Keeping A Cautious Eye On Leonard Fournette
March 23rd, 2022
Scrutiny.
A former Buccaneer who obsesses over his old team will be keeping a watchful eye on Leonard Fournette this season.
Perhaps it’s unfair but in reality it’s not. Former Bucs guard (1990-1996) Ian Beckles bellows about the Bucs on WDAE Radio and called yesterday’s multiyear re-signing of Fournette “important” for Tom Brady.
But Beckles told his co-host Jay Recher, “buyer beware on this one, ok, because we don’t have to go back too far to see Leonard Fournette not into it and being questioned by the same coach that we have right now in Bruce Arians.”
For those who say, C’mon, that’s not Playoff Lenny, well, Beckles says Fournette earned the scrutiny. “How can you say he can’t when he did — two years ago?”
In Beckles’ mind, Fournette just signed his last NFL contract and he needs to be scrutinized now that he’s not playing for a deal.
Today, general manager Jason Licht was talking on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio about how Fournette has had a great and consistent attitude since turning it around late in the 2020 season. So if there’s concern at One Buc Palace, it’s not showing.
But Licht did once say that some players “need a carrot” to stay motivated. Joe doesn’t think Playoff Lenny will be that guy in 2022.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Hopefully his incentives for yards, touch downs and playoff success (which Joe lays out in “inside lennys payday”) qualify as “carrots.”
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:24 pm
It’s a one year, 9mm deal for the team.
Not about the team angle here, really. More about the player’s mindset. $2 million of that $9 million guaranteed is on next year’s books. If Lenny mails it in, (no reason to think he would) he still has a Lotto ticket waiting for him. –Joe
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Tom Brady will let him hear it if he gets complacent. Although it is another good reason to find more RB depth.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:24 pm
I sure hope he does not cop an attitude, now that he has his big contract.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:25 pm
All valid points. I would say that Lenny wouldn’t do that with TB12 at the helm, but hell, he already has.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Beckles with a bad take on a Buc? Who would guess.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:36 pm
It’s at least a 2-year deal as they’re not going to cut Fournette after this season and carry at least a $5m dead cap hit next year. In year 3 they can get out of the deal with just a $1.5m cap hit vs a $8.5 cap charge.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:37 pm
Anyone saying it can’t happen with Tom Brady around – remember it happened in 2020 with Brady around. Brady is a great leader but isn’t a psychologist. Their are traits and vulnerabilities that everyone has. One of them a lot of us have is giving our maximum when everything is on the line – then coasting when things are less intense. Leonard is hopefully continuing to mature as a man, and knows what he needs to do to stay focused. It’s completely up to him.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:40 pm
Ian heckles has to have something negative to say..He acts like he was the greatest offensive lineman in history. He was below average at best ..I hardly ever agree with anything he says
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:42 pm
BS = Beckles stuff.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:47 pm
Beckles is reaching lol
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:48 pm
Brady will never let this happen and Fournette has enough pride to not want to be benched again.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:49 pm
With most other QBs running the team…perhaps a player could slack off….but not with Brady…..and Keyshawn is waiting in the wings…..
We saw what can happen with Rojo & the slightest falloff.
Lenny will be just fine.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:50 pm
Winning begets winning. Lenny enjoyed his taste. He’s played hard since & will to keep it going.
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:57 pm
Thankfully there are incentives in the deal
March 23rd, 2022 at 3:57 pm
That is why coaches usually assess the players love of the game. If it’s mainly about money and the player does not have a solid work ethic complacency will have a great probability to set in. Lenny, we are counting on you. Your getting paid and Brady’s ending legacy is at stake. Go get em Lenny and Go Bucs!!!
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:06 pm
He copped an attitude in Jacksonville, but EVERYBODY copped an attitude that Jacksonville
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:14 pm
Think Lenny might be a different player with RoJo gone. He was expecting to be the undisputed #1 in Tampa, not a FA pickup who just got cut outright by the leagues worst team.
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:26 pm
This makes no sense. The only reason he want starting was because Ronald Jones balled tf out all season until we got to the playoffs. The Lenny just took over every single game.
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:40 pm
Lenny plays for rings. He over-performed his last two contracts and is getting fairly compensated for what is likely to be the best 3 years of his career physically. He doesnt talk about the greatness on this team because it gets him fat and paid.
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:44 pm
I’m sorry. I saw nothing negative in Lenny’s play last year. I saw some in Rojo’s (can I never forget how he didn’t go for that 1st down marker..NO) but I never saw Lenny with competitive problems. He seemed excellent after his and Bruce’s talk. I hope that what he got was what he wanted and will show it for us and Tom.
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:49 pm
He knows he’s the man. He’ll be fine.
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:53 pm
Then why sign him?
March 23rd, 2022 at 4:57 pm
I wonder if more money will make him actually fight for extra yards or will he continue to climb into the loving embrace of every defensive lineman that wraps his arms around him?
Fournette tried hard in a contract year. Luckily the front office got him to sign an incentivised contract to try to force some motivation. How will he act if a rookie comes in and gets hot and cuts into Lenny’s carries and incentives?
I’m obviously not a big Fournette fan, but I’ll admit that he did better last year than he did his first year with the team. Brady trusts him, so that works for me, especially on 3rd down. I would love to get someone in the draft at that running back position that is a more dynamic runner on some 1st and 2nd down’s.
