Martin Destined For Overwork
September 6th, 2014
“You need to have attempts as much as anything,” says Lovie Smith.
Lovie Smith wants to pound the rock. Fans can pretend all they want that the Bucs’ defense-first head coach wants to play a new, high-flying brand of what he calls “Buc ball,” but Joe isn’t buying it. Not yet.
Lovie emerged happy with his first team after the preseason “dress rehearsal” in Buffalo. Those 17 first-half carries had Lovie pumped up.
Quality of the carries was not supreme. Doug Martin and Bobby Rainey combined for 15 first-half carries for a paltry 31 yards, plus there were two Josh McCown scrambles. But the head coach loved it.
“For the running game, I think we had 17 rushes in the first half, and that’s what we want to do. To be a running football team you need to have attempts as much as anything,” Lovie told Joe and other media in the bowels of old Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Rookie running back Charles Sims, this year’s third-round pick, is out injured. Mike James is slightly banged up (shoulder) and inexperienced. Bobby Rainey isn’t much of a complement to Martin, and he’s not in Martin’s league.
So look for Martin to get a Greg Schiano era workload for a while.
Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, an NBC Sports Network and Yahoo! Sports NFL analyst, casually spoke on WDAE-AM 620 this week about how Martin should get 20-25 touches in the Bucs’ system. That may not seem like much, but consider the NFL’s top workhorse back last year, Matt Forte, averaged 24 touches a game through the air and on the ground. Martin averaged 23 per game in 2012.
Regardless, Joe believes Martin will get massive work, in the neighborhood of 30 touches, for the first couple of weeks, as the Bucs figure out what they have on the offensive line, try to keep their defense fresh, and win a ballgame before they head to Atlanta in 12 days for a Week 3 clash on Thursday Night Football.
There will be plenty of time to lighten Martin’s load later in the season.
September 6th, 2014 at 9:44 am
Thanks Joe, as long as it’s not run, run, pass, punt.. Prediction two of our divisional teams loose tomorrow and we won’t be one of them.. Oh Ya..
September 6th, 2014 at 9:52 am
Good my kind of football
September 6th, 2014 at 9:59 am
And that formula works just fine for Seattle. Every successful offense needs a good running game. You make it sound like its a bad thing Joe.. It’s not…what is this new obsession of yours trying to insinuate that because Lovie wants to run the ball that our offense is going to be either boring, bad, or predictable? I don’t think he brought Tedford in for that.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:06 am
In order to have a good running game, you must have a good O-line. Hope these boys can block or we will certainly be run, run, pass, punt.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:06 am
We hv to be able to run the ball to win not just now but in the playoffs, if we make it that far.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:14 am
Give the ball to the F.B. and let Martin block for change-of-pace.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:19 am
It’s going to be tough running for Martin as teams gear up to limit his effectiveness. Yet it probably will be run on 1st and 2nd downs to make for a shorter pass on 3rd down. This 1st game weighs heavily on the QB’s protection and accuracy to complete passes. McCown, you’re the man to win this game.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:36 am
Going into these first games with a blind commitment like that is dumb. What if the running lanes just aren’t there? Do you keep running into a wall, no matter how many three-and-outs you have? I hate coaches that say they’re gonna run or pass a certain number of times. It’s reminds me of a Schiano-like stubbornness that ends up costing us games.
Wouldn’t a better strategy be to see what’s working? Adjust on the fly like winning teams do? If they can’t defend McCown, VJax, Evans, ASJ, etc, why not keep it up until they cry uncle? I can tell you this much: Bill Belichick will go with whatever is working for them, make adjustments on the fly throughout the entire game, and if it means passing 100 times or running 100 times he doesn’t give a flying sh-t. That’s what a winner does.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:39 am
“…To be a running football team you need to have attempts as much as anything,” – Lovie
While ‘attempts’ are necessary, that statement is not exactly true. If you are getting only 1-2 yards per carry (ypc) (with an average of 60 offensive plays in a game) you are not going to win unless you can hold the other team completely scoreless.
At 1-2 ypc, the opposing defense can wait for your passes. At 3-4 ypc, they need to play the odds. At 4-5 ypc, the defense is on their heels.
Regardless of how many attempts.
The Bucs need to establish a sound running game… early.
September 6th, 2014 at 10:59 am
Good take Joe. Lovie will use what he knows is effective. He knows that he has the talent on defense, he knows the defensive scheme, and he knows that on offense, by being willing to (show) run on almost any down and distance, it opens up the playbook for the mismatches that will occur in the passing game.
The offense will continue to be a work in progress, especially with Tedford not at 100%. The training wheels probably won’t come off until after the bye week, but that timeline will ultimately be determined by the QB.
