It was a surprise last week when Doug Martin was among those who didn’t dress against the Rams. Some thought he was in a competition for a roster spot. There was plenty of evidence to suggest his roster spot was secure, and sitting out that game with Marshawn Lynch was arguably the most glaring proof of that.
Last week offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Martin and Lynch would get ‘a couple thuds’ in the game and then be pulled. Lynch ended up getting no ‘thuds’ while Martin got 6 of them on 16 snaps.
Prior to these 16 snaps, Martin had seen a total of four snaps this preseason. Four. With just one carry for three yards. That’s right at his yard per carry average the past two seasons. How that earns starter treatment is a bit of a mystery. But Gruden is convinced.
“He’s showed us a lot,” Gruden said of Martin. “We think he’s a really good back.”
What he’s shown Gruden has been all in practice. When defenders aren’t allowed to tackle to the ground. What he showed in his 20 preseason snaps hasn’t quite as convincing.
Martin has run the ball 7 times for 27 yards (3.8 ypc). He broke out left untouched in the game Friday night for a 16-yard gain. His carries between the tackles left you a bit concerned. They went for 3, 3, 0, 0, 3, and 2 yards (1.8 yards per carry).
We are going to need to see more. Even if Gruden doesn’t.
Snap counts:
Preseason week three snap counts
Offense | Defense | Special Tms (select) |
---|---|---|
Offense | Defense | Special Tms (select) |
S Roberts WR 51 73% | F Brown DE 50 66% | S Luani 20 77% |
I Silberman G 49 70% | S Calhoun LB 48 63% | J Holton WR 17 65% |
J Simmons G 39 56% | J Cabinda LB 44 58% | D Leavitt 14 54% |
J Feliciano G 38 54% | R Pringle CB 40 53% | J Cowser 14 54% |
K Hatcher WR 34 49% | D Leavitt DB 38 50% | S Calhoun 13 50% |
E Manuel QB 33 47% | S Luani FS 36 47% | N Morrow 10 38% |
D Kirkland G 30 43% | A Davis CB 35 46% | J Townsend P 9 35% |
M Ateman WR 30 43% | T Hester DT 34 45% | M Nugent K 9 35% |
C Cook QB 30 43% | M Edwards DE 33 43% | A DePaola LS 9 35% |
M Bryant WR 28 40% | N Morrow LB 32 42% | I Whitney WR 5 19% |
D Sharpe T 27 39% | M Gilchrist FS 28 37% | |
C Warren RB 27 39% | N Nelson DB 27 36% | |
J Ware T 24 34% | R Melvin CB 27 36% | |
P Butler TE 23 33% | S Soto DT 26 34% | |
M Baugh TE 23 33% | C Carradine DE 25 33% | |
J Richard RB 20 29% | G Wright DT 25 33% | |
K Miller T 20 29% | A Victor LB 24 32% | |
G Jackson G 20 29% | E Harris SS 22 29% | |
R Hudson C 20 29% | K Wilber LB 21 28% | |
K Osemele G 20 29% | T Whitehead LB 20 26% | |
O Aboushi G 20 29% | D Worley CB 19 25% | |
D Penn T 20 29% | M Lee LB 18 24% | |
P Brown TE 17 24% | G Conley DB 18 24% | |
D Martin RB 16 23% | J Cowser LB 17 22% | |
J Cook TE 14 20% | A Key DE 15 20% | |
R Yurachek FB 13 19% | Q Mauger S 14 18% | |
J Stone C 12 17% | L Hall CB 14 18% | |
C Hunt G 12 17% | J Ellis NT 14 18% | |
L Smith TE 9 13% | D Johnson LB 13 17% | |
D Harris WR 7 10% | K Joseph SS 10 13% | |
D Carr QB 7 10% | M Hurst DT 10 13% | |
D Carrier TE 6 9% | P Hall DT 10 13% | |
A Cooper WR 6 9% | D Rodgers-Cromartie CB 9 12% | |
J Butler RB 6 9% | E Lamur LB 8 11% | |
J Nelson WR 5 7% | F Rucker DT 8 11% | |
K Smith FB 4 6% | R Nelson FS 4 5% | |
R Switzer WR 4 6% | ||
S Blacknall WR 3 4% | ||
M Lynch RB 2 3% | ||
G Whalen WR 1 1% |
Notes:
- Derek Carr and the first team offensive skill position players saw one series before exiting the game.
- The first team offensive line stayed on the field when Connor Cook entered for the second series. They played into the second quarter as Gruden said they would.
- Seth Roberts had missed the first two preseason games with an undisclosed injury. Presumably to make up for lost time, Roberts led all Raiders players on either side of the ball in snaps (51) playing 73% of the offensive snaps. Despite his extended playing time, Roberts saw just one target and it fell incomplete. It was a shot at the end zone from short yardage that EJ Manuel overthrew. Two other targets were nullified by penalties.
- Shilique Calhoun led all Raiders players in total snaps with 48 on defense (63%) and 13 on special teams (50%). In that time, he had one sack, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 QB hits.
- Johnny Holton played 17 snaps on special teams (74%), but didn’t see a snap on offense.
- Donald Penn played 20 snaps (29%) in his debut at right tackle. See a breakdown of rough outing here.
- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was signed this week and played nine snaps in the game (12%).
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