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RB Ronald Jones, Cowboys (1 Viewer)

yeah they are improving each week. will be a legit good team in nfc playoffs.
I don't know about clearly improving, or a legit good team but agree they will absolutely vie for playoffs. 

Their schedule is a fluffy pink cupcake.

Saints, Pack, and Chiefs are the only true hard teams they play.

DET may put up a test; maybe Rams too given their D. Falcons can score but their D is variable -- all winnable games for TB if they plays solid and their D keep it close.

The rest of their schedule? Panthers x2, Broncos, a banged up Chargers, Bears, Giants, and an imploding Vikes team.

 
I don't know about clearly improving, or a legit good team but agree they will absolutely vie for playoffs. 

Their schedule is a fluffy pink cupcake.

Saints, Pack, and Chiefs are the only true hard teams they play.

DET may put up a test; maybe Rams too given their D. Falcons can score but their D is variable -- all winnable games for TB if they plays solid and their D keep it close.

The rest of their schedule? Panthers x2, Broncos, a banged up Chargers, Bears, Giants, and an imploding Vikes team.
The offense will run better and improve their turnover ratio with Brady at the helm which I think should be considered a clear improvement because this should help the defense as well. I think they are a clear playoff contender but I think people go overboard when they anoint them a Super Bowl contender. They could be by the end of the year but they are not there yet.

I can't believe you included the 3-0 Super Bowl bound Bears on "fluffy pink cupcake" list. 

 
I’m not ready to crown em yet. 

(Paging, Mr Green....Mr Green, line 1) 
The Bears had 168 total yards in this game (130 pass 38 rush) and 6 turnovers by Rex Grossman. None of those 6 were forgivable. They were all really bad. There was a really bad 7th one that got called back, too. It was going to be Matt Leinart's coming out party. He started 9/10 and 2 TDs and was carving up the 2006 Bears D (for a while).  Bears were down 20 in the late, late 3rd, won the game but *still* only finished with 168 yards. Never seen anything like it. Urlacher had 19 tackles. 

Anyway, er, yeah fire up Jones. No brainer.

ETA lol I just looked it up Grossman was 14/37 buck forty-four. 4 picks 2 fumbles.

 
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Ronald Jones rushed 20 times for 111 yards and caught 6-of-9 targets for 17 yards in the Bucs' Week 4 win over the Chargers.

This was a classic RoJo game. He was quite effective between the tackles, showing plenty of strength to run through arm tackles. But he also did close to nothing as a receiver, dropping at least two passes and turning 9 targets into 17 receiving yards. Jones played more passing down snaps than usual after LeSean McCoy (ankle) and Kenjon Barner (concussion) left the game. Tampa Bay has a quick turnaround on the road in Chicago on Thursday night. It's unclear if Leonard Fournette (ankle) will be ready then. If Fournette is out, Jones is a volume-based RB2, particularly in standard and half-PPR formats.

- Rotoworld

 
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Ronald Jones rushed 17 times for 106 yards in the Bucs' Week 5 loss to the Bears, adding three receptions for 19 additional yards. 

With Leonard Fournette (ankle) still sidelined, RoJo had his second 100-yard game on the ground in five days. Jones cleared 50 yards both halves, but he could have had a bigger night had the Bucs not been so penalty prone, especially after the break. Bucs miscues were constantly taking them out of favorable run script even as they played most of the game with a narrow lead. Jones should have had a receiving score near the end of the first quarter, but he was mystifying-ly ruled down at the end of a catch he made more difficult than it needed to be. Mike Evans then quickly punched it in for a two-yard touchdown. Jones is complementing his big plays on early downs with just enough mistakes that he cannot be considered safely distanced from Fournette, who should be ready for next week's showdown with the Packers. RoJo will be best utilized as a FLEX for that one.

- Rotoworld

 
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Ronald Jones rushed 17 times for 106 yards in the Bucs' Week 5 loss to the Bears, adding three receptions for 19 additional yards. 

