Postseason Monster
March 5th, 2022
Surprise!
Joe admits to being shocked by this.
Now if Joe asked you to name the Bucs player who had the most yards from scrimmage in postseason games, Joe right away would have said Mike Alstott. From 1997-2002, the Bucs were in the playoffs virtually every year. And back then the Bucs were a ground-and-pound team. Surely Alstott led with the most yards from scrimmage.
Nope. He does not hold the Bucs record.
OK, then maybe Keyshawn Johnson? Nope, but you aren’t far off.
What if Joe told you Playoff Lenny had the most production from scrimmage in franchise history? It’s true. Playoff Lenny, in just two postseasons, rolled up 555 yards. Alstott rank No. 2 had 505.
Joe would have lost money on this bar bet.
You can see the top five below. Yeah, underrated Warrick Dunn is on the list.
Some out there think if the Bucs can keep Playoff Lenny, it will be a successful offseason. That’s not exactly far-fetched.
March 5th, 2022 at 12:06 am
Still need the same o-line Joe…so far that doesn’t seem so….
March 5th, 2022 at 12:16 am
AND the TDs!…. O-line and Lenny should be the main focus of free agency. See what QB options may be doable and draft defense.
Build this thing around Lenny and his buddy “Sneak” and I think the NFC South is still ours.
March 5th, 2022 at 12:41 am
Brady Effect…???
March 5th, 2022 at 2:30 am
Lenny is not special. He was the beneficiary of opportunities. He’s totally replaceable. If he wants to come back at a reasonable price, bring him back again. We’ll see.
March 5th, 2022 at 3:03 am
Leonard fournette is a really good running back that catches well too.
I doubt we’ll be able to keep him tho.
Far too many people in tampa think he is an ordinary run of the mill so so back.
Which will be our loss for sure when he leaves.
Sometimes you don’t know what you got till it’s gone…
If Sean Peyton pops up as a head coach soon, I would wager Lenny goes to that team. With those cajun connections. Just a hunch…
March 5th, 2022 at 4:32 am
Didn’t realize that Lenny was THAT dominant in the playoffs until reading this; thanks Joe. Got me curious & looked a little deeper at his playoff stats for 2020 & 2021:
o He only played in 5 games (missed the Eagles game), so his 555 total yds is even that much more impressive.
o Rushed for 351 yds in those 5 games on 77 carries (4.6 YPC average) with 0 fumbles.
o Caught 27 out of 30 targeted passes (90%) for 204 yds (7.6 YPC average) with 0 fumbles.
o Ran for 5 TDs & added 1 TD receiving … in 5 games.
o Also produced 19 first downs by rushing and 12 first downs with his pass-catching.
Playoff Lenny is much more than just the product of good OLine blocking. A LOT of those yards were added after contact.
Add the 3 playoff games that he was in his freshman year (2017) to all that when the Jaguars made the playoffs and he’s been in 8 playoff games in 3 of his 5 seasons. His playoff performance with Jacksonville wasn’t quite as spectacular as he was with the Bucs, but it was very very good especially for a rookie (he had 4 TDs & 15 first downs in 3 games with them BTW).
I REALLY hope that we can find a way to keep Lenny, but I’m not optimistic about that given all our other needs. Never say never though.
March 5th, 2022 at 4:38 am
Re-sign offensive FAs and draft defensive replacements for our FAs.
Keep – Godwin, Jensen, Cappa, Stinnie, Gronk, Fournette. All of these guys are under 30 except Gronk and Jensen. We need Gronk for 1-2 years to rebuild the TE room. Jensen has 3-4 years left and the Bucs need a nasty guy on the line. Also, he will make the calls (instead of Brady) with a young QB.
Replace – Rojo and OJ are gone.
Keep – Whitehead
Replace – JPP, Suh or Gholston, McClendon. All well over 30 and on the down side. Davis III may need replaced also as a draft casualty. Bucs will need to keep Suh or Gholston for 1-2 years only. Need to think about LVD replacement in 2023.
March 5th, 2022 at 6:38 am
Also would love to keep Lenny but I think he’ll cost too much….so many players preformed well and are more noticeable due to Brady & our SB win.
March 5th, 2022 at 7:01 am
Playoff Lenny was one of the better free agent signings by Tom Brady.
March 5th, 2022 at 7:09 am
So nearly half of his total yards gained over 2 years was in the playoffs? Interesting.
March 5th, 2022 at 7:35 am
He only made $3.2 million last year, low price for a top tier 3 down back. I expect $5-6 million would keep him, today isn’t much. Elliot madres 15 or some such idiocy
March 5th, 2022 at 8:34 am
Lenny like Brady played with a chip on his shoulder, he is still overlooked in the league. He deserves his money, he worked for it.
March 5th, 2022 at 9:16 am
Breece Hall or best LG available with pick 27. Hall is the best RB in the draft and can upgrade that position immediately.
March 5th, 2022 at 9:18 am
Lenny deserves nothing except what the market says he is worth and Breece Hall is better on Day 1 and we lock him up for 4 or 5 years-easy choice -Draft Hall.
March 5th, 2022 at 9:36 am
BucsFanSince1976 … Don’t know anything about Breece Hall, but even assuming that he is ‘better on Day 1’ RBs are typically a LOT cheaper than almost any other position. And that’s why spending a Rnd 1 pick on a RB is rather unusual.
Most teams would much rather use their Rnd 1 pick on a high-value position (QB-WR-DL-OL-CB) and get a very good RB either later on in the draft OR just buy one in FA. Look at Mike Evans & Vita Vea; both in the $16-$18 mil range, whereas we could re-sign Fournette for probably $7-$8 mil per year.
March 5th, 2022 at 9:41 am
Alstott pounded it into the end zone on short yards. That TD run against WTF where A-Train broke tackles was one of the best plays ever. The stadium was rocking!
March 5th, 2022 at 10:00 am
Hall is the best of a very deep class and runs sub 4.4. Hall catches the ball seamlessly out of the backfield. 40 inch vertical and 10’6″ broad-so he is VERY ATHLETIC-quite possibly a generational talent at RB-easily worth #27 pick and will cost less than lenny , a win win.
March 5th, 2022 at 10:23 am
Lenny put up numbers, and we did very little to feature him. He can help a young QB. Since that first postseason run, he also seems to be fully committed to the program. Not sure we had a back with this much juice and talent since Cadillac. Hope we find a way to keep him.
March 5th, 2022 at 10:30 am
Lenny was fine and did a good job , but he is not the type of back that can run 50 plus and take it to the house. Breece Hall is that back and a #27 pick trims payroll as well to sign Godwin and Jensen.
March 5th, 2022 at 10:50 am
Will never forget that. Was in upper deck and that stadium was shaking.
March 5th, 2022 at 11:21 am
Can we keep Lenny and get Deshaun?
March 5th, 2022 at 11:26 am
Drafting a RB in round 1, with our other needs, just seems unlikely given what appears to be a number of good backs that could be had later in the draft. WR, DL, CB, even OL makes more sense in round 1.
March 5th, 2022 at 1:19 pm
I say bring back Playoff Lenny. He and Watson will complement each other fine.
March 5th, 2022 at 4:34 pm
Alstott was always splitting his carriers with Dunn, and then later, when stupid Gruden was here, he was playing fullback with very limited carriers because Gruden loved watching Pittman run into the back of his offensive lineman on every play. Meanwhile when the idiot Gruden did play Alstott he’d put up big numbers and make a bunch of big plays.
March 6th, 2022 at 12:03 am
Alstott #1 buc all time. Linebackers nitemear