The Worst?
June 16th, 2015
NFL.com pillories Doug Martin and his fellow Bucs RBs.
Joe has typed and typed and typed how there is a reason the Bucs stunk up the NFL last year and finished 2-14. They had more holes than a beehive.
Offensive line was a jailbreak. Tight ends were hurt (Oniel Cousins!). And the running backs? The best one was put in Lovie’s doghouse and arguably the No. 3 running back sure smelled like he was rushed back from injured reserve and forced into the lineup.
Then there is Doug Martin. A Pro Bowler as a rookie, Martin hasn’t run for 1,000 yards through the past two seasons, which is pretty dismal. His average yards-per carry is damned near The Great Lumpkin-type production. In fact, the Bucs last year did not have a running back run for 500 yards.
It is because of this that Marc Sessler of NFL.com has the Bucs running backs group ranked dead last in the NFL.
Doug Martin’s rookie season feels like decades ago. He’s won over new coordinator Dirk Koetter, but we need to see it firsthand before putting the Bucs higher on this list. To be fair, that offensive line was no help last season.
Yes, the offensive line stunk last year. Still, good running backs can find running room once in a while and Martin simply did not. Joe will never forget the game at New Orleans, where Joe had binoculars on Martin specifically. Martin, as soon as he took a handoff, put his head down and tried to pretend he was Larry Csonka.
The most fundamental element of a running back is to keep his head up. Because Martin ducked, he didn’t see occasional running room to his left and right. He was too worried about trying to bowl over defensive tackles and linebackers.
Yes, the offensive line was rotten. But Martin didn’t do his line any favors, or himself in the long run, as there was a valid reason the Bucs did not pick up his fifth-year option.
June 16th, 2015 at 6:19 am
Maybe he was putting his head down and trying to run over the defense because he almost never had any blocking and then there is the QB and play calling.
Our RBs were getting killed because of this and maybe we will have a better line and see some runs for daylight but we have to wait for pads to find out.
June 16th, 2015 at 6:24 am
I saw that list and yes I’m a homer, but there were teams like Raiders, Rams, Falcons, Titans, Browns, Jaguars who have not even threatened a 1000 yard rusher or some rookie potential, Raiders are led by Trent freakin Richardson are ranked higher, seriously. Yes, I admit homerism and I hope this team make all the stat geeks and prognosticaticators eat doo-doo. Go Bucs
June 16th, 2015 at 6:32 am
The key to a ZBS is your RB needs to utilize his vision. Martin displayed poor field vision as he was just running inside and looking to lowe the shoulder. Bobby Rainey and then late in the season Charles sims displayed better vision making proper cuts and finding the running lanes.
I’m intrigued by Charles sims. I can’t judge by his season last year as he was coming off a broken foot. He probably shouldn’t have played. I loved his talent coming out of WVU
June 16th, 2015 at 7:12 am
Three times it took me to read the article and the first three responses before I could get past the A problem occurred……… Of all the sites I visit, this is the only one that does this consistently. I read here every day several times a day and only wish someone could fix the problem.
June 16th, 2015 at 7:22 am
I will be glad when I can wake up , log on to jbf and read about 2015 expectations. Really makes for for a bad start when we continue to get the 2014 gloom and doom, 2-14, horror story. We have paid our dues, we stunk it up, but we have to move on toward the positive. I’m 70 years old, I love my Bucs, it’s a new season and better days might be on the horizon. Go Bucs
June 16th, 2015 at 7:24 am
He put his head down because he thought he heard an announcement coming from the stadium that he was running up the middle….we had the most predicable playcalling ever…and that’s saying a lot…..
June 16th, 2015 at 7:33 am
There seems to be not many team position rankings the Bucs are not ranked last in, 2-14 go figure. Overall .500 record seems light years away, as in everybody alive today won’t see it.
June 16th, 2015 at 7:47 am
I agree Tampabaybucsfan,I also believe Dougie will be just fine this season. I mean how hard would any of us be running without the presence of a OC and the coaching staff reminding you the whole organization is on board to snag WINSton.
June 16th, 2015 at 7:48 am
Can you blame him? I had a hard time looking at that line trying to block too. Spent a good part of last season with my head down, rubbing my temples and questioning the life decisions that led me to be a Bucs fan.
