A New Vibe
May 27th, 2016
Doug Martin describes a different energy.
Doug Martin is a good dude. Joe likes him, and likes his hated “Muscle Hamster” nickname even better.
Nice guy that he is, Martin really isn’t a good interview because he feels comfortable talking in clichés and rarely offers much insight. No harm. A lot of players are that way. But when Joe got a 1-on-1 with Martin yesterday after he left the practice field at One Buc Palace, Martin stepped away from his shield and seemed to open up. It was not only refreshing but very enlightening.
Most of the time, when players leave the practice field after getting beat on by the late-spring Florida sun, the last thing they want to do is hang on the field for more sun. They want to get in that shower and cool down. But Martin was kind enough to stop to talk to Joe as he jogged off the practice field. Smiling. Yes, smiling. Martin sounded and acted like he was playing backyard football with some friends in high school.
Martin talked about a new energy with the offense and how practice now is no longer work, which explained why Martin was smiling.
“Overall, we have a very competitive edge out there now,” Martin told Joe. “The energy we have now is definitely different. Guys are having fun competing against each other. It’s not work. We love it. We love to be out here.”
Joe can say for sure America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, is having fun. It’s not uncommon to hear Jameis singing. He’s always in charge and is the clear alpha male out there. Jameis certainly gets a rush out of football.
So after Joe saw and heard new offensive coordinator Todd Monken get all NSFW and dog-cuss receivers for not being crisp in their routes — in OTAs for crying out loud! — Joe asked if this new vibe for the offense was coming from Monken.
Martin didn’t deny Monken was part of the reason for the new atmosphere.
“Yeah, yeah,” Martin said. Not only Monken,”but everybody. We’re wanting to compete. Everyone is confident in what we can do. Everybody sees the potential. Everybody is optimistic on what we can do this year. Knowing that, people are putting in the work and competing every day.”
There certainly is a different feel to this team. Joe can’t quite put a finger on what that is, can’t quite describe it. Sort of an energetic confidence, if that makes sense. One can certainly see a spring in the step of the players. You can almost see it in their eyes. Whether that comes from Jameis or Monken or Dirk Koetter or Martin, it’s tough to tell. Maybe all of the above?
Of course, none of this means a hill of beans if the Bucs can’t win.
May 27th, 2016 at 5:48 am
Let’s see uuuuummmmmmm. . . . . . . . . . . . . guys don’t have to worry about not cussing, or getting too hyped up ? Could it be the life force sucking vacuum that was Lovie is gone? His stoicness made you want to be quiet and stare at your feet. Doesnt mix with football.
May 27th, 2016 at 6:12 am
Bingo
May 27th, 2016 at 6:52 am
Spring Football, veteran players coming in to learn something that will make them better, rookies trying to impress, I’m going to assume this new World Class Teaching, Highly Prized but not Gifted a job staff is trying to impress the players with their vast wealth of football knowledge, it should be a new energy as it is every year, but just as Joe said, it don’t mean a thing if you don’t win 9 games!
May 27th, 2016 at 6:53 am
Maybe Martin was also Smiling this Year …
CAUSE HE GOT PAID!!!
May 27th, 2016 at 7:20 am
What’s the words to Fat Joe’s new joint “nothing can stop me I’m all the way up”.. What a feeling.
May 27th, 2016 at 7:23 am
@Joe
Any truth to the rumor that the coaches were overheard that they might place an unmarked grave stone on the practice field!!! So when practice is hard the players will see it and remember how bad it was the last 2 years!!!!
Here lies the legacy of coach my scheme!!! laid to rest with his outdated, passive, fiasco of a defense!!!!
May 27th, 2016 at 7:35 am
Maybe Martin was also Smiling this Year …
CAUSE HE GOT PAID!!!
