Tampa Bay Buccaneers to employ running back by committee?

Although Doug Martin trampled over opposing defenses as a rookie, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll get the chance again – at least not in such extended periods.

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According to the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers have decided to go forward with a plan that includes ‘alternate’ running backs, which seems to be a fancy way of suggesting they will employ the dreaded ‘RBBC’, better known as ‘running back by committee’.

“I think you have to alternate,” offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford said Tuesday. “Even when we had two, 1,000-yard rushers (at California), J.J. Arrington was a 2,000-yard rusher and and we had a couple times guys had a thousand yards apiece. But I don’t believe that one back can carry the load. It’s just too physical. I think you probably need to have two to three guys to bring different things to the table. But I think you at least need to have two to be able to spell them here and there and keep them healthy and tat type of thing.

“That’s the goal to try and create some depth right there where there’s not a dropoff when one guy comes in and another guy goes out. There’s no dropoff. We just keep going.”

Some agree with the approach, believing that it keeps your running backs healthier and fresh come the final weeks of the season rather than wearing them down. Of course, others feel the constant rotating in and out never allows the running back to get comfortable in their role, so there are arguments to both side of the discussion.

We also don’t know how much of an ‘alternate’ rushing game the Bucs will employ. Will it be balance or will one or two players receive more carries than fellow running backs?

Either way, it sounds as if a traditional running game featuring one workhorse back who is on the field at nearly all time will not be used for the Bucs this season.

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