The PewterReport.com Roundtable features the opinions of the PR staff as it tackles a topic each week that involves the Bucs.

This week’s topic: What’s Wrong With The Bucs’ Running Game?

Scott Reynolds: Tampa Bay Must Upgrade At RB In 2020 Draft

So what’s wrong with Tampa Bay’s running game? Let me set the table by saying it’s a little bit of everything from poor blocking by the offensive line, lack of supreme talent by the running backs and play-calling, which has been both questionable and predictable at times. All three elements have played a role in the Bucs ranking 27th in the NFL in rushing this year with just 91.4 yards per game despite Tampa Bay ranking 13th in carries in the league with 367 this year.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians would tell you that the running game has done enough to still make the team’s play-action passing game go, and he’s right. Jameis Winston has thrown for the most yards this season (4,573) and Tampa Bay has the league’s top-ranked passing offense (308.8 ypg.). Yet Arians wants more balance – not just in called runs versus called pass plays. He would like to see the Bucs run for 125 yards per game rather than less than 100 yards.

Bucs RB Peyton Barber – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

The Bucs do need some more talent along the offensive line, especially on the right side where Alex Cappa has been an upgrade over Kevin Pamphile and Caleb Benenoch at guard, and at right tackle where Demar Dotson is fading at age 34. But Tampa Bay also needs better running backs.

The Bucs have rushed for 1,279 yards in 14 games, but Winston has accounted for 229 yards by himself on quarterback scrambles, and his 4.2 average leads all Tampa Bay rushers with at least five carries. Ronald Jones II has made strides in his second year, but with just 541 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 3.7 yards per carry, he looks more like a complementary back than a lead back in the NFL. Peyton Barber’s contract year hasn’t worked out so well as he lost his starting job to RoJo and has rushed for 447 yards and six touchdowns with a paltry 3.1 avg.

The 2020 NFL Draft has plenty of stud running backs in it, including the likes of Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, Florida State’s Cam Akers, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins, Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Alabama’s Najee Harris, Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill and Utah’s Zack Moss. All have the potential to be drafted by the end of the third round and the Bucs need another running back with some explosiveness and the ability to make defenders miss. Then there are some Day 3 sleepers like Memphis’ Patrick Taylor and Illinois State’s James Robinson that could help the Bucs.

One of these backs will need to be added to Tampa Bay’s backfield to team with Jones to get more explosive runs. The Bucs running backs’ longest run this year has been a 25-yarder by Jones on a draw play. Tampa Bay needs a real play-maker in the backfield.

Mark Cook: Absolutely Nothing

In a perfect world, coaches talk about balance – 60 plays on average in a game, 30 runs and 30 pass plays. Blah, blah, blah. Did you score points? Did you win football games? Can you move the football? If the answer is yes, yes and yes – then who really cares how it gets done?

The Bucs are a team built to throw the football with receivers like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, tight ends Cam Brate, O.J. Howard and quarterback Jameis Winston. Throw in a dash of Breshad Perriman, a spoonful of Scotty Miller and a sprinkle of an emerging Justin Watson and why would the Bucs be worried about taking the ball away from any of these options? A good running game in the NFL averages between 4.0 and 4.2 yards a carry. Winston’s average completion is double that. Evans’ average reception is 17.3 yards, Godwin’s is at 15.5 yards. Even Dare Ogunbowale averages nearly eight yards per reception. So Tampa Bay should be stressing about a running game?

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Getty Images

Would it be nice to have a speed threat and a more dynamic runner to take the load off the passing game? I suppose. But is it necessary? Most teams don’t even have one wide receiver like Evans or Godwin. Yet the Bucs have two – Pro Bowlers I might add – who between them average 16.4 yards every time they catch the ball. And fans are worried about a running back that can get a team 4.5 yards a carry?

There are times when a team needs a running game. Like salting away a win in the fourth quarter with a four- or five-minute drive to close out a game. But as mentioned, this football team is built to throw the football and if people are going to try and turn it into a running or a so-called balanced football team, then it will come at the expense of dynamic players already on the roster. And it would most likely mean the Buccaneers are completely revamping their offensive line as well. Something that would require premium draft picks and high money contracts if you look to free agency to do so.

Tampa Bay has proven it can win just fine with a mediocre running game, due to the fact it has an explosive passing game. Especially with the defense coming around as of late. But when the Bucs have a passing game with premium pass catchers, I wouldn’t disrupt any of it in order be a traditional offense especially with the fact the team is already the third-best scoring and total yard offense in the entire NFL.

Trevor Sikkema: Draft Time, Folks (But Not Too Early)

When it came to offensive production for the Buccaneers, most years you could point a finger or two along the offensive line to explain why the production wasn’t as good as the skill players around it. This year I don’t believe that’s the case, or at least that they’re the main culprit. I think, where not perfect, this Bucs offensive line is playing at a level higher than one that reflects the team boasting just the 27th-best rushing attack in the NFL.

