Getting Doug Martin Touches
October 4th, 2017
Thursday availability detailed. And Jacquizz Rodgers given highest honor by Dirk Koetter.
Leading right up to the final minute before Bucs running back Doug Martin was reinstated, winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter was playing high stakes poker.
It didn’t matter who asked him, whether it was Joe or Gil Brandt, Koetter never, ever would say definitively if the Bucs were bringing Martin back.
Many of Joe’s readers hammered Joe for not joining the masses and declaring Martin was coming back. Until Joe got a direct, on-the-record statement from the Bucs that Martin indeed was returning, Joe wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.
Granted, it was frustrating that Koetter wouldn’t end any and all speculation by just uttering one simple word, such as “Yes.” Well, in a exclusive sitdown with raconteur Dan Lucas of WFLA-TV Channel 8, Koetter explained why he never would say Martin was coming back.
“We really didn’t know,” Koetter said.
Koetter added that until he met with Martin Monday, he had no idea if Martin would be ready. Then, after meeting with Martin Monday morning, Koetter said Martin had to go through medical exams from team doctors to confirm he was physically ready. Then, Martin had to go through a series of drills with running backs coach Tim Spencer to find out if Martin was sharp enough to go through practices in preparation for the Belicheats on Thursday.
As for how many carries or snaps Martin will see Thursday night, Koetter all but said it is a work in progress.
“Doug knows our system, so I am sure Doug can handle whatever we are going give him,” Koetter said. “The main issue is just how much do we want to give him? Because Jacquizz [Rodgers] is coming off — shoot we gave Jacquizz the game ball against the Giants. He is playing good. We kind of got our roles established now.
“We are just going to have to kind of see where we can kind of squeeze Doug in there and pick our spots. It is going to be a little bit trial by fire Thursday night.”
At worst, Martin is a better backup than Charles Sims.
Joe thinks Koetter is being smart about this. If, as he stated, he thinks Rodgers is getting the job done, then why fix something that is not broken? Additionally, work Martin in gradually if Koetter truly believes Rodgers is currently getting the job done.
If, as Koetter believes, Rodgers is fine and if Martin can play like the outlier of his NFL career, that gives the Bucs a nice little one-two punch. Certainly better than [pick a running back] and Sims.
The video of Koetter’s full video with Lucas is below courtesy of WFLA-TV Channel 8.
October 4th, 2017 at 6:51 am
Doug Martin isn’t a backup Joe, he’s our bell-cow. Jacquizz is a 3-4 yd/run back, and that won’t cut it against the Patriots. He’s an excellent backup IMO, but Martin’s our lead dog. Koetter’s playing head games with Bill Belicheck … will I use Martin or won’t I? And IF I use him, where & when will I use him? By the way, I’d use Sims & Barber a LOT more in this game too. This offense is not even remotely producing enough to beat the Pats if Koetter keeps play-calling the way he’s been play-calling in the first 3 games.
October 4th, 2017 at 6:55 am
Oh and just to clarify something, I’m not down on Dirk Koetter at all. I think he’s a great HC. But that creativity that he showed as an OC that 1st year working under Lovie is missing this year (and was much of last year too). Dual-hatting a coach as HC & OC (or DC) doesn’t work for most coaches IMO. There’s only 24 hours in a day.
October 4th, 2017 at 6:58 am
The Giants were the worst run defending team in the league coming into last week’s game – so of course Quizz looked “good” vs NY. He did not look “good” at all the week before in Minneapolis and was very much just “OK” vs the Bears.
Martin (when healthy) runs at a whole nother level compared to what Quizz is capable of.
Joe’s continued attempts at justifying his stance that Martin would not likely be brought back are laughable at this point.
“Koetter explained why he never would say Martin was coming back. “We really didn’t know,” Koetter said.”
Um – that “we didn’t know” quote was specifically referring to whether or not Doug would “come back in game shape” – NOT whether he would be brought back onto the team.
