Bucs RB Chase Edmonds – Photo by: USA Today “It felt good for me, man. I’m just trying to get back to playing football how I know I can play football,” Edmonds said. “I look at myself as a change-of-pace back that can provide explosive plays. You’ve got to know your role in this league, and I think that’s my role. “Any time I can take advantage of a mismatch out of the backfield or provide a spark whenever Rachaad is getting a little tired, that’s my role and I’m trying to excel at that role. And add a little special teams value.” The road to his strong day against Atlanta was a tough one for Edmonds. He suffered an MCL sprain in Week 2 and landed on short-term injured reserve, halting his chance to make an impression as one of Tampa Bay’s offseason additions. A month later, Edmonds was activated to return. But he failed to reestablish himself as a regular contributor in the backfield, rushing for just 35 yards on 17 carries over six games before Week 14 in Atlanta. The Bucs have been desperately needing a No. 2 to step up behind White. Edmonds should be that guy, as — when healthy — he has looked like he has a lot of juice and plenty to offer in his role. And it’s a role he knows well and is committed to playing at a high level. “He’s healthy,” head coach Todd Bowles said on Monday. “When he first got hurt, he spent a lot of time out of the offense, but getting an opportunity to play…I thought the line did a good job getting him open that way. “He can make some one cuts. He’s a one cut, downhill runner, he makes some very good cuts, he runs pretty hard and he runs pretty quick through the hole.” Why Were Rachaad White And Chase Edmonds Able To Carry The Load In Week 14? So, why did things suddenly open up on the ground for the Bucs in the win over the Falcons? It started with the Atlanta defense missing David Onyemata and Kentavius Street on the interior of the line. Onyemata was inactive, while Street went down with an injury during the game. Not to mention, Grady Jarrett is out for the season as well. 
Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today As Bowles put it after the game, Atlanta was daring Tampa Bay to run. Even with two defensive tackles missing, the Falcons were playing with two high safeties and giving up the run game. That allowed Rachaad White and Chase Edmonds to pick up some steam and force the defense to come up, which then opened things later on for Baker Mayfield and the passing game. “They were playing two-high shell the whole game,” Bowles said. “They were daring us to run the football, so we got the run going. We outgained them in the running department, which is very rare because they’re an excellent running football team. So that helped us out a lot. And once they came down at the end, it kind of opened up for us.” At one point in the third quarter, the Bucs ran the ball five straight times. Edmonds went for five and four yards to start the drive, then White got 12 yards on the next play. From there, it was another five-yard pickup from Edmonds. Later on in that drive, White caught a screen and took it 31 yards to put the Bucs up 19-10. Chase Edmonds said he and the rest of the running back room — as well as the offensive line — knew it was their responsibility to find success in the run game. They knew they had to start getting some chunk runs to make the Falcons respect that aspect of their game and get away from that two-high look. “They were playing two-high shell for the most part, just trying to contain Mike [Evans] and CG [Chris Godwin],” Edmonds said. “It’s up to us, us as in the backs and the line, to get them out of that two-high shell. If we want to go to where we want to go, that’s something that we have to continue to make strides in. “I think we’ve made a tremendous amount of strides the last three games. I think ‘Chaad had two 100-yard games in the last [three] games or something like that. So it just speaks volumes to him, speaks volumes to the line and guys just continuing to challenge each other to get better every single practice, not be content and just try to make strides.” The rushing attack — and the offense as a whole — had nothing going on in the first half. But Edmonds said there was a shift after halftime. “I think first of all, just a tremendous tip to the O-line,” he said. “Just staying with the run game, getting mean, getting violent. We kind of came in here at halftime with a little bit of frustration on that. We were just kind of starting slow in the run game. “We felt like it was something that we could especially take advantage of with their two starting defensive tackles out. They took the challenge, started getting bodies on bodies and creating lanes for Rachaad and I.” Chase Edmonds Talks Improvement With Bucs’ Run Game 
Bucs RB Chase Edmonds – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR The Bucs outgaining the Falcons on the ground was a far cry from the first time the two teams met this season. In Week 7, Tampa Bay ran 20 times for 73 yards. Baker Mayfield was the reason the yardage was even that high, as he ran for a 31-yard gain in the fourth quarter. The run game stepping up the way it did in Week 14 would’ve really been unthinkable as little as a month or so back. But there’s been a serious jump in production on the ground over the last few weeks. Rachaad White ran for 100 yards on 15 carries (6.7 avg.) against the Colts three games ago. Last week, he ran for 84 yards on 20 carries (4.2 avg.) against the Panthers (and went over 100 total yards). White then ran for a second 100-yard day in three weeks in Sunday’s win over the Falcons, and Chase Edmonds got in on the action with his best game of the season. So, what areas have improved so massively to allow for the increased rushing production from the Tampa Bay backfield? “It’s all over the place, but I think it’s more in the confidence in the scheme,” Edmonds said. “Guys are starting to learn the scheme and really just say, ‘Okay, these are my rules, this is the look we’re gonna get.’ If it’s not the look we’re gonna get, being able to adjust to that on the fly. And I think for the most part, we have a young O-line. “I think that’s something that people didn’t really look at, and those guys have just continually stayed at it, got better every single week, didn’t really read too much into to what people were saying and now we’re starting to finally hit strides. December and January football, you want to hit strides in the run game.” The Bucs’ rushing attack still ranks 29th in the NFL at 90 yards per game. But that’s up from finishing last in 2022 with just 76.9 yards per game. The improvements have come slowly on the ground for Tampa Bay, but the ground game really might be taking shape at the right time. The red-hot Rachaad White and a resurgent Chase Edmonds will have to continue on their current path down the stretch if the Bucs are going to three-peat as NFC South champions. Recent weeks seem to indicate the duo is capable of doing exactly that. The post Chase Edmonds Knows His Role – And Now He’s Filling It appeared first on Pewter Report. Source: https://www.pewterreport.com/chase-edmo ... illing-it/
