Disrespectful Appreciation Of Bucky Irving
June 23rd, 2025
So two guys employed by the NFL sat around talked about how special Bucky Irving is but were just fine ranking him as a middle-of-the-pack starting running back.
What?
Well, Joe has come to expect this kind of nonsense from Nick Shook and Gregg Rosenthal. They gathered on Rosenthal’s popular NFL Daily podcast to rank the league’s running backs.
Irving has “the highest rate of forced missed tackles in the entire league,” per Rosenthal’s NFL data.
“Over 5 yards per carry on inside runs and outside runs,” he bellowed.
Still Rosenthal game Irving a No. 14 ranking and followed it up by making himself look moronic.
“The advanced numbers and the raw numbers would actually tell you he was already like a top-8 to top-10 back. I’m not ready to go there, but I’m happy to put him [here],” Rosenthal said of Irving.
Joe’s not sure what to say. So reality, per Rosenthal, puts Irving in the group of top-10 running backs but Rosenthal can’t bring himself to say it.
Shook added that Irving ninth “in success rate behind Saquon Barkley by .1 percent,” and he raved about how many “yards over expected” Irving had, but Shook didn’t quibble with the No. 14 ranking for Bucky.
Joe will add that Irving ranked fourth among running backs in yards per carry (5.4), and he ranked No. 2 in the NFL in catch rate. That means Irving caught 90.7 percent of the balls thrown his way.
What more does Irving have to do to be universally accepted as a top-10 running back?
June 23rd, 2025 at 7:27 pm
“What more does Irving have to do to be universally accepted as a top-10 running back?”
Be on a team not named the Buccaneers, would be my guess.
June 23rd, 2025 at 7:33 pm
Top 5… IMO
Basing this on his actual stats and performance.
Not looking at the fact that he’s a Buccaneer, plays in the NFC South and is smaller than some of the other backs. Using those criteria to judge him is moronic, thus those two are morons.
June 23rd, 2025 at 8:18 pm
Someone, I think it was Pickgrin, laid out some stats about second year running backs. It was eye opening. Bucky though can overcome that because he’s got the “right stuff”. Somehow we’ve got a bunch of players like that. Talent is abundant in this league. The “right stuff” not so much. If I didn’t know any better I’d say we draft for that. Oh…wait. That’s right, we do!
June 23rd, 2025 at 8:38 pm
With improvement to bakers deep bomb to keep safety honest and a year of the online togethercould mean more food for bucky to eat.
I’m praying Godwin comes back for training camp
June 23rd, 2025 at 8:39 pm
😜
June 23rd, 2025 at 9:17 pm
I love it. The Bucs play better when they are disrespected. Mike Evans didn’t start getting some respect until the last couple of years. Baker Mayfield is still disrespected. Our defense is disrespected, rightfully so given there play last year. So this team has a chip on their shoulder and they seem to play better when people underestimate them.
June 23rd, 2025 at 9:41 pm
I’d imagine that he has to do it as the #1 running back and do it for more than one season.
June 23rd, 2025 at 9:43 pm
His size and lack of long speed is probably alays going to take him down a notch in perception of the type of people who rank NFL players. The fact that he’s only done it one year also is a factor.
June 23rd, 2025 at 10:32 pm
I love it. More Bucky for me in my fantasy football drafts. Top 10? This guy might be top 5 when he starts the whole season!
June 23rd, 2025 at 10:36 pm
They probably looked at a 2nd year back and yards gained on the ground. They never watched him play because only a moron would look at his games and say middle of the pack. Bucky elite at making guys miss and that’s rare for even top shelf guys.
June 23rd, 2025 at 10:58 pm
They dumb
June 23rd, 2025 at 11:32 pm
Just another case of disrespect for the Buccaneers. Jason Licht is keeping receipts and hopefully Bucky is too.
June 23rd, 2025 at 11:38 pm
Let them sleep.
June 23rd, 2025 at 11:43 pm
He will show them.
June 24th, 2025 at 1:02 am
Gregg Rosenthal is also one of the guys that openly mocked Baker the past two off-seasons.So not that interested.
June 24th, 2025 at 1:39 am
Bring on the Buletin Board material! Baker sucks…LVD is old…Mike is no Hall of Famer…Wirfs is just a fat guy…AWJ is done…. and other nonsense:)
Go Bucs!
June 24th, 2025 at 2:10 am
I think some of it is about Bucky – on the season – was a part time player. Of course by the end of the year that wasn’t the case, but the small scatback stereotype says in a part time role guys like Bucky can excel, then fall apart when given a full time role.
So basically people just want to see him do it again in a bigger role. Personally I have no issues with being cautious – and the lower he is in the rankings, the later he goes in fantasy, which is why I’m grabbing him in the 3rd round which is insane.