Deep Thoughts From Mike Martz

[ChrisW]

Good read. I don't think Martz would mesh well with Fisher and Williams though. Fisher wants to control the clock and run the ball. Martz wants to score. Williams and Al Saunders got into it in Washington because the offense didn't control the clock.

I think Martz would do well with Bradford.

I think Bryce Petty is a perfect QB for Martz's system.

 

[MrMotes]

Right, just like any of us might lose a job unfairly and go take a lesser job at some other company. You have to put food on the table.

I just don't know if he or anyone else would go back to the SAME company they lost a job at unfairly, even if there are different people in charge now, at a lesser position than what he had before. Maybe not even the same position. That's what I'm saying.

I agree.

It's also hard to see Martz coaching under someone with such a different offensive philosophy than his own...

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I would replace Schottenhiemer with Martz in a second. I don't think Schottenheimer is that good at taking advantage of what a defense does. Why? Because he struggles to make any adjustments to changes. So he may be able to dissect things in the film room but on the film he gets lost. That is why second halves have been abysmal for the Rams. I wonder if Schottenheimer relies heavily on Fisher to show him tendencies of opposing defenses.

 

[RamFan503]

Actually, Martz's system is very QB friendly. All you need is a guy with a strong arm, and someone who's not afraid to put the ball out there.

.......and get killed doing it.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Nice read.....

 

[LesBaker]

Nice read.....

Where have you been the last couple of days I haven't seen ya around...........you broke mofo........151K? Did you bet the Raiders?

 

[LACHAMP46]

Where have you been the last couple of days I haven't seen ya around...........you broke mofo........151K? Did you bet the Raiders?

Lmao.....naw, me & the misses went to Vegas on Friday....went crazy on Thursday....think I went 0-6(team & over/under)...Only bet twice on Sunday....At least I took the Rams in Vegas....but could barely see the game...I caught Tre's first TD, then only saw scores....Incredible....

 

[Merlin]

Martz gets a bad rap in my opinion. He made some mistakes in ignoring the running game, but his brilliance cannot be denied. When you have him as OC, you know you're going to get the most of the talent you have particularly in the passing game.

IMO he and Fish would be a great match. He'd give Fish the passing game expertise he craves to pair with superb roster talent, and Fish would ground him with the running game and a calm influence much like Vermiel did.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

.......and get killed doing it.

Funny, but I thought the exact same thing:cheers:

 

[Merlin]

I think Bryce Petty is a perfect QB for Martz's system.

I would kill to have about a half hour to talk about the QBs in this draft with Mad Mike. I've said it more than once... Few guys know the QB position like he does. I remember him talking QBs before the draft that had Big Ben and being impressed with his evaluation of him and his take proved out.

If I'm Snead, I hire him as a consultant, at a minimum, as previous suggested. Use him for the following, IMO, and give him a title that allows him to make the overall organization better:

1. Assist in the scouting/acquisition of the Rams' next franchise QB, considering all possibilities from draft to trade.
2. Be made available to and have access to Fish and his staff for interactions from the QB acquisition angle to mentoring Schotty, Cignetti, the team's offensive quality control team, etc.
3. Assist Fish in finding the next hot offensive coordinator in the event Schotty is fired, leaves for another job, etc.

Mad Mike's a great football mind, I think there's a lot of value in adding him to the team given the Rams' need to move forward offensively from QB to maybe even OC. And even if Schotty is kept around he'd be a smart addition to make this franchise more savvy on that side of the ball.

 

[Amitar]

I can only imagine what the Rams offense would be like with Martz as OC.
Nice read.

 

[Ky Ram]

I was a big Martz fan when he was in the Lou, but his last gig left a lasting impression, and it wasn't a good one. As smart as he is, he's also arrogant as hell and places his qb in the line of fire trying to prove his point. I don't think the game has passed him by, but I don't necessarily see him being able to recreate the GSOT ever again either. At this point I'd pass.

