Jameis’ Success? Thank Doug Martin
January 13th, 2016
America’s Quarterback can walk thanks to Doug Martin.
Yes, even for those wearing black arm bands mourning the loss of Lovie Smith, things are looking up at this point in Bucs history.
No, we don’t know the who next head coach will be (as Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times has written countless times prior to yesterday, anyone who claimed they knew how the NFL in Los Angeles would end up was lying. Same applies to claiming knowledge of who Team Glazer will hire to replace Lovie.)
No, we don’t even know names of assistant coaches. Who is to say the new head coach wants Dirk Koetter (if Koetter is not named head coach) or Joe Cullen or Hardy Nickerson?
But the arrow is pointing up. And that is because of America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston. And if you believe Jameis, the arrow is up because of Doug Martin.
Everyone’s favorite Muscle Hamster became the first Bucs running back to be named first-team All-Pro last week. And the last time Jameis spoke, just days before Lovie was launched, Jameis crowed about how much Martin helped in his development, notes Joe Kania of Buccaneers.com.
“The amount of tackles that he has broken this year and the amount of weight that he’s taken off of my shoulders for my rookie season, I couldn’t be more thankful for Doug than anything in the world,” Jameis said. “I love Doug and I thank him. My family thanks him for what he’s done for me this season.”
Jameis’ family ought to thank him. We all know the pounding Jameis took. It appears Jameis may have led the NFL in quarterback hits. The Bucs gave up 100 quarterback hits in 2015, and Jameis took each and every snap. The only teams to give up more hits were Cleveland, Indianapolis and Seattle.
Of the starting quarterbacks for those three teams, only Russell Wilson played in all 16 regular season games, though his backup, Tarvaris Jackson, played in four games and was sacked once. The Seahawks gave up 114 quarterback hits. So it is fair to assume Jameis took more hits than any other NFL with the possible exception of Wilson, who is much more mobile than Jameis.
So, yeah, Jameis’ family ought to be thankful. If the Bucs had to rely on Jameis any more than they did this past season, then Jameis would have been pulverized.
January 13th, 2016 at 1:05 pm
pay him
January 13th, 2016 at 1:16 pm
PAY DA MAN!
January 13th, 2016 at 1:19 pm
Give dat Hamster his cheese YO!
January 13th, 2016 at 1:23 pm
If the Bucs don’t re-sign Doug Martin they’re absolute fools. Everyone talks about our improved OLine (and yes it was much better than in years past), but it’s the same OLine that allowed Jameis to get whacked 100 times this year. Martin’s 1400 yds rushing sounds fantastic, but it’s even better than that I think because many of those yds came after first contact. Doug looked like he was running all year with much better vision in seeing the holes and what looked like much better lateral movement and quickness. Dropping some weight might’ve helped, as did an improved OLine I’m sure, but most of it was Doug Martin himself really just refusing to go down. Awesome job this year.
January 13th, 2016 at 1:25 pm
yep. and it’s not a coincidence that josh freeman looked like a bona fide starting QB in doug’s rookie year either. doug martin will regress next season. you can book it. but he will still be the most dangerous & productive runner on the team and a huge contributor to the success of the passing game. 2 to 3 more years of paying doug handsomely won’t hurt our ability to assemble a roster and he will take alot of pressure off of a young offensive unit
January 13th, 2016 at 1:27 pm
*not comparing Jameis and JFree, just pointing out how much a productive RB can boost your game
January 13th, 2016 at 1:46 pm
HBD DOUG FRESH. Its great he has had the season he has had. Whether it was contract year or not its good he proved his doubters wrong. Last year half of Buc Nation wanted to trade the guy. Kudos to Koetter for wanting to keep the guy. Another good thing for Koetter, he got the best out of his players or put them in a position to exceed. Unlike….
January 13th, 2016 at 1:55 pm
That’s really interesting considering how much better the offensive line looked to me this year. Looks like the Bucs were tied for 4th in least sacks allowed.
January 13th, 2016 at 2:05 pm
C’mon Joe, you of all people should know by now to stop calling the Dougernaut that name!
January 13th, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Franchise him…no long term deal.
January 13th, 2016 at 2:21 pm
The quarterback hits would have been even more without Martin & Sims…..It seems to me that we never employed the quick slant passing game that others used against us…..that leads to more QB hits. Receivers not getting open leads to hits…..one thing is for certain….JW can take a beating….we saw that every week.
Some have said let Martin walk if it’s too much money…..BS….we have the money…we need to spend it on sure things and Martin, when healthy, is a sure thing.
January 13th, 2016 at 2:29 pm
franchise tag for 1 year is probably 1.5 years of a normal long term deal. why not pony up the little bit extra and make it a 2 year gig and throw in a team-friendly 3rd year option if the douggernaut is still running strong
January 13th, 2016 at 2:37 pm
Is it possible Doug could thank Jamie’s for his great season? Is it just me or did Doug show more intensity and desire to gain yards after contact? He fought for every inch and refused to go down easily……..is it possible that Winston’s leadership helped give Doug a little extra fire?
January 13th, 2016 at 2:38 pm
I dig Dig Doug
January 13th, 2016 at 2:40 pm
i suppose it was Lovie who decided not to give Martin the 5th year option. What a HORRIBLE decision by “Lovie”…yes Doug had been hurt before but it wasn’t like an ACL or something. We could have had Doug well under franchise price tag and put another 300 touches on him then decide what the future holds.
