By: Devin Sanguinett
Bucs Report – Special to Sports Talk Florida
I want my money back from this Buccaneers team. I was told I would be getting a new and improved run game from the Bucs. I’ve not seen it. Unfortunately, unlike last year, there isn’t necessarily a clear culprit. But to give you some idea of who might (and I do mean might with the heaviest of emphasis) deserve blame is this stat.
That is even worse than I imagine. But, I still can’t find it in myself to go full JoeBucsFan and completely discount Rachaad White. It really feels like every time White touches the ball, there isn’t a single lane because the line is blown up. But when Bucky Irving touches it, all of a sudden, the line remembers that they do know how to run block. And while you can argue missing Luke Goedeke hurt them in week 2, but they had him in week one and the run game was barely any better.
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I think it is still a matter of this line adjusting. in particular, I don’t think Cody Mauch is all the way there yet. He plays with a lot of toughness, but still makes mistakes. Graham Barton has already shown a lot, but he also occasionally misses blockers, especially in the second level.
I said this in both game recaps, but it is hurting this team that they keep facing really good run defense. But that’s not an excuse. The Bucs have to face real defenses on occasion. The good news for White and the offensive line is that a real defense might not be there this Sunday. The Broncos have allowed over 140 yards to both the Seahawks and Steelers. While I think they have better RBs than the Bucs do, it’s not like they have Barry Sanders back there. If the Bucs can’t muster production like that, then they have serious problems.
And even if they do, I would still have questions. They need to prove to me that they will be able to run against really good teams. Because they won’t be facing the Broncos in January. Not just because the Broncos are an AFC team, but because the teams in January will have good defenses. I would be looking at that Eagles game for the next test to see what White and the line can do. The Buccaneers are a good team and have talent along their line and running backs. But they still haven’t managed to put it together in the running game. There are other things to factor in like scheming and when the play is called. But at the end of the day, it is up to the players to get more than 3 ypc in a game.
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