June 16th, 2015 at 8:05 am
I also feel you Mr. Martini,this daily reminder of how the Buccs suck last season(emphasis on last season)as if one season to the next are ever just alike. They’re usualy not alike. If you can catch NFLs networks top 10 countdown of “NFL turnarounds”. You might come away surprise.
June 16th, 2015 at 8:07 am
The word I got Joe, was that Martin would have been released or traded for peanuts, But Koetter begged to keep him for 1 year to see what he could do!!!
June 16th, 2015 at 8:46 am
Not sure if the Bucs would have released him but right now, Koetter is The Muscle Hamster’s best friend.
June 16th, 2015 at 8:53 am
In my opinion, more than any free agent or draft pick, the biggest off-season acquisition has to be Dirk Koetter. When you have an experienced play-caller, deficiencies in o-line play, RB play, or otherwise, can be negated. It’s the square peg syndrome. You have to match the play-calling to your team’s strengths.
I am confident that we will see an energized offense under this OC. If Martin can recapture his rookie form, we will be just fine.
June 16th, 2015 at 8:59 am
@Joe
since you are reading the comments, will you please do an article on Koetter’s offense, There is a lot of misinformation in the comments and it would help a-lot of fans around here. I know you read that one article (that was great) about the 4 Vert Offense!!!
June 16th, 2015 at 9:16 am
Nfl media are a bunch of tards. They will tell you that every single player in our roster sucks or is below average. Id love to bitch slap some sense into some of those guys but it will be nice to see them eat theyre words when the bucs win games this season
June 16th, 2015 at 9:29 am
Would have to see it first to write about it. Don’t think anyone will know what this offense will look like until the regular season kicks off.
Koetter’s offenses change with teams and personnel. Writing about what he will do with the Bucs is pretty much guesswork.
What Joe can say for sure is if the offensive line doesn’t block, won’t matter what Koetter’s offense looks like
June 16th, 2015 at 9:33 am
“Because Martin ducked, he didn’t see occasional running room to his left and right. He was too worried about trying to bowl over defensive tackles and linebackers.” – JOE
I think that was because he had to hit them hard to even get yardage.
Doug Martin is not a fancy runner. He’ll get 1,500 yards in a season with a halfway good offensive line, but he’s not the kind of runner who pulls a lot of fancy moves. He’s not overly elusive. He powers through tackles.
The problem is that because of the offensive line, he had too many tacklers all over him. 1-2 are no problem most of the time. 3-5? Whole other story.
With a bad offensive line, the more elusive backs do better, but their ceiling (at least for ours) is around 800-1,000 yards.
Martin is the better investment, but the question is…can the offensive line be repaired before he’s aged into the injury prone years?
Unlike some of the overly optimistic people here, I try to view things more realistically. I’m not negative, but realistic. Even assuming the two offensive line add-ons from this draft work out, we still have uncertainty at every other position on the offensive line. Mankins can be solid, but he’s firmly in the injury years now, so at some point they will bite him. Probably this year. Our center straight up sucks, at center anyway. At guard? Maybe he could do better, but I wouldn’t be confident.
And our other tackle, our “veteran” tackle, has not produced at all. We’re expected to see something he has not shown.
So no, I don’t see the offensive line being fixed this year. But the two draft picks are a solid start. Spend another next year and invest wisely in free agency…and maybe we’ll have it done next year. Our two late round Oline picks from last year have shown nothing year either…although, being late rounders we can expect them to be slow developers. Maybe, if we’re lucky, one of them will step up this year.
June 16th, 2015 at 9:38 am
Perhaps running up the middle every first down hurt their stats last year.
June 16th, 2015 at 10:44 am
Alright, I get that we sucked last year, like bad, but I am not gonna sit here and agree that Darren McFadden right now is better than Doug Martin and all of our RBs. McFadden hasn’t had a good season in like 4 years. And he is supposed to lead the Cowboys? That Oline better be good
June 16th, 2015 at 11:02 am
Joe haven’t you heard the old phrase when things are pretty bleak “just keep your head down.” Thats all he was doing man come on!! HAHAHAAH
June 17th, 2015 at 6:36 pm
Martin keeps saying he wants to get rid of that Muscle Hamster nickname. What about Doug “cannonball” Martin? Fits with that whole fire the cannons motif and his burst is somewhat reminiscent. If there is a hole, that is…