March 23rd, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Lenny’s problem two years ago wasn’t about money or drive it was about not being “the man”. He is now so shouldn’t be a problem
March 23rd, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Why cite Beckles for anything? He was a ham and egger. He got drunk and assaulted a horse. Instead, ask Dave Moore. Or Ronde Barber. Or Mike Alstott. I would find their thoughts much more credible.
How a guy performed on the field shouldn’t have that much relevance to his commentary, not the way you’re laying it out. Beckles was a seven-year starter in Tampa. That’s like saying Demar Dotson’s comments on the Bucs in 15 years would be worthless because he was just a ham-and-egger.
March 23rd, 2022 at 6:05 pm
No need to hate on the guy
March 23rd, 2022 at 6:08 pm
All this negative could get him down. Gota
give love for our …maybe the best back.
No more hating. This ain’t Jacksonville.
March 23rd, 2022 at 6:16 pm
That was when he was sitting behind Rojo. Now he’s the bellcow. Nothing to see here.
March 23rd, 2022 at 6:37 pm
Leave it to Beckles to piss all over a sunny day
March 23rd, 2022 at 7:26 pm
Still think they draft a running back in 2 to 4 rounds. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with Lenny though, there were a whole lot of stars on Jacksonville mailing it in and trying to walk out. That organization was a dumpster fire and kind of Steelers
March 23rd, 2022 at 7:55 pm
Ian beltbuckles is one of the biggest “pun intended” bandwagon Buc fan in the world ! I stopped listening to his fat mouth when it was still The Ron and Ian Show years ago.. He talks more about triple cheeseburgers with bacon on the side then he does about sports …. His ego is larger than the ass-print he leaves on his oversized chair.. I think 🤔 if I remember correctly, Jon Gruden banned him from One Buc Palace for being such a turd .. Could have been Ron Diaz , but I know it was one of them.. Lenny is going to have a great off-season, come to camp in the best shape of his life, and be ready to have a MONSTER year as he has already showed US ALL his commitment to getting better by staying late and working on his catching abilities with the GOAT last year.. Go Bucs
March 23rd, 2022 at 8:30 pm
@suffering
“He knows he’s the man. He’ll be fine.”
Agree. Let’s bring a little context to Lenny’s first year funk. He was just coming from the crappiest team in the league who showed him NO respect.
Then he sits behind a speed merchant who jukes and jives his way through holes without power, drops wide open passes, and fails to pick up the blitz.
ROJO put up some decent numbers including a 98 yard TD but he was not a pounder or a three down back. Fournette can do all of this and was probably pretty unmotivated playing behind ROJO.
Once Lenny became “the man” he played like “the man”.
March 23rd, 2022 at 8:36 pm
Omg shut up negative mofos Lenny will do just fine Not the best but he will do
March 23rd, 2022 at 8:46 pm
Three years of mincing happy feet finesse non-power “power back” Lenny. I can just about promise there will be key plays where he will fail and the regret will be bitter. Set your clock. He’s going to stumble and fall into Shaq Mason’s ankle, face plant the moment Aaron Donald puts a palm on him. And hundreds of times, he will not hit the hole with any explosiveness. Because he just isn’t.
March 23rd, 2022 at 8:56 pm
If Tom is QB Lenny will be same player in mid 2020-2021. You don’t have a special RB practice session after each practice with him and Tom, to then just stopped getting reps and playing hard.
If Tom is on the team Lenny will be a awesome signing.
March 23rd, 2022 at 9:01 pm
Anyone complaining about who said it isn’t looking at it and realizing it’s the truth. Prior to becoming “Playoff Lenny”, he was on the verge of being cut. Bruce pretty much told him to do his job or he’s gone. “Playoff Lenny” was then born.
March 23rd, 2022 at 9:15 pm
Aren’t the dudes complaining the same people who said that JPP was just here for a paycheck when he was traded here and he didn’t really care?
March 23rd, 2022 at 9:43 pm
Personally I see what Beckles is saying. He is not saying Fournette won’t live up to the contract but saying he showed less of himself in Jax and no guarantee that person won’t return. Fournette has morphed into Playoff Lenny and we all hope that continues as well as Beckles.
March 23rd, 2022 at 10:45 pm
It’s a fair point but hopefully the incentives along with ego and pride will be enough.
March 23rd, 2022 at 11:24 pm
Not gonna happen under BA’s watch, especially with an offensive player. We saw what happened to Mr. Jumping Jacks when he shut it down, “Get the F outta here, then!”
But yes, they Bucs should look to sign Gio, Bell, or draft a RB. Because whatever happens, the show must go on.
March 23rd, 2022 at 11:28 pm
Former lineman mumbles into microphone about running back. News you can use.
March 24th, 2022 at 4:34 am
i hope lenny is happy, and not pissed off, like he didn’t really get the payday he felt he deserved – and is returning with a chip on his shoulder against the bucs…
like: “these mofos didn’t really pay me well”
it really is crazy how running backs get shafted compared to other positions…he should be happy with 3 years 20-25 mil…
you certainly can retire on all that dough if you don’t pull an mc hammer move
March 24th, 2022 at 4:35 am
i remember back in the day when sapp signed a huuuuuge contract…
if i recall correctly he signed for 6 years 36 mil, and people were like “oh sh!t dude got paid”