Fantasy Football News and Rumors

[SmokingMonkey]

Ok, I hear you. Now how stupid is it not to get Brady a vet RB he can trust?

Another angle: Arians hates rookie RBs. 19 carries for Mendenhall after being drafted #23. Didn't use David Johnson until week 10. Two examples.

They're are going to need a real vet back there that can see what Brady sees.

Comprehensive list of NFL signings that BEGIN with the HC talking to the media before contacting the players or his representation:





Done

 

[averagejoe]

Well, i think all of you are wrong about the Tampa RB situation.

As disappointing as it may seem to most of you, Jones is Arians' guy.

Too much to consider, so let me just throw this out there:
When the Bucs were leading or tied, they ran the ball 248 times compared to 281 pass attempts. That 46% run ratio.
When the Bucs were trailing, they ran the ball 161 times compared to 349 pass attempts. That's a 31% run ratio.

The Bucs trailed a lot.
I have a feeling that changes with Brady making better decisions with the ball.

With all the vets available, and possible reduced practices in camp because of the lingering pandemic, the Bucs have had more than enough time to overhaul their RB depth. Yet all they did was let Barber go, and draft Vaughn who is merely a compliment and not a starter.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

As disappointing as it may seem to most of you, Jones is Arians' guy.

I guess we will see. I for one don't buy that for a minute. He inherited Jones and the only reason Jones is still around IMO is because the GM Licht used a second round pick on Jones and is loathed to own up to the fact that was a bad blunder. Vaughn isn't some outstanding talent, but he's good enough to supplant Jones who is simply a below average RB.

 

[averagejoe]

I guess we will see. I for one don't buy that for a minute. He inherited Jones and the only reason Jones is still around IMO is because the GM Licht used a second round pick on Jones and is loathed to own up to the fact that was a bad blunder. Vaughn isn't some outstanding talent, but he's good enough to supplant Jones who is simply a below average RB.

I can appreciate your view.

But if the Bucs were so concerned about Jones (see my post above), why did they wait until the 3rd round to address a possible replacement. (Letting 7 RB go before Vaughn.)
Grades for Vaughn are not very flattering either.

CBS gives the Vaughn pick a D+
SI gives it a C+
Pro Football Network gives no grade but says it was the "biggest reach"
NFL Mocks gave him a B-
Fansided also gave no grade but said "he’s not a replacement for [Jones] if things come to that. Better running backs were there for the taking."
Even the writers for Bucs Nation said (as a consensus) that Vaughn was "the worst pick."​

 

[HaroldSeattle]

I can appreciate your view.

But if the Bucs were so concerned about Jones (see my post above), why did they wait until the 3rd round to address a possible replacement. (Letting 7 RB go before Vaughn.)
Grades for Vaughn are not very flattering either.

CBS gives the Vaughn pick a D+
SI gives it a C+
Pro Football Network gives no grade but says it was the "biggest reach"
NFL Mocks gave him a B-
Fansided also gave no grade but said "he’s not a replacement for [Jones] if things come to that. Better running backs were there for the taking."
Even the writers for Bucs Nation said (as a consensus) that Vaughn was "the worst pick."​

Teams and GM draft boards are way different from the media draft guru's for one thing. A third round pick is pretty valuable.



Every team has holes to fill and generally you can wait on a RB and still find talent. I'm not saying Vaughn is outstanding...I'm saying he's better then Jones though and will in fact become the starter in short order.

 

[Trudem]

I think the fans are more mad that he tried to act like he cared and was for their cause, then showed he had no clue what any of it was about.

even Rodgers has a clue, and that dude seems like a total dumb dumb outside of the football field

Not sure if you are referring to his social platforms or what but Rodgers is very intelligent.

 

[eaglesnut]

Love how obscure scraps of stats are pointed to as evidence, and no context is ever given.

Pitt had a 28 year old Willie Parker coming off a pro bowl season, and then Mendy fractured his shoulder during his first real playing time, hitting IR. And besides, Bruce was OC..not the end all be all of deciding who played, or who they drafted

and DJ actually wasnt used until WK 11, and that's because newly signed free agent CJ2K was doing just fine, on pace for 1200 at 4.2 a clip, and had he not broke his leg, DJ would've never even been needed either.

Yet "rookie RB" hater Arians had no problems giving a rookie Vik Ballard (5th round) 200 plus carries in Indy as HC, which was the only time in his head coaching career where he didn't have an at least somewhat established veteran RB around to lean on instead of the rookie. Kinda like the situation he has now

Good info.

Now refute the Brady side. Brady needs a back there that'll see what he sees.

 

[TREFF]

Well, i think all of you are wrong about the Tampa RB situation.

As disappointing as it may seem to most of you, Jones is Arians' guy.

Too much to consider, so let me just throw this out there:
When the Bucs were leading or tied, they ran the ball 248 times compared to 281 pass attempts. That 46% run ratio.
When the Bucs were trailing, they ran the ball 161 times compared to 349 pass attempts. That's a 31% run ratio.

The Bucs trailed a lot.
I have a feeling that changes with Brady making better decisions with the ball.

With all the vets available, and possible reduced practices in camp because of the lingering pandemic, the Bucs have had more than enough time to overhaul their RB depth. Yet all they did was let Barber go, and draft Vaughn who is merely a compliment and not a starter.