With Leonard Fournette (ankle) still sidelined, RoJo had his second 100-yard game on the ground in five days. Jones cleared 50 yards both halves, but he could have had a bigger night had the Bucs not been so penalty prone, especially after the break. Bucs miscues were constantly taking them out of favorable run script even as they played most of the game with a narrow lead. Jones should have had a receiving score near the end of the first quarter, but he was mystifying-ly ruled down at the end of a catch he made more difficult than it needed to be. Mike Evans then quickly punched it in for a two-yard touchdown. Jones is complementing his big plays on early downs with just enough mistakes that he cannot be considered safely distanced from Fournette, who should be ready for next week's showdown with the Packers. RoJo will be best utilized as a FLEX for that one.

- Rotoworld
Maybe I missed a play where RoJo had mistakes? 

I mean, this guy is not wrong that Fournette is still going to challenge for carries because Arians will be Arians, but I didn't see any mistakes RoJo was having out there.

Dude is running solidly and getting 100 tough-earned yards two games in a row is nothing but positive in terms of what RoJo can do.

Still likely a committee, but really shouldn't be. 

 
He's probably talking about overall and not one game (factoring in recency bias), that's pretty much Rojo over his career. Or I dunno we all could be Fournette owners.
I don't know what this guy is talking about -- I mean, has RoJo also made big plays on early downs overall?

The guy has had 3 fumbles in his career, all last season (and lost time to Barber before proving he was better once again).

It's the right take (Fournette is still a threat to his carries) derived from wrong data (again, what mistakes?).

 
TBH Brady made that catch more difficult than it needed to be. If he threw it to RoJo’s hands vs 3” off of the ground it would have been a walk in TD. 

 
Out and out stud.

A few dropped passes/fumbles early on, but that's three straight games of 100+ yards on the ground.

I don't know how Arians could give Fournette or Vaughn anything but a supportive role going forward, but I won't but it past Arians to mess this up.

He shouldn't -- RoJo has proven himself as a quality starting back in this league, and as a fantasy RB1.

 
Out and out stud.

A few dropped passes/fumbles early on, but that's three straight games of 100+ yards on the ground.

I don't know how Arians could give Fournette or Vaughn anything but a supportive role going forward, but I won't but it past Arians to mess this up.

He shouldn't -- RoJo has proven himself as a quality starting back in this league, and as a fantasy RB1.
You and I have been on the same page about RoJo for a while now. 

he’s the zombie RB. Everyone keeps trying bury him but he just keeps churning out the yards 

looked damn good today. Carrying defenders with him, making guys miss at LOS. 

Pundits will be along shortly to point out his 2 yard runs, I’m sure. But I saw what I saw. Dude got stronger as the game went on. He’s a beast. 

 
Looked really comfortable out there today. Buccs looked like world beaters today.

RoJo looking like a locked in workhorse.

 
Until he isn't. Because Arians.

But love his production and hope he continues churning this way, he's great to watch.
They can’t reduce his workload if he’s producing like this, can they? 

3 straight 100+ games? Converting short yardage?  I can’t see them reducing his workload for Fournette. Not even Ariens. 

 
They can’t reduce his workload if he’s producing like this, can they? 

3 straight 100+ games? Converting short yardage?  I can’t see them reducing his workload for Fournette. Not even Ariens. 
Last year, RoJo went 14/80 (41 yards receiving) and 19/70 (12 rec yds) in weeks 3 and 4 with the lion's share of carries, then had a more even split with Barber in the weeks that follow.

It's not exactly the same, but I have zero faith in Arians not mixing things up just because regardless of what's currently clearly working.

 
Ronald Jones rushed 23 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns in Tampa Bay's Week 6 win over the Packers.

Leonard Fournette (ankle) was a late scratch, allowing Jones to continue manhandling 71 of the team's 90 backfield touches in his last three games; three of Ke'Shawn Vaughn's five carries occurred on the final drive with Blaine Gabbert under center, so it's fair to say Jones' touch share would have been even larger had this game been competitive. Jones' two touchdowns were also runs from inside the five-yard line as coach Bruce Arians continues leaning on the former as the team's bell-cow in this stretch. Look for Jones to continue his surge as an RB2 in Week 7 against Las Vegas.

