Eyes On Martin’s Hands
September 28th, 2013
Something to keep an eye on Sunday is Doug Martin’s ability to hold on to the football.
Yes, Martin is a true Bucs superstar and being critical of him feels like an act of treason. But the reality is Martin has dropped too many balls thrown his way in this young season.
Greg Schiano even acted like acknowledging those drops is painful to his tongue. Speaking on his radio show Monday, Schiano wouldn’t use the word drops but talked around the two balls Martin couldn’t catch in New England by calling them hot throws Martin needed to squeeze. Schiano also said the Bucs “still think” Martin is a third-down running back.
Yesterday, asked about Martin’s hands, Schiano again seemed uncomfortable admitting Martin has struggled.
“Is he having some problems holding on to the ball?” a reporter asked.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I wouldn’t go there yet. I wouldn’t say that yet,” Schiano said. “We as a team have had more drops than I would have liked. I think Doug’s going to be just fine as a receiver this year. He’s shown that he can do it in this league and I think he will.”
Yes, Martin is an amazing running back, but the jury is still out on his hands. Joe would like to see the Bucs diversify their offense and throw some balls to Brian Leonard and/or Erik Lorig out of two-back sets.
September 28th, 2013 at 8:36 am
A lot of that was down to freeman’s terrible short passes… Hopefully Glennon can hit a check down receiver.
September 28th, 2013 at 8:36 am
Doug “Manos de Piedra” Martin
September 28th, 2013 at 8:47 am
Will Martin’s quality of play decline under the play calling of Sully? Way too many runs up the middle!
September 28th, 2013 at 8:47 am
We are way to one-dimensional…..we absolutely need some TE & FB involvement in the passing game. I’m not too worried about Martin’s hands….as a matter of fact, I’m not worried about Martin at all.
September 28th, 2013 at 8:50 am
I’m worried about Martin for sure, the whole offense really. Too thin on weapons. Cover V-Jax and Williams, load the box, boom, offense is stopped. This won’t change just because Freeman is not under center.
September 28th, 2013 at 8:57 am
It’s called an audible Walt . Google it …. Then email it to free
September 28th, 2013 at 8:58 am
Walter,
Roberto “hands of stone” Duran. I hope Schiano ends up saying “no mas, no mas”. Lol
September 28th, 2013 at 8:59 am
@Sharon
Lol I forgot, Glennon is Peyton Manning.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:05 am
Joe said: “Greg Schiano even acted like acknowledging those drops is painful to his tongue. Speaking on his radio show Monday, Schiano wouldn’t use the word drops but talked around the two balls Martin couldn’t catch in New England by calling them hot throws Martin needed to squeeze.”
Wow. So Keiser Schiano is comfortable creating a circus at OBP and creating head games with him since the offseason, but can’t bring himself to ackdowledge his bell cow leading the league in drops righ now??(or was until Tavon Austin upped him one on Thurs night) Let me guess, its Sully’s fault.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:06 am
*Keiser Schiano is comfortable creating a circus at OBP at the expense of our “franchise QB”……,
September 28th, 2013 at 9:07 am
@Smawks, Freeman’s fault? Are we still going there?
All I know is that starting Sunday that excuse is off the table. I hope you’re right.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:09 am
“Will Martin’s quality of play decline under the play calling of Sully? Way too many runs up the middle!”
And just like I said, before Freeman can pack his last bag, here comes the pre-emptive attacks on Sully!
Ignorant fans cant see whats really going on.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:11 am
@MakavelitheDon
Schiano has his favorites, like Doug, who can never do any wrong. Then he has his whipping boys (Dominick, Sully, Freeman) that he can use as scapegoats after every loss.
Now that Freeman is benched, the excuses are going to be harder and harder to come by, wont be long before the Little General needs to point the finger at himself.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:18 am
get it straight Bucs fans, if we lose 1 more game, your Head Coach will be 1-10 in his last 11. Not Freeman. Not Sully. But Schiano!
from this point forward, all praises and criticisms will be directed to Keiser Schiano. Not Sully. Not DOM! But Commandatore Schiano!
remember how we kept blaming our OC with Dungy around. from Shula, to that one dude from Tenn. only to realize that an offensive HC and a solid DC was all that was needed to put us over the hump?
