Rachaad White Says He’s Being Pushed To Run More Violently
October 6th, 2023
Joe now has a better understanding of why Tom Brady forged such a fast and tight bond with former Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount.
Blount, now 36 and retired, was an angry runner unafraid to use his size and became a Patriots icon because of it. He hammered his way to 19 rushing touchdowns through the 2016 season.
Joe’s favorite Blount nugget was how 2012 Bucs head coach Greg Schiano didn’t value Blount and buried him on the bench. Then Blount goes to New England a season later and becomes one of the top kick returners in the NFL while also running for 5.0 yards per carry and seven touchdowns. A classic Buccaneers move of The Lost Decade.
Current Bucs running back Rachaad White is a big dude for a running back, about 6-1, 225 pounds, but he runs more patiently and too often without a first-step ferocity.
Talking this week on the Fully Loaded podcast, White said he has been driven steadily at One Buc Palace to step up his physicality. White explained it comes from running backs coach Skip Peete.
“He be on me. Like I ain’t going to lie. He be on me,” White said of Peete. “[He’ll say,] ‘You’re a big back, dude. You got bigger [in the offseason]. You’re a big back.’ … He loves it when I run like more angry and violent and things like that.”
White also refelcted on Tom Brady’s message that the guys lining up against you are trying to F you up, “so you F them up before they F you up.”
Hit the hole, Rachaad!
October 6th, 2023 at 10:15 am
I never realized he was that big which makes this even more frustrating.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:16 am
Man this guy doesn’t miss a mic lol
October 6th, 2023 at 10:16 am
Can someone translate White’s comment above?
October 6th, 2023 at 10:20 am
That does it for me regarding Rachaad. Essentially disclosed that he is another looks like Tarzan play like Jane kind of player only he’s outing himself with these interviews.
He does have all the skills to be a premier RB apparently he’s just mentally and physically soft to be great.
If Jonathan Taylor shows he’s healthy this weekend maybe Bucs pull the trigger and get a real RB in the back field.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:33 am
Is that Really necessary fat Scotty? And White should skip some interviews until he actually does something that isn’t less than pedestrian.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:40 am
Being more physical and hitting the hole quicker is a requirement for RB1 on a winning team in the NFL Rachaad!!!! THIS AIN’T THE SOFT PAC12 so step up or step aside Mr.White.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:40 am
They still have to tell him to basically run hard? Oh boy, this guy just doesn’t have it. None of our backs do. In hind sight, it was dumb to hand White the job without a real challenger. It was also dumb to not play him during the preseason. Watching a guy in practice is not the same as even a meaningless preseason game. Right now it’s hard for me to believe there isn’t a better back on someone elses PS better than White. If the Bucs want to really make some noise, try to deal for Taylor.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:44 am
Blount was my favorite offensive player in the era between Alstott and Evans. Will never forget that run in Green Bay
October 6th, 2023 at 10:50 am
Rachaad, one of my coaches called this the Santa Claus Theory. “It is better to give than to receive.”
October 6th, 2023 at 10:52 am
Start doing that next week please. It would help Baker.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:56 am
A shame he has to be told.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:56 am
Rachaad needs to do a better job keeping his knees up and his feet underneath him. He made a catch near the end zone where he made a fantastic move to juke one defender, running through his arm tackle, and was stopped at the 1-yard line. But as he went through the arm tackle he was already leaning too far forward, in essence already going to the ground. He really could’ve scored if he kept his balance and ran harder.
I think White could end up being a very good back, but he’s a project. Unlike Ronald Jones, who had the talent but unfortunately not the mental tools, I think Rachaad can learn the position and become a top 15 RB.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:02 am
That’s ridiculous now they want a violent slasher. Licht’s been much better in the last few years drafting but he and his team have never drafted a “ violent” RB. Jesus!
October 6th, 2023 at 11:03 am
If its true what he says about being told to run hard and he still doesn’t then he shouldn’t be our #1.
We need a violent runner to hammer defenses so in the 4th quarter we have those put away drives against a tired defense. That seems to be what this offense is designed to do
October 6th, 2023 at 11:05 am
You’ll draft nasty OL but meek or tentative running backs; Charles Sims, Jeremy McNichols, Ronald Jones, Keshawn Vaughn.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:09 am
Le’Veon Bell was the only guy who could hesitate or pause at the line, let the block develop a second longer and then take off. Anyone else trying to imitate his style seems to look foolish.
