Martin reaches 1,000 yards
The Tampa Tribune, published 30 November 2015

Doug Martin passed the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for the second time in his career. And he did it in dramatic fashion. Martin officially passed the milestone during a 56-yard, second-quarter run that set up a field goal. Martin’s longest run of the day was his third-longest in the past two weeks, after runs of 84 and 58 yards in the win at Philadelphia.

“It was an outside zone play, I saw an opening and just ran,’’ Martin said of the 56-yard gain. “Hopefully, we can get a few more of those in the next few weeks and keep it going.’’

Martin, who entered the game ranked second in the league in rushing, has 208 carries for 1,038 yards (5.1 per carry) and a league-leading 11 rushes of 20 yards or more. Oddly, none of Martin’s long runs this year were for touchdowns — not even the 84-yarder. But Martin blames himself for that.

Trying to see if anyone was gaining on him, Martin was watching the video screen as he ran toward the end zone last week, not realizing it runs a second behind real time. “No video board this time,’’ Martin said of his long run against the Colts. “I just ran until I was stopped.’’

Smart replacement
Cameron Brate continued to ease the pain associated with the ongoing absence of Austin Seferian-Jenkins, catching his third touchdown of the season. A Harvard graduate who was cut from the practice squad a week into the season, Brate now shares the team lead in touchdown receptions with wide receiver Vincent Jackson and running back Charles Sims.

“The coaches have faith in me, and that’s huge,’’ Brate said. “They’ve shown a lot of confidence in me and (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) gives me a chance to make plays. I’m just really happy to be contributing.’’

Brate caught a career-high five passes for 53 yards on Sunday. He has eight catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns in his past two games, and leads all Bucs tight ends with 14 receptions for 184 yards.