@Sully, you better open up the playbook like Moses opened up the Red Sea. Schiano, McNulty & the MGM are gunnin for ya!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:23 am
@ Walter,
the fact that he stayed at Rutgers for so long as a mediocre HC/GM/recruiter, without winning anything, shows me that:
a) he’s a smooth talker
b) he made the athletic director his btch
c) he prob threw alot of assistant coaches(whipping boys) under the bus
If someone wants to do the homework and look up how many coaching assistants got fired or “resigned” at Rutgers, let me know.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:23 am
Yeah, Sully is definitely Schiano’s next target. The soonest he could get Dom is after this season
September 28th, 2013 at 9:24 am
All the Schiano hate….would it be there if it weren’t for a stupid penalty & a missed field goal? We would be looking at 3-1 and Freeman would have another chance to fail.
Fans are falling for the media assault on Schiano…an assault that will continue win or lose because he isn’t playing ball with them.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:26 am
C’mon joe….that’s all you got for this morning. Let’s get to work pumping out some of those good articles as usual.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:28 am
as far as Dom?? the guy was able to load BOTH sides of the ball with Pro Bowl talent…. even McKay couldnt give us weapons on offense…..after a decade as GM (other than Alstott). I’ll give him credit for putting together a HOF defense. but in the end, it cost us all our cash, which screwed us for years as soon as he left.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:29 am
@Tamabaybucfan
Sorry, the media didn’t turn my opinion on Schiano. Watching us lose over & over again, followed by Schiano’s finger-pointing during each press conference, changed my opinion of him. He’s a control freak, which wouldn’t be terrible if we were WINNING, but we’re not, and I highly doubt the players have much faith left in him. Especially if his QB fails. And yes, Glennon is his guy.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:31 am
“All the Schiano hate….would it be there if it weren’t for a stupid penalty & a missed field goal?”
absolutely. just because of how sloppy and unprepared we were. If those we’re wins? They be the ugliest back to back wins in Bucs history……and thats sayin something.
by the way, by saying that, at least you acknowlege that our first 2 losses werent Freemans fault.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:33 am
sh!t, Im missing Gameday. go Central Middle Florida Technical Junior College!!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:35 am
aww Rutgers isnt on for me to cheer against… aw maaaan!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:35 am
Tampabay,
If your aunt had balz…If a frog had wings….If Schiano had a brain…if, if, if. Schiano invited this hailstorm and now he’s bet the farm. You haven’t seen anything yet. Better win!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:37 am
My only beef with Schiano is him yelling at the refs. Bring them an apple coach!!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:38 am
@ Walter,
at least this one media analyst got it right:
ESPN’s Jeff Chadiha said –
“A good head coach would figure out how Freeman blossomed that year (2010) and find ways to replicate that success. A stubborn coach would do what Schiano has been doing for most of his first two years in Tampa. Play mind games. Push the notion that competition brings out the best in players at all positions. Act as if he can use the same disciplinary tactics that worked on college kids at Rutgers and achieve similar success with grown men.
If Schiano took a good look around the NFL, he would find a changing landscape in regard to young quarterbacks. The teams having the most success are finding ways to play to their quarterbacks’ strengths. They build up their confidence by creating a user-friendly environment. They find success with young players because a little thing like trust goes a long way.
The teams that struggle with their young quarterbacks are just as easy to spot. The New York Jets failed to put decent weapons around Mark Sanchez (and then added Tim Tebow to the mix for a circus atmosphere). The Jacksonville Jaguars have done the same with Blaine Gabbert, while giving him three head coaches in three years. The San Francisco 49ers had Alex Smith all screwed up for five years until Jim Harbaugh became his head coach in 2011. Now Smith is leading a revitalized Kansas City Chiefs team that is thankful for his leadership and efficiency.
The point here is that all young quarterbacks go through growing pains and having a wishy-washy coach with a grating personality doesn’t help. In fact, Freeman’s situation in Tampa feels very much like what happened with Smith in San Francisco pre-Harbaugh.“
September 28th, 2013 at 9:45 am
@MakaveliTheDon
No I didn’t blame the first two games on Freeman, but the truth be told….his poor play put us in a position to lose as much has he put us in a position to win.
Poor performance earlier in those games made it much closer than it should have been.
Our defense played very well….even with the mistakes.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:47 am
@MakaveliTheDon
They don’t see Schiano for what he is yet.
Let the losses pile on.
