Rachaad White And Hope For The Bucs

January 15th, 2024

Key to a win?

Back in September, the Eagles were a much better team than they have been of late. In fact, the Eagles have lost five of their last six games.

Back in September, the Bucs’ run game was really sad. In fact, Joe was howling about the ineffectiveness of Rachaad White, claiming White was a misplaced slot receiver playing running back.

Joe still believes that. White is excellent as a receiver. As a running back, he’s meh. At least White has improved as a running back. He’s reading blocks better and taking advantage of holes better but has regressed the past two weeks with the latter skill.

Tim McManus of BSPN believes that White makes a big impact tonight against the Eagles.

Bucs running back Rachaad White will eclipse 125 all-purpose yards. The last time these two teams met, the Eagles held Tampa Bay to 41 rushing yards. But the run defense has fallen off a cliff since then, yielding 142 yards per game on average over their past seven games. A banged-up Mayfield could lean on White in both the ground and short passing game.

Well, Joe thinks it’s a good bet that White won’t be held to 62 total yards, his total back in September. White had 38 yards rushing and 24 yards receiving.

If White is held to 62 yards again, it’s a very good bet the Bucs lose. If White has, say, 60 yards receiving and 80 yards rushing, it’s a fair to suggest the Bucs will be in the game, and maybe winning.

Interestingly, the Bucs are 4-3 when White has 100 or more combined rushing and receiving yards.

37 Responses to “Rachaad White And Hope For The Bucs”

  1. rickym Says:

    Gameday is today. Bucs with a home playoff game. Bucs fans should be excited and loud at Raymond James Stadium. This years playoff games have been nostly high scoring affairs (except for the freezer bowl in KC) and I expect a shootout tonight. I have never made a predicition before on this site and I won’t start now. Just cheering for the Bucs and hoping for a win.

  2. Bojim Says:

    Man that sausage looks decadent.

  3. NE Fan Says:

    Don’t fool yourself, this is playoff football. Houston, GB, KC and both Detriot and Rams showed they are hungary. Didn’t see Stafford whining like a little biache about his ribs last night. He showed that he’s been there before. I can only imagine the Bucs secondary trying to cover Rams receivers. Kupp is the #2 guy?

  4. NE Fan Says:

    The only reason anyone will watch the game tonight is because the Eagles are in it.

  5. Statistically Insignificant Reader Says:

    THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MOMENT…………….
    70 mil short on payroll this year.
    Picked up a QB with experience 4 mil.
    Lost starting Center.
    Lost 3rd wide receiver.
    13 players left the team (wish Edwards stayed).
    10 new free agents signed, only a few have any impact. You know who they
    are.
    10 Rookies starting.
    NO ONE thought this team would win 9 games AND win division, no matter
    how it happened.
    Bucs now get to the playoffs.
    I am going to ride the Rogue Wave of Happiness until it crashes. Just like 31 other teams will do. Its January 15th and we are still playing.
    Enjoy the game Buc Friends.

  6. BucU Says:

    To Mr. Bowles: Please have your team motivated and ready to play tonight.

  7. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    We need to use White, Edmonds & Otton more in the passing game tonight…..I expect us to continue what we’ve done all year….run up the middle on early downs….
    There is no reason to believe that will succeed.

    I’m hopeful that our healthy defense will win the game for us.

  8. Jeff Says:

    Houston, Detroit and LA are on a different level than the Bucs. The Bucs don’t have the weapons these teams do. And a wounded Baker pales in comparison as well. Philly 27 Yucs 12

  9. garro Says:

    Make em pay Rachaad!

    Go Bucs!

  10. Defense Rules Says:

    Gut feel is that tonight’s game will either be a very close, low-scoring Bucs’ win OR … a blow-out, Eagles win. Defense is the key to the game IMO because neither offense has been exactly lighting the world on fire lately. Turnover Differential will be critical (and the Eagles are prone to turning it over when they lose).

