Rachaad White, Bucs’ Run Game Starting To 'Click'

“It’s awesome having Rachaad back there,” left tackle Tristan Wirfs said. “All three of those guys, but Rachaad has kind of taken off. It’s nice to see. He keeps plays alive. There are sometimes we’re running to the left or something, I hear the crowd start cheering, and he’s freaking on the other sideline.

“He wants to keep stuff alive and if something is not there, he’ll find a place to put it in, so it’s great having him back there and watching him ball out these past couple of weeks.”

After previously looking more like a third-down back or pure receiving back, Rachaad White is trending upward and the question now becomes if he can be the team’s lead back going forward. While he is showing promise as a runner and receiver, White is just trying to do what it takes to get the Bucs into the win column.

“It’s all about, as a running back, we all just try to do the best we all can do to help the team,” White said. “Some days are running days, some days are passing days. If you’re a good guy who can run routes and catch the ball out of the backfield and things like that and make plays happen out in space then I’m pretty sure – yards are yards. Scrimmage yards are a huge deal today in the NFL.

“There are a lot of things that are a huge deal. I mean, for fantasy, catching the ball is huge, and things like that for people and in general. You just see how big and how huge it is. I would say yards are yards, scrimmage yards and all that, it all makes sense.”

Fantasy owners of Rachaad White should be thankful to hear that he is thinking of them, but his offensive line is also thankful that he is capitalizing when they give him lanes to run through.

“He’s a phenomenal running back,” right tackle Luke Goedeke added. “He reads the defenses well, he reads our blocks really well. I feel like the running game has just started clicking more and more and it’s only going to continue to get better and better.

“With the offense and everything, I feel like it took a little bit of time for us to kind of piece it all together. Rachaad’s been running hard and hat’s off to him. We just do the blocking and he finds the holes and hits them hard and makes guys miss so – thankful for the guy.”

Bucs OC Dave Canales On Run Game: “I Love Where We’re Headed”

Adding to Rachaad White’s progress is the fact that the Bucs’ offensive line has been continuing to get better as well. Whether it is Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke, or right guard Cody Mauch developing into a mauler, the offensive line has three key members for the future. When asked about how he sees the run game, Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales sees them continuing to learn and improve.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled with the direction that we’re going there, Canales said. “You’re just seeing, really, a lot of improved fundamental play from a group that now has games upon games stacking together the communications.

“All the verbal and non-verbal, the physical communication within a combo [block] that happens as you continue to commit yourself to trying to run the ball. I love where we’re headed. Rachaad [White], Chase [Edmonds], all of the guys continuing to learn where these runs hit and having patience with it.”

While the Bucs have found progress, they are far from being all the way there yet. Yes, they have improved over the past two games, but they still rank 30th in rushing yards per game with 85.2 and are tied with the Raiders for a league-worst 3.5 yards per carry.

It has taken time, and a lot of the early-season issues with play call cadence and penalties have been cleaned up. That has led to better results that the team will surely hope to continue in Atlanta and beyond.

“I would agree to that, Luke Goedeke said of the offense running more smoothly. “All those little things just take time. It could just be one split millisecond that you’re off and that can cause a penalty. So, just cleaning up those things, understanding each other a little bit more, I think we’ve really started to click and everything.”