By james art After Friday’s practice for the Bucs, Todd Bowles spoke to the media and revealed that three players will be out for Sunday home game against the Falcons. The biggest question of them all is whether rookie Bucky Irving is available.
Bucs DL Vita Vea, Greg Gaines and Will Gholston Photo by: USA Today
As it turns out, Irving looks like he’ll be good to go in the cream game. Bowles said after practice that wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring), defensive end Greg Gaines (calf) and defensive end Tyky Smith (concussion) are the players out for Sunday.
Evans, who we know is out for the rest of the week, Smith was unlikely to come out of the concussion protocol due to the shorter week, but Gaines came as a surprise as he did not receive the injury report until Thursday. He did have a walking boot which showed the seriousness of it.
While Gaines was not seen at all. Smith at least warmed up with the team before running individually. Irving also warmed up with everyone, where he ran around a bit, then stood on the sidelines as special teams drills continued.
Bucs RB Bucky Irving has had this injury before
Bucs RB Bucky Irving and Ravens ILB Roquan Smith – Photo by: USA Today
Todd Bowles started by saying that Bucky Irving should be fine for the game. He said, “Without anything happening, he should be fine.”
What was interesting right after that was that he mentioned that it was an injury that Irving had before during college at Oregon and even before that. The pain threshold is more familiar than any other injury that football players can sustain during the season.
“It’s a toe injury,” Bowles said. “It bothered him. He had it in college, it’s something he’s dealt with his whole life.”
Bowles also expressed that it wasn’t a toe injury on the turf, just a toe injury.
Having Bucky Irving means the team can keep their three-headed monster intact with Irving, Rachad White and Sean Tucker. There has been a lot of discussion about how Tampa Bay needs to be creative on offense without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, so those running backs will play a huge role.
The running game for Tampa Bay really started to pick up in their first game against the Falcons. They have also found a lot of success in the Pony pack, which means having two backs on the field at the same time. While offensive coordinator Liam Cohen said they can’t run the Pony 50 times a game, we could see him being used a bit more given the circumstances and maybe even getting all three on the field together.
Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Each running back brings his own skill set, and all are useful in the passing game as well. If Tampa Bay wins on Sunday, it will be a collective effort by everyone involved.
Tucker has made a lot of noise lately, earning Offensive Player of the Week during the Bucks’ Week 6 win over New Orleans, Irving has been the most consistent of all three running backs.
Irving leads the team with 67 rushing attempts, 351 yards and three touchdowns. He has scored in three of the last four games, accomplishing his feat with an increased role on the defensive line. We’ll find out how much he’ll be used given his injury Sunday against the Falcons, but at least Tampa Bay knows it can count on all three running backs to help the team find success and stay in the race for the top of the division ranking.