Todd Bowles, Buccaneers coach who is badly in need of a running back
It may have been a dodge, but there could be something to the answer given by Bucs head coach Todd Bowles when he was asked about addressing the biggest question around the team: Will the Buccaneers add a running back?
Meeting with reporters on Monday, Bowles said Tampa Bay is not in the market for a new running back, but did not close the door on the possibility that could change.
“Not at this time,” Bowles said, via the team’s website. “No.”
Hmm. There are still two weeks before the NFL’s trade deadline, which means that though the Bucs were not looking to add a running back on Monday, they could yet change their stance on that in the coming days. The Bucs have had the most anemic running game in the league, and if this is truly to be a playoff contender, that needs to change.
Tampa is averaging 3.0 yards per carry on the season last in the NFL. They rank 29th in rushing yardage (394 through five games), and have just one rushing touchdown on their docket.
Bucs Adding Running Back Might not Help
But one issue with the notion of the Bucs adding a running back is that it could very well change nothing for Tampa. The team’s No. 1 back is Rachaad White, who has 232 yards on 70 attempts this season, which accounts for an average of 3.3 yards per carry. White ranks 22nd in the NFL in carries, but just 32nd in yardage.
At Pro Football Focus, White actually is fairly well-graded, with a mark of 71.1, which is 22nd among 55 running backs. That’s not great, but it puts him squarely in the middle of the league’s running-back pack.
The Bucs are lacking depth behind White, which does not help, either. If Tampa were to add another running back, it would likely be a backup to White, not a replacement.
The bigger problem is that the Bucs’ interior line is among the worst in the NFL. Starting center Robert Hainsey ranks 30th among 39 centers, and rookie guard Cody Mauch (the team’s second-round pick from this year’s draft) is 74th of 79 guards. The Bucs have one of the best tackle combos in the NFL with Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, but they can’t mask the rest of the line’s weakness.
Bowles: ‘It’s Going to Be a Work in Progress’
In the end, Bowles was at a loss to explain exactly how the team can fix things, other than patience and his answer on the Bucs adding a running back.
“It’s going to be a work in progress,” Bowles said. “If we put too much emphasis on it, they’re going to take it away, and we [have] to throw it. So, it’s a lot of cat and mouse things. When you get behind, you have to throw it a little more. We weren’t behind as much, but we were in some tight ball games. It’s going to develop into what we think it will.
“It’s all inclusive. The scheme is the scheme. I think everybody is getting comfortable with the scheme, as you get comfortable with it in the first season, you add on to it and go from there. I think we’re in a good spot with it, and we just have to start clicking.”