Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Subverting a losing culture (part two)

As the second part of this series, the successful run games of the NFC South are looked at in detail, and how they could translate to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The notion of a pass-catching running back is not a new notion. Lenny Moore first brought it to prominence back in the 50’s and 60’s and his receiving ability was something of the future at that time.

While third-down or scat backs are often utilized now in the NFL, there is a growing trend of running backs who have the capacity to catch as well as the smaller scat backs, but also posses the size and strength to be a featured back. Players like Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell (when he plays) and Melvin Gordon are some of the most popular names of this group, but as a division the NFC South may be the deepest.

If not the best, the NFC South has the most versatile running backs in the NFL. Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara are two of the top 5 dual threat running backs in the league. Their ability to catch the ball while also possessing speed and the strength to run between the tackles is invaluable to their respective offenses. McCaffrey’s abilities gel especially well with Cam Newton’s prowess to extend plays with his legs.

Devonta Freeman is also a very talented pass catcher when he is able to remain healthy while also being a great runner. The two time pro bowler has been on a bit of a decline these last two seasons due to injury, but the Falcons seem to have faith that he will be back to his previous form this year as they let capable backup Tevin Coleman walk this past offseason.

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While Carolina and Atlanta also missed the playoffs like the Bucs, more than half of the teams that made it into the playoffs utilized running backs that were capable pass catchers. For the sake of this article, capable will be defined as 50 or more receptions and over 400 yards receiving.

The teams that did not have such running backs were Baltimore (lost in the first round), Seattle (lost in the first round), Houston (lost in the first round), and the Colts (who lost in the second round). The Chiefs and the Eagles will be viewed as outliers, as neither team truly had a starting running back for any extended period of time to get comprehensive stats after injuries and suspensions took effect.

The trend to follow here is that pass-catching running backs are a commodity in the playoffs. There were many other teams that had pass-catching backs like the Panthers who didn’t make the playoffs, but in the postseason there is the potential that having a pass-catcher in the backfield may be preferred to a true between the tackles running back that is one dimensional.