No Record For Doug Martin
December 9th, 2015
Don’t expect a franchise record from RB Doug Martin.
Doug Martin, the beloved Muscle Hamster, is having a renaissance of a season.
Already with 1,133 yards with four games to go, Martin has a legit shot at reaching 1,500. A really solid year.
But a team record? Maybe, not so much. Rick Brown of ESPN.com writes how he believes Martin will come close but won’t set one.
For the second time in his career, Doug Martin will flirt with the Buccaneers’ single-season rushing record but will again fall short. Martin is currently 411 yards from tying the mark of 1,544 yards set by James Wilder in 1984. Martin — who currently sits at 1,133 — will surpass his rookie total of 1,454 yards from 2012, but Carolina’s defense will keep him from setting the franchise mark in Week 17.
It’s not just Carolina’s defense, but perhaps Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter.
Remember at Indianapolis how Bucs fans howled when the Bucs took Martin out in the second half? Lovie said the reason was the Bucs wanted to be more aggressive because they had favorable match-ups in the passing game. Koetter noted receivers were open, but America’s Quarterback, Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, couldn’t get rid of the ball because he was running for his life.
Well, Kwon Alexander is gone for the regular season. With the Saints coming in, you can bet that $10 plastic cup of Bud Light that Drew Brees is going to pick apart the middle of the field and rack up points. For the Bucs to play catch-up, running won’t get it done.
That, just as much as the Stinking Panthers, will doom Martin’s chances of breaking Wilder’s mark.
December 9th, 2015 at 5:25 am
I really think is only the fans who think about the record. I sure Martin wants playoffs and a big contract. Everything else is icing on the cake.
For me I just want to see wins. Although in the Colts game I would have ran him more.
Playoffs baby!
In Winston. Martin, Koetter, Lovie & Licht I TRUST!!!
December 9th, 2015 at 5:55 am
Certainly take your point Joe but there are two sides to this coin.
Yes Drew Brees will carve up the Bucs D if he gets the chance. One way to stop him is keep him off the field. That means lots and lots of running Dougie and the clock with him. Of course if we screw up and fall behind early then we’re hosed anyway.
As for Brown’s prediction of Carolina shutting him down that will depend entirely on the circumstane. If they head into the final week undefeated…YES..it’ll be a struggle against a talented team in their house motivated to make some history.
If however somebody can knock of the Panthers before then, as N.O. almost did this past Sunday….then Dougie has a great shot. If they have a loss with home field and a bye in the playoffs locked up…they’ll be tempted to rest their starters.
December 9th, 2015 at 6:28 am
the stinking Panthers could be sitting most players by week 17!
December 9th, 2015 at 6:30 am
Doug Martin is having a great year, let’s give him a cool nickname. If he does bad then we can call him the muscle hamster, but he’s doing good and let’s keep him happy.
December 9th, 2015 at 7:16 am
Ummmmmmm, what would be cooler…
The Stinking Puttie Cats come in undefeated with our playoff lives on the line. We get them chasing Martin around like a hamster when suddenly he morphs into The Mighty Muscle Hamster….
Two birds with one stone… Record day for Martin… BUCS WIN and we beat them again in the playoffs on our way to the SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!
December 9th, 2015 at 7:41 am
Looks like everyone already posting gets it better than you do Joe. When Doug’s running good, he’s a great weapon. He not only makes good yardage, but he also eats up the clock. And our OLine wears down our opponent’s defense. That’s a win-win-win situation.
Bucs get into trouble when we fall behind early and have to play catch-up through the passing game, or when Doug isn’t making decent yardage. That can be because he’s having an off day (stuff happens), when our OLine isn’t opening holes (stuff happens), or when our opponent’s defense is playing lights out (there are some pretty good defenses out there).
Last thing we need to be concerned about is the Panthers. Concerned about the Saints right now … they’re a good team. And if we win that, I’ll get concerned about the Rams. And then the Bears. We’ve got to get by all of them to be concerned about the Panthers.
December 9th, 2015 at 7:42 am
Never say never. First, he could have a massive game before then and rack up 200 yards in one game. Second, Panthers might rest their starters.
December 9th, 2015 at 8:12 am
Joe- why do you continue to call him Muscle Hamster? With what he’s shown us these year i think he’s deserves us all to put that name to rest.
