"He's a key guy," Buccaneers HC Lovie Smith said of RB Doug Martin, adding that backup Bobby Rainey also figures prominently in the team's plans as it prepare for the Sept. 7 regular season opener against Carolina.
"With Mike James going down with an injury and with (Charles Sims) going down, those guys need to play at a certain level," the coach added. "They're both good players, but Doug is our bell cow. He likes that role. He's had a good camp, hasn't missed a beat."
"A tough runner, doesn't complain," Smith said. "He's going to rush for a lot of yards for us this year."
Martin was the #3 fantasy running back as a rookie, but his PPG dropped from #3 to #22 during his sophomore season. His stock has taken a hit due to the new regime in Tampa adding rookie Charles Sims to a stacked backfield that already includes Bobby Rainey and Mike James. He’s still going to be the RB1 for the Bucs but probably won’t see the 79.5% share of the carries that he received in his first 21 games. He’s still likely to be a high-end RB2 in both standard and PPR formats. The Sims injury certainly helps Martin's outlook.
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