There is a question around Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans for a few years now…What has happened to Doug Martin. Where is the Doug Martin who was one of the best running backs in the NFL just two years ago, and exploded onto the scene and ran for 100 yards every other game.
Simple, that never happened.
Doug Martin was never Elite to begin with.
Doug Martin had 4 great games, one epic great game actually, but all together only 4. Thats not to say he’s not a good player, if Martin has the ball in space, he is dangerous.
It’s no coincidence his best year was 2012 when the Bucs offensive line was playing at its best. David Joseph wasn’t part of it as he was injured, but his replacements played at a good level, better than he played when he came back in 2013.
Yes the players on the O Line are the same from ’12 to ’13, but the line played far better in 2012, and you and I could run through a hole in the Offensive line. Great Running backs do not need a hole to get a few yards.
Mike Alstott didn’t need a big hole, neither did Errict Rhett, or James Wilder, Or Ricky Bell. Lars Tate did, Michael Pittman did, Reggie Cobb did. Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton did not.
The great ones will get a few yards out of nothing.
Doug Martin got a lot of his yards in 2012 from passes out of the backfield. Why we don’t feed him the ball that way more often, I do not know. If you put Martin in space, he can motor home from anywhere.
Don’t get me wrong, Doug Martin is a valuable player. He has that Warrick Dunn to him. If you can get Martin the ball on a swing pass, get him out in space, he is gone! He hasn’t lost a step, there’s nothing wrong with him. Im glad we didn’t trade Martin or Vincent Jackson for that matter, both of these guys have a lot to contribute in the future when the Bucs can get a good O line back up front again. In the meantime, we need to see if Charles Sims can generate some yardage without blocking, because we know he will with blocking, like any running back.
DOUG MARTIN YARDAGE
Whats the difference between a good game and a great game? Example..Martin had 128 yards vs the Eagles that year, but on 28 attempts for a 4.6 yard average. Thats a good game. But its not great. Against the Falcons that year he had the same number of carries, but with 142 yards. Thats translates into a 5.1 avg, thats a great game.
Martin had 4 great games..@Minnesota, @ Oakland, @ Carolina, and @ Atlanta. Thats it. 4 great games does not an elite RB make. Note that the @Minn game is great as he also added 79 rec. yards on 3 catches. Look for yourself and decide.
NOTE: Don’t miss today’s “The Optimist” on JoeBucsFan.com. And tomorrow we go over the Connections between Bucs and Browns players have. And never miss GAME DAY on Football Sundays: Were proud to offer the most content of any online site…dozens of pages of content on Game Day to fill your football needs! Take a look back and see on Bucstop.com’s Sunday GAMEDAY!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