Oct 18, 2020, 7:33 PM ET

 
I also see a committee when Fournette is able to play. Not sure why. Maybe there's something in practice they don't like, or maybe Arians was really excited to get Fournette and wants it to pay off.

I think, with his long TD at the end of that earlier game, that Fournette was going to be the 1A until he got hurt. Jones has taken advantage, but I still think Arians wants to see his waiver wire pickup pay off despite evidence that maybe he shouldn't force it. I've been guilty of that myself, so I get it. 

 
I’m of the opinion that Arians doesn’t care who wins the starting job.  They got Fournette because they realized that with no preseason and the concerns around COVID, they needed another vet RB if someone went down due to COVID or injury.  I think Ariana keeps playing them both (when Fournette is back to 100%) and he rides the “hot hand” each week. 

 
This is Jones backfield. Young and explosive. Fournette was a cheap depth signing as there was nothing worth a damn behind RoJo.

However Fournettes ankle is pieced together with Elmer's glue and scotch tape. 

RB1

 
I’m of the opinion that Arians doesn’t care who wins the starting job.  They got Fournette because they realized that with no preseason and the concerns around COVID, they needed another vet RB if someone went down due to COVID or injury.  I think Ariana keeps playing them both (when Fournette is back to 100%) and he rides the “hot hand” each week. 
Fournette will never be 100%

 
However Fournettes ankle is pieced together with Elmer's glue and scotch tape. 
Based on?

The situation sounds more like he was almost available this week and is likely going to be available to play sooner rather than later. To suggest he won't be involved when that happens sounds a lot more like what you want to happen than what actually will happen.

 
Fournette may get 5-7 touches per game. He was a depth signing and nothing else.

Jones is this year's version of the breakout player vis a vis Derrick Henry.

I just can't believe how much bigger Jones looks this year. He seems about 15 lbs heavier and no less athletic.

 
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It will be nice to have them both later in the year, but it certainly looks like it's Jones' job right now.  It's dubious that Fournette was "active" on Thursday, but not well enough to be the emergency back in this particular game. 

 
You can't put the genie back in the bottle. If ROJO slows down at some point Fournette might get another crack but I'd guess he looks more like a traditional backup when he returns then 1B. If so will be  interesting to see how Fournette handles that role because he's always been the the guy from day one.

What I believe Tampa should do is cut or deactivate McCoy who is not really very good at anything at this point in this career. Fournette and Vaughn IMO would both offer more in the third down role.

As for ROJO I thought last year he played a lot better then most people gave him credit, his stats were just ordinary because Arian's stubbornly kept running Barber into the backs of his OL. But he's taken it up a step up this year and while I am invested in the guy for fantasy so it makes it easy to pull for him he's the kind of guy I'd be pulling for anyway. Was considered a bust  after one of worst rookie years for a high drafted RB I can recall and has done nothing since but work hard and improve and I got a lot of respect for how he's handled his business.

 
RoJo looked really good and I do think he has won the job and agree with the sentiment that he will get the majority of the carries moving forward.  I agree with @menobrown - how does McCoy still have a job? Once Fournette is back they should definitely cut or deactivate him. 

 
Arians would be an idiot to not give RoJo the featured role.  He looks the part. He looks great running the ball, getting some nice chunk plays and when there no room to run, he still get 2-3 yards.  He's still a little shaky in the pass game which will cap his upside in PPR leagues.  He's a solid RB2 going forward.

 
Week 6 fantasy football care/don't care: Rams offense needs a star — and it’s probably Darrell Henderson

Excerpt:

Ronald Jones changes Tampa Bay’s offense

As noted above, the Buccaneers defense was awesome on Sunday. Hopefully, the national audience is caught up after they were made to choose between watching Packers vs. Bucs or a game featuring the Adam Gase-coached Jets. On balance, Tampa Bay’s unit has been by far their best unit. 

