Arians’ One-Two Punch
2 min read
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers running game has been something many have desired to see become exciting once again. The running game hasn’t been exciting since Doug Martin battle Adrian Peterson for the number one spot in the league; that was in 2015, and that was Jameis Winston’s rookie season.
Bruce Arians, much to the chagrin of Bucs Fans, has stated on many occasions that he is perfectly content with the state of our running backs and believes we have what it takes in that department to be great.
The plan is for Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones II to be a one-two-punch-duo. So far, that seems to be the case. Last season, the second-round draft pick Ronald Jones had a rookie year that he would love to forget about, one that we would all like to leave in the past. But this year, things are looking up for Ronald Jones, and he is turning the coach’s head toward his direction.
The Buccaneers could certainly use a one-two-tandem, much like an A-train-Dunn-style Dynamic Du0. However, even though Barber is a bruiser and Jones is a slashing speed back, neither of them are even close to being considered to be anything like their predecessors. Sorry guys. But I digress. If Barber and Jones can summon just a minute spark from their inner Alstott and Dunn, then it would make our running game monumentally better.
With the pressure on Jameis Winston to succeed now more than ever, having Ronald Jones perform to the expected prototypical slasher -speed back, then that will go a long way in helping to take a lot of the pressure off of Jameis Winston, much-like Doug Martin did for him, during his rookie season.
The Buccaneers passing game is good, was considered a top passing offense in 2018, not much has changed the offense formula other than adding some extra talent to the equation. Adding in a competent running game to a high flying arsenal, and a much-improved defense, we are guaranteed to win more than five games.
Jones will have to take his improvement from the practice field to the playing field, in order for this recipe for success to even begin coming together, as Arians wants to establish the running game immediately and pre-season is coming up this Friday! Let’s hope we can see a few flashes from Barber and Jones that is reminiscent of Thunder and Lightning. One can only hope to see such a small glimpse of the past push us forward into the future.
