Tucker looked atrocious and slow today.
White was 10x better
White is fine. Tucker will improve but how much is a different question entirely.
whatever one thinks of Rachaad White as a runner (he's running more directly this season), he is a very good all-around football player and teammate. The Bucs are lucky to have him as the counterpart to Irving.
Not that he needed to, but he proved that in many ways yesterday
And Tucker proved he's depth
Bucs running backs were having a tough time vs the Seahawks run defense, only ran for 56 yards.
Both White TDs were things of beauty with pitchouts wide to free White to get to paydirt.
Both White TDs were things of beauty with pitchouts wide to free White to get to paydirt
and a great stiff arm on one!
Huge play by White in the last minute to pick up a first and stay in bounds. Essentially iced the game.
Huge play by White in the last minute to pick up a first and stay in bounds. Essentially iced the game.
Yup he has a good game with not a lot to work with. Amazing compliment to Bucky.
Haver to love this from Bowles on White
“[Rachaad] really been the unsung hero and the glue offensively,” Bowles told the Buccaneers Radio Network. “Between him and Cade [Otton], that kind of keeps everything together. He makes the tough runs and the hard runs. He makes some great catches in the screen game. He makes the tough blocks for us. And when you look up, he’s always there. He’s dicing through the hole, getting extra yards after getting hit — got a 3rd-and-1 play [Sunday] after getting hit in the backfield and made something out of nothing. So he has really been doing all the little things for us to be a good team and for us to win.”
JC's guy getting some love from PR!
"It was downright shocking looking at the snaps for running backs Rachaad White and Sean Tucker. Not because White played 72% and Tucker played 32%, but because it felt like Tucker was out there much more than he actually was. He clearly had way more of an impact for Tampa Bay with 53 rushing yards on nine attempts and an average of 5.9 yards per rush. White played okay, but didn’t gain as much traction and was a non-factor in the passing game.
We’ll see how long Bucky Irving continues to be out for, but Tampa Bay needs to seriously consider making Tucker the primary rusher with White playing on third downs. Tucker has made more plays when given more snaps."
JC's guy getting some love from PR!
"It was downright shocking looking at the snaps for running backs Rachaad White and Sean Tucker. Not because White played 72% and Tucker played 32%, but because it felt like Tucker was out there much more than he actually was. He clearly had way more of an impact for Tampa Bay with 53 rushing yards on nine attempts and an average of 5.9 yards per rush. White played okay, but didn’t gain as much traction and was a non-factor in the passing game.
We’ll see how long Bucky Irving continues to be out for, but Tampa Bay needs to seriously consider making Tucker the primary rusher with White playing on third downs. Tucker has made more plays when given more snaps."
Ehhh a few of his runs he ran through a giant hole.
White didn't have that type of space to work with...
But I'm fine giving Tucker some more opportunities
BOWLES --
“[Tucker has] gotten a lot more reps and a lot more plays and a lot more blitz pickup, and we’re going to need all of them coming down the stretch.
“So, we’re good where he’s at right now, and the hot hand usually gets more reps.”
Solak and Kimes also discussed the Bills’ soft run defense. Solak thinks the perfect running back to exploit Buffalo’s Achilles heel is Bucs running back Bucky Irving, who returned to practice this week.
“If Bucky is back, that’s a very, very, very big deal,” Solak said.
Solak also added that if Irving cannot go, Sean Tucker needs to get more than 50 percent of the carries.
- Tampa Bay is 11th in EPA as a passing offense (40.4) compared to 24th in EPA as a rushing offense (-22.2)
- Tampa Bay running backs have a run of 10 or more yards on 7.2% of their attempts, 31st in the league.
- 60.9% of the touchdowns allowed (14 of 23) by Buffalo have been rushing, the highest rate in the league.
Bucky is now an official scratch for this game, along with Bredesen (I don’t think anyone truly believed CG would be ready, but he’s officially out this week too).
I think Tucker has the capabilities needed to exploit the “soft” run defense of the Bills. I believe White’s strong suit is short-yardage and an elite screen game option. Hopefully that’s Grizz’s plan, too.
