The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2012 rookie class continues to impress.
On Tuesday, the NFL announced that running back Doug Martin, the second of the Buccaneers' two first-round picks in the 2012 draft, has been nominated for the Rookie of the Week Award for Week 11. That marks the seventh time in 10 games that a Buccaneer rookie has been one of the five players chosen for Rookie of the Week voting.
Of course, as the NFL's overall leader – among all players, not just rookies – in yards from scrimmage, Martin has drawn his share of award nominations in other categories, too. That was the case again this Week, as he is one of the three players in the running for Ground Player of the Week in Week 11.
Both nominations are the result of Martin's latest explosive performance, as he racked up 138 rushing yards and 161 combined yards in the Buccaneers' stunning 27-21 comeback and overtime win in Carolina. Martin, who already has one NFC Offensive Player of the Week, one NFL Rookie of the Week and one Ground Player of the Week award on his mantle, has a league-best 1,319 yards from scrimmage through 10 games.
Both of the awards for which Martin is nominated this week will be determined by fan voting on NFL.com. To watch game highlights and vote for Rookie of the week, click here. To help Martin in the Ground Player of the week balloting, click here.
For the Rookie of the Week award, Martin must beat out Jacksonville WR Justin Blackmon, New England CB Alfonzo Dennard, Washington QB Robert Griffin III and Indianapolis WR T.Y. Hilton. Martin was also nominated for this award in Weeks One, Seven, Eight and Nine and won it in Week Nine; Buccaneer S Mark Barron got a nomination in Week Six and CB Leonard Johnson drew a bid in Week 10. A Buccaneer has now been featured in the Rookie of the Week voting for six straight games.
For the Ground Player of the Week award, Martin is up against Cincinnati RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Arizona RB LaRod Stephens-Howling. Not only is Martin the only nominee without a double capital letter in his first name and a hyphenated last name but, perhaps more importantly, he tops the list in Week 11 in both rushing yards and yards from scrimmage.
Martin's 161-yard outing against the Panthers marked his sixth straight game in double digits. After the Buccaneers forced overtime with an 11-point rally in the game's final six minutes on Sunday, Martin powered the team's game-winning touchdown drive to open the extra period. He started the march with runs of 11 and 27 yards and finished with 48 of the 80 yards on the drive, which ended in Josh Freeman's 15-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Clark.
Once again, the voting for NFL Rookie of the Week is here, and the voting for NFL Ground Player of the Week is here. Balloting began on Tuesday morning and will continue through Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. ET. The winner will be announced on Friday evening.