Then they’ll see.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:53 am
Enjoy the final moments of Freeman bashing, you’re looking up a dead dog’s a$$. Freeman is gone. You’re dry humping a cadaver. Welcome in the Schiano/Glennon era. Just win, baby!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:53 am
I’m retiring “MakaveliTheDon”. Im getting sick of that poser MakaEVILTheCon whose obviously intimidated by my open opposition to Schiano.
MakaEvil is prob Schiano’s wife, or Gregory himself. Whoever the fck, keep trying winner!
September 28th, 2013 at 9:54 am
Its easier to focus your frustration on one person….to hard to blame, LVD, Dotson, Freeman, Lindell, Ogeltree. And, the coach is ultimately responsible. I can guarantee you that the Glazers haven’t had the first thought of getting rid of Schiano. He is cleaning house and it is ugly….but thats the way it always looks.
Talib, Blount, Winslow, Briscoe, Freeman….all pretty good players…but for someone else.
I support what he is doing because I think it will eventually work.
We will spend the money we would have spent on Freeman to either provide more weapons for Glennon or replace Glennon.
September 28th, 2013 at 9:56 am
@Tampabaybucfan
If we don’t win 6-7 games this year, Schiano won’t be here to choose a replacement.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:01 am
“I can guarantee you that the Glazers haven’t had the first thought of getting rid of Schiano.”
I agree with you on that. Greg might have had those fist-pumpin orange skinned heads at Rutgers fooled, but he cant fool the multi-billion Bros.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:05 am
Tampabay,
We should beat the Cards, Bills and maybe the Eagles. That’s a possible 3-13. What other games do you see us winning? Like your highly respected opinion.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:05 am
Walter Says:
September 28th, 2013 at 9:47 am
@MakaveliTheDon
They don’t see Schiano for what he is yet.
Let the losses pile on.
Then they’ll see.
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(btw, Im retiring Makaveli because of that poser MakaEvil…going back to Tony Two Cents…anyways)
I hate to wish our team defeat, but I might be with you on that.. IF thats what its gonna take to get rid of Keiser Schiano.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:08 am
Tampabaybucfan Says:
September 28th, 2013 at 9:45 am
@MakaveliTheDon
No I didn’t blame the first two games on Freeman, but the truth be told….his poor play put us in a position to lose as much has he put us in a position to win.
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thats the thing. it was a TEAM loss. there was blame across the board. week 2 too! but I was sick of seeing Free take the heat. but as a QB, it comes with job…. but it also comes with the HCs job. and if those were TEAM losses, who’s to blame then??? Sully??
September 28th, 2013 at 10:09 am
“you’re looking up a dead dog’s a$$. Freeman is gone. You’re dry humping a cadaver.”
literally lol’d right there.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:10 am
CONGRADULATIONS SCHIANO…..Great job looking at the tape
but his stats have him tied for 1st in the league in drops….he defended the kicker, he defended lavonte david both of them had the game in their hands we lost but wouldnt defend the most important guy on his team, i wonder if someone is going to stand up for you when the guys that evaluate you wonder whether your worth the salary they pay you
September 28th, 2013 at 10:10 am
Rooting for Schiano to fail is rooting for Raheem Morris to come back. So if you’re all cool with going back to missing 25 tackles a game and being down 3+ TDs every game at half, then I guess you all enjoy torture a lot more than some of us. Schiano getting fired now means paying two coaches again, like after Gruden, which pretty much leaves cheap, inexperienced co-ordinators to take over a team thats a QB away from the playoffs. Awesome…
September 28th, 2013 at 10:10 am
@ Walter
Remember this…..Schiano will be our coach in 2014 & I don’t believe we will win 6 or 7 games.
Much like Coughlin…he is easy to dislike because of his style of coaching…but he can win with it. Even after Superbowl wins Coughlin is 0-3 with a really good QB…..losing happens.
Can anybody say that Schiano isn’t justified with his personnel decisions? Someone said he points the finger in press conferences….I disagree entirely….I think he is too easy on players & coaches that deserve a finger point once in a while.
Schiano is our coach for some time to come…so take a long vacation to somewhere that doesn’t have Directv….get some therapy or visit one of Tampa’s “spas”, drug out….find another team to root for…because you are going to be very unhappy for a while!!!
September 28th, 2013 at 10:12 am
“I can guarantee you that the Glazers haven’t had the first thought of getting rid of Schiano. He is cleaning house and it is ugly….but thats the way it always looks.”
