A stronger Buccaneer run game vital for offensive success
By JD Stenger
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One thing that we have learned is that even with a defense as good as the one in New England a dominant run game is a threat. Derrick Henry showed us all that the Pats are confirmed to be on the decline, coming off a 182 yard performance. In the Vikings vs. Saints game Dalvin Cook ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Kamara on the flip side only had 21 yards and one touchdown for the losing side.
Fast forward to the Divisional Round in the Vikings vs. 49ers game and the Vikings couldn’t run the ball like they did last week with only 18 yards on nine carries. On the flip side, San Francisco’s Tevin Coleman rushed for 105 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. The total rushing yards by the 49ers was 186 yards while the total receiving yards was only 131.
It’s a must for the Buccaneer offense to be able to effectively run the football. Their redzone offense improved only slightly over last season’s (2018) poor ranking. A strong running game would fix this problem. When teams try to stop the Bucs, do you think they watch film of Ronald Jones II? Doubtful-they are most likely watching film of Jameis Winston and how to stop him. If you stop Winston, you stop the offense, which is an indictment of the one dimensional offense that Arians and Leftwich are running.