Lmao….cash will make a man smile…BIG!!….all 32
May 27th, 2016 at 7:47 am
“and is the clear alpha male out there” – live your dream Joe! Calling Jameis the clear Alpha male is spoken like a guy who has never had to compete for anything but a “story deadline”. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Jameis, but please stop with the Alpha male stuff.
Just off the top of my head I would say Robert Ayers, Kwon, Levonte, Gerald, VJ, Conte, Dotson, Marpet, D Smith, Gholston, G Johnson, Hawley, McDonald, Pamphile, E Smith, J Smith etc etc would be able to beat the crap out of Jameis. Lets say Jemeis is a clear leader out there, but Alpha he is not yet. Give these goes you overlook some credence Joe. Just be happy that we have a guy who can take us to the promised land. America’s QB, yeah, go ahead, that’s amusing, Alpaha…. smh! NO!!
May 27th, 2016 at 7:51 am
I can recall when fans jumped all over GMC when he stated it was important for the Bucs to have fun playing the game……well, that probably wasn’t happening because of the coaching…..now we have a set of coaches that inspire players with a style they respond to best……..and, the Monken pickup was HUGE!!!
May 27th, 2016 at 8:00 am
Confidence comes from trusting the system.
May 27th, 2016 at 8:14 am
Hmm, underwear football and the OC is screaming at his WRs to run crisp routes, but why would he do that, underwear football is meaningless.
May 27th, 2016 at 8:16 am
I think the major point Doug made was “competition”. No more spots being handed out to coaches pets. No more doghouse. Just completion between athletes who all want to get paid and WIN.
May 27th, 2016 at 8:36 am
Again,
Thank you Glazers for pouring out old stale sitting water.
Bye Lovie
May 27th, 2016 at 8:37 am
At least you didn’t mention the words muscle hamster to Martin. Wipe that smile right off his face.
May 27th, 2016 at 8:43 am
Just reading through some of the comments that are on this site now it’s pretty apparent that we need a winning season in the worst possible way (also, that you people are really bad at sarcasm). Every breath the coaches, or the players, or the ownership, or even Joe at this point, take is met with derision and mockery. I have high hopes for this new coaching staff and the players we’ve brought in, but even I have a hard time buying in. Maybe after a few preseason games where we see a connection developing, but even with that we’ve been fooled in the past. I think we’re going to need a recovery year. Even when (if?) we have a winning season, the fans will spend the whole year wondering when our inevitable meltdown will start because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to expect. It’s going to be a long recovery process.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:05 am
If Joe had mentioned “muscle hamster”, he would’ve got his second “really bro” this week, but that aside, Dougie should be in the top 100 this year because the players vote and the national media who ignores our backfield as potentially leading the NFL again, I just hope Dougie can do it with less wear and tear, it would be nice to actually build leads, let the defense play and we can run the ball in the second half with consistency
May 27th, 2016 at 9:06 am
Patrick VA
Very nice post. Sums up the life or season cycle of a bucs fan.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:14 am
Glad to hear that the toilet paper soft climate has changed here in the bay. A big part of football is profanity & getting hyped up.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:30 am
@poppa…I think your right….there’s only a handful of players that know they will be starters but everyone else is trying to catch the eye of the hc…I cant wait til training camp…with them being moved to the morning it will be tough(work schedule) but i’ll be there….GO BUCS!!!
May 27th, 2016 at 9:39 am
Tmax what’s good. PA I hear you. But I’ll continue saying all of what we’ve experienced in years past was due in part to lack at the QB position. Some won’t buy in until they see results. Us Noles are confident that the results are inevitable because we had the pleasure of watching JW while at FSU. We kinda know what’s coming. And Wombat you get dumb@$$ comment of the day. Players that could whip JW please. The young man is already beloved not just by teammates but many other members of teams across the league(see the end of last years eagles game,he was surrounded by eagles). JW been an alpha amongst his peers since age maybe six. F@$! outta here wit that dumb@$$ commentary.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:39 am
It’s everyone, Joe.
