If you were to ask me who is among the top-10 in Broken Tackle and Missed Tackle Rate for all NFL running backs with at least 60 carries, I would probably give you the basic answers. Kenneth Walker, James Conner, David Montgomery. The usual.
Bucky Irving is seventh on that list, which made me do a little bit of a double take. As a matter of fact, Irving is third in the NFL in Yards After Contact per attempt. A pretty surprising number considering Irving is listed at 5’10 and 195 pounds. Despite being a smaller back, Irving has brought a noticeable amount of juice to the Bucs’ offense, and the way they get him involved is super interesting as well.
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love what Bucs’ OC Liam Coen is doing in the run game. They throw a lot of variants of split zone, counter, and against the Panthers threw in some really dope offshoots of wham to throw off the Panthers’ run defense. Irving made the most of every carry he got.
That’s the one thing that’s stood out about Irving so far: he squeezes every yard out of every run. Irving is always falling forward, and literally just bounces off of defenders at times. the Bucs run HH counter here, with the second tight end coming in motion to kick out the EDGE. Irving sees this hole and hits it, sliding through open gaps to turn this into a big run for Tampa. I love how the Bucs dressed up that motion of the tight end all game, we’ll come back to that.
They hit the Panthers with GT Counter on this play, but I like how this showcases Irving’s footwork and ability to create when the hole isn’t there. RG Cody Mauch and RT Luke Goedeke both pull, and this play is supposed to hit in between the crease when Mauch kicks out the EDGE. However, that kick doesn’t get off cleanly and Goedeke ends up getting stuck in the wash, a win for Carolina because the safety gets to come down and clean up.
However, Irving goes into improvisation mode. He makes the safety get on a bended knee like a Boyz II Men song and takes this upfield, turning what should’ve been a loss into a six yard gain. Irving is a real hooper, folks, and gets so much more out of the offense than the Bucs’ previous backs.
What I love is how the Bucs will get him the ball in different ways. They can swing the ball out to him in the passing game, but what’s intrigued me the most is their work with two backs on the field. Irving might be their most explosive back, but RBs Rachaad White and Sean Tucker also provide a lot of value in this offense. Getting any pairing of these guys on the field has helped the Bucs offense remain versatile and dynamic, even without WR Chris Godwin. With two backs on the field, the Bucs are averaging 6.7 yards per carry, an incredible number.
I like this one because it gets Irving the ball in space and lets him create. The EDGE takes away the outside, but Irving is able to cut this reverse back and get upfield to keep the offense on schedule.
Another thing that I’ve noticed as the season has gone along is how Coen’s run game has evolved. Being from the McVay offensive tree, he tried to get the Bucs to major in mid zone and outside zone. However, as Pewter Report’s Joshua Queipo wrote, the offense has morphed to more gap scheme, fitting the players that they have. One of my favorite run designs I’ve seen all season is this burst motion wham play that Irving takes for 43 yards.
With this burst motion by the tight end, the Panthers are expecting split zone with this influence. However, the burst motion ends up kicking out the EDGE and the other tight end comes back across to block the nose tackle. C Graham Barton, who normally blocks the nose, wraps around and blocks the EDGE as left tackle Tristan Wirfs climbs to the second level. Look at how the linebacker is influenced by the split flow, so he comes over to defend the flow. Next thing you know, WHAM! There’s a right tackle walling him off and Irving takes it for 43 yards.
The work Irving and the Bucs’ run game has done to keep this offense afloat might be the missing piece they need to try and make a push for the playoffs. It’ll be difficult because Atlanta has both games over them, but with Tampa facing the Raiders, Chargers, Cowboys, Panthers and Saints and Atlanta going up against the Vikings, Raiders, Giants, Commanders and Panthers, the race is going to come down to the wire. Yet, I have more faith in the Bucs offense because of their added growth, and modification of their offense to fit players like Irving.