    I’m expecting a meh game out of Mayfield (if he lasts the whole game), and hoping that Canales has learned enough to come up with a solid (and creative) game plan. I don’t see White getting 140 yds combined Joe, but 100 yds combined sure would be nice.

    Edmonds is very overlooked IMO, and he could contribute significantly to our offensive attack. His season average is only 3.6 YPC (like White’s), but in the last 2 games against 2 good defenses he’s produced (7 carries for 43 yards … 6.1 YPC average). Plus very selectively using WRs like Godwin (9.5 YPC on 4 rushes), Thompkins (7.0 YPC on 8 rushes) and Palmer (7.3 YPC on 3 rushes) could represent a nice change-of-pace & help keep the Eagles defense off-balance.

  11. realistic-optimistic Says:

    When your QB is struggling and injured, you better hope you get production from your RB. Otherwise, goodnight.

  12. Bosch Says:

    interestingly, the Bucs are 4-3 when White has 100 or more yards combined rushing and receiving.”

    Actually, that’s rather inconclusive.

  13. NE Fan Says:

    Statistically @ what did Houston and GB have? A bunch of rookies and no names. Your QB was the #1 draft picks and won a PO game. You can say the same for Wordle.

  14. NE Fan Says:

    Wolford, dang autofill

  15. Beeej Says:

    My buddy is a lifelong Eagles fan and like many of you here he desperately wants his team to lose and lose hard, so they can fire the coach etc

  16. Popcorn Mike Says:

    Defense Rules. Your statement is exactly my thinking about tonights game. I wish Bowles would start with Edmund at RB and White as RB and more of a receiver out of the back field, sort of a different wrinkle. Wishful thinking with Bowles. I think and this is just my thoughts, ( I am not a HC ) if Bowles throw in a few wrinkles or two on offense and maybe defense too we will have a better chance at pulling this one out.

  17. SB~LV Says:

    Hope ???
    There ain’t no hope in football!

  18. Sacker58 Says:

    Joe,
    Why don’t you and others just STOP with how bad the eagles are.
    This Bucs team apparently reads too much about how good they are and how they should beat the opponent.
    Then they come out and lay a huge egg.
    For whatever reason they have a difficult time getting ready for BIG games and this retterick causes complacency somehow.

  19. Since76 Says:

    Doesn’t matter what happened to eagles run D. Bucs won’t win if they run. It’s about scoring points. The way this team runs = 0 points. Then again 2 weeks now they couldn’t throw either.

  20. PewterStiffArm Says:

    Let’s take a chill pill guys, we still don’t know what team is going to show up tonight. I don’t care what Philadelphia has done over the last several weeks. They had hit some rough patches recently but that probably won’t transfer over to the team that we will be facing tonight. The Eagles have a lot of pride and the Buc’s stink at home. We have no running game and if they double team Mike (which they will), oh the apocalypse. Settle back in your seats with your ponchos on and enjoy what is coming, or in this case what might not.

  21. dmatt Says:

    Houston, GB, KC,Detroit, secondary all were aggressive, tackled well, n they HUSTLED, they never gave up on plays. This is what hurt the Bucs, other than Winfield, our defense tend to give up on plays n they don’t hustle. I’ve watched JDean over this season n he play timid, passive, n definitely lacks aggressiveness n hustle. This brushes off on other players.

  22. Beeej Says:

    If they drop the safeties into coverage, we HAVE to be able to run or it will be a repeat of the Saints game

  23. heyjude Says:

    SB~LV Says:
    Hope ???
    There ain’t no hope in football!

    There is hope, luck, skill, experience, teamwork, et al. Everything is there when playing sports including football.

  24. RustyRhinos Says:

    When you get to the playoffs every team is again back at 0-0 some will get a 0-1 and go home. Others will get 1-0 and play on.

    Make it personal this is why you sweat blood and tears all season long for, to PLAY in the PLAYOFFS!!!

