Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

When Doug Martin ran wild against the Oakland Raiders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back was the focus of NFL fans across the nation. His performance brought back memories of Adrian Peterson‘s NFL record performance as a 22 year old, as the 23 year old Martin gained over 250 yards and scored four times against the Raiders. Martin would have a fantastic rookie season beyond that one outstanding performance, earning a Pro Bowl selection and finishing in the top 5 for Rookie of the Year. In fact, Martin had the second best season for a running back in team history, and the best season for a Buccaneer rookie runner. He contributed in all phases of the running back’s duties, as an excellent runner, pass catcher, and pass blocker.

But will there be a sophomore slump? As Bucs fans, we’ve seen the decline of promising rookies in recent years, as players like Michael Clayton and Cadillac Williams would fall victim to the unfortunate nature of being a professional football player. Potential is more often a precursor for disappointment than success, and injuries, inconsistencies, and other factors can sink a player’s career just as quickly as talent and youthful ambition can make them rise to the top. So will Martin be the next Buccaneer to fall short of his potential and promise?

Absolutely not.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Martin came to Tampa Bay as a late first round pick, and the initial reaction of most fans and writers was that Martin would compete for the starting job against incumbent LeGarrette Blount. Blount had been a surprise, signing for a cheap contract and producing hard-earned yards and highlight reel hurdles in his brief time spent as the starter. But Martin was the second coming of Ray Rice, a direct comparison made more appropriate with Rice’s college coach now patrolling the sidelines at Raymond James. The Boise State product would quickly win the starting job, and prove that he’s willing to put forth the effort needed to succeed in the NFL. He could have very easily settled for a role in a time share, but he fought through camp and the preseason to earn his place as the starter.

Once he earned the starting job, the rookie runner would put his skills on display and prove that he has what it takes to be more than a flash in the pan. Martin would average over 4 and a half yards per carry, almost 10 yards per catch, and over 120 yards from scrimmage per game. More impressively, he did all this while only fumbling once.  Martin was a smart runner, avoiding injury and keeping the ball securely under his control, while showing the ability to make catches reliably. The other rookie backs who started a majority of games for their teams, Alfred Morris and Trent Richardson, both fumbled more often and either did not put up comparable numbers rushing (Richardson) or receiving (Morris) as compared to the Buccaneers first year rusher. Martin proved that he has the fundamentals to be a very good NFL running back for a very long time.

Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

But when one looks into more advanced stats and looks over the film, you realize just how great Martin was as an NFL running back, not just as a “rookie” running back. Using Pro Football Focus’ elusive rating, which they define as the ability for a runner to make plays beyond the help the offensive line gives him, Martin ranks 3rd in the NFL, behind just Adrian Peterson and C.J. Spiller. Martin also ranked 3rd in yards after contact per attempt, which came in the form of fighting for extra yards on big plays, but also turning likely losses into short gains through hard work and fighting through linemen. Watching Martin, you could see that every play was a battle for more yards, and he was very difficult to bring down. In the game against the Raiders, Pro Football Focus credits Martin with 12 broken tackles, most of them coming as a part of his big plays for long scores.

What do these numbers prove? The ability to Martin to gain yards with little or no help from his offensive line means that he’s able to perform in any circumstance, and the Buccaneers were frequently in dire circumstances on the offensive line in 2012. In 2013, with the hopeful health of Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks to solidify the middle of the O-line, Doug will have even better blocking ahead of him. Combine great blocking by the line with the ability to break tackles and gain yards apart from just taking what’s blocked for him, and the Dougernaut is poised for more fantastic numbers in 2013.

Martin also never showed signs of slowing down. Other than the blowout against the Saints, where many players were held out of action once the game was out of hand, Martin carried the ball at least 18 times every game from week 7 on, and while his performance was a bit inconsistent thanks to the offense having to play catch up more often as the season wore on, he turned multiple impressive performances in the closing weeks, including a 142 yard rushing day on the closing day of the regular season against the Falcons.

Doug Martin has proven that he has the running skills, pass catching skills, and pass blocking skills to be a star running back and a key contributor in the NFL. He’s versatile and reliable like Ray Rice, and Coach Schiano knows just how to succeed with a running back like that. So rather than a sophomore slump, it looks like the Buccaneers’ running back could be poised for a fantastic year two in the NFL.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

“A rushing performance for the ages for the rookie, Doug Martin!” – Dick Stockton, FOX NFL Football

Doug Martin was brought in thanks to some shrewd NFL Draft day dealings by Mark Dominik and his team. Knowing that there would be teams interested in running backs at the bottom of round one, and likely dissatisfied with David Wilson from Virginia Tech, who would have likely fell to them in the second round. So the Buccaneers vaulted back into the first round, and selected the short and stout runner from Boise State, and he was instantly viewed as a great compliment to LeGarrette Blount, the bargain bin breakout the Buccaneers had relied on to kick start the running game. Most sports news outlets praised the Buccaneers’ draft class, and the move to get Martin to add depth to the running game was frequently quoted as a bold yet beneficial move.

