Buccaneers RBs Martin, Blount Battling for Starting Position

Dory LeBlanc of the Pewter Report tells us that there is still no clear-cut winner in the RB battle between Doug Martin and LeGarrette Blount, however both have looked very solid through the first six practices. Both Blount and Martin have made some stand-out plays, and though Martin has suffered from a few fumble issues, coaches have raved about his vision. Per the article:

                   “One of the most noticeable differences between Martin and the other backs is his vision and anticipation. For a 23-year old rookie, Martin practices with a maturity far beyond his years.”

This is a battle that we may hear about well into pre-season games, and the Buccaneers appear to see their RB position as one of strength.

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The NFL Network has been doing a pretty good job with their Inside Training Camp Live, so if you’re not up to much during the day, you should check it out. 

Today, Rich Hollenberg was live at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers camp and mentioned that they could end up employing a “one-horse backfield” with first-round pick RB Doug Martin as the starter.

“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.”

Schiano has said on numerous occasions that LeGarrette Blount will have a reasonable role in the team’s offense this season, but all indications are that it would only be temporary at best, and Martin is more likely to see a larger workload at some point during the season. Blount’s skill set doesn’t even compare to that of Martin’s, so he’ll really have to show some dramatic improvement in the coming weeks to secure a reasonable workload.