It was Geno Stone that welcomed Bucky Irving to the NFL.
Irving, a fourth-round rookie running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, played in his first NFL game on Saturday in Cincinnati, in a game his team won, 17-14, with a late touchdown. Because Tampa Bay Head Coach Todd Bowles had decided to sit almost all of his starters for the team's preseason opener, Irving was on the field for the first snap instead of incumbent Rachaad White. The first play call by new Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen was a handoff to the rookie back, who went off tackle for a rugged four-yard gain, which qualifies as a successful running play on first down. It was Stone, the Bengals' veteran safety, who brought him down at the end of the play.
Irving conceded that he was a bit anxious in the locker room before his first pro game, but that run and that hit from Stone completely settled him down.
When I got out there and got my first hit, the game pretty much just slowed down for me and I started balling out with all these guys," said Irving. "Seriously, it's football."
Though Irving wouldn't stay in the game all that long – his last carry was a five-yard gain on second-and-two with 12 minutes left in the second quarter – he had enough time to fashion an impressive Buccaneer debut. He would finish with 28 yards on six carries, including a five-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter. After a 21-yard catch and run by wideout Trey Palmer got the Bucs into first-and-goal, Coen dialed up Irving again two plays later. Irving was ready for the moment.
View the top photos of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Preseason Week 1 game vs the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
Bucs vs. Bengals
"My eyes didn't get big," he said. "If you're a baller, you're used to making plays, You've just got to stick to it and keep working."
The resulting play was hopefully a harbinger of things to come in Coen's offense, which seeks to use a lot of variety in running play types to make it tougher for defenses to know what is coming or where the ball is headed. On this particular call, Irving had an idea of how things would shape up and was ready when an opportunity to cut back presented itself. He started towards left tackle and then quickly darted back towards the middle, finding a lane and bulling through one last defender at the goal line.
"I knew we had an inside-zone call," said Irving. "I pretty much let my blocks set up and then cut back off my blocks, and then I had to break a tackle to get in."
The Bucs drafted Irving out of Oregon, where he was one of the nation's best backs at both catching passes out of the backfield and gaining yards after contact, with the idea that he could form a one-two punch with White, who surpassed 1,500 yards from scrimmage last year. The team thinks both backs can operate on all three downs as an interchangeable duo, keeping both fresh throughout a game. Irving's first outing was certainly encouraging in that regard, but he knows there is a long way to go.
"Just keep my head down, keep working," he said. "I've still got a lot of things I need to keep working on to get better at, but I'm not satisfied. I'm just trying to improve and get better."
