LeGarrete Blount/Doug Martin Fantasy News 2012/2013

HacheMan · Jul 18, 2012

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>LeGarrette Blount - RB - Buccaneers </td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="bodyCopy">The Buccaneers' website envisions both LeGarrette Blount and rookie Doug Martin handling "significant roles" in 2012.</td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">The Bucs' site says it "would be a surprise" if one of the above wasn't a "significant" contributor, suggesting a two-man backfield design. The article then goes on to say camp bodies like D'Anthony Curtis and Robert Hughes could see a "significant" number of leftover carries, so take all of this with a grain of salt. The on-field roles of Blount and Martin will become more clear in August.
Jul. 18 - 5:27 p.m. ET</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">Source: buccaneers.com</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Jul 29, 2012

<table width="100%" align="center"><tbody><tr vAlign="top"><td class="subHead" vAlign="top" colSpan="3">Bucs rookie Doug Martin 'clearly the top dog' </td></tr><tr vAlign="top"><td class="vaLabel" colSpan="3">Doug Martin - RB - TB - Jul. 29 - 11:08 a.m. ET </td></tr><tr><td vAlign="top" colSpan="3">Rookie Doug Martin is "clearly the top dog" in the Bucs backfield early in training camp.
"Very impressive" and "more burst than I realized" were phrases used by Bucs beat reporters Sunday morning. Martin was hand-picked by new coach Greg Schiano to succeed behind the road-grading All-Pro guard tandem of Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph. Rotoworld has ranked Martin as a top-15 fantasy back all offseason. He could flirt with a late second-round draft grade by late August.
Source: Tom Krasniqi on Twitter
</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Jul 29, 2012

</td></tr><tr vAlign="top"><td class="subHead" vAlign="top" colSpan="3">Martin 'looks like primary back' at Bucs camp </td></tr><tr vAlign="top"><td class="vaLabel" colSpan="3">Doug Martin - RB - TB - Jul. 29 - 7:32 p.m. ET </td></tr><tr><td vAlign="top" colSpan="3">The Tampa Bay Times agrees with previous reports that first-round pick Doug Martin "looks like the Bucs' primary back" so far in training camp.
Per beat writer Stephen Holder, Martin is "taking a large majority of the first-team reps," ahead of LeGarrette Blount, and "got the bigger share of the reps" in pass-protection drills. Holder has observed a "quick burst" from Martin at the line of scrimmage, before making "defenders miss at the second level." From a fantasy football perspective, Martin has a high "floor" as the lead back in a run-first offense who will at least share the early-down work with Blount and take on all passing-down snaps. The rookie going to be a viable RB2 in all leagues.
Source: Tampa Bay Times
</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Jul 31, 2012

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>Doug Martin - RB - Buccaneers </td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="bodyCopy">Bucs rookie RB Doug Martin is drawing comparisons to Ray Rice and Maurice Jones-Drew early in camp.</td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">The comparisons to Rice, who played under Greg Schiano at Rutgers, are nothing new. "He's very crafty and he really understands the run game," said RG Davin Joseph. "He made some explosive runs (Sunday) where you really see why they drafted him so high."
Jul. 31 - 1:28 a.m. ET</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">Source: Tampa Bay Times</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Aug 1, 2012

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>Doug Martin - RB - Buccaneers </td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="bodyCopy">NFL Network's Rich Hollenberg, who is live at Bucs camp, suggested on Inside Training Camp Live Wednesday that Doug Martin could emerge as the leader of a "one-horse backfield" in Tampa Bay this season.</td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">"I think he could end up being the steal of the first round, if he ends up playing the way that he's practicing so far in training camp," Hollenberg said. "... Greg Schiano has said already in training camp, if we're gonna have a one-horse backfield, he doesn't want to force that, he wants to let it happen naturally. And so far ... it seems to be happening that way in the favor of rookie Doug Martin." LeGarrette Blount remains in the hunt for playing time, but it sounds like he'd need a Martin injury to recapture legit fantasy value.
Aug. 1 - 10:14 a.m. ET</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">

</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Aug 7, 2012

<table width="100%" align="center"><tbody><tr vAlign="top"><td class="subHead" vAlign="top" colSpan="3">Blount tops Tampa Bay's first depth chart </td></tr><tr vAlign="top"><td class="vaLabel" colSpan="3">LeGarrette Blount - RB - TB - Aug. 7 - 8:50 a.m. ET </td></tr><tr><td vAlign="top" colSpan="3">LeGarrette Blount, and not rookie Doug Martin, is the No. 1 running back on the Bucs' first preseason depth chart.
It means little other than the fact that hard-nosed coach Greg Schiano isn't ready to name a rookie a starter before he plays so much as a preseason snap. Martin has dominated first-team reps in camp, and there's no reason to believe Blount has cured his ball-security woes or improved his pass protection. It wouldn't be surprising if the chart was updated soon after Friday's exhibition debut. We fully expect Martin to dominate touches and be the Bucs' top back.
Source: Buccaneers.com
</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Aug 20, 2012

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="bodyCopy">The Sideline View's Adam Caplan believes it's "just a matter of time" before Doug Martin overtakes LeGarrette Blount as the Bucs' feature back.</td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">We get the same feeling. Martin's first-team reps grew exponentially from preseason game one to game two, and he's clearly been the more dynamic player on the field, displaying better-than-expected cutting ability along with as-advertised versatility and burst. We've seen every one of Martin's preseason snaps, and he hasn't made a single mistake. He should open the season as a 14-18 touch-per-game back, and be a 20-25 touch runner by early in the year.
Aug. 20 - 1:58 p.m. ET</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">Source: Adam Caplan on Twitter</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Aug 21, 2012

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>Doug Martin - RB - Buccaneers </td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="bodyCopy">Bucs coach Greg Schiano admits rookie RB Doug Martin has "definitely reminded him" of Ray Rice.</td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">"At times," Schiano allowed. Regardless, LeGarrette Blount doesn't stand a chance. The Bucs are enamored with the No. 31 pick, and rightfully so based on his work through two preseason games. Blount still appears set for a decent amount of early-down work early in the year, but Martin should vastly out-touch him by season's end.
Aug. 21 - 11:47 a.m. ET</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">Source: Bucs on Twitter</td></tr></tbody></table>

HacheMan · Aug 28, 2012

<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="bodyCopy">Coach Greg Schiano confirmed that LeGarrette Blount was outplayed by rookie Doug Martin throughout training camp and preseason action.</td></tr><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">"At the very beginning I sat them both down and told them what the deal was. They knew it," said Schiano. "LeGarrette's a smart guy -– when he watches the tape, he sees that he got outperformed." Unusual for a bigger back in that he's fumble-prone and below average in short-yardage situations, Blount is hardly ideal for a clock-killing or goal-line role. There's very little upside to stashing Blount on fantasy rosters.
Aug. 28 - 3:01 p.m. ET</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">

</td></tr><tr><td class="vaLink">Source: Tampa Bay Times</td></tr></tbody></table>