“I Thought Lenny Played His Ass Off”
October 4th, 2021
Lombardi Lenny Fournette
Running back history was made last night during the Bucco Bruce Arians era of Tampa Bay football.
Seriously, Joe is not kidding.
Leonard Fournette, per official NFL NextGen Stats, logged 81 percent of the Bucs’ snaps at the position. That’s the hightest share since Arians took over the team in 2019
Is it a coincidence that Fournette played with confidence and power, and had a big night?
“I thought Lenny played his ass off,” Arians said after the game. “Really solid in the run game and the passing game. We got that matchup we were looking for. People don’t realize how fast he is.”
Arians even added that the Bucs should have run more in the red zone earlier in the game.
It was a quite a transformation for a team that was miserable rushing the ball through its first three games. The Bucs had 26 handoffs last night for 116 yards, and Fournette caught three balls for a whopping 47 yards of receiving.
With Tom Brady throwing 43 times, Joe suspects this was the kind of balance Arians has been seeking.
Leonard Fournette played on 81% of the #Buccaneers snaps — the highest percentage for a Tampa Bay RB since Bruce Arians took over as head coach in 2019.
Fournette outgained his expectation for the first time in a game this season (+6 RYOE).#TBvsNE | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/V59yV5NYUY
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 4, 2021
October 4th, 2021 at 3:03 pm
Continue building the running game! That includes running RoJo !
October 4th, 2021 at 3:04 pm
Wish it would pass the eye test…
so far, nothing impressive this season!
October 4th, 2021 at 3:09 pm
Lenny was hell-bent on getting it done……there was a lot of half-assed effort at times by Bucs…….LUCKY to have won this one…..weather and bad calls were the perfect storm for a loss……3-1 for the first quarter is nice, wouldn’t wanna play Dallas right now….
October 4th, 2021 at 3:12 pm
Lenny impressed me. Hope he got a game ball.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:13 pm
I listened to the last podcast and could just feel the tension as Lee ranted on about how the Bucs need to throw the ball every down since that plays to their strength. Of course Ira and Steve disagreed, but Lee would not have any of it. The whole monologue (at one point it stopped being a dialogue) was actually a distraction. After last night, I wonder if Lee saw the value in having a ground game when the defense and weather colluded to take away the pass or at least make it less effective. We needed the run game last night and it was a good thing Playoff Lenny ran hard and effectively. For the record, I enjoy Lee’s takes on most things Bucs related, but his position on the run game is flat out wrong.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:14 pm
I thought he played his ass off too. Great at following blocks. Laying a hit. And holding the ball. Great job. Can we see more of that?
October 4th, 2021 at 3:18 pm
Let’s see it again against the Dolphins!
October 4th, 2021 at 3:19 pm
He looks surprisingly quick and played really well.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:22 pm
agree 100% with BA……..
October 4th, 2021 at 3:33 pm
“Arians even added that the Bucs should have run more in the red zone earlier in the game.”
Agreed. Now the question BA is ‘Why didn’t you?’
October 4th, 2021 at 3:38 pm
Actually, I think he looks slow but is much faster than he looks…..Lenny was a smart runner last night….hiding behind blockers & taking what was there….
October 4th, 2021 at 3:39 pm
These “throw every down clowns” don’t really understand football.
That so, linebackers would be built like cornerbacks and play seven steps deep.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:42 pm
Yes! Agree TBF, Lenny showed patience/experience using his blockers well an bursting through the open seam. Power, speed, hands. He did it all. Good Job Lenny!!
October 4th, 2021 at 3:55 pm
This was the best regular season game I’ve seen from Lenny. He stepped up for sure. He should be The Guy going forward. RoJo had his chances. That being said, I’m glad we finally ran. It seems like we just stop running for some reason. I get it, we have the weapons, and it’s fun when it’s clicking. Can’t just ignore the running backs tho. Especially with our defense being hurt right now. We need to keep the ball. Maybe like the Greatest show on turf back in the day. Quick score through the air and build a lead and then kill the clock with a steady powerful run. Maybe some throws. Seeing how quickly we can score reminds me of Chip Kelly back in the day. Defense got too tired cuz they were out so long with traditional offenses as opposed to Chips high octane one for the opposing D.
October 4th, 2021 at 3:56 pm
He was great. But he won’t be able to do it all himself for the entire season. Need RoJo and maybe the other guys to step up. Gio got blown away trying to block a LB in the Rams game, so no one can do it all.
October 4th, 2021 at 4:11 pm
The running game is very important right now as the defense is banged up pretty bad, so the offense needs to run feast on more clock time.
