Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Giving Charles Sims more carries a good idea
Second-year signal-caller Jameis Winston is the biggest reason for optimism around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the heart-and-soul of the 2015 offense was found in the backfield duo of Doug Martin and Charles Sims.
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Finally led by a legitimate quarterback and offensive coordinator, Doug Martin had himself a monstrous bounce-back season, finishing as one of the NFL’s top three backs in most statistical categories. Blessed with good health, Martin, who ran for 1,454 yards as a rookie sensation, put up over 1,400 rushing yards for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a hefty 4.9 yards per carry.
The team’s best player, Martin made life that much easier for the transitioning Winston, and the Buccaneers rewarded him with a five-year, $35.75 million contract that contains $15 million in guaranteed money. Though it is a steep price to pay for a 27-year-old RB who was quite poor in 2013 and 2014, it is money well spent, especially since another team would have offered that much for a 1,400-yard back.
Martin stole our hearts and the headlines, but his partner Charles Sims was also impressive. Though Martin had bounce-back season, Sims had a breakout season.
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Compared to Matt Forte by some as a draft prospect, Sims showed the three-down ability that made him a third-round pick out of West Virginia. There’s little doubt that Martin can make an impact in the passing game, but he couldn’t touch Sims’s 51 catches for 561 yards. An average of 11 yards per reception is incredible for a running back, and Sims looked like a real playmaker in the Bucs passing attack.
Furthermore, Sims was no slouch on the ground, putting up 4.9 yards per carry for a total of 529 yards. Only a year before, Sims averaged 2.8 yards per carry, lending even more credence to the notion that Martin’s rushing stats in previous years were deflated by outside forces.
Since the Buccaneers just invested in Martin and should have more of an incentive to keep him healthy, we could see the split in touches even out, particularly because Sims is the better receiving option.
Last year, Martin had 321 touches, whereas Sims had only 158. With 288 carries on Martin’s end and just 107 dialed up for Sims, you can see where the band will narrow.
Pewter Report’s Mark Cook is one of the best at covering the Buccaneers, and he wrote this in response to a reader wondering if Martin could run for 1,400 a third time:
"“I really believe we will see Sims get more carries in 2016 and that could cut into Martin’s total yardage.”"
I agree, and I believe this would be the smartest move for the Buccaneers. Though Sims averaged 0.3 more yards per carry last season, it would be absolutely foolish to argue that he is a better rusher. However, as a second-year pro, Sims showed that he deserves more looks in the running game, and it’s worth noting that he averaged more yards per game as a receiver than as a rusher in 2015.
Martin seems like a durable back and definitely deserves to be the bell-cow, but with guaranteed money tied to his contract in 2016 and 2017, managing his workload in these two seasons could make sense. Then, they can run him into the ground later on, or even cut ties with him entirely in the reasonably unlikely situation that Sims becomes a better player for them.
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The Buccaneers have one of the NFL’s best running back duos, and if they do give Sims more chances to shine on the ground in 2016, the mainstream recognition will come. Is Sims a bell-cow in this league? Honestly, who knows? But with more touches, the Buccaneers could get a better idea of the answer to a question that was debated a bit before Martin was re-signed.