It's "Every Week Lenny" now.
Leonard Fournette has impressed on a weekly basis, building on his "Playoff Lenny" proficiency from last season.
In Thursday's 28-22 win in Philadelphia, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead back pummeled his way through the defensive line and made mincemeat out of Eagles linebackers in coverage. Fournette had a season-high 22 carries for 81 yards and two rushing scores. He also added six receptions for 46 yards, displaying an ability to break tackles in space.
As the clear RB1 in Tampa, Fournette has shown signs of being the runner many thought he could be coming out of LSU.
"No. 1, I think I'm just blessed to be in this position," Fournette said Thursday, per the Tampa Bay Times. "From being cut (by the Jaguars in 2020) now to being a part of helping this organization and this team win, I'm going to start with that. And also, my coaches and my teammates trusting me, knowing and believing I can get the job done at the end of the day.
"When you have that, my teammates plus my support from my family and my kids, everybody back in (his native) New Orleans, the sky's the limit for me."
The Bucs are using Fournette as their workhorse. He took 46 of the offensive snaps Thursday (63 percent), compared to just 13 for Ronald Jones and 12 for Giovani Bernard.
"Lenny's been really, really good, really solid -- run and pass, and pass protection," coach Bruce Arians said. "He's playing as a really good three-down back right now at a high level."
Fournette said his impressive play this season stems from fully understanding the offense in Year 2 in Tampa.
"I came in two weeks before our first game, so just having that year under my belt makes a big difference understanding it," Fournette said. "Especially playing with my guys for a year--trusting them and them trusting me -- the lack of trust and accountability is done on both sides."
As if the Bucs offense needed another weapon, Fournette's emergence as a reliable runner, and a pass catcher that Tom Brady trusts, adds another dimension to an already scary offense.