And Oh we will win, don’t fret…
And when I say ‘win’, I’m taking about alot of games up to and including the Superbowl.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:44 am
I feel like we have everyone we need to succeed at this point; from the top of the organization all the way down the line to the fn kicker.
And our guys realize it, so they are going to make it happen this year.
Forget our tough schedule. I don’t see many teams beating us this year.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:47 am
For everyone that says”I get my hope up every year only to be let down by my Buccaneers” I have a question. How many of those years did we have elite play from the QB position??? I’ll be waiting.
May 27th, 2016 at 9:55 am
@Nole – I think it’s taken this long for a number of us to update our file on what success in the league in the modern era has to look like. For the longest time a number of us, myself included, bought the line that a great defense could win for you. It was largely because we’d seen it first hand and also because it was hard to envision the Bucs being an offensive powerhouse. I don’t know that I’ve actually seen that happen in real life. So, the idea of a QB to lead the way to a great offense was something that just didn’t register. That’s something that the other teams have. Now it looks like it very well could be us. It’s a paradigm shift that doesn’t happen overnight.
May 27th, 2016 at 11:26 am
I feel what you saying PA and I believe that sentiment is what has a lot of Buccs fan kinda scratching they’re heads like “do we really actually have a franchise QB”. To them I say,you better believe it.
May 27th, 2016 at 11:30 am
I also wanna add that that is why I’m not into comparing this team to lets say the one that won our first Superbowl. I touched on it a week or so ago. That team as we all know was driven by an all time great defense. This one is about to be driven by elite QB play.
May 27th, 2016 at 11:32 am
1st off, Jameis Winston’s enthusiasm is contagious. He is now the undisputed leader of the offense and of the team. Every offensive player that was here last year knows the offense, knows the playbook and knows that this offense with Jameis leading the way is going to be hard to stop. The whole team can feel the legit potential that this season represents.
And specifically regarding Doug Martin – I think anyone is going to feel better about showing up for “work” when they just got a 500% pay raise to do something they already enjoy doing.
May 27th, 2016 at 12:10 pm
Wombat:
Joe is only reporting what he has seen and heard at practice. Some of the players you listed Joe hasn’t heard or seen a peep from them during practice.
Not sure you are at practice and using an alias. If so, feel free to let Joe know wbat he is missing at practice that you are noticing.
May 27th, 2016 at 12:14 pm
@Joe – Wombat doesn’t fully understand the term alpha male as it relates to human interactions. He thinks of it in terms of gorillas fighting each other to establish a social hierarchy. He doesn’t have a really good grasp on the concept of humans revering one another without actually physically dominating each other.
May 27th, 2016 at 12:35 pm
Joe,
You may like Mr. Martin; however, you must not respect him very much. He is the one who “hates” the nickname “muscle hamster”…so if you respect him, stop calling him a name he prefers not to be called.
May 27th, 2016 at 1:19 pm
Pat in VA….yep I’m trying REAL hard to temper my expectations, but it is THAT time of the year ya know. I wasn’t too optimistic coming into last season. For that a few fans got on me about my love for Jameis and how come I only predicted 4-6 wins tops. My answer was simple and it was the same one all summer long. The answer was : Lovie Smith.
I really didn’t have much confidence in Lovie, but I had all the confidence in the world in Jameis. One of those reasons was not only brains, talent, quick decision making, but his Alpha male presence. That was before the rest of the non-FSU fans even saw him take the field.
I was very afraid Lovie was going to hold Jameis back. Not let Jameis be Jameis. It worried me a lot actually. People always wonder why I say Lovie lost me at Washington. Well it’s simple. When Jameis looked over at the sidelines on that 4th down and goal he was ready to go for it. You could see it on his face. They WE’RE going to score and put the game away. The O got pulled and we all saw the look on Winston’s face when that happened. Dejected. So what I feared about Lovie over the summer had come to fruition at Washington.
