“Gassed”
October 7th, 2017
Limited carries explained.
Man, for the past two days, Joe has been getting hammered with questions about why the Bucs didn’t run Doug Martin more Thursday night.
Prior to the game against the Belicheats, winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter cautioned fans that he had no idea how much Martin could tote the rock. Remember, Martin, while serving the balance of his four-game suspension, had to stay away from One Buc Palace and have no contact with team officials.
Koetter noted he would have to work Martin into the flow of things. Yes, Martin had only practiced three times in the past month. But it seems way too many fans think football players are video game characters and one can plug-and-play any player and he should be ready to go.
Well, Koetter noted why Martin didn’t get the rock that much Thursday night: Martin wasn’t in football shape.
“We had 68 snaps on offense and Doug played 25 snaps,” Koetter told Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt Friday, co-hosts of “Late Hits.” “[Martin] came in and gave us a real lift there.
“[After Martin’s first touchdown] he was a little bit gassed. … It is one thing to be training, it is another thing to be playing real NFL football.”
And that is just it. Folks on Twitter tried to argue with Joe, assuming Martin was working out eight hours a day while banned from One Buc Palace and that Koetter Pearl Harbored the Bucs by not using him.
One can work out in a gym or with a trainer at a high school football field in shorts and a T-shirt. That is simply not the same as being prepared for full contact football, especially for a running back who gets blasted from all corners every time he carries the ball.
October 7th, 2017 at 12:43 pm
It was obvious he was gassed. I saw some ppl complain like I thot I missed something
October 7th, 2017 at 12:43 pm
I’m sure the patriots were a “little bit gassed” too as was most the Bucs in the 4th quarter
October 7th, 2017 at 12:46 pm
You could see him huffing before his long run for TD got called back. When they show him close up I could see he was tired.
He did all you can ask for when coming back from weeks off
October 7th, 2017 at 12:50 pm
So gassed that he couldn’t run a much needed fourth and one instead of putting in Folk to shank a fifty yarder. That was the last time I saw Doug. He was really pissed off about that on the sideline after so maybe he was gassed from that also.
October 7th, 2017 at 12:55 pm
“22” Will shine the rest of the season… and carry the team!
October 7th, 2017 at 1:00 pm
Ok so he was gassed by halftime… but you’re telling me after the break at halftime they couldn’t have used him some more in the second half? Seemed like he didn’t see the field much after halftime
October 7th, 2017 at 1:01 pm
adrenaline….he’ll be fine
October 7th, 2017 at 1:01 pm
I personally don’t buy it. Sounds like a nice excuse
October 7th, 2017 at 1:09 pm
It TOTALLY makes sense.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:14 pm
Okay so he was tired after a long run he still carried the ball once every 6 minutes of game time almost which isn’t always running, maybe cause he dropped some passes he wanted sims out there who also dropped passes but didn’t want to say that
October 7th, 2017 at 1:19 pm
It makes sense, but our other two backs only carried the ball 5 times between them. So all of our RBs combined for only 18 carries against a D that was giving up 5.1 a carry.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:21 pm
What doesn’t make sense Joe is that we pay THREE other RBs to tote the rock. Martin got 13 carries. Jacquizz got 3 carries. Sims got 1 carry. And Barber (obviously in DK’s doghouse) got ZERO carries. All with a Bucs OLine that everyone tells us is doing GRRREAT, and against a Pats defense that sucked against the run. 17 carries altogether against a team that has real problems stopping the run? (4-6-6-1 runs by quarter). Yup, makes perfect sense to me.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:22 pm
Martin has a long history of injuries. THIS WAS ONE GAME. He had not been hit in more than one month. This was the prudent thing to do. His runs in the second half, the two or three that he had, did have the same umppph. This is a long season. I do agree that Koetter gave up on the run a bit prematurely given the way the offensive line was blocking. But this is all hindsight. Let’s move on and think about the remainder of the season. Arizona is a big game. Not a must win, but given how easily they handled us last year, it looms large. I had the Bucs at 10-6 prior to the season, even after a projected 1-3 start. I did not think we would beat Miami, the Giants, or New England. Miami remains to be seen, but right now we’re a little ahead of the projection. I do worry that New Orleans may be much better than many people think.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:27 pm
Cmon people. Its pretty simple. Martin didnt have more carries because they didnt have the ball. Couldnt get a 3rd down conversion. I finally saw that dirk took some blame for his lack of an offensive gameplan. He should be answering these questions with that in mind. He would have loved to give doug the ball more. Go Bucs
October 7th, 2017 at 1:42 pm
It’s all about that first drive of the 3rd Quarter. It’s 3rd and 1 or so, and Dirk is thinking that since the Pats gave up those huge runs to Martin they will be selling out against the run. He had the right idea, and DJax WAS wide open, but I think Dirk forgot his advice to Winston and got GREEDY, trying to go all guru on them. The smarter play would have been to run Martin for the first down. That keeps the drive alive, gets the offense some rhythm, and keeps Brady off of the field. It’s a tough call. Dirk can get the 1st down on a Martin run, that’s probaly a 75% chance play, or go for it all on a deep shot, that we’ve seen is probably less than 25%. Quick scores are great, but I would rather have seen them chew 6 miniutes off the clock and score than 3 plays and score in that situation.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:52 pm
He’s a professional athlete and a very lucky one to be kept on this team after making some very poor decisions. That 3rd and 1 should have been a run and if 22 was gassed after a halftime rest, then use the battering ram Peyton Barber. Said it on Friday and will repeat. DC has a penchant for abandoning the run. Did it in the ATL, does it here. I’d rather he abandoned setting up for FG’s.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:54 pm
It seems like every 3rd and short Jamie’s is throwing low percentage downfield throws, I get being aggressive but too aggressive is stupid
October 7th, 2017 at 2:06 pm
The leading rusher in the 4th was JW. Rodgers rushed 1x in the 4th. Martin last Rush was in the third with 3:11 mins left.
