Furniture does that in second game
September 21st, 2020 at 9:55 am
Rojo looks the part physically until you look at his production. If you minus out his longest run from each game….he avgs 2.7 yds per carry. If you do the same with Fournette, he avgs 3.7 yds per carry. Just watching them you can see that Fournette is the better runner. He’s more patient and finds the holes better. Rojo simply runs hard to nowhere. Its literally like watching Michael Pittman back in the day.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:56 am
@coburn That was trey Boston the safety. Him and donte jackson have long hair.
Also Fournette is 6’0 228. Rojo is 5’11 223 Fournette runs heavier but rojo has been getting his power run up. I still got faith in Rojo he made a mental mistake. This team has treated him like the red haired step child since he got here. He put on weight worked on catching and blocking. When he makes guys miss he can shoot through lanes. Our run blocking is cheeks only on screen plays does it look like anything professional, well besides thundering sasquatch feet swivel head Donovan smith.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:58 am
Who cares? Fournette is the man. Jones is the backup. It’s settled.
September 21st, 2020 at 9:58 am
Seriously who didn’t know he is fast????
September 21st, 2020 at 10:40 am
@Casual O; no, cannot fault TB12. Presented ball to RoJo correctly. Ro failed to lift his left arm sufficently to receive the handoff. Really? A QB that has played in nine, yes NINE Super Bowls does not know how to handoff the ball? Come on, man!
Go BUCS! Put a bridle and bit on them Broncos and ride ’em hard all day in Denver!
September 21st, 2020 at 10:44 am
You see that split between the three RBs… that is exactly how they split carries and snaps in New England all of these years. They rode the hot hand based on production and formation usage. Don’t read too much into it. Fournette is the bruiser, Rojo is the jack of all trades, and McCoy is the receiving RB. it is what it is.
September 21st, 2020 at 11:03 am
813’s man crush on Leftwich is getting weird.
Play calling still leaves A LOT to be desired.
September 21st, 2020 at 11:36 am
no man crush….
im giving the man credit for a great game plan….is he perfect?…no…is brady perfect?…NO…BA?…no…bowles?…no…
last week folks were killing BL after 1game…..we put up 30+,our WRs drop 3TDs we get the W and folks still want BL fired….lol…
we have to create an identity….which is exactly what BL is doing…we cant just have brady throwing to all our weapons sprinkled in with a little run….lol…
and thats what some clowns want…evans, miller, gronk, oj, godwin, brate, watson to all have at least 10targets a game mixed in with fournette running 20times a game….lol…
this is the best play calling we’ve had in years and it would look alot better if WRs dont drop easy passes….
what will you say when we put up 40+ next week with and W?
GO BUCS!!!!!!
September 21st, 2020 at 12:00 pm
813bb: from your keyboard to the great beyond. I still say 43 is too old and risky to play NFL QB. This is the Bucs we’re talking about, not the Belicheats.
September 21st, 2020 at 12:21 pm
The playcalling was definitely better yesterday, I agree with that.
Week 1 was not good though. It was what the same as what we saw all year last year- super predictable run calls on every 1st down, little to no creativity, calling the same stupid out route 4 or 5 times that led to the pick-6 (the same exact play that led to multiple INTs last year as well).
We telegraph our run plays way too much. It’s obvious to everyone. Hell even yesterday that was still happening, we just played a bad defense.
Green Bay will be the next real test.
September 21st, 2020 at 12:22 pm
*quick out, not out route
September 21st, 2020 at 12:34 pm
Fournette shined while Rojo was in the doghouse, and that’s a great situation to have as Bucs fans! Rojo will get his, but Fournette is the more established and experienced lead back and might be better in the clutch and hence, RB1…
Great time to be aBucs fan and but should just get better and better throughout the season!!!!!!!! (And I actually like positive, sane, & timely exclamation points Lol)
September 21st, 2020 at 12:35 pm
I think you will see an even split until the later part of the second half. Keep Fournette fresh. Then when the D stops moving their feet as much, is winded, and hoping to avoid road graders, hit them hard with Fournette. Alstott didn’t have the speed of Fournette…but remember the damage he would do in the last quarter of football games?
September 21st, 2020 at 12:36 pm
I blame the hand off on Brady because RoJo had his eyes up field where they should have been looking for his first hole or crease. Brady should have looked that ball into his gut and adjusted it under his arm since it was an obvious run play. He wasn’t going anywhere except where he was standing. RoJo had his arms already where he was expecting the ball. People are so down on RoJo they blame every little mistake even though he wasn’t the only one touching the ball at the time.
September 21st, 2020 at 12:37 pm
Fournette is the back we have been looking for – and is still young. Got to lock him up for a future contract if he continues to shine.
September 21st, 2020 at 12:37 pm
Typo… *we should get better throughout the season…
And we’re already Beastmode status on D, and a (potential) Juggernaut on Offense…
The Sky is the limit for this Bucs team.
18-1.
September 21st, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Rojo straight. I’m reading people are saying he sucks/ he’s a wino. But I like the kid. He wants to be great. Keep em around and see what he and Leonard can do together.