(damn, my Tony Two Cents posts arent going through)
but I agree with you on that. what else did I say???? oh yeah.. Greg might of had those orange skinned fist-pumping heads at Rutgers fooled, but no way he’s conning the Billion Dollar Bros.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:13 am
@Makaveli
I don’t WANT the Bucs to lose. I just don’t see us winning many games with Glennon at QB, no TE’s or 3rd options that are reliable in the passing game, defenses that will be stacking the box and forcing him to make plays, depth problems across the board, especially on both lines, no CB depth, so Glennon will without a doubt end up in some shoot outs this year….. It’s just looking like a really bad season, in my opinion.
If we go on a 8 game losing streak to open the season, do any of you guys REALLY see Schiano back next year? Just be honest with yourselves.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:14 am
@MakaveliTheDon
you redeemed yourself lol great catch…..the so called freemanites had a blind faith is what they were saying but hmmm its starting to sound familiar for gregory schiano
September 28th, 2013 at 10:14 am
LOL!
September 28th, 2013 at 10:14 am
I’m with you Joe on this. I would like to see the bucs diversify their offense and utilize all the skill players more often. Two back sets, even three backs. More hot routes, inside slants, and screens. Mix it up.
Can you imagine having Martin, Leonard, and Lorig on the field at once? That would be confusing and hard to predict which of the three-headed monster would be the hot read or just decoys.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:15 am
@ bucrightoff
Finally! A voice of reason….
September 28th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Tampabaybucfan Says:
September 28th, 2013 at 10:10 am
@ Walter
Remember this…..Schiano will be our coach in 2014 & I don’t believe we will win 6 or 7 games.
Much like Coughlin…he is easy to dislike because of his style of coaching…but he can win with it. Even after Superbowl wins Coughlin is 0-3 with a really good QB…..losing happens.
__________________________________________________________
Coughlin only started winning SBs once he did some soul searching and switched up his style. He learned to ease up on his guys.
I honestly think Schiano is incapable of having fun, letting his players have fun, while maintaining order. He’s a mind playing control freak. I’ve known his types. I’ve been close friends with a few. And their girlfriends loved my azz, being the polar opposite.
Just have fun Greg! And let your grown azz players have fun too!
September 28th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Joe Says:
September 28th, 2013 at 10:14 am
Rooting for Schiano to fail is rooting for Raheem Morris to come back.
LOL!
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Rooting for Schiano, just to have him fail, is what they did in Rutgers the past decade.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Yes, paying a new coach would be impossible for the Glazer Brothers.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:20 am
our linebackers are the ONLY reason we look like a good defense….dont be fooled by the hard hitting of the safties….dashon goldson was awful last week and played like a wounded duck because he couldnt hit the way he wanted to. the stunts and games up front are hurting us and the idiotic scheme of the cornerback play is even worse but no worries theres 13 more games for people to watch and scratch their heads wondering what the problem is
this guy is a different kind of coach from the other NFL coaches and that would be a good thing if it translated into wins….how can josh be on the bench at the end of the game with a lead and get the blame for the loss because we didnt score more points but the coach not getting the blame for giving up so many touchdowns in the last minute of games…..0-5 in those kind of games since he loves saying freeman was 1-8 in his last 9 starts. meaning he placed all the blame on freeman, nowhere else to place the blame now because he cant do that to glennon because he’s his guy. i think he’ll a more accurate qb but when or if it doesnt translate into wins only two more coaches will take the fall
September 28th, 2013 at 10:25 am
bucrightoff Says:
September 28th, 2013 at 10:10 am
Rooting for Schiano to fail is rooting for Raheem Morris to come back. So if you’re all cool with going back to missing 25 tackles a game and being down 3+ TDs every game at half, then I guess you all enjoy torture a lot more than some of us. Schiano getting fired now means paying two coaches again, like after Gruden, which pretty much leaves cheap, inexperienced co-ordinators to take over a team thats a QB away from the playoffs. Awesome…
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do your research, If we get rid of Schiano, theres no timetable for when the Glazers have to pay him. And when they DO pay him, they’ll only have to pay him the difference of what his new job pays, and what we’re paying, ~$3mill.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:26 am
again…the Billion Dollar Bros. arent dumb. They learned from that Chucky situation. made sure they werent going through that again.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:30 am
Lol @buc4lyfe
That’s what I’m saying! These people are acting like Schiano is safe just because Freeman got benched. Not even close! He is still a main component to this team, and the whole team has had it’s fair share of mistakes, even our improved defense. If these things don’t improve, and we continue to lose games, it’ll be the end of the Schiano era, the Sully era, & possibly the Rockstar era.
