As of now, it looks like Peyton Barber will be the starting Running Back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coach Koetter said today in an interview that,
“Peyton is our starter. We’re definitely going to use Ronald Jones and take advantage of what he’s going to do. We do have the two veteran backs behind him. Again, we’ve got three more preseason games. Let’s just let it sort out a little more.”
“Despite Koetter stating that things should “sort out a little more,” I believe he will stick with Barber as starter because other than him being a smart, quick, tough runner, he hits his holes and doesnt mess around. Not to forget the fact that he has pretty good field vision, and isn’t one to “dance around” in the back field. That’s something I am, personally, getting sick and tired of seeing from our running backs.” – Jay Bucs
Rookie Ronald Jones did score a Touchdown in his first game as a pro against Miami, however, he struggled to get things going on the ground, as he ran for only 9 yards on 8 rushing attempts. Barber, on the other hand, played very well. The 24-year old out of Auburn was only given four carries early in the game, but averaged more than 5 yards per run and also added a score.
Last year, Peyton Barber was serviceable when taking over for Doug Martin. On the season, he ran for 423 yards on 106 carries, which gives him an average of 3.9 yards per carry. Certainly nothing to write home about. Yet, the offensive line did not open many holes for Tampa’s Running Backs.
