Fournette would be the starter
Leonard Fournette had overtaken LeSean McCoy as the third-down back this season but was benched Sunday in favor of McCoy, whom quarterback Tom Brady advocated to get more involved in the offense.
Since neither Fournette nor McCoy play special teams in Tampa, one’s opportunity often times this season has come at the expense of the other. Arians doesn’t believe Fournette’s confidence was rattled by the decision.
“He’s in a great spot. He understood everything last week and he understands everything this week. He had a great practice today,” Arians said. “Leonard’s a pro. Just like everybody else on our team, it’s a week-to-week thing.”
Fournette’s produced an up-and-down season with the Bucs since his late arrival just prior to Week 1, rushing for 271 yards on 69 carries and three touchdowns, along with 28 catches for 171 receiving yards.
At times he’s looked magnificent, rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2, including a 46-yard game-winning run in the fourth quarter. Some even called for him to overtake Jones for the starting role afterward.
But then at other times, he’s looked timid and lacked his usual burst. In fact, since his Week 7 performance against the Las Vegas Raiders, when he rushed for 4.55 yards per carry and produced 47 receiving yards on six catches, he hasn’t averaged more than 3.5 yards per rush in a game. His three drops against the Los Angeles Rams were also baffling, as he’s never had a game with multiple drops in the NFL.
He does give them some flexibility in playcalling though, as he does have more natural hands than Jones. His 75.7% receptions per target rate is tops among the Bucs’ RBs, as are his 6.11 yards per reception and 6.39 yards after the catch per reception. He’s also produced a 10.8% drop rate, which is the lowest among their running backs.
The key in all this: Where is his head at? Arians said he’s fine, but Fournette also admitted he had a rough time when Arians decided to sit him last minute for an extra week in Week 6, before acknowledging that Arians had his “best interest at heart” in keeping him healthy. Did his benching last week wear at his confidence or light a fire?
"Just like every back -- every back wants to touch the ball, and when those guys are not in there, they're all pissed off," assistant head coach/run game coordinator Harold Goodwin said. "That's a good thing. At the end of the day, there's only so many carries for so many guys. And at the end of the day, there's a lot of guys, but there's only one running back on the field, so they just gotta suck it up."