Set him free and he will light the NFL on FIRE!
May 27th, 2016 at 1:31 pm
No confidence in the “system” you’re playing in = “no fun.”
Confidence = “fun.”
Losers don’t have fun. Winning is fun.
May 27th, 2016 at 1:36 pm
Doug Martin does NOT like the nickname “Muscle Hamster.”
Joe, you show Martin great disrespect by insisting on calling him that name.
If some guy in your past called you Joe NeedleDick and I insisted on calling you Joe NeedleDick and you didn’t like being called Joe NeedleDick, would I be showing you great disrespect if I continued to call you Joe NeedleDick even after your respectful request?
Please, show Martin some respect and honor his modest request. Stop the “Muscle Hamster” thing. Martin doesn’t like it, many fans don’t like it and continuing its use just makes you look douchey…
May 27th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Now that’s real talk Pat.
May 27th, 2016 at 1:54 pm
And that was real talk also 87.
May 27th, 2016 at 1:58 pm
The last time Jamies was surrounded by this much talent he won a chip. The worse thing could’ve happen to this league was giving Jamies an aggresive QB a aggressive playcaller.
May 27th, 2016 at 5:10 pm
Been there. It doesn’t go away. Don’t get to decide how to gloss yourself.
And “Muscle Hamster” is the coolest nickname Joe has ever heard. Of course, if Martin really didn’t want Joe to use this, cutting a check would help the nickname go away. 🙂
Shoot, Martin may as well try to make cash off of it and sell gear. If he truly hates it, making cash off of it is the smart way to go.
May 27th, 2016 at 5:22 pm
i recall lots talk of excitement, a lighter atmosphere, and fresh blood during the first Lovie OTAs. Perhaps after Schiano, everyone seems like a breath of fresh air….or perhaps this is another of those cliches Joe was talking about
May 27th, 2016 at 6:01 pm
^^^^^^^^point counter point^^^^^^^
May 27th, 2016 at 7:45 pm
Keep using the nickname Joe.
You don’t get to decide what your nickname is.
You may not like it. Hell I hated mine, but I got called it for over 15 years.
I asked people to stop too. Did I get my wish? Hell no and I ain’t telling it here either.
Some of you people act like he’s you’re cousin or something or you’re actually him. Quit whining about the nickname. Joe’s not the only site that STILL uses the name.
May 27th, 2016 at 7:52 pm
I’m a Muscle Hamster fan. I have his jersey for ef’s sake.
Hat tip ESPN :
Andrew Astleford
TAMPA, Fla. — The man who gave Doug Martin the “Muscle Hamster” nickname has heard his friend complain about the moniker for years.
Now that Martin wants to be known as “Dougernaut,” Jarrell Root has a message for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back: tough luck.
“I don’t think it’s ever going to leave him,” said Root, a former defensive end who played with Martin at Boise State from 2008 to 2011.
“I don’t think you can ever take back something like that,” Root said. “Imagine if ‘The Fridge’ didn’t like being called ‘The Fridge.’ It doesn’t matter. He’s still going to be called ‘The Fridge,’ because no matter how you try to do it, if you have an interesting, interesting name, it’s too rare. The damage is already done.”
“He hated it. He was like, ‘OK, man, why can’t I be like a pit bull or anything cool like that?’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re short. Hamsters are cool. There’s nothing wrong with hamsters. Why do you hate hamsters?’ You don’t choose a nickname. If your buddies give you a nickname and it sucks and you don’t like it, it just sticks with you. He really disliked it. But we just kept it rolling. We didn’t understand how big it was until there was a giant hamster wearing a [No.] 22 [jersey] at our games. No joke.”
May 27th, 2016 at 11:25 pm
Thanks JoeTampaaaaaaaaa
May 27th, 2016 at 11:28 pm
Wasn’t long ago Joe wanted Doug out of Tampa, never understood that.