You can’t tell me this coach gets to sail through a whole season without a bar set for him just because he sacrificed a QB he had no affiliations with. He needs to MATCH last years record of 7-9.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:30 am
Finally! Thanks for bringin me back! Rip MakaveliTheDon. Fck you MakaEvil the imposter! Tony Two Cents is back.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:31 am
*Thanks for bringin me back Joe….
September 28th, 2013 at 10:32 am
We have two other coaches still on the roster plus offensive and defensive coordinator
@JOE I HEARD SCHIANO’S CONTRACT WAS SET UP THAT IF HE WAS TO GET FIRED LIKE GRUDEN, THE GLAZERS SET THE CONTRACT UP SO THAT THE PAY WAS SPREAD OUT OVER A 4-5 YEAR PERIOD…..CAN YOU DO SOME LEG WORK ON THAT FOR US?
September 28th, 2013 at 10:35 am
@Walter
LOL yea as if we know what its like to have a franchise qb…they see brady and peyton manning and think hey all we need is a qb to be a winner and the rest of the offensive play doesnt matter
wherever freeman gets traded and if he ends up starting somewhere just to piss people off im gonna get up a bunch of his fans,buy his jersey and wear it to a bucs game
September 28th, 2013 at 10:44 am
The Billion dollar bros. are not dumb, hence why Freeman, the problem, was erradicated.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:45 am
buc4lyfe,
Change your moniker to Freeman4lyfe, that is more the truth.
Freeman is gone for a reason, Schiano gave him all ths chances in the world, but Freeman didn’t want to step up.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:47 am
@buc4lyfe
The only thing that pisses me off about the Freeman situation was how poorly it was handled. Whether he deserved to be extended or not, at 25 years of age, he produced at a level the Bucs haven’t ever seen before at QB, so he deserved a little more respect than what he got. I also felt he needed to be benched, I just wish we had Palmer and not Glennon.
September 28th, 2013 at 10:49 am
@buc4lyfe…..
Is there any way to make you and Tony 2c shut the $#@% up for just a little while?? All this whining is making this site seem like a friggin’ daycare. If computers had smell capability we’d probably be gagging from baby poop.
You don’t like Schiano….we get it. You don’t like Glennon….OK. Point made.
Can you find it in your angry little minds to possibly pull for the team to do well? If Schiano turns out to be a bad coach in the long run, guess what? He’ll lose his job just like all coaches who don’t produce. Your constant whining is not going to speed up the process. If Glennon doesn’t work out then they’ll draft a new QB or trade for one. Just because things don’t go your way doesn’t mean you have to be miserable and make everyone else miserable by having to wade through your drivel to get to some constructive and well thought out posts.
I was one who believed in Freeman. After the New England game I realized it was time to move on. It wasn’t so much his performance as it was the intangibles that made me realize that he just doesn’t have what it takes to be the leader this team needs. I didn’t become a Glennon hater or a Schiano hater or start to hope the team failed so we’d have to rebuild again. That’s just stupid and hardly something a fan of the Bucs would want.
If you don’t see any progress on this team you are not looking. The defense is exciting and only going to get better. The offense, well…I believe we need a new OC. I don’t like the scheme at all but that is not Schiano, that is Sullivan and Sullivan is not the choice Schiano wanted. You have to remember that when they hired Schiano he had very little time to put together a staff. It will take him a little time to get all the pieces in place but I believe he’ll do it. If not, I’ll admit I was wrong and pull for the next coach they bring in to be better. Bottom line is…they have Schiano as coach and I want the team to succeed so I hope he succeeds. Go Bucs!
September 28th, 2013 at 11:16 am
hey Bobby, you dont like it. log off or just ignore my posts, the way I ignore half the posts on here…and starting now, including yours.
dont go whining to Joe. just stop reading my sh!t! little btch.
September 28th, 2013 at 11:33 am
^^ Good post
September 28th, 2013 at 11:54 am
Great reply Tony or MaktheHack or whatever….so well thought out. Just genius in a keystroke. It’s hard to argue with rebuttal that is so riddled with facts and statistical info. “just stop reading my sh!t”. Wow! You summed up your stance perfectly and with such eloquence. Who can argue with the poetry that flows in your posts…….