With that in mind, it’s past time we change the way we view their offense. And it has nothing to do with Tom Brady’s play, as he doesn’t look washed at all. But if this is going to be a defense-first team, more weeks than not, they’ll be in a position to lean on a guy who needs more respect: Running back Ronald Jones.

Coming out of Sunday Night Football, Ronald Jones ranks third in the NFL with 472 rushing yards. Over 46 percent of his yards on the year have come after contact and he’s run 84 pass routes. It’s been a balanced approach for Jones. He’s been on fire of late with Leonard Fournette out of the picture. He added 113 yards and two scores on 23 carries to his 2020 resume against Green Bay. 

Of course, that begs the question: What incentive do Bruce Arians and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to get Fournette back in the mix when he’s healthy?

Fournette was just a preseason waiver add. Jones has done nothing to lose the job. He’s running well and handling the duties of a feature back for a team that will be in run-friendly game scripts going forward.

The coaching staff could always shake things up just for the sake of it. However, given what we’ve seen lately, it just wouldn’t make much sense. 

 
I don't see Fournette as a threat at all going forward. Jones is the very clear #1 RB. In my opinion, its more likely that Fournette falls behind Vaughn as the season goes on, than makes this a true timeshare again.

 
Fournette had a pretty monster game that one game when he was given the handle on carries. 103 yards 2TDs off of 12 carries to Jones' 7/23/1.

I totally think this team should continue to lean on Jones. 

I have zero faith Arians will, and will want to leverage that potential production of Fournette to the detriment of both players.

The issue is that it's not immediately clear (to me, at least) which back should have which role.

Both are competent pass catchers, but both can struggle with this at times (Jones dropped a few balls early this season, Fournette while catching tons of balls with JAX still has the label of more of a run down back than a pass down back). 

Fournette seems like the more prototypical N/S runner and has that pedigree, but Jones has been doing an amazing job at it.

To me, it's hard to really see how/when to use these guys in committee, other than a) using Fournette to spell Jones and keep him fresh, or b) switch series.

My bet is Arians does b), with the added wrinkle of making one guy the lead back one game, then giving it to the other, with little consistency -- this is going to cause both backs to not get in the groove and be a detriment to them both.

Pessimistic view, sure. But it's clear to me that RoJo has proven he can be "the guy" and thrives much more when he has the full compliment of carries. Maybe Fournette can be that guy still, too. But neither are going to get the chance, I think. This is going to get muddy and I don't see it being a benefit to either back.

 
The Vaughn thing was a bit of hyperbole, but color me surprised. Jones had been better the last 3 weeks, than Fournette has ever been. Figured it'd be about 80-20 Jones for carries, and that Fournette would be 3rd downs. Clearly I was mistaken. Still think Jones is the RB to own, but its looking a lot more fluid than I was expecting.

 
Just watching the Redzone version today and the gradual development of the stat lines as a RoJo owner I’m getting the vibe it’s basically a hot hand approach until somebody gets hurt at this point.

 
Ronald Jones rushed 13 times for 34 yards and one score in Tampa Bay's Week 7 win over the Raiders.

Jones punched in a one-yard touchdown to give the Bucs a comfortable 37-20 lead in the fourth quarter, but the story on the afternoon was Leonard Fournette's team-high 17 touches in his first game back from injury. All 14 of Jones' touches (including his only catch) came on 1st- and 2nd-down whereas Fournette was the team's only running back to record either a 3rd-down touch or catch in the two-minute drill. And for those thinking this was merely a product of what appears to be a blowout, think again: 10 of Fournette's touches occurred in the first half. Jones, even after recording 100 rushing yards in three consecutive games, is clearly in a timeshare moving forward. He'll be ranked as a RB2 for that reason in Week 8 against the Giants.

