Biting The Football
May 7th, 2012
Bucs rookie running back Doug Martin "bites" the football, just the way new Bucs coach Greg Schiano showed the team.
In the New Schiano Order that has encompassed One Buc Palace since Greg Schiano took over the floundering Bucs, Schiano has made no secrets that turnovers on offense simply will not be tolerated.
How much is Schiano a stickler about this? First round draft pick Doug Martin noted Friday at the Bucs rookie mini-camp that the number of touches he gets is directly tied to how he hangs on to the football.
Sure, it’s easy for anyone to say, ‘Don’t turn the ball over.’ Any drunk in a bar like Joe could say that. But Schiano, given the fact he’s also a sticklerĀ for fundamentals, takes it a step further.
Schiano taught the Bucs running backs a new trick to help them hang on to the football: Bite the football.
“Ball security is a big thing with the coach,” Martin said Friday. “He makes sure that you are finishing through the line with the ball high and tight. So high and tight that you can bite it.”
It’s amazing the amount of attention to detail Schiano has brought to the Bucs in just a handful of short weeks. As Joe learned himself many moons ago on the football field: If you take care of the little things first, the big things will take care of themselves.
May 7th, 2012 at 10:17 am
That dude still has his Boise shoes on, WTF>
May 7th, 2012 at 10:18 am
@Joe Three Schianos in the first sentence, seven in such a short article? You have to mix it up by throwing in a couple “Little Generals.”
May 7th, 2012 at 11:38 am
You know I don’t want to go on and on but there was a particular head coach we had last year that must have had NO ATTENTION TO DETAIL AT ALL. I won’t say his name but just sayin……..
May 7th, 2012 at 11:42 am
Looks like exactly how Tiki Barber started to hold the football after his season of fumbling issues.
Wonder how much of this is Byner’s influence as well. I seem to recall CJ2K and MJD not having many ball security issues under Byner.
May 7th, 2012 at 11:56 am
All Byner has to do is plug in the tape of his Fumble. š
He was a great player, and I loved the way he moved on from that unfortunate fumble to be a Champion.
Let’s hope he can develop our RB’s into something special.
May 7th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
this should go for anybody on the team who carries the ball, CB’s included. how many times do you see an INT get knocked out by a speedy WR who wont give up on the play. i love attention to detail and if followed makes a team even harder to beat. look at Adrian Peterson, had a little fumblitis “bit the ball” and now keeps it off the ground. i look at it like this, play like a nasty mean dog, you ever try to pull a ball or rope out of a pit bulls mouth (insert Vick joke here), no easy task!! i hope they learn it and stick with it! BUC IT IM OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 7th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Interesting.
May 7th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Greg Schiano wants to do Schiano things, the Coach Schaino way.
How is that Miguel Grande ?
May 7th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
…and in an unrelated story Donald Penn requests move to RB.
May 7th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
That pic is exactly how Trent Richadrson holds the ball too, high and tight.
And it’s good to see Schiano applying the fumbling rules evenly, not just to Blount.