Well, if that's the case, they don't have a "starter" on the roster then. Cause in that RB room, the only things that are proven are, #1, D. Ogunbowale is a good pass catcher, but that's all he is, he ain't even great at getting in the way of pass rushers. And #2, R. Jones is average, at best, at running, and sub par at pass catching/run blocking. I have a very hard time believing the plan is Jones being the guy.
At minimum, your first 3-4 picks are expected to be major contributors, if not immediate starters/impact players, so Vaughn in the third falls directly in line with expectations of him playing a role. Maybe he ain't great, but his competition ain't either. The opportunity exists, and sometimes that's all it takes.

As to why they waited until the third? Beats me, I would've taken Dobbins in the second. But they did get exceptional value (supposedly) on Winfield, and it was a position of dire need. As was tackle, and half the other positions on the field, both sides of the ball. Who knows what goes through these GM's minds and how the determine wether the safety they needed outweighed the RB they needed at that moment. Somehow I doubt they projected Dobbins, Akers, and Dillon (and Gibson) all going between their number two and three, especially considering not one team picking between those two spots had a true need at RB. Ravens, and Packers definitely not, Washington (and who knows if Gibson even is a RB? I hope so, but???), minimal, and Rams mehh, sort of. So I could easily see them assuming they'd still have at least two of Dobbins/Akers/Dillon/Vaughn to choose from with an early #3 pick. At least that's what my thought process would've been.
But regardless, spending a #3, an early #3 at that, isnt evidence that they weren't targeting the position, its evidence that they were, but they had many holes and they couldn't take one at #13 or they'd be laughed at, and better value presented itself in the second is all.

Outside of Jones being the carry over, defacto #1 by virtue of seniority and having the most NFL touches under his belt, I see zero evidence to suggest Vaughn isn't going to be given the opportunity to run with the job. Wether he has the ability to succeed is a different discussion.

 

[Lamarvelous]

Found this Twitter thread and thought it would be a good time to share it in here.

 

[TKOSpikes]

If the Bucs like Jones and/or Vaughn, why the rumors of DFree??

I think Freeman would put them both on irrelevant duty.

 

[Lamarvelous]

If the Bucs like Jones and/or Vaughn, why the rumors of DFree??

I think Freeman would put them both on irrelevant duty.

The rumors were started by Freeman himself, as far as I can tell. That holds very little weight in my opinion.

 

[TKOSpikes]

The rumors were started by Freeman himself, as far as I can tell. That holds very little weight in my opinion.

I’ve been hinting at it for a while now. It’s a very good match...for Brady and Bruce.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

If the Bucs like Jones and/or Vaughn, why the rumors of DFree??

I think Freeman would put them both on irrelevant duty.

The rumors were started by Freeman himself, as far as I can tell. That holds very little weight in my opinion.

I’ve been hinting at it for a while now. It’s a very good match...for Brady and Bruce.

arians was asked by media what he thought about adding a veteran back like freeman.
arians answered with 'Freeman is asking for too much money' as his reasoning why they aren't going to bring him in, which instantly set the fantasy world ablaze

then freeman said that arians/TB need to reach out to him to negotiate.

so there is literally ZERO to base the TB interest in Freeman rumors off of, outside of people not seeing RoJo or Vaughn as better than average NFL players

 

[SmokingMonkey]

all of these exact same rumors were floated around TB last off season, when there was "no way in hell" that arians would go into the regular season with just RoJo and Barber.

now, out of boredom, these exact same rumors are circulating the fantasy world cause there is "no way in hell" that arians/TB12 would go into the regular season with just RoJo and Vaughn

anyone else seeing a pattern here?

 

[Lamarvelous]

I’ve been hinting at it for a while now. It’s a very good match...for Brady and Bruce.

You hinting at it =/= rumors, though lol. Unless you're saying you have inside information..?

I don't think Freeman has anything more than Jones does at this point (Jones had more YPT, YPA, Yards After Contact/rush and was better at breaking tackles) and it seems like bringing him into a complicated offense during a most likely condensed offseason would be very sub-optimal. Plus, I can't see the Bucs throwing away the rest of their salary cap (5Mish) for him.

 

[TKOSpikes]

all of these exact same rumors were floated around TB last off season, when there was "no way in hell" that arians would go into the regular season with just RoJo and Barber.

now, out of boredom, these exact same rumors are circulating the fantasy world cause there is "no way in hell" that arians/TB12 would go into the regular season with just RoJo and Vaughn

anyone else seeing a pattern here?

or... We don’t need Freeman...would have made a clear statement.

 

[TKOSpikes]

You hinting at it =/= rumors, though lol. Unless you're saying you have inside information..?

I don't think Freeman has anything more than Jones does at this point (Jones had more YPT, YPA, Yards After Contact/rush and was better at breaking tackles) and it seems like bringing him into a complicated offense during a most likely condensed offseason would be very sub-optimal. Plus, I can't see the Bucs throwing away the rest of their salary cap (5Mish) for him.

yeah...came out wrong. Me hinting at it, means I feel it’s a perfect fit. I’m thinking pass pro, not ypc and other o line stats.

that said, you guys are probably right.

 

[SteelersPride]

Good info.

Now refute the Brady side. Brady needs a back there that'll see what he sees.

"I have nothing , my point was blown up. I now resort to asking more questions based on speculation"

 

[averagejoe]

Dalvin Cook officially holding out.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Dalvin Cook officially holding out.

Well the season is quiet a while away from starting, so no big deal yet.