 

[ChrisW]

I would kill to have about a half hour to talk about the QBs in this draft with Mad Mike. I've said it more than once... Few guys know the QB position like he does. I remember him talking QBs before the draft that had Big Ben and being impressed with his evaluation of him and his take proved out.

If I'm Snead, I hire him as a consultant, at a minimum, as previous suggested. Use him for the following, IMO, and give him a title that allows him to make the overall organization better:

1. Assist in the scouting/acquisition of the Rams' next franchise QB, considering all possibilities from draft to trade.
2. Be made available to and have access to Fish and his staff for interactions from the QB acquisition angle to mentoring Schotty, Cignetti, the team's offensive quality control team, etc.
3. Assist Fish in finding the next hot offensive coordinator in the event Schotty is fired, leaves for another job, etc.

Mad Mike's a great football mind, I think there's a lot of value in adding him to the team given the Rams' need to move forward offensively from QB to maybe even OC. And even if Schotty is kept around he'd be a smart addition to make this franchise more savvy on that side of the ball.

That's probably one of the best things we can hope for. I would immediately jump for joy if we got wind of it happeneing.

 

[Thordaddy]

It is hard for me to imagine a bigger Martz fan than I, that said I've given up on the idea that we could or should hire him.

Cutler can suck it, the game didn't pass Martz by , Cutler wasn't and never will be the kind of player who won't get a coach fired , can throw a mile but can't spell it.
Martz given the latitude to do what he needs to ,would turn a bottom feeder into a contender and a good team into a champion as long as he had the right kind of GM who drafted the personnel he needed for both sides of the ball ,most of the first round busts we had during his tenure were guys Lovie picked because Martz could take 3rds and turn them into offensive stars so MM just gave them over to Lovie.

If Martz were a few years younger I'd be for bringing him back but at this point I question the prudence of it because his life now vs. what it would be when he came back would be at first exhilarating but would wear on a man his age and the "diseases of adaptation " I fear would make him sick . I believe the heart valve problem he had when they fired him was a result of the effects the stress he was under, that it had weakened his immune system to the point it didn't fight the bug off. He was a complete basket case at the time ,as most would have been considering the dynamics of that org.
I've read several good articles about Martz and liked this one a lot .
What IMO Martz aught to do is run a QB camp, the knowledge he imparted to Kurt W was what got Phoenix to the SB and IF we wanted to avail ourselves of the Martz legacy KW is who we aught to go after,his return would be a triumphant one for him but I don't know if he'd want to coach and put in those long family robbing hours that Marshal talks about is why he doesn't want to coach.
Those were great days,I remember well the day Kurt broke his thumb , I bowed my head and gave a prayer of thanks that I had been treated to a run of football excellence that was to me such a treat.
As for the "timeout problem" I always thought that Martz was similar to Coryell in that he used timeouts more like a basketball coach and didn't think he couldn't stop the clock with a well thrown sideline pass so he used them in an unconventional way that the dogmatic fan and analyst just didn't agree with.
Martz didn't adhere to dogma ,he made his own .

 

[moklerman]

I was a big Martz fan when he was in the Lou, but his last gig left a lasting impression, and it wasn't a good one. As smart as he is, he's also arrogant as hell and places his qb in the line of fire trying to prove his point. I don't think the game has passed him by, but I don't necessarily see him being able to recreate the GSOT ever again either. At this point I'd pass.

What was it about that situation that left a lasting impression? What did the Bears do other than illustrate that they don't really know what to do about their offense and coaching situation? Have Cutler or Forte had any lasting success under other coaches that might indicate Martz was handling things poorly? Has Cutler stayed any healthier under other coaches than he did with Martz? Has Lovie had more success with other OC's since Martz?

All I saw in Chicago was Martz being forced to call an offense that was not his because he didn't have the support of his HC and players. It doesn't matter what system you've got, if the team isn't buying into it, it isn't going to work.

Jon Kitna and Mike Furrey bought into it. As did Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk.