December 9th, 2015 at 8:29 am
James Wilder was a total yardage BEAST……….if you didn’t see him played you really missed something…..
As for Doug Martin, once you get past five years, running backs are closer to retirement than big seasons…..
December 9th, 2015 at 8:37 am
I say we go into Carolina and beat them undefeated of not! Doug goes for 150 plus and Evans and Vincent abuse the secondary! Remember the loss earlier in the year wasn’t all that bad. Turnovers killed us! But! gotta take care of NO first…GO BUCS
December 9th, 2015 at 8:58 am
Glad this guy has a time machine. Now I don’t have to watch any games
December 9th, 2015 at 9:26 am
“Well, Kwon Alexander is gone for the regular season. With the Saints coming in, you can bet that $10 plastic cup of Bud Light that Drew Brees is going to pick apart the middle of the field and rack up points. For the Bucs to play catch-up, running won’t get it done.”
Or…. control the game and play keep away with Mr Brees as long as possible.
December 9th, 2015 at 9:36 am
I think he has a very good shot at beating the record. Who has the worst average rushing yards per attempt? New Orleans (4.9). Second worst, Chicago (4.8). In the last game against the Saints last year Martin ran for 108 yards on 19 carries.
December 9th, 2015 at 9:36 am
useless post…moving on
December 9th, 2015 at 9:52 am
Pay the man! Martin’s dominance has been a huge contributing factor to Winston’s amazing development. If the Bucs lose Martin, we could see a regression with Winston, just like the second half of the Indy game.
The Bucs are set to be at least $50M under the 2016 salary cap, they can certainly afford to pay Martin a top tier contract. We’ve seen them waste tens of millions on questionable free agents the past few years, I’d love to see them reward one of their home-grown players with a well earned contract extension.
December 9th, 2015 at 10:25 am
I’m sure the saints will have a field day against our defense. That’s inevitable. But as long as we can match them TD for TD we can run all we want. In a tie game even 45-45 you can run whatever offense you want, time permitting. If we get in a big hole then that will change up what we would want to do. But this offense has proved to be better when we can successfully run the ball. Absolutely no reason to say we wouldn’t run against the saints in a shoot out. Whatever gets you TDs is what you do.
December 9th, 2015 at 10:49 am
Joe, don’t you know by now he doesn’t like being called, “Muscle Hamster”?
December 9th, 2015 at 11:20 am
I like his chances and hopes he gets it when we beat car…GO BUCS!!!
December 9th, 2015 at 11:43 am
We all know that the “Joes” are really bad at giving nicknames, but Dougie was given that nickname when he was in college. Like it or not (IMO it is a classic nickname) he will forever be known as the “Muscle Hamster”.
December 9th, 2015 at 12:03 pm
It beats Roid Rat. Gym Gerbil. Prairie Doug. Buff Bunny. Workout Weasel. Red Bull Rodent. Maybe that last one should be reserved for Kwon.
December 9th, 2015 at 1:08 pm
Doug Martin reminds me so much of Travis Henry on the field.
December 9th, 2015 at 3:57 pm
When did Doug Martin say he hated being called “Muscle Hamster”? This is a sincere question. I have never considered it an insult. I’m sure he will get a $$ increase; he deserves it. Bucs are going to have to eat as much clock as possible with Brees coming to town. DM will have a big chance to increase his total, so what?! He’s already proven he’s a top tier RB. Wilder was a monster but boy did he play on some putrid Bucs teams.
December 9th, 2015 at 7:15 pm
It’s ridiculous that James Wilder, our single and all time leading rusher isn’t already in the ring of honor. The teams he played with were horrible.
December 9th, 2015 at 9:12 pm
He’s had some competition. He’ll get in.
December 11th, 2015 at 1:29 am
@buc15 Says:
December 9th, 2015 at 9:36 am
useless post…moving on
Only a pathetic moron would call someones post useless. The first two points I made about Chicago and New Orleans having the worst two average yards given up per running play are relevant to Joes article about the chances of Martin breaking the all time Buccaneer rushing record. The last point I made I had a senior moment and was going to refer to the yardage he gained in their last meeting with the Saints. Useless? Really? Get a life loser.