- Rotoworld

 
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Rojo started the game, dropped a pass and was immediately on the sidelines after that and the next couple of series. If he didn't drop the pass, he is probably still in the game. His situation is too tenuous to be able to trust him while Fournette is healthy.  I am a RoJo owner unfortunately so this stinks, but not unexpected. 😕

 
jtp1982 said:
Just watching the Redzone version today and the gradual development of the stat lines as a RoJo owner I’m getting the vibe it’s basically a hot hand approach until somebody gets hurt at this point.
Or if you fail to execute. Jones was benched after he had an awful drop with 13:53 left in the 1st half. He started the 2nd half.

 
The last two posts are spot on.  Jones was "benched" because he dropped an easy screen pass that was likely going to be a monster gain.  Apparently there's some accountability in Tampa now.

 
Rojo started the game, dropped a pass and was immediately on the sidelines after that and the next couple of series. If he didn't drop the pass, he is probably still in the game. His situation is too tenuous to be able to trust him while Fournette is healthy.  I am a RoJo owner unfortunately so this stinks, but not unexpected. 😕
The ebbs and flows with this situation suck...Fournette out and Rojo seems to seize the job...but one dropped pass and then he ends up taking that step back.  While not unexpected, after the last 3 weeks, was hoping for at least a little better moving forward than this type of share.

 
The ebbs and flows with this situation suck...Fournette out and Rojo seems to seize the job...but one dropped pass and then he ends up taking that step back.  While not unexpected, after the last 3 weeks, was hoping for at least a little better moving forward than this type of share.
I am sure it’s frustrating for fantasy players but the Bucs have two really good running backs and won’t be wearing one down. Wouldn’t make sense. I think Jones has looked great all year but his pass catching is a real liability and Fournette looked very sharp yesterday. 

 
I just bought this week in a couple dynasty leagues as I thought the price was quite good for a 23 YO RB1/2. I’m still OK with the bye even if he’s more of an RB2/Flex moving forward. He’s got one year left in Tampa in 2021-22 and then will be an unrestricted FA at 25 YO. Fournette wants to be paid, I’m sure, and likely leaves Tampa for greener pastures. Maybe RoJo gets less of this “accountability” next year without Fournette, or maybe we have to wait until 2022 for him to be given some leash. 

Personally, when I played sports in HS, I hated playing for the coach who benched you for one mistake. You couldn’t play loose ... think it’s a dumb approach. He dropped a pass.  Others dropped passes with zero repercussions. Further, Fournette almost juggled a pass right into a defender like three plays later, but the defender’s tackle seemed to almost knock the ball back into Fournette’s chest. Zero repercussions for Fournette.

Bottom line - RoJo looks talented and is very young for his experience level. Solid hold in dynasty, and hopefully gets more leash going forward. 

 
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Jones is the better runner at this point.  He ripped off some nice chunks early and then had the drop, which cost him some snaps.  Fournette looked tentative running to me.  I don't think McCoy had a snap yesterday. 

Jones also had a really nice blitz pickup on a Godwin reception right before his late TD.  That bodes well for him.

 
I am sure it’s frustrating for fantasy players but the Bucs have two really good running backs and won’t be wearing one down. Wouldn’t make sense. I think Jones has looked great all year but his pass catching is a real liability and Fournette looked very sharp yesterday. 
Looked sharp as a pass catcher, for sure. As for a runner? Both backs were getting bottled up, and save for that one run that Fournette gained half his yardage on the day, didn't think he looked especially effective moving piles. He was stuffed in the red zone where RoJo got into paydirt in a similar situtation.

Overall, yes, frustration as they will be using both backs. But likely settling into a 70/30 - 60/40 split where RoJo is the main running back with Fournette used for passing down and CoP.

For RoJo owners, puts a cap on this upside as we likely won't see him get enough carries to put him regularly over 100 yards like we did (he needs volume and gets better as the game goes on). But he will be the runner down low and still carries RB2 value based on usage and positive gamescripts (unless he keep fumbling/losing handles on balls).

For Fournette owners, value is more in PPR as the team clearly trusts him more in the passing aspect of the game, so negative gamescript games are good targets.

 

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