Fortunately with the GOAT at the the helm that shouldn’t be a problem. Can always get into a shoot-out when needed, but getting earlys and managing the clock would be ideal.
Great job on the DL last night too, good pressure and timely sacks. It’s time for them to turn it up even more on Miami. Go Bucs!
October 4th, 2021 at 4:22 pm
Hmmm the two dropped passes right in his hands may sway my decision a bit.
October 4th, 2021 at 4:25 pm
It was frustrating watching him running giving so much effort and the linemen and receivers stopped blocking. There is some half @$$ effort going on this year.
October 4th, 2021 at 4:28 pm
Yeah let’s see more of it before calling it
October 4th, 2021 at 4:39 pm
I was asked at the Sports Bar what JBF.Com was like, since it is well known that I hang out here.
Most of the Sports Bar Guys do not realize that Joe Bucs Fan is not just one guy. I was explaining to the guys that there is no “Joe”, but two guys who post as Joe, named Steve and Lee.
I reminded the guys that the two guys at JBF.Com could not be more different, and one of the Guys said “Oh, like Simon and Garfunkel”.
I thought that was a good analogy. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, 2 very different people who made wonderful music together.
Steve and Lee, 2 very different people with different opinions, making a great Blog together.
October 4th, 2021 at 4:40 pm
Fournette was solid for sure! However, it was Rojo that punched it in for the TD! Either way, the run game was much improved.
October 4th, 2021 at 5:34 pm
The last thing this team needs is to take the ball out of the hands of Brady more. It’s no wonder that we had, by far, the worst offensive game of the year in the game where we ran it the most.
October 4th, 2021 at 6:04 pm
Rod, you’re a broken record on this subject and last night proved you wrong.
The passing game wasn’t doing chit!
Without that run game, we lose last night. Simple as that.
October 4th, 2021 at 6:11 pm
The run game looked pretty solid last night. First down rushes were consistently picking up 4-6 yards. Unfortunately, 2nd down rushes were picking up only 1-2 yards.
October 4th, 2021 at 6:45 pm
I thought Lenny played good but certainly not great , he runs with no power at all and just doesn’t hit the hole hard on short yardage ,,, has a lot of the Pittman short choppy steps and no shoulder lean of Pittman !! Very talented , great cut move at speed , catches well and picks up blitzes better than RoJo ………. RoJo is a better runner and actually has a much better power / short yardage game but can’t run a comfortable route , has problems with hand position on catches ……….. Vaughn could catch as good or better than Lenny in college , prob doesn’t pick up the blitz as well as Lenny but is a nice mix of both Lenny and RoJo and appears a much smoother runner than in college !!! He hesitates but with a great base to accelerate, unlike Lenny who goes down like he has his shoe laces tied if not at speed !! Need More Vaughn !!
October 4th, 2021 at 7:40 pm
Sorry Rod. Brady was off his game. And Boston was focused on stopping the pass. Whoever made the decision to take the pressure off Brady and feature 4net and running game turned the game around. It also gave the Boston hot shot rookie less time to shine. That kid made a lot of big plays. In fact he played well enough to beat Brady that night. A doink fg attempt lost the game. That rookie outplayed Brady.
October 4th, 2021 at 7:50 pm
Fournette was a very good player for the Jags. That’s why they drafted him. What I hate is all the Brady worship. Bucs won this game cos of their defense
and kicking team.
October 4th, 2021 at 8:38 pm
I’ll give Rojo some props also. He ran extremely hard given his opportunities, and scored with a big run. Both our backs looked the part last night, some good tough runs between the tackles.
October 4th, 2021 at 9:44 pm
Been saying it for weeks: LF shines when he’s the Bell Cow, so it’s time to let him MOO.
October 4th, 2021 at 10:19 pm
It was a well timed performance. A running game travels well in the rain or snow. Just another facet of this offense. The guys up front did a good job as well.
October 4th, 2021 at 10:56 pm
Brady was off his game, that’s why you let him throw himself out of it. I have complete faith in him to figure it out before the end of the game.
As for running, I don’t actually mind it, so long as it’s not so insanely predictable.
1st & 10 at NE 25
(10:24 – 4th) R.Jones left tackle to NE 24 for 1 yard (L.Guy; M.Judon).
1st & Goal at NE 6
(8:55 – 4th) L.Fournette left guard to NE 8 for -2 yards (M.Judon, A.Phillips).
1st & 10 at NE 44
(4:28 – 4th) L.Fournette left guard to NE 41 for 3 yards (M.Judon; K.Dugger).
1st & 10 at NE 32
(2:13 – 4th) (Shotgun) L.Fournette left tackle to NE 30 for 2 yards (A.Phillips).