The man has only been playing fb all his life. I think Koetter got you guys gassed.
October 7th, 2017 at 2:12 pm
It goes without saying then, that our Defense was gassed after our Offensive Offense completed nothing but 3 and outs for the first 3 qrts of the game…They still came to play for all FOUR qrtrs and offered NO EXCUSES. Was Martin the only dressed and active RB that night? Koetter couldn’t hold his wad and run the dam ball because even if he gets behind a meager 3 points, he flips out and goes all air attack. Same crap he did in Atl.
October 7th, 2017 at 2:53 pm
The Patriots Defense was gassed. They played a tough game Carolina on Sunday. Then had to fly to Tampa from Boston in a few days to face the Bucs on Thursday. The holes was so big, Barber,Rodgers could have walked through them.
October 7th, 2017 at 3:11 pm
Doug played well and took a lot of shots. If he’s not in football shape, what is the excuse for Brate (4-drops), OJ, Winston (erratic for 3-qtrs) and most of all…Koetter,
who hasn’t called a good game most of this season.
Koetter, OTOH, has the luxury of an abundance of stars at all the skill positions and a #1 draft choice at QB who has yet to display the ability to read and react to defenses with any consistency befitting a #1 pick. Stats don’t mean anything if the W/L record is poor.
October 7th, 2017 at 3:24 pm
Please PistolPete..PLEASE!!! Martin made a mistake, was fined and served his sentence. Every man gets a 2nd chance. I disagree with you there sir. You see, WE..are lucky to have Martin!
October 7th, 2017 at 3:36 pm
I’m glad he is here. But he is lucky they kept him. This is his profession, so if he was gassed after a 48 yard drive then get the dude an IV. He was in football shape this summer, looked great and looked great Thursday. I’m all for second chances. Most of my criticism in on DC for piss poor play calling and his continuing reliance on a 5’6 RB as a bell cow. 3rd Down and short distance in Our playbook must contin no running plays.
October 7th, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Way to go Doug!
Playoffs are an “on year” from Doug Martin away. I’m very excited about how well Doug can play for the Bucs this year!
October 7th, 2017 at 3:56 pm
Good point, Mike Johnson. Doug appears to be running away with his second chance.
October 7th, 2017 at 4:34 pm
I have also been noticing and complaining about Koetter’s lack of faith in the run once down. Seems like the minute we are down by any points whatsoever he gives up on the run…
October 7th, 2017 at 4:35 pm
can’t wait for the excuses when the unreliable gerbil gets hurt again or relapses either way he will screw the team over yet AGAIN before all is said and done.
October 7th, 2017 at 9:39 pm
Tmaxcon,
Martin is getting second chance, and so far so good. I understand you’re realistic approach, but the fan in me wants to see Martin overcome his demons and inconsistencies.
October 7th, 2017 at 9:40 pm
Tmax yeah I can’t believe he got hurt. How dare he get hurt and let his team down. I mean he should have practiced running a fade route more against a linebacker on his first career injury. I can’t believe he keeps letting his team down. Those two pro bowl years where he carried the team he must have spent a lot more time in the offseason and during the season doing injury prevention training. But the other years he got injured he was just lazy and skipped injury prevention training. So hopefully Doug is back and excelling at his injury prevention training. Cause man if he gets injured again that would be the last straw. So go bucs and please Doug don’t get lazy this year and miss injury prevention training. And I hope Kwon and lavonte quit skipping the injury prevention training also this sucks all these lazy athletes. But I can tell Gerald is the valedictorian of that class cause he looks like Lebrun out there when he gets injured like it’s career ending then he is back the next play.
October 8th, 2017 at 9:59 am
I am not buying that excuse. And to the poster saying he was huffing and puffing after a long run LOL. That is what happens when you sprint. As for Koetter, were Rogers and Barber also gassed? This was his worst game as a head coach all the way around. I am still pissed about the decision to try and rely on Shakes The Clown for the onside kick! They almost never work anyway so your defense is going to have to make a stand. Don’t give them a short field so that they can go up by 5 rather than 2. When your QB is struggling mightily with accuracy that night, it might be best to keep pounding the rock…..with any RB.
October 9th, 2017 at 8:33 am
BS they didn’t even try to run with another back. His play calling hasn’t helped the Defense either! Wheres barber on short yardage?
October 9th, 2017 at 4:20 pm
“I can tell Gerald is the valedictorian of that class cause he looks like Lebraun out there when he gets injured like it’s career ending then he is back the next play.”
ROFL