SMH Joe. Guess you guys will just continue to insert your little derogatory asides about Martin with every mention of him as long as he is on the team. Just like this little gem – “At worst, Martin is a better backup than Charles Sims”
October 4th, 2017 at 7:02 am
Stick Carriers are ready for a 2nd piñata beating this week, if we beat the Patriots at home. The Den of Depression didn’t make sense last year and it would be an insult to Buccaneer fans to keep using the name at this Buccaneer site after 7 wins in a row.
Do you want more WOOD Joel?????
October 4th, 2017 at 7:16 am
😂😂😂😂😂😂
October 4th, 2017 at 7:29 am
Who would you rather have protecting our QB on pass plays?
October 4th, 2017 at 7:33 am
Martin has to EARN his way back in the lineup ! Dude let the team down . He is not the automatic go to stud everyone wants to pretend he is . His record proves he is inconsistent at best . Stay with Rodgers till he can’t get the job done , he has a better yard per carry average than Martin . Simple as that .
October 4th, 2017 at 7:38 am
Any chance Koetter’s been holding back play calling in anticipation of this game? This is the game to unleash Winston.
October 4th, 2017 at 7:55 am
Of course Koetter didn’t know if they were bringing Doug back, he could have had a relapse during his 4 weeks off. I did not think that was going to happen, but it was possible.
Doug is not a backup, he is a bell-cow. That said, in this first game back, I would not expect him to get the majority of the carries. I’m thinking a 50/50 split with Quizz at best,
October 4th, 2017 at 7:58 am
@Dlavid
While drug martin did let the team down, I think you have to look at the preseason as the biggest “hint” of what they think of the RB roster!!!! DM22 was clearly better than JR32 and even had more than a yard more per rush attempt!!!!! They will ease DM22 in, but we could see a 40/60 ration between the two!!!!
Also, I am sure that the Coaching staff watched a ton of the panthers/pats tape and the Panther ran a lot of 4-5 man spreads, with lots of screens!!! should be interesting to see how much the Bucs will copy this!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 4th, 2017 at 7:59 am
I don’t think Coach K was playing game, DM was a healthy scratch last year in a game the Bucs needed against the Cowboys, even if DK knew the suspension was coming down, why completely inactivate him, he could’ve still had him on the bench.
That being said, DM will need to have a solid game Thursday and make DM start and use him, I do not think it is a given. This offense has to start clicking while the defense recovers from injuries.
October 4th, 2017 at 8:04 am
The verbal gymnastics employed after being so publicly and certainly wrong about an issue is kinda funny but bewildering. Being wrong about something and learning how to admit it can be difficult but can also build some character. I have to explain this lesson to my six year old from time to time.
October 4th, 2017 at 8:20 am
My goodness Jo. If you can’t admit that Doug Martin is gonna be our main “workhorse” running back, what do you actually KNOW about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Because it seems to me what you think is becoming increasingly irrelevant
Might want to watch the video from Dirk Koetter and read Joe’s Martin story from yesterday. –Joe
October 4th, 2017 at 8:21 am
quizz rodgers being a lead back will last all of 2 or 3 series i’m sorry he’s just not a difference maker. take away his 45 harder and he avg. 2.5 yards a carry. that will never get it done especially against a week run defense like the giants. martin is going to be the #1 back on this team it’s just a matter of his good of a back is he. you could just see cutback lanes on tv that quiz wasn’t hitting that a good rb would see and pick up a extra 5 yards. the run struggles are definitely not on the o line
October 4th, 2017 at 8:55 am
FSU:
Please read Koetter’s quotes. Joe is not pulling this out of the sky.
If Koetter’s quotes don’t work for you, try watching the video.
October 4th, 2017 at 8:55 am
My two cents: Rogers will get the start, but Martin will quickly take over.
October 4th, 2017 at 9:01 am
Pick:
So you knew Martin was clean of any banned substances… how exactly? Do you have access to his blood work and/or his p!ss tests? You do know the guy went through rehab for a reason, right? Most don’t choose to go through rehab rather than a trip to Vegas or the Caymans.
October 4th, 2017 at 9:14 am
Another Doug Martin thread and another dance routine from Joe mis-quoting Dirk to avoid admitting Joe was wrong.