I do like White’s pass catching and blitz pickup skills though. I think he could be an ideal 3rd down back if we had a better option on 1st and 2nd downs.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:10 am
I guess Byron didn’t “be on him” ……..
October 6th, 2023 at 11:12 am
RoJo ran hard his pass protection was bad and he mentally checked out when Lenny took control of the starting job
October 6th, 2023 at 11:18 am
Still wondering how these people that are clamoring for Jonathan Taylor thinks the Bucs have the cap room for him.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:22 am
I think i’ll Name him “Rachael White” from now in… 😉
October 6th, 2023 at 11:28 am
H-Town Darryl Says
“I never realized he was that big which makes this even more frustrating.”
To be fair, offensive line means everything to a RB. Ours has been struggling to gel…but it is certainly improving, so our run game should as well.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:32 am
@ScottyMack – It’s not necessarily JT. It’s the idea of JT on a rookie or low wage deal.
An ideal fit would be Khalil Herbert with a 972 K cap hit this season and just over 1 million next.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:32 am
To those who are complaining that White had to be told…I think maybe you are blowing this out of proportion.
The article does not say that he wasn’t running violent before. It says he needs to get MORE violent.
That’s part of development too…especially if a rb comes out of college as a finesse back.
Warick Dunn certainly wasn’t a violent back when we got him.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Personally, I think we have what we need with the RB stable. Just develop and also improve the run blocking.
It will get there. We may not have a superstar RB, but we have a good enough stable.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Concerning, that he has to be told that… No, more than concerning. AMAZING, he admitted it in an interview to everyone, in the first place!!!!
October 6th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Hodad … ‘Right now it’s hard for me to believe there isn’t a better back on someone elses PS better than White.’
Exactly Hodad. Kenyan Drake (29 yrs old) is on the Ravens’ Practice Squad right now (making $370K). This is his 8th year playing; has almost 4000 rushing yds (4.5 YPC average) with 33 rushing TDs. Nice YPC average for all those years.
Melvin Gordon (30 yrs old) is also on the Ravens’ Practice Squad making $370K. This is his 9th year playing; has 6,500 yds rushing (4.1 YPC average) with 55 rushing TDs. Must’ve been doing something right.
Baltimore is currently #2 in Rushing Attempts & #3 in Rushing Yardage, with lots of solid runners (Lamar Jackson, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, JK Dobbins plus Drake & Gordon moving in & out of their PS. Drake hasn’t gotten any carries this year, but Gordon has been in 3 games so far (due to injuries to RBs), and is averaging his standard 4.1 YPC. I’d snarf 1 of them from the Ravens’ PS & demote either Vaughn or Tucker to our PS so we could see what either Drake or Gordon still has left in the tank.
October 6th, 2023 at 11:44 am
Pu$$y footing in the hole in the NFL will get you nowhere fast as a running back. I don’t care how good or bad your offensive line is, you have to either be able to break tackles or be so fast they can’t touch you. White might have fast stopwatch speed, but his game speed is too slow right now.
I still think they’re misusing White a little bit. He probably is never going to be a great between the tackles runner. We don’t have one of those currently on the roster. White realistically should be getting about 12-15 carries a game and a minimum of 6 targets in the passing game. He’s slippery in space, but he just doesn’t have a nose for the inside holes yet.
October 6th, 2023 at 12:01 pm
wow, didn’t realize how stacked the ravens rb room is…
roster all the way thru their practice squad…
that’s crazy…if we don’t snag one, some team eventually will
October 6th, 2023 at 12:01 pm
Licht draft record is awesome except when it comes the second round, RB and Kicker. I am hoping Licht reverts to free agency or a trade for a RB rather than the draft.
October 6th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
I’d still rather have JT than those guys. It’s not the fans problem about how to afford him. Leave that up to the GM. We need this guy yesterday. Make it happen JL. Biggest signing since TB12
October 6th, 2023 at 12:09 pm
Soon this kid is going to be in front of the boob tube on Sundays, wtf does he have to be pushed to do anything in the nfl. It should already be done without anyone saying anything.
October 6th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
If you have to tell a big back to use his size that’s a huge problem and I don’t think he realized that when he said it
October 6th, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Would rather them bring rojo back If they are going to sign someone
But they will probably wait and see what Edmonds is when he comes back and save the money.
