Fat Down, Muscle Up
May 16th, 2015
Doug Martin was leaner than ever in this July 2014 photo. Now he’s changed his body again.
Doug Martin was puzzled by a question from Joe this week.
Wearing a Bucs jersey and volunteering at a team community event in Clearwater on Thursday, Martin chatted with Joe afterwards. Joe mentioned to Martin that he looked bigger and asked about his new size.
Martin replied with surprise, “Bigger?!”
Joe explained to Martin that he looked more rocked up, and Martin agreed.
“My body fat percentage went down but I’m pretty much the same size with some more muscle on me,” Martin said.
Joe’s really gearing up for a serious running backs competition this season. Martin and Bobby Rainey are in contract years and set to become unrestricted free agents. Second-year man Charles Sims was the apple of the regime’s eye last year, and he’s supposed to have magical hands out of the backfield. Joe wouldn’t be shocked if he lines up as a slot receiver.
Lastly, there’s Mike James, one of Joe’s favorites. He’s healthy and shocked the NFL during his brief 2013 action.
Dirk Koetter’s got a challenge on his hands.
May 16th, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Hope that muscle helps him! He has a real competitor in Charlie (Murphy) Sims for the RB spot!
May 16th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
Hope you’re right about Mike James Joe. We need somebody to go into “beast mode”. James is now the only back on the roster large enough unless we believe Javorskie Lane is going become more than just a blocking back.
For some reason I’m hoping this is the draft of the millenium for the Bucs. Franchise QB..two starting OL perhaps an excellent wide receiver in Bell and what if…yeah a big what if…but what if Joey Iosefa turns out to be a real hidden gem. The Bucs have him listed as an RB/FB. Hopefully that means they’ll try handing him the rock in the preseason and see if he can move the pile.
May 16th, 2015 at 12:17 pm
On a different note…. Go Bolts!!!
May 16th, 2015 at 12:17 pm
I really think the stable of RBs was hampered by poor OL/Coaching last year. The Bucs have such an underrated unit!
May 16th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
@RayJay
Yes!!! Go Bolts. And while we’re at it how about those Rays. How they sport a winning record in their division with all the injuries and off season turnover is very impressive!
But my heart bleeds blue this time of the year so yes…GO BOLTS!
May 16th, 2015 at 12:30 pm
Martin, Rainey, Sims, James, Lane & Iosefa…..all competing to be “America’s Running Back”
May 16th, 2015 at 12:34 pm
You beat me to it TBBF. I was busy writing up change orders. Im gearing up to be “America’s Contractor”
May 16th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
In all reality what an awesome situation to be in. We have a stable of good backs. Two 1,000 yard WRs with decent depth behind them and now we have a QB who went 26 and 1 in College. Dare I see we have never seen these types of offensive possibilities EVER?
May 16th, 2015 at 12:48 pm
Buc-A-New
Dare! Dare! 10 wins baby.
May 16th, 2015 at 12:53 pm
I have been working so much that I am probably late on this but I just read that Football Outsiders has projected us to go 6 and 10 this yr. They have us doing that In Spite of Winston because they are down on him due to their QBASE projections. I don’t understand why they are so down on him. I need to do more research on this QBASE thing and what factors they use. Im not a big fan of “Projection Formulas” in sports.
May 16th, 2015 at 12:57 pm
I do believe its Joey that has me more interested. Watching his college games and seeing how he just mauls defenders has me wondering what he could do as our FB? He’s not fast, but I think we found our answer to Carolina’s Tolbert
May 16th, 2015 at 1:03 pm
Now if the same headline can title an article about ASJ
May 16th, 2015 at 1:38 pm
It’s time to bring back the “MUSCLE HAMSTER” nickname. I would like to see him roll that muscle into a bowling ball thrown by Superman. Boom! There he goes.
May 16th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
What about the new (undrafted) back from Louisville? And the no.7 pick from Hawaii? Both sound like possibilities to me. Lots of competition. Either one making the roster wouldn’t surprise me.
May 16th, 2015 at 2:02 pm
Martin’s arms are getting so jacked he’s approaching “Mini-Pittman” stature.
