More From Doug Martin?
June 15th, 2013
Joe isn’t sure anyone expected what Doug Martin did at running back last year. Once he got used to the rigors of the NFL, Martin became one of the NFL’s best backs and was eating pineapple.
But the way Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman and Bucs coach Greg Schiano are singing the praises of Martin, the two sound as if Martin’s rookie season of 1,454 rushing yards is just a taste of what is to come, by way of the Associated Press.
“Absolutely,” Schiano said. “If you look at him, I think he looks better now than he did this time last year — physically, understanding-wise, all those things. I think there’s another level for him for sure.”
“Every day he comes in and gives it his best,” quarterback Josh Freeman said. “Having Carl and Davin back and healthy, that’s going to make a huge difference. I’m not saying you’re expecting a drop-off or anything, but those are two All Pro-caliber guys coming back, and I know they’re really hungry, really eager to get back on the field.”
That’s just it. Martin racked up his yards behind an offensive line put together with twist ties and duct tape; Hats off to Bucs offensive line coach Bob Bostad for playing chess due to so many injuries. Joe isn’t sure what was more impressive: Bostad getting solid play from a patchwork line or Martin rolling up so many yards behind said line.
Either way, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Martin could push 2,000 yards next year. If he does that, it’s a good bet the Bucs have a winning record and are pushing for a playoff berth.
June 15th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
I totally agree. If we can control the clock and our defense keep them from matching us on points, we should win at least 3 to 4 games better than last year. The long bombs open up the running game. We back them off with a barrage of deep passes and then run it down their throats and when they come up to stop the run, we throw deep again. Last year I thought the coaches were a little slow recognizing the changes in defensive strategies during the game. Sometimes not reacting quick enough to counter their changes. This year I feel everyone will be quicker and more decisive. They should be able to make in game adjustments sooner and take advantage of what the defense is giving them. We should be able to exploit all the defenses that we play as long as we out smart them.
June 15th, 2013 at 7:00 pm
I agree. Bob Bostad did a tremendous job last year and Martin’s numbers prove it. Can’t wait for a healthy Josesph and Nix back in action! If we aren’t a top 10 team offensively (like last year), then there are major problems.
June 15th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Mighty Mouse/ Muscle Hamster
“Gold jacket, green jacket, who gives a sh!t?”
#22 is going to be an All-Pro. He has “it”.
June 15th, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Two great points. I was definitely pleased with our back up offensive line. However, plenty of runs were shut down last year due to the fact that Dallas Clark and Luke Stocker couldn’t hold a block 90% of the time. Coaches have gone back to the film and seen this. Reason why Dallas isn’t back and #88 has bulked up an extra eighty pounds.
As for Doug Martin, he really should keep the Dougernaut title because he keIeps those legs moving and plows through defenders with a purpose.
Coach Schiano and Co. are making moves and I’m on board.
June 15th, 2013 at 7:59 pm
Joe, patchwork line as far as the depth chart goes, but they did a pretty damn good job as a unit.
I was enthusiastic when Bostad signed on, delighted now.
June 15th, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Does anyone know what the opening futures total wins were in Vegas for the Bucs this year? It’s 7.5 now, I thought it opened at 6.5 but I maybe mistaken.
June 15th, 2013 at 9:11 pm
Biff,
I may not have understood your comment, but Bob Bostad thinks we have excellent depth on the O-Line because of the experience acquired last year. Read this and see if you agree!
http://www.buccaneers.com/news/article-1/Bostad-2012-Was-Good-Investment-for-Bucs-Line/121bb1e1-3f74-4972-bdfe-f1c1a7e428ae
June 15th, 2013 at 9:45 pm
I have said for awhile now, if Nicks and Joseph stay on the field…look out.
2,000 yards for Martin
4,000 yards. For Freeman
June 15th, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Raphael,
I can see 2k yards for Martin as a possibility, but Freeman chucking the rock for 4k yards is a shoe in.
4,000 yards passing is the new “mendoza line”.
June 15th, 2013 at 11:16 pm
I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t completely sold on Doug when we drafted him. I now realize how wrong I was. the guy is a stud and one of the most important players on the team. the only thing I worry about is him getting injured. knock on wood that he doesn’t.
June 15th, 2013 at 11:25 pm
Remember when we Bucs fans were happy if we got a thousand yard rusher? Thank you, Muscle Hamster!
June 16th, 2013 at 12:14 am
@ Stevek …only 10 QB’s threw for 4000 last year .
June 16th, 2013 at 12:54 am
what amazes me is that Doug had the 3rd most amount of all purpose yards in the ENTIRE league, behind megatron and adrian petterson, AS A ROOKIE!!! just simply amazing.
June 16th, 2013 at 5:10 am
@Andrew 1
Randall Cobb would like to have a word with you.
June 16th, 2013 at 5:20 am
@
It just hut me that you are strictly meaning offensive. Amazes me as well.
June 16th, 2013 at 6:54 am
“Flacco passed for fewer yards (3,817 to 4,065), averaged fewer yards per attempt (7.19 to 7.29) and threw fewer touchdown passes than Freeman (22 to 27) while completing 59.7 percent of his attempts (to Freeman’s 54.8).”
Yet Free can’t take us to the Super Bowl…funny. Free’s no superstar, but he doesn’t have to be, as illustrated above. Yes he needs to up his game, but I think better defense (overall, hard to do better than #1 run D) and returning Pro bowl guards will have a bigger impact.
June 16th, 2013 at 8:41 am
Gotta Love Doug “My Favorite” Martin…
I’m a self proclaimed “football junkie”; From Pop Warner to the NFL I’ve seen a whole lot of football in my 36 years on this earth…With that said, I have so much respect for the RB position…Sure QB is the glamour position but lets be honest here, yeah QB’s get pressured and knocked down here or there during the course of the game, but for the most part they probably get really hit 4 or 5 times a game on average (unless they’re scrambling QB’s or their O-line sucks)…Now don’t get me wrong QB’s do get blasted but RB’s get hit basically every single time they touch the ball which is about 20 times or so a game so they have to be Tuff Period…
If I had to compare Doug’s game to RB’s from the past I’d have say to me he’s a mix of Emmitt Smith & Ladainian Tomlinson…Keeping this guy healthy is priority for us…If we can get 6-8 good years of production out of him he’ll easily destroy every franchise rushing record when he’s done…Do your Thing Dougie…
June 17th, 2013 at 2:12 am
Doug is gonna beast it up. I’ma say by the end of the year, he will cement himself as the 3rd best runningback in the league behind Adrian Peterson and LeSean McCoy.
I could maybe even see him running for 2,000 yards. He managed almost 1,500 in a rookie season that had him dealing with an oft-injured offensive line. This is the same guy that ran for over 250 on the Raiders WITHOUT Joseph and Nicks.