Now Joe is going back to Doug substance abuse and rehab issue as if everything depended on him passing a drug test this Monday to make the team, LOL!!!
Come on Joe, Dirk clearly meant he didnt know about Doug being in football shape after being away from the team for a month, the question was never about him being on the roster in 2017. But since your agenda refuses to admit being wrong, spin, spin away
October 4th, 2017 at 9:21 am
I wonder if Kwon Alexander is held to the same standard as Doug Martin what with injuries and an identical 4 game banned substance suspension? Think we all know the answer to that which is ironic because Martin has two pro bowls, two more than Kwon. All very amusing.
October 4th, 2017 at 9:47 am
you jump to conclusions about everything else… why not on the Doug Martin situation LOL
October 4th, 2017 at 9:52 am
Koetter is playing psyche games with Belicheat, and Jos gets suckered in because of his well-established confirmation bias…
October 4th, 2017 at 9:56 am
Of course not. Kwon took the wrong energy drink. Martin had to go through rehab for a substance issue.
Plus, Kwon produces.
October 4th, 2017 at 9:59 am
“Of course not. Kwon took the wrong energy drink k. Plus, he produces.”
0 pro bowls > 2 pro bowls?
We call that fuzzy math! k?
October 4th, 2017 at 10:03 am
4 game banned substance suspension is the effective penalty for both mistakes. The standard should be no different from a football perspective.
October 4th, 2017 at 10:07 am
Cautious: Kwon was a rookie with a rookie salary who made a mistake (btw, I don’t buy ‘energy drink excuses’). Martin got the major contract he asked for. So IMHO expectations might have been slightly different
October 4th, 2017 at 10:12 am
Expectations are different from standards when evaluating football effectiveness and in this case from a production and injury standpoint the effective results are identical with two pro bowl seasons in Martins pocket but the standard for both players is different. This is a personal issue being poorly argued as a football issue. I’m not the only one that sees it, clearly.
Inaccurate. Sad that you continue with this nonsense. –Joe
October 4th, 2017 at 10:13 am
One guy led the NFL in solo tackles in 2016.
The other guy had the worst yards-per-carry in the NFL in 2016.
Feel free to do the math, k?
October 4th, 2017 at 10:18 am
“One guy led the NFL in solo tackles in 2016.
The other guy had the worst yards-per-carry in the NFL in 2016.
Feel free to do the math, k?”
One guy is not producing in 2016 due to a bad hamstring injury. The other guy is not producing in 2017 due to a bad hamstring injury. Yet they are not being judged by the same standard.
“Feel free to do the math, k?”
October 4th, 2017 at 10:20 am
I’m pretty sure the men in that locker room, the coaching staff and the suits all agree with me or he would not be a Buccaneer today. Scoreboard.
October 4th, 2017 at 10:20 am
Joe’s it’s so sad, you really are haters which is why your tones in every article about Martin is negative.
This article lined here on Martin — FROM YESTERDAY — has nothing negative in it and is all positive to boot! Why make stuff up? https://www.joebucsfan.com/2017/10/buccaneers-blog-jameis-doug-martin-koetter/ –Joe
You want to bring up the stats of Rodgers since he came to Tampa ok that’s fine now look at stats from their entire careers!!!!! Martin is better than Rodgers and it’s not even close. Sorry to break it to you but your not insiders to the degree you think you are, everything you say is an opinion just like your readers but then again saying Martin’s career has been better than Rodgers is actually fact
October 4th, 2017 at 10:30 am
How many times does Joe have to explain?: Joe does not “hate” Doug Martin in any way, shape or form. What Joe does hate is lack of production.
Folks keep pointing to Martin being in the 2015 Pro Bowl. That was great. You know what though, there are all sorts of guys that were on the 2015 Pro Bowl roster who either stink out loud now or are out of football.
The 2015 Pro Bowl was two years ago. Joe is living in October 2017.
October 4th, 2017 at 10:52 am
Joe this is starting to get annoying.
