Lack Of Blocking Stunting Run Game
September 27th, 2012
Bucs coach Greg Schiano believes the Bucs haven’t blocked all that well for running back Doug Martin.
The Bucs’ running game, one of the foundations of the New Schiano Order, hasn’t exactly woken opposing defensive coordinators in the dead of the night in a cold sweat.
First round draft pick, running back Doug Martin, has been pounded time and again between the tackles, with just a modicum of success. Yesterday, speaking with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, Bucs coach Greg Schiano acknowledged the running game hasn’t been moving the chains as much as he would have liked.
In short, Schiano thinks the Bucs have let Martin down.
“I think he is running hard, running well,” Schiano said. “But I don’t think we have done as good of a job of blocking as I felt we were going to be able to do.”
Most of that began when Pro Bowl right guard Davin Joseph went down in the preseason with a season-ending injury. Schiano hinted that the offensive line as a whole hasn’t quite recovered. Having a new right tackle (Demar Dotson) also added to, as Schiano put it, “a state of flux.”
There will be better days ahead, Schiano said, though Sunday’s opponent will present a large challenge.
“I think we will clearly get better as we move forward,’ Schiano said. “These guys, [the Redskins] will try to crowd the box. It is going to be upstream to run the football. We will have to be really perfect to be able to gain yardage running the football.”
One reason the Redskins will crowd the box is that teams have come to expect the Bucs to run, run, run up the middle (and perhaps punt). Joe believes if Josh Freeman is going to be granted more liberty to run and throw, it just may be this game Sunday.
September 27th, 2012 at 10:07 am
A few scrambles will open things up tremendously ! Coaches need to put players in a position to succeed, be unpredictable !
September 27th, 2012 at 10:22 am
We need to remember that while Freeman and the guys on that side of the ball are learning a new offense, Mike Sullivan is learning how to call plays. All of them should improve as the season goes along, and regular, steady improvement should be the goal of this season. This isn’t a playoff team, yet. With steady improvement throughout the season and another solid offseason, this should be a solid playoff team next year.
September 27th, 2012 at 10:29 am
If we open up the game in a 4\5 wide set, the Redskins will sh!t themselves.
Not saying we do that all game of course.
September 27th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Amen Bucfanjeff.
I’m tired of the 2 receiver sets. You have to mix it up.
September 27th, 2012 at 11:16 am
He’s making excuses for his 1st round pick that he traded up to get!
September 27th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Put Blount in for just a half a quarter and see how well the “blocking” becomes. I agree lightning, sounds like excuses
September 27th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
I don’t understand why they insist on running up the gut every single time, it has become way too predictable. Whatever happened to running sweeps and off tackle runs?
September 27th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
One of the few staples of Gruden’s offense that I think we should be seeing is play action booleg passes. With as much as we run up the gut, and as good as Free is on the move, it makes no sense why this isn’t being run frequently.
September 27th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
You are all missing the point. Teams are crowding the line, stuffing the run and daring Freeman to beat them. The answer to that isn’t to run more up the gut, it is to air the damn ball out. Go up top to Jackson and Williams, exploit all of the single coverage downfield they are getting and the running game will take care of itself.
Teams are not going to stop crowding the line until Freeman hangs 50 on someone. They could have and should have done that to the Giants, instead of getting into the fetal position after they took a lead into halftime.
September 27th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Pain and simple we do not bock anyone, our line is overhyped and overpaid, the effort is just not there.
September 27th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
BS, the reason we’re not running well is because we’re too damn predictable.