Martin would meet or exceed every expectation in his inaugural season, making an immediate impact as a featured back for the Buccaneers, and never hitting a rookie wall. He started his NFL career with over 100 yards from scrimmage in his debut against the Panthers, averaging over 4 yards per touch. He would see carries stolen from him by Blount for the next few weeks, as the Buccaneers tried to feel out just who they could rely on to run the football. It wasn’t until the Buccaneers hit their winning streak that they realized just what they had in Martin.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

He would go over 100 total yards and score once in the Buccaneers close loss to the Saints, and then catch fire for the Buccaneers 4 consecutive wins. On Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings, Martin had over 130 yards rushing, and added almost 80 through the air, and scored twice. He would double that scoring output, and set franchise records, with a 4 score performance the next week, rushing for an incredible 251 yards. Martin had one of the best games in NFL history for a running back, tallying multiple long runs for touchdowns by breaking tackles and exploding through creases provided for him by a makeshift offensive line. Sure, he was playing the Raiders, but that doesn’t take away from just how explosive he was, and how well he ran to make the Raiders pay for every single mistake they made.

Martin would finish the year with 1926 yards from scrimmage, which is the 74th highest single season total in NFL history. This might not seem like much, but consider that right behind him on the list are players like Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, and Emmitt Smith. His rushing total of 1454 yards is the second best in team history behind James Wilder‘s 1984 performance, but it took Wilder 88 more carries to get only 90 more yards. Martin was a fantasy football player’s dream, and a valuable asset to the real life team as it had a record setting year on offense.

So what is there to say negatively about Martin? Well, there is certainly an apparent element of “boom or bust” with him, but that might have had a lot to do with the patchwork line blocking for him. He never stops fighting for yards, but does occasionally find himself fighting laterally rather than north and south. There’s really no other glaring faults in Martin, because most of his struggles could be written off as a product of a weak offensive line. Plus, how can you be negative about a rookie who gained almost 2000 yards from scrimmage?

The other Buccaneer running backs were… well… how can I be nice about this… They were less than impactful. No other player eclipsed 200 yards rushing, as Blount and Josh Freeman both had around 150 yards rushing on the year. The former carried the ball only 3.2 times per game, and found his role drop from starter to bench warmer in very rapid fashion. D.J. Ware was involved in the passing game as a third down back, and certainly made some impact plays as a receiver. But his numbers don’t add up to much, and his contribution was probably best described as allowing Doug Martin a play or two to catch his breath.

Fullback Erik Lorig caught 12 passes, and did well enough as a blocker. No other running backs made an impact on the 2012 season, as Michael Smith would fail to register a catch or carry despite a strong preseason returning kickoffs and working with the 2nd and 3rd teams.

Overall, the Buccaneers running game was placed squarely on the shoulders of the Dougernaut, and he carried them to a very successful season. Martin was a microcosm of the offense, a bit inconsistent in his delivery, but when he was firing on all cylinders, he was nearly impossible to stop. Martin alone carries the running game to its overall grade, a grade that will need to be repeated for seasons to come for the Buccaneers to improve upon their 7-9 record.

Grade: A-

Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

While 49ers fans celebrate making the Super Bowl, and Falcons fans feel that familiar feeling of going home disappointed, there is an entirely different reason to celebrate in Tampa Bay. Doug Martin, the Buccaneers rookie phenom at running back, will be headed to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Martin was selected as first alternate at running back, and since Frank Gore is going to the Super Bowl, he will be removed from the Pro Bowl roster, and Martin will assume his place. This is obviously the first selection for Martin, and is unlikely to be his last.

Martin was selected with the 31st pick of the 2012 NFL draft, and came to Tampa with expectations of sharing the workload with LeGarrette Blount. Martin would quickly prove he was worthy of being the featured runner, tallying over 100 total yards in his first NFL game. He would get into the end zone for the first time against the Giants in week two, yet had no catches in that game. He would then catch at least two passes in every game for the rest of the year, and would continue to add up the yards on the ground and through the air. Martin’s breakout came in the middle of the season, and began with the Buccaneers victory over the Vikings on Thursday Night Football. Martin would rush for 135 yards and a score, and would add 3 catches for 79 yards and another score.

He wasn’t done making a name for himself, though. The next week, the Buccaneers would travel to Oakland, and Martin made history. Doug totaled 251 yards rushing, a Buccaneers franchise record and among the highest single game totals in NFL history. He had multiple long runs for scores, and set numerous team and NFL records in the process. As Chris Lang alluded to in our earlier interview, he was not someone you wanted to face in fantasy football that week.

Martin would finish with 1454 yards rushing on the season with 11 rushing touchdowns He added 472 receiving yards and one score through the air. He also fumbled only once all season, proving to be a reliable workhorse for the Buccaneers. Congratulations to Doug Martin, NFC Pro Bowler, and Tampa Bay Buccaneer!

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