Gannon’s Quotes Add Intrigue
July 9th, 2015
Was Bucs OC Dirk Koetter so down on Charles Sims that he lobbied the Bucs to keep Doug Martin instead?
Yesterday, Joe brought word from Super Bowl quarterback Rich Gannon that having Charles Sims in the same backfield as “America’s Quarterback,” Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, would be a “train wreck.”
Of course, Gannon suggested Jameis needs a guy to block for him and and inexperienced back like Sims is not who should be paired with a rookie QB.
This makes Joe wonder about “The Muscle Hamster,” Doug Martin. Bucs offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter went to bat for the Bucs to keep Martin, despite him being a shell of his rookie self. In the past two years combined, Martin has not totalled 1,000 yards, which is pretty poor for a feature back.
If Koetter wanted to keep Martin over Sims, then it couldn’t be for blocking. Martin is not a great blocking back.
Perhaps Koetter is like Joe and is simply not enamoured by second-year Sims? Last year, Lovie Smith talked up the third-round draft pick like he was the second coming of Gayle Sayers.
Sims had ankle surgery in preseason and was shelved on the injured reserve list, only playing in the final eight games. He sure looked like he was either forced into the lineup or was simply overwhelmed by NFL defenses. NFL.com even went so far as to refer to Sims as a “slow motion C.J. Spiller.”
Does Koetter believe he can turn Martin into a productive blocking back, or is Koetter just that down on Sims?
July 9th, 2015 at 5:44 am
What about Mike James’ ability to block? What about Bobby Rainey’s blocking? We have a 4 Horse Stable of running backs.
July 9th, 2015 at 5:49 am
Martin and Sims probably aren’t the answer when it comes to blocking backs, but the Bucs do have two on the present roster who’ve done well in the past in that area: Mike James and Joey Iosefa. Also think that Dominque Brown might well surprise some folks once the pads go on.
July 9th, 2015 at 7:10 am
Too early to tell. Koetter may just want all the backs he has to compete and see what he has. Maybe he see’s something in Martin he thinks he can resurrect. I havent seen anything yet to say he is down on Sims.
July 9th, 2015 at 7:55 am
I agree with Ski. Mike James isn’t the fastest, but from what I’ve seen he does everything real well. Blocking, catching, and finding the hole gaining positive yards.
July 9th, 2015 at 8:03 am
Why is it that whenever someone wants to talk poorly about Martin, they fail to mention the injury from a couple of years ago?
Last year’s offense? Awful. And did the Bucs purposefully tank? There’s talk of it, and a lot of people – including Joe – seems to believe it.
Just see the whole field, Joe. C’mon, you’re better than that.
July 9th, 2015 at 8:05 am
Calm down Joe, just because we can all see that Jameis will be a train wreck. You need to open your eyes man.
July 9th, 2015 at 8:35 am
I think it’s too early to declare Sims a bust……Martin has had plenty of touches and opportunities to excel. I have always liked Mike James and wonder why he doesn’t get more work.
July 9th, 2015 at 9:10 am
I like all the RB’s also. At this date it is hard to tell who might be the odd man or men out. I don’t think Sims or Martin are leaving yet, past injuries play into that somewhat. Sims may prove Lovie right as to possible impact. I don’t know the normal amount of backs to keep on the final roster, possibly fewer.
July 9th, 2015 at 9:57 am
I would love to see Mike James become the Earnest Graham for this Bucs team
July 9th, 2015 at 10:13 am
Koetter is finally an objective mind in the” crazy house” that is the Bucs front office. Sims was a huge reach in the third and wouldn’t garner a draft pick if we traded him tomorrow.
July 9th, 2015 at 10:17 am
Good lord can Sims atleast play a full season before he’s considered a bust?
Not in Tampa. Tampa fans expect INSTANT results from ALL rookies regardless of where they’re picked in the draft.
I get it…we’ve sucked for a long time now and everyone’s impatient. Well not everyone.
July 9th, 2015 at 10:19 am
kaput Says:
July 9th, 2015 at 8:03 am
“Why is it that whenever someone wants to talk poorly about Martin, they fail to mention the injury from a couple of years ago?”
Answer : Because Martin was doing diddly squat that season before the injury.