The Bucs are averaging just 91.4 yards on the ground per game. That itself is a problem, but an even bigger problem is that they’ve rushed the ball 367 times, which is 13th most in the league. The output they’re getting for the amount they’re emphasizing the run just isn’t adding up. As it is the ultimate team game, success in football stems from many parts doing their job well. In the run game, blocking, running vision, running ability and even the play call itself are all factors that either yield success or prohibit it.

Bucs RB Peyton Barber – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

When it comes to the ball carriers, Ronald Jones II looks much better this year than he did last year – which is a good thing because if he looked similar, he wouldn’t be on the team next year. I think Jones will still be on the team next year, but I imagine Peyton Barber will not be, simply due to a need for an upgrade. I think that will come through the draft.

Where I do believe the Bucs need a running back addition in the draft, I don’t think it should come too early. They have offensive and defensive line needs that I believe should take precedent over a running back in those Top 50 picks. But beyond that is fair game.

Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I don’t think the Bucs will have the chance to land guys like Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Clemson’s Travis Etienne or Georgia’s D’Andre Swift, but players like Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire could all be welcome options in round three or four. What I believe is the key is finding a running back who can compliment the passing game on both run and pass down. That’s why a guy like Edwards-Helaire might be my top target for this team because you don’t have to have this revolving door of running backs all game. He is effective as a running, blocker and pass catcher. I believe the three-deep RB rotation is becoming somewhat of hindrance in the Bucs’ rushing attack.

I like the idea of Tampa Bay addressing both the offensive line and the running back position in the draft. But let’s also not lose sight of the fact that this is one of the highest scoring offenses in the NFL as it is. They don’t need to invest high capital in the running game to be successful. Try to find an upgrade, but even the lack of success that exists is not detrimental enough to freak out about, especially when Tampa has the passing weapons they do.

Matt Matera: RBs Lack Yards-After-Contact Ability

Usually when a team has a struggling run game, it’s a combination of the offensive line not winning its battles up front, and the running backs being ineffective carrying the football. For the Bucs, this is the case. But if we’re going to pick just one reason for the Bucs inefficient running game, I’d like to see a little more production out of Ronald Jones II and Peyton Barber. 

Both running backs have shown flashes a good football, especially Jones, who I still think is the starting running back next season. There’s something missing, though, and that’s been an inability to get to the second level of the defense. Some of that is decision-making, as Barber in particular has read the wrong hole to run through at times, which is why you see him get stuffed at the line on a third-and-short. The other half is the ability to break tackles or even get more yards after the initial hit. 

Bucs RB Ronald Jones II – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

How many times have we said this year that Jones is just a play away from having a big play moment? Well it’s 15 weeks now and we still haven’t seen it. Jones always seems like he has one defender to shake off and he’ll take it to the house, but the defender makes the tackle each time. Jones averages 2.1 yards after initial contact, which is ranked bottom third in the league. Barber’s is even lower at 1.8, ranking in at 37th among rushers with at least 90 rushing attempts.

Could the Bucs use get a little more help from their offensive line? Yes. That doesn’t leave the running backs off the hook, though, sometimes they need to make something happen out there, and the running backs haven’t been able to show the extra effort to get a couple more yards. The offensive line is not an innocent bystander in this, but there’s more that can be done from the running backs.

Taylor Jenkins: Too Little Room To Run, Too Little Variation

After the first few games of the season it looked like the Bucs’ run game had improved since the 2018 season, eclipsing the 100-yard mark in each of Tampa Bay’s first three contests to start the season and doing so against the likes of San Fransisco and Carolina. But as the season has dwindled on the Bucs have found themselves back near the bottom of the league, ranking 30th with 3.5 yards per carry and 27th at 91.4 yards per game.

Tampa Bay has failed to run for more than 75 yards in four of their past five games, reaching totals as low as 36 total yards against the Saints and 49 total yards this past week against the Lions.

Bucs RG Alex Cappa – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

One of the major issues with their running game, as in 2018, is their stuffed percentage. Stuffed percentage is a stat tracked by Football Outsiders, showing what percentage of runs a team’s back is hit by a defender either at or behind the line of scrimmage. Tampa Bay currently ranks 30th in the league, being stuffed on 23 percent of their runs, a meager improvement from their 24.7 percent stuffed percentage in 2018 which also found the Bucs ranked 30th in the league.

Football Outsiders also uses a metric called adjusted line yards, taking all running back carries and using weighted values to put responsibility on the offensive line for the run, taking into account down, distance, situation, opponent and whether the run comes from under center or shotgun, where Tampa Bay ranks 24th in the league.

As far as variety, Tampa Bay’s backs take their runs behind the center or guards on 70 percent of their carries, the highest such percentage in the league. The league average is 56 percent.

So all-in-all, the problems primarily boil down to a lack of successful run blocking from an offensive line that has a lot of salary cap invested in it, as well as a predictability in the run game. Moving forward, I do see promise from the interior offensive line of Ryan Jensen, Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa, and the Bucs will likely see a change at right tackle in the coming off-season. The run game is absolutely something that needs to be improved, so look for run game coordinator Harold Goodwin and Bruce Arians to make that a focus before 2020.