October 6th, 2023 at 12:34 pm
He’s horrible
October 6th, 2023 at 12:39 pm
r white never saw a podcast or 4 yard loss he didnt like!
October 6th, 2023 at 1:10 pm
The guy spends all off season bulking up and ends up running like Snow White.
October 6th, 2023 at 1:17 pm
I DON’T LIKE THIS
Joe wrote multiple articles during camp on Canales’ focus on teaching RBs to run hard and finish aggressively (ie Seattle Beastmode Football). White didn’t do it the first three games. He started to game 4, but (in this article) it sounds like he still doesn’t get it. He is being coached, watching tape, and it’s still not registering. I’d rather have a RB with those natural instincts. I don’t see White as our long-term RB.
October 6th, 2023 at 1:34 pm
If there is a bad pic of someone out there, Joe is damn sure gonna find it.
October 6th, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Sly Pirate
“He started to game 4,” That’s what I saw as well. The improvement may be too incremental to satisfy JBF fans but I thought he made steps in the right direction and actually had a good game against a mean, nasty and yes dirty defense.
And yes N.O. defenses are out to “F” you up even if it takes cheap shots to the knees. Ask Chris Godwin. Ask Baker who luckily missed serious injury despite a shot so cheap it should have drawn a suspension from league HQ!
October 6th, 2023 at 1:51 pm
Everyone on the Johnathan Taylor hype, stop, please!!!! We don’t have the value to trade for him nor the cap space to sign him, so please snap back to reality
October 6th, 2023 at 1:59 pm
R White is not developing. He runs the same way he did in college and has not made any improvements. Slow to hit the hole and goes down on first contact. White has people around him, coaches and even Tom Brady telling him to run harder and angrier and it’s just not sinking in. He needs to go we need to trade him or cut him out right. The worst lingering players are the ones who have all the potential in the world and don’t get any better.
October 6th, 2023 at 2:16 pm
My perception of White’s ineffectiveness is that he has not adjusted to the zone blocking scheme…it this scheme you must hit the holes at an angle toward the flow of the blocking or the ability to cut back against the grain of the push. To hit the hole head on gets the defensive player pushed into you, you must run with the flow of the blocking. He could also get his knees up as he hits the hole.
October 6th, 2023 at 2:53 pm
Scotty, translation: Coach has been constantly telling me I’m much too big to be running like a wuss.
October 6th, 2023 at 2:56 pm
At least Leonard Fournette would crush people!
Fournette would wear defenses down.
Defenders get tired of tackling physical backs like Fournette.
White is vanilla bro. For real. He runs like a ferry. Tiptoeing everywhere.
And he keeps waiting for his teammates to pick him up after a run!
I can see he hates getting hit in the NFL.
We need help at RB.
And we need a legit FB again.
Let’s bring back the power I formation!
October 6th, 2023 at 3:07 pm
He doesn’t have it. You can’t give it to him. I don’t think he will ever have it. ……….next.
October 6th, 2023 at 3:52 pm
He’ a 2nd stringer at best! JAG. Bring back playoff Lenny.
October 6th, 2023 at 5:32 pm
A guy is either a punisher or he’s not. Can’t be taught.
They need an Alstott. A guy that hurts people more and more.
October 6th, 2023 at 6:38 pm
Terrible advice. What made him look so good in college is that he’s a finesse runner and remarkable pass catcher. Those watching the TV angle and yelling that he needs to ‘hit the hole’ faster, need to actually watch the ALL22, and you’ll see there is literally no hole to hit. The guy has over and over again got yards when there wasn’t any there by being patient.
Blount was a big guy, but was also a finesse runner, at least early on, and people thought because he was big he needed to truck people. But all those early highlight plays were him making guys miss.
October 6th, 2023 at 7:53 pm
A little change up in the play calling last week helped a lot too. Continually calling the same three running plays to the weakest part of our O-line makes it pretty easy for the D to stop him short.
Constantly running into a brick wall is surely going to wear someone out!
October 6th, 2023 at 7:54 pm
Run around the wall, just to see what’s on the other side.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:33 pm
No one has ever hit the hole like White, the best.
