So Joe is a little confused by what happened moments after Rachaad White said his game didn’t get going last season until the final 6 to 8 games of the Bucs’ 19-game run.
Rounding off to protect the innocent, White was saying he didn’t play well to start the year and through the first 10 games or so.
Then he sounded like a guy little bitter that he wasn’t treated fairly by media for his 2023 production.
“Here in this market, nobody want to really want to like give you credit or give you your respect or your flowers,” White told the BucsGameday show. “But at the end of the day, sometimes you got to go take it. I mean, everybody wasn’t giving [NBA player] Anthony Edwards his flowers, but look what he doing now. You know what I’m saying? So that’s how it works in life.”
Joe doesn’t see how White has been slighted in town. Joe almost thinks White gets too much credit for his results running the football.
White noted that him sliding late in games a handful of times cost him yards last season, lost yardage that probably would have changed his stats enough to alter the perception of his game.
But say White did leave 50 yards on the field, a generous estimate, that lost yardage would have raised his season average to only 3.8 yards per carry from 3.6. That’s still an unacceptable total and far below the NFL average. So Joe’s not buying what White was selling there.
White also hinted that he’s miffed because his 1,500 total yards in the 2023 regular season didn’t get him at least a Pro Bowl alternate spot.
“Make sure we go grab that this year for sure, though, and more,” White said.
Joe hopes all this means White stays motivated. He’s a productive player on the rise with exceptional hands. But the Bucs are seeking more results running the ball, and it feels like the team won’t give White 10 games to get rolling this season if he needs the time.
Fourth-round pick Bucky Irving certainly will get his shot to impress. And White acknowledged Irving is “very skilled and quick “out in space, and White called him more “compact” than small.