    Absolutely ZERO other NFC South teams are still playing. One Game At A Time. The Eagles are the next team up.

    GO!!!!!BUCS!!!!!

  25. orlbucfan Says:

    My next door neighbor was born in Rhode Island, and is a big NE fan. So, he knows great football. He says the Bucs will win. He added losing Brown and Hurts’ finger injury will hurt Philly. Plus, he said there’s been a lot of bad vibes in their locker room. He knows I am a diehard Bucs fan and my concern over Canales. Sure hope he’s right. Go Bucs!!

  26. NE Fan Says:

    Oral, thanks for the echo, I posted the exact same scenario 2 days ago. Glad you’re on it!

  27. Bucs'n'Bucks Says:

    Thanks RustyRhinos!! Great attitude!!

    Here’s a fun thought…..on the first Bucs offensive play, fake a handoff to White up the middle ( our normal first play) and throw a quick pass to Otten just behind the linebacker. Everyone will be so confused.

    I can’t wait until tonight. Go Bucs!!

  28. infomeplease Says:

    Everyone has an opinion… I’m hoping for a quality game. The rain may effect the play. I don’t know. The Bucs fans may be a silent group, this is almost a given. Not loud like in Detroit or Dallas yesterday, that’s for sure! Of course that didn’t help Dallas! I hope the Bucs make plays on both sides of the ball. All the players are professionals!! The best of the best! They all get paid a ton of money to play!! They all are capable of making great plays! They need to do that tonight!! Time for the Bucs to bring their A game, like when they played Green Bay!!!!!! LFG!!!!

  29. JK Says:

    Tampa handled GB at their place and SHOULD have defeated Houston at home

    Go ahead with your negativity though

    Go Bucs

  30. NE Fan Says:

    JK, Stroud made history against the Bucs and GB clearly got better whereas the Bucs are digressing.

  31. Rod Munch Says:

    “Bucs running back Rachaad White will eclipse 125 all-purpose yards. ”

    ——-

    I saw that too, but I don’t know, the passes to White as of late have seemingly dried up.

    As for White regressing in the last two week. No. In the Carolina game, like the end of the Jags game, the Bucs were up, and you know what that means when Bowles is in charge, it means you start trying to run out the clock in the 3rd quarter if you have any sort of lead. They just have White run it up the middle in those situations, when it doesn’t really matter, but it tanks his average. Also, vs Carolina, there was the issue that Baker couldn’t complete a pass that was more than 5 yards downfield, so the Panthers realized that and let Evans run wide open knowing it didn’t matter since Baker couldn’t even get it in the same zip code as Mike.

    But for tonight, I don’t see White having a big night. This should be an Evans and Godwin game if good Baker shows up. Heck, even if it’s mediocre Baker, he should still be able to pass vs the 31st ranked pass defense – and where the Eagles really struggle are in the short pass game, which fits Baker’s skill set perfectly.

  32. JK Says:

    NE fan: shut up. Facts are the facts

  33. JK Says:

    NE dummy: Tampa spanked GB AFTER they throttled Detroit on Thanksgiving, ya clown

  34. Dave Pear Says:

    Hope for the Bucs:

    Todd Monken
    Jim Harbaugh
    Pete Carroll

    Todd Bowles in landscaping.

  35. Dave Pear Says:

    Shock me, Todd. Please. Please tell Canales it’s ok to repeat the game plans and play calling from Packers and Jags games.

    You won’t.

    Shock me.

  36. NE Fan Says:

    KK, they also spanked the Saints and what happened the 2nd game? FACTS ARE THE FACTS!!!

  37. JK Says:

    Ahhhh there’s Throbbing Rod Muncher criticizing TBs stellar QB pregame of course. No amount of success will stop the Throbbing Rod Muncher from praying the Bucs lose so maybe SOMEONE will take him seriously
    🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