October 4th, 2017 at 11:00 am
“The 2015 Pro Bowl was two years ago. Joe is living in October 2017.”
And in October 2017 Doug Martin is your Buccaneers starting running back! Go Bucs!
October 4th, 2017 at 11:03 am
“Joe wasnt going to jump to conclusions”
BUT YOU DID!!! You concluded he was all but gone. Just because your conclusion wasnt the same as everyone elses doesnt mean you stayed neutral on the matter. You jumped to conclusions all right, just not the correct ones.
October 4th, 2017 at 11:14 am
Joe Says:
October 4th, 2017 at 9:01 am
Pick:
Um – that “we didn’t know” quote was specifically referring to whether or not Doug would “come back in game shape” – NOT whether he would be brought back onto the team.
SMH Joe. Guess you guys will just continue to insert your little derogatory asides about Martin with every mention of him as long as he is on the team.
So you knew Martin was clean of any banned substances… how exactly? Do you have access to his blood work and/or his p!ss tests? You do know the guy went through rehab for a reason, right? Most don’t choose to go through rehab rather than a trip to Vegas or the Caymans.
—————————————————————
Nobody “knew” anything for sure – just like coach said – Martin had to undergo a physical (which obviously included an NFL mandated drug test) and a workout with his position coach who knows him best.
But among the range of possibilities/probability what was most likely? That Martin would come back from suspension in coach potato shape with a crappy attitude and perhaps even test positive for his drug of choice? Or that DM worked hard after Pre-season was over to stay in top shape and comes in week 5 raring to go – with real desire to make up for last years mistakes to all his teammates and the entire organization? (who btw have all fully and publicly supported Doug throughout this entire 9 month ordeal). And to make the $5.7M he will earn this season if he just stays clean and stays in shape…
Let me try this another way. Joe plays poker right? What makes more sense – to shove all your chips in the middle after the turn holding 3 kings with no aces or flush possibilities showing on the board – or to stubbornly CALL a big all-in bet on the turn holding an A-Q with K-7-10-K showing?
Joe was just CLINGING to that inside straight (10% chance almost on the river if you have all 4 outs available) regarding this entire Doug Martin suspension ordeal. You said 10% chance Martin returns and stuck to it for months -writing dozens of articles about the issue – mostly all containing “reasons” why Doug would likely not be back.
It was an opinion. This is an opinion based platform. We get it. But the way you went about it (and continue to apparently based on the above referenced snide “back-up” remark) was what brought forth the “Martin Hate” accusations and why posters continue to call you out on your rather apparent negative bias regarding DM.
Perhaps Joe knows things the average fan doesn’t (which was implied more than once regarding the Martin suspension). Perhaps Martin’s substance abuse “issues” were much more detrimental and long lasting than anyone outside the organization suspected. Maybe leading Joe to be more concerned than most average fans that Martin was a likely candidate for relapse sooner than later but not being able to say why publicly because he was told things off the record.
Even if that were the case – once Doug got all the way through training camp and pre-season – working with the Ones the whole time and getting lots of “he looks very good” comments from coaches whenever asked – there was certainly never worse than a 50/50 chance Martin would be retained in 2017.
Many posters – myself included said even back in TC that it was more like an 80%+ chance Martin would be back just based on reading the situation as it publicly presented itself. But Joe (one of you at least) stubbornly stuck to your 10% chance schtik and then upped it to 15% in the last couple weeks.
Its OK to have opinions that differ from a majority of your readership – even if those “opinions” seem to defy logic. Sometimes its even a good idea to do so intentionally when you are in the business of gathering eyeballs.
But the time comes when its best to just let go of the rather indefensible corner one has painted oneself into and embrace the concept and position of – “well we were wrong on that one” – so that you can move forward in reporting cleanly and in a non-biased way of the on field accomplishments and mistakes of our starting Running Back. #22 Doug Martin
October 4th, 2017 at 11:32 am
For how much people hate on players on this team I don’t get the insane love for Doug Martin.