January 13th, 2016 at 3:13 pm
Dougie was hurt in an area that affected his cutting ability. He simply did not trust it but you could tell the real Dougernaught was back near the end of last season. He has the best dig move in the business and he wasn’t using it last two seasons simply plowing head long into a pile or going with the first read. Dougie earned his pay check. He should force them to franchise him so he gets extra paid this year
January 13th, 2016 at 3:20 pm
I’m not blaming Lovie nor Licht either for not resigning Martin. Who the hell knew he’d even be healthy for the entire year?
There is plenty of legitimate criticisms of the man but Martin isn’t one of them.
January 13th, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Pick6 Says:
January 13th, 2016 at 2:29 pm
franchise tag for 1 year is probably 1.5 years of a normal long term deal. why not pony up the little bit extra and make it a 2 year gig and throw in a team-friendly 3rd year option if the douggernaut is still running strong
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Because he’ll get better term offers at market. Someone will give him at least 4 years and at least $16-20 million guaranteed. Franchising is just the surefire way to keep him without a long term commitment. Franchise him, if he has another great year franchise him again and move on after 2 years before he reaches the age of decline for RBs (30)
January 13th, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Also Happy Birthday Doug too.
January 13th, 2016 at 4:12 pm
i think the franchise tag is in the 10 million range. the next year would be 15 if i understand the rules right. 25 million over 2 years if he plays well…that’s adrian peterson money
on the other hand, if $7 million a year with 2 years guaranteed gets a deal done, you are paying him $4 mil over the franchise tag for a second season, and 10 million less over 2 years than the “double franchise” scenario. for the cost of 2 franchise tags, you can get 3 years of a demarco murray sized contract
January 13th, 2016 at 4:46 pm
There is enough money in those moneybags to pay Martin. Is there any logical reason to not resign him? I have not read one yet.
January 13th, 2016 at 5:28 pm
We all want to see this club start making better FA signings then they have been lately. I have two names in mind that would be a marked improvement. Martin and Moore. Can Martin get hurt devaluing the signing? Well we are talking about the most injury prone position in all of sports……bring in the best available player and say your prayers.
For what it’s worth, two of the most durable halfbacks in the league, Forte and Lynch(yes I know age is a factor) went down this year.
January 13th, 2016 at 5:53 pm
Buccfan37 Says:
January 13th, 2016 at 4:46 pm
There is enough money in those moneybags to pay Martin. Is there any logical reason to not resign him? I have not read one yet.
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Sure. Look at the final 8 teams left in the NFL this season, and you’ll notice exactly 1 RB who makes good money in Jonathan Stewart. Seahawks have thrived without Lynch, KC fine without Jamaal, NE has no names, DEN has no names, PIT is missing their top 2 RBs, ARZ with a rookie, GB with no running game of significance.
You do not need a top RB to win in the NFL. In fact if you look at that list, it’s probably better to not have one. If the Bucs need Doug Martin, that’s actually a bad omen to their long term success. The best teams don’t need top RBs.
January 13th, 2016 at 6:05 pm
One thing Jameis is definitely going to have to work on going into 2016 is getting the ball out sooner. Think that had a lot to do w all the hits he took.
January 13th, 2016 at 6:15 pm
There are hits and there are hits. One reason both #3 and Russell Wilson took all those hits and still keep on ticking is that they are slippery and rarely catch a hit full bore.
Some of the hits that McCown took last year were painful but the worst were poor MG8. He’s not exactly agile in the pocket and when he got hit he got blasted straight on. For all those who make fun of his manhood for a SINGLE bad decision to bail out of bounds a yard shy of the first down stick there should be more of us pointing out what a beating MG8 took without whining.
#3 frequently got hit while scrambling in the backfield trying to extend a play…not that he didn’t take punishment but he’s actually pretty elusive in the pocket and it’s hard to get a direct shot on him unless he’s totally focused downfield…like Wilson.
January 13th, 2016 at 6:37 pm
I just would like to know who the hell our hc is going ro be already. I am starting to think it will be mcdaniels but Id like to see koetter get the job.
January 13th, 2016 at 8:11 pm
I already knew Jameis was durable – but it was nice to see him prove it and get through his rookie NFL year injury free – despite taking some pretty mean licks over the course of 16 games. 100 NFL “hits” is a lot to absorb.
$20M over 3 years with $10M guaranteed ($5M in 2016 and $5M up front as a signing bonus) is fair for both Doug Martin and the Bucs. Get-r-done Jason Licht.
Franchising Martin for $11.2M is a bad idea. Franchising him 2 years in a row for $24M is an even worse idea. Just because the Bucs have a good amount of cap $ to spend doesn’t mean they should over pay by 40% to keep a good running back around. This team has tons of needs that spending $ to Buy FAs can help as long as the player eval is dialed in.
Hopefully a reasonable to both sides 3-4 year deal can be reached and signed prior to March. Douginator certainly did prove his worth when healthy this year – that is without question at this point. The only question now is – how much $ will it take to keep him?
January 14th, 2016 at 3:04 pm
“Teach me how to Dougie boi” plain and simple, dudes an all pro, going to the pro bowl, and helped a guy I thought would really struggle this year in Jamies, be quite productive. Disappointed in the Lovie Smith firing, this is why the Bucs always suck, you can’t change coaches every couple years and expect stuff to change, the good teams stay with a coach, through thick and thin. There will always be up an down years, and yes, I know we’ve had quite a few down years, but what’s the one thing we’ve been doing since John Gruden left…? Changing coaches. I would have bet, if you gave Lovie one more year he would have turned us into a playoff team. His style work like novocain, just give it a little time and it always works. Our owners made a bad move here, smh. Oh, and by the way, I disagree with how Litch said that Tampa bay is a intriguing coaching job. I think it’s only good for someone who wants to do what Lovie was building. I just hope this move doesn’t ruin our team like it has so many other times.