October 6th, 2023 at 10:50 pm
@gp
LOL
October 6th, 2023 at 11:58 pm
I know a segment of people on this board have engaged in revisionist history when it comes to Brady’s three years with the team. Acting like he was some JAG who didn’t add any value to the team as far as skill and leadership. Yes, I can’t believe I’m defending the guy who has been widely recognized as one of the best leaders in team sports. Anyway, In 2021 Wirfs said the team was struggling running the ball and Brady held extra meetings with the OL and running backs. He said they worked on angles and the team improved. Last year was a lost cause as the OL was awful.
I love Blount. He hit the hole with force. Lenny was also a ballerina at the line. Hit the hole hard and cute. I love watching CMC play. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s a finesse and power runner.
October 7th, 2023 at 12:07 am
I said the same thing about Fournette and now White seems to be in the same mold. I am also sure that Fournette was told the same thing and basicaly refused to take the coaching, continuing to dance around in the backfield. On the few occasions when Fournette did just hit the line, he was for the most part way more effective.
I do not understand how big running backs refuse to use their size as an advantage. Guys like White and Fournette are not near as likely to bust a long run as they seem to think. Barry Sanders they are not! Add to that the fact that our O line is just not gonna be opening up any gaping holes to run through any time soon. He needs to listen to Peete!
Go Bucs!
October 7th, 2023 at 4:28 am
He’s starting to remind me of Winston…..you can see the flashes of talent and potential but he’s very inconsistent. RB is the one position that typically can be productive right out of college, but maybe he’s still adjusting to the scheme and o-line.
October 7th, 2023 at 5:01 am
Run blocking is pretty bad in the middle of the line. Hainsey is the weak link.
October 7th, 2023 at 5:16 am
@trumps sharpie
Nice one! Lol
And yea. To the guy who said we need an Alstott!
We need a big bruising back to go with our aggressive defense!
White runs like a little biotch.
He thinks he’s LaVeon Bell. But he ain’t!
Anybody else miss Playoff Lenny?
October 7th, 2023 at 8:58 am
If there is an oak tree in front of you RUN IT OVER RACHAAD! I coached in a veer offense and when we double teamed the 3 technique we told our FB that phrase.
October 7th, 2023 at 9:26 am
And THAT is why Sneak started the Aints game – to show White was hard running looks like. Do that, hit the hole hard, bust azz, then use your speed to end it.
Expecting hard runs next week Bros!
October 7th, 2023 at 9:44 am
Tip toe through the tulips! White is not a fullback! He is not a power runner! Period. End of story. The Bucs do not have a power runner on their team. That problem should have been addressed off season. Licht did a great job upgrading other positions but not rb.
October 7th, 2023 at 9:18 pm
What Wild Bill says above is 110% correct. Many of us have been saying it since he was drafted. Asking Rachaad to run like a true explosive, violent, #1 feature power back is futility, because that is not what he is. He will never be. He is a tip toeing, long striding complementary with pass receiving/gadget ability, who needs open field and plays designed for that. Shoehorning this guy into playing in a completely different style is futile, for him and the team. Vaughn is average, and not the answer. Agree again with Wild Bill that it should have been addressed in the offseason. Now it’s too late.
October 8th, 2023 at 4:19 am
I don’t think it’s too late. That was the problem with the O Line last year. Bowles kept saying it was too late. The right back is out there and they aren’t gonna step on any toes by going and getting one. White has ZERO room to complain if they do. Defense Rules already mentioned some cheap OPPORTUNITIES that COULD make a difference. If they don’t, well at least us fans KNOW they are trying. Seattle has 2 or 3 current RBs that are more violent than any of our RBs and that makes the difference. I thought Walker III might be the best RB in the draft and any year before 22, he wins OROY. These RBs ate gonna end up being the difference between winning in January and going home. Period!!!!!
October 8th, 2023 at 4:22 am
And someone tell White there are cameras in the endzone. Never know, that might actually get him to run hard and as fast as he can.
October 8th, 2023 at 4:32 am
I mean Come On. It’s borderline malpractice.
Over 100 runs this year probably and the longest run is still what 14 yds?
You would think they would have a longer run by mistake by now.
Almost every team has a RB that by now has seen 5 monsters in front of them and reversed the field for more than 14 yds.
You know those RBs that act like they want to SCORE every time they touch the ball?
Maybe Kancey should play RB. He runs a 4.6.