Objectively there are more reasons to hate on Martin than probably any other high paid player. Oh well lol
October 4th, 2017 at 12:33 pm
How many times does Joe have to explain?: Joe does not “hate” Doug Martin in any way, shape or form.
@joe…you don’t have to “hate” someone to be labeled a “hater”….a hater is someone who doesn’t want someone to have success for a particular reason or doesn’t think someone deserves a second chance when the person in question is a overall good person….
Joe knows what a “hater” is and many fans think there is actual hate going on, which is baloney. And for the record, Joe believes Martin has gotten more than 2 chances. –Joe
you fall into both categories joe….doug hasn’t been in any trouble before….you don’t want him to be successful with the bucs now because of his lack of production and injury history in the past…understandable….also, you didn’t think he deserved a second chance with the bucs…again understandable….
Wrong and wrong. And most important, Joe DOES want Martin to success if/when he’s on the field. Joe’s explained this many times. –Joe
but you became a “hater” when you starting writing you would be willing to put cash down that DM doesn’t return to the bucs…or questioning why the bucs would even entertain bringing him back….
I was shocked you would even think that the bucs would hesitate to bring him back because I know you’re smarter than that joe….clues were all over the place….waiting to the 5th round to select an RB was one of them….the other was the amount of touches he got in preseason combined with our other rbs not being overly impressive….
the only way I would be ok with not having DM on the team is if they trade him for a productive DE…maybe ziggy ansah from the lions….they have no rb and their depth aint good at that position….ziggy will demand big bucks next year….send a 4th round pick and DM for ziggy and im all in….GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2017 at 1:24 pm
And for the record, Joe believes Martin has gotten more than 2 chances. –Joe
please explain….he’s been a model citizen, great team mate and role model up until be he got popped….his lack of production was somewhat due to injuries….tough to play when you got bad hammies…just ask kwon….GO BUCS!!!
Sorry, but Joe is not going to rehash all this. It’s in the archives and is old news. -Joe
October 4th, 2017 at 1:26 pm
That comment about giving Quizz the game ball does raise some eyebrows but talent wins out. Coaches want to win games first and foremost and they will play their best horses. Quizz and DM are not new…we know what they can do. A healthy, motivated DM should run circles around Quizz and be the guy. Maybe not right off the bat out of respect for Quizz, but shortly after.
I’ve also read that, even this week, DM has been the first running back through drills. That sounds like a starter to me.
Don’t forget that DM started the first 2 preseason games and only sat the 3rd because it was the dress rehearsal for Quizz. He also took the first team reps in training camp. I don’t think it’s a question that the coaching staff knows he is the best option.
October 4th, 2017 at 1:35 pm
@Pickgrin: When it was obvious Martin came to camp in excellent condition-and most likely peed in the cup at that time-I have him a 100% probability of being on the roster at the first opportunity.
Others had an ax to grind…and defend.
October 4th, 2017 at 1:51 pm
So negative… Just see how he does. I think he’s gonna make some good plays. Maybe a bit rusty. This Martin bashing is getting old. Can’t wait for him to silence the critics.
October 4th, 2017 at 3:48 pm
nice cop out….LOL….doesn’t surprise me at all….tough to admit when your wrong….GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2017 at 6:17 pm
I disagree….feed him the . Hes back and he is our no.1 back
October 5th, 2017 at 8:02 pm
I love how Joe acts like Martin was some hard line drug addict who was giving hjs for money. He took some adderall, the stuff doctors give 6 yr olds. And it’s not a physically addictive drug. The whole rehab thing is just the song and dance that had to be done for the NFL & media. Doug wasnt lying in his rehab bed sweating & shaking, begging someone to give him an adderall. He was maybe a little tired for 1 day at worst. Rehab was totally unnecessary but, again, just what has to be done to appease the NFL. So don’t talk like the guy was some junkie & that he may not have been able to pass a piss test recently. That’s not what Koetter meant at all. U know it, so just stop. Doesn’t make you a lesser man, makes you more of a man to admit it & move on. Although this route gets you more site “hits” & interaction from the public. Wait a sec, Joe may be a genius!