Captain Obvious always says “QB play determines the season”, but for 2014, he’s right. The defense will regularly play at a high level, so it will be up to the offense to do enough to get the win. Traditionally, that’s been Bucs football. The difference this time around is that Lovie brought in Tedford to make sure that the offense is on par with the defense.
From what little I’ve seen of the offense, it sure seems that getting the ball quickly out of the QBs hands is a priority, and as a result, so is being accurate, with touch, in the short passing game. If #12 can do those two things consistently, we’ll have a better season than we’ve had in a LONG while.
#22 will get his touches, for sure, but this offense won’t be at its best until #34 comes back. When he is on the field, the offense has more pages of the playbook open to them because of his versatility. #22 has by all accounts worked hard on being a better receiver, while #34 is a natural receiver. Big difference.
September 6th, 2014 at 11:04 am
Martin 1200 rushing 800 passing
September 6th, 2014 at 11:24 am
Plz let’s not put the cart before the horse. We have an unproven front line n we r not in the class of a Seattle. Minnesota, Philly, or any elite NFL offensive line at this time. So, be mindful that DMartin will not b running behind one of the aforementioned lines. I’m always optimistic but also a realist. Let’s c what happens Sunday.
September 6th, 2014 at 11:30 am
Piratic, we’ve seen very little if any of the offense in the preseason. Running is fine, but keep in mind most of the elite teams pass the ball. We’re going to be uptempo, and take shots down field when we need to…
September 6th, 2014 at 11:40 am
I think both Martin AND Jorvorskie Lane will get a lot of work. It’s the smart thing to do. In fact, I would use Jorvorskie Lane mostly in the first half and just pound the heck out of the defensive line, then give Martin more freedom in the second half.
The dline will be worn and Martin will be fresher.
With two defensive teams, running the ball, or trying to, will be key to opening up the pass. Short, fast passes will be the rule of the day I think as well, to help open up things down the field.
But you can bet the Panthers will be blitzing McCown like crazy, because they know our oline is weak.
Thing is, so is theirs.
Going to be one heck of a defensive showdown.
September 6th, 2014 at 11:45 am
Lovie doesn’t believe punting is the worst thing an offense can do, which I agree with to a point. To me, he’s looking for McCown to earn his money by converting 3rd down and 6 a high percentage of the time. And when he can’t punt the ball back and play a field position game. The point being that the defense sets the tone and gradually shifts the field into the offenses favor at which point they can score, using a fairly conservative, ball control strategy.
As a concept that’s pretty much what Dungy did his entire time in Tampa. It works most of the time, unless you’re playing a team that can do it to you. Having watched Dungy ball all those years ago, I feel comfortable saying we’ll be a .500 team, but with a bounce here or there it could inflate to 11-5 sometimes. It’s not going to look sexy, but it obviously is a very simple, effective strategy to guarantee your team won’t fall flat on their face. In a way, we’ve been so starved for wins this feels terrific – for now. But in the future we may all want a little more than that.
September 6th, 2014 at 11:45 am
Feelthepewterpower Says
“Piratic, we’ve seen very little if any of the offense in the preseason. Running is fine, but keep in mind most of the elite teams pass the ball. We’re going to be uptempo, and take shots down field when we need to…”
I think, overall, you are right. However, I think when playing against a strong defensive team, running the ball is the most important thing you can do.
You have to force the defense to stop the run and the short passing game.
But, like I said, overall I believe you are very right. I just think this week and next week, we’ll have to adapt to a running game. More this week than next.
September 6th, 2014 at 11:48 am
Just curious, can anyone tell me how many seasons Dungy was a head coach and how many of them were losing seasons?
September 6th, 2014 at 12:19 pm
@BuccaneerBonzai
Dungy was a head coach for 13 years. First year with the Bucs was a losing season. One year was 8-8. The remaining 11 seasons were with a winning record.
September 6th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
The key to beating Carolina is to get their front 7 running in this heat. The Bucs have to use the perimeter as well.
September 6th, 2014 at 1:52 pm
Mike James runs harder than bobby Rainey I’d love to see him get some snaps, we need Doug in the second half to close out the game
September 6th, 2014 at 1:54 pm
@BuccaneerBonzai: Good take on #46. I like that guy. As big as a truck, with underrated feet and hands. With the current state of the O-line, he’ll get more work than if the front five were an obvious strength.
September 6th, 2014 at 1:56 pm
@Biff barker
The key to beating Carolina is to get their front 7 running in this heat.
It’s got in Carolina it’s only 6 hours away from Tampa