May 16th, 2015 at 2:04 pm
I don’t understand all the hype for Mike James. Yes he did a good job filling in for a season, and he is a good short yardage back, but he isn’t talented enough to see carries on a regular basis. And with how rarely we saw him last year and the fact the he is pretty much a bubble player at this point, I think the bucs would agree.
On the flip side, I don’t understand why a lot of people are so down on Sims. Yes it was disappointing that he missed half of his debut season with an injury, but once he came back he really showed some promise. He made the most of his carries and looked every bit as good, if not better at times, than the rest of our backs. I’m really looking forward to seeing him getting more carries moving forward.
May 16th, 2015 at 2:54 pm
Andrew 1, I agree and believe Sims is the real deal.
May 16th, 2015 at 4:48 pm
O line and D line still scare me.Could be a significant weakness on this team.
May 16th, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Although I doubt he is an elite back….I hope Doug Martin proves me wrong. Only thing is I hate these contract years. EVERYBODY always has somewhat of an upswing that year. It’s the guys that play like that every year with that type of effort I like.
Mike James is still my favorite from a pure running perspective. I am intrigued to see how many carries simms actually get in comparison to the other backs. I agree I think they should use a lot of split back formations with two backs that can run and catch. I really hope Lovie has learned to ease up with his old school offensive philosophy. Unfortunately we won’t know until week 1. I refuse to judge Lovie from last season. He was tanking early and did a decent job of trying not to make it obvious. Let’s see what happens this year. Let’s see if he has finally learn to just let the offensive coordinator to they’re job.
May 16th, 2015 at 6:11 pm
Sorry Joe but really funny and innocuous.
http://media.fyre.co/5eVK04VGQEyxxg8LQYzJ_ps4%20controller.jpg
May 16th, 2015 at 6:49 pm
I’ll never forget Mike James in Seattle a couple years ago.
May 16th, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Honestly I didn’t watch enough Buc ball, but I didn’t see enough from C. Sims. I know he has a lot of promise, but a 2 plus yard average doesn’t make his Matt Forte comparison a believer out of me. Even when he came back didn’t make me feel like he was a steal out of the 3rd round. I hope so. I hope he can run to the slot in some formations and catch the ball out of the backfield. Something he is known for. Something D. Martin wasn’t so good at. However D. Martin has proved himself before. Hopefully he uses this year to break out again with a better line. I hope both of them run out of the gate and go nuts. Something we haven’t seen in a long time.
May 16th, 2015 at 8:08 pm
It’s not uncommon for people to drop body fat and for others to think they’re bigger. I drop a few lbs and people start asking if I’m using steroids. It’s crazy what dropping a few lbs of fat and adding a few lbs of muscle can do for how you look.
May 16th, 2015 at 8:43 pm
This means little to nothing in terms of his ultimate performance, more about technique and practice than muscle mass.
May 16th, 2015 at 9:36 pm
Just remember last year our OC used a big back to carry the rock. I like the chances of the 235 pound back from Louisville to get a lot of carries this year. Sims would be great from the slot. Cut Herron. Our 7th rounder will be great if he has Alstott potential. If the muscle hamster can move a pile with his muscles this will be a good year!
May 16th, 2015 at 10:21 pm
I think Rannell Hall might emerge as our slot guy or 4th receiver if he can make it through camp and will need to contribute on special teams. He’s a tough receiver with great catch radius / adjustment ability. Not a burner, but a tough mo fo.
May 16th, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Herron is not making this team
May 16th, 2015 at 11:10 pm
I hope you are right BucanEric. That would mean we have improved greatly.
May 17th, 2015 at 5:21 am
Bucs needs in next year’s draft….
DE
Safety
CB
Oline
WR
RB
notice where I list RB…..
May 17th, 2015 at 9:13 am
Mike James needs, no, deserves a fair chance. He’s a beast. Him and Martin would mess people up with Sims handling screens. Im not a huge Rainey fan. If he were traded for a seventh, I would not mind.
May 17th, 2015 at 4:11 pm
If the Bucs can keep all the RB healthy they could be deep next year.
May 18th, 2015 at 3:01 am
Doug Martin is an average running back at this point in his career. He’l get the yards blocked for him but not much past that. Not so high on Sims but I do admit hating the pick so much makes me harder on him then I should be.
Personally I think Rainey is our first team back with Martin/Sims sprinkled in on third down.