July 9th, 2015 at 10:21 am
i think the thought process here is, “when you have a bucket full of turds, you might as well keep the shiniest one”. i have to imagine that RB and DE will be high on the wish list next offseason unless the OL improves and shows that it was a bigger factor than RB talent in our horrendous showing last year
July 9th, 2015 at 10:22 am
With all due respect to Lovie, I just watched Sims’ college highlight reel and came away wanting more. For whatever reason I only saw 1 run and 1 catch that was NFL draft worthy. I saw more NFL quality RB’s in the 2014 FSU vs Notre Dame game than in Sims’ entire “highlight” reel.
In all fairness Sims did demonstrate some (B-) “shake n’ bake” and a (B+) burst of speed. But, I didn’t notice any above average (over the shoulder or 1-handed) catching ability. So, good speed, nice moves, good hands and no power after initial contact doesn’t bode well for Sims or the Bucs.
Sims ain’t Gayle Sayers or even close to Matt Forte. Forte doesn’t go down after initial contact. Lovie is dreaming. It will be a miracle if Sims makes the cut. And to be honest, I’d feel a lot better if Luke Stocker was the blocking back on passing downs.
July 9th, 2015 at 10:54 am
Anybody using Arroyo’s offense last year as a way to gauge any players talent level is just showing how ignorant and stupid they are.
Arroyo was like a 3 year old kid being thrown into a pool for the first time and being told to sink or swim.
When he was offered the job he should have said no thanks, I’m not qualified to do this.
July 9th, 2015 at 11:09 am
Dirk Koetter was head coach at Boise State for 3 years 1998-2000. College ties run deep and all we are seeing is Koetter giving Martin a fair shake given his track record and what a disaster the entire offense was last year. I personally think Martin is going to have a big year. If the want someone to protect Winston I think Mike James is the back to do that. Dominique Brown is a big dude with speed so if he can block hes in the mix as well.
July 9th, 2015 at 11:51 am
Rainey, Martin, James, Brown, Sims, Joey in that order. I haven’t seen any film on brown so as of right now he’s 4th on my list.
July 9th, 2015 at 12:55 pm
pure speculation on the part of everybody reporting any nfl news before training camp. if he wanted to keep martin it was purely for his running ability that he hasn’t shown in two years lol. martin is a horrible blocker and the only back that can block on our roster is james. sims cant be a worse blocker than anyone else plus he’s only in his second year and bigger than martin so he can become a much better blocker than martin could ever be. as far as sims running ability he does have the ability to make people miss something martin hasn’t done in a long time. koetter is stuck with sims whether he likes it or not
July 9th, 2015 at 3:20 pm
Sims didn’t have the skill set in college and played about as well as I thought he would with or without injury.
He’s small build wise, hesitates before contact and not very good and terrible and breaking tackles.
He will never be very good out of the backfield. Basically have to line him up at wideout or relegate him to screen plays.
July 9th, 2015 at 7:08 pm
Anyone saying Martin is a “terrible” or “horrible” blocker either has no idea what they are talking about or has very selective memory. I have seen Doug Martin pick up blitz blocks successfully many times. In some cases, well enough to merit a “nice block” thought or comment.
Is it a strength? I wouldn’t go that far – but to say that Doug Martin cannot block or that he is horrible at blocking is just hating for no reason.
I expect a good year out of Martin in 2015. Would not be at all surprised to see him run for 1000 yards and get 30+ catches if he can stay healthy.
July 9th, 2015 at 10:10 pm
Not sure any of them can block. Not sure why ppl are so high on James. He is often injured too. When he carried the ball last year he only averaged 2 plus yards a carry, just like Sims. D. Brown is probably coming for James spot.
July 10th, 2015 at 12:17 am
Koetter loves a big back for a reason. Atlanta had a poor OL last year but Jackson easily ran on us and certainly could block. The Bucs in recent years have had two big thousand yard rushers which Stupid Schiano gave away! Dominique Brown is a capable big back who can block, has soft hands to catch lots of passes, and is 235 pounds to gain yards even with a poor OL. Look for Brown to make this team and has the talent to be our feature back! He definitely can be a short yardage back and would be great as a third down back too!