Granted, Martz put a lot of stress and responsibility on certain positions like QB and RT. But that just means that the GM has to do his homework and put the right personnel in place for that type of offense to succeed. Martz isn't God and I don't think he should be given carte blanche but as has been offered by many other people, Martz could benefit and succeed with a good front office and grounded HC. It really does seem reminiscent of the Vermeil led team on the coaching side. Fisher approaches things similarly to how Vermeil did in that he isn't a micromanager. They're both delegators.

 

[Selassie I]

It is hard for me to imagine a bigger Martz fan than I, that said I've given up on the idea that we could or should hire him.

Cutler can suck it, the game didn't pass Martz by , Cutler wasn't and never will be the kind of player who won't get a coach fired , can throw a mile but can't spell it.
Martz given the latitude to do what he needs to ,would turn a bottom feeder into a contender and a good team into a champion as long as he had the right kind of GM who drafted the personnel he needed for both sides of the ball ,most of the first round busts we had during his tenure were guys Lovie picked because Martz could take 3rds and turn them into offensive stars so MM just gave them over to Lovie.

If Martz were a few years younger I'd be for bringing him back but at this point I question the prudence of it because his life now vs. what it would be when he came back would be at first exhilarating but would wear on a man his age and the "diseases of adaptation " I fear would make him sick . I believe the heart valve problem he had when they fired him was a result of the effects the stress he was under, that it had weakened his immune system to the point it didn't fight the bug off. He was a complete basket case at the time ,as most would have been considering the dynamics of that org.
I've read several good articles about Martz and liked this one a lot .
What IMO Martz aught to do is run a QB camp, the knowledge he imparted to Kurt W was what got Phoenix to the SB and IF we wanted to avail ourselves of the Martz legacy KW is who we aught to go after,his return would be a triumphant one for him but I don't know if he'd want to coach and put in those long family robbing hours that Marshal talks about is why he doesn't want to coach.
Those were great days,I remember well the day Kurt broke his thumb , I bowed my head and gave a prayer of thanks that I had been treated to a run of football excellence that was to me such a treat.
As for the "timeout problem" I always thought that Martz was similar to Coryell in that he used timeouts more like a basketball coach and didn't think he couldn't stop the clock with a well thrown sideline pass so he used them in an unconventional way that the dogmatic fan and analyst just didn't agree with.
Martz didn't adhere to dogma ,he made his own .

I would certainly challenge you in being Mike's #1 Fan. It would be a close battle though.

I have a framed note in my office that Mad Mike wrote to me. He thanks me for being "such a GREAT Ram Fan". Makes me smile every time I glance at it.

I'm comforted in knowing that he is living extremely well there in beautiful San Diego. The stress he endured with the Ram Clown Show management team back then had to be unbearable torture.

Relax Brudda Mike! You deserve it!

 

[Prime Time]

Cutler can suck it, the game didn't pass Martz by , Cutler wasn't and never will be the kind of player who won't get a coach fired , can throw a mile but can't spell it.
Martz given the latitude to do what he needs to ,would turn a bottom feeder into a contender and a good team into a champion as long as he had the right kind of GM who drafted the personnel he needed for both sides of the ball ,most of the first round busts we had during his tenure were guys Lovie picked because Martz could take 3rds and turn them into offensive stars so MM just gave them over to Lovie.

What did the Bears do other than illustrate that they don't really know what to do about their offense and coaching situation? Have Cutler or Forte had any lasting success under other coaches that might indicate Martz was handling things poorly? Has Cutler stayed any healthier under other coaches than he did with Martz? Has Lovie had more success with other OC's since Martz?

All I saw in Chicago was Martz being forced to call an offense that was not his because he didn't have the support of his HC and players. It doesn't matter what system you've got, if the team isn't buying into it, it isn't going to work.

Jon Kitna and Mike Furrey bought into it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNE135y9I_s


http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/stor...ett-devin-hester-roy-williams-back-mike-martz

Bears receivers back Mike Martz
Updated: January 1, 2012
By Michael C. Wright | ESPNChicago.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- The future of offensive coordinator Mike Martz remained one of the top storylines in the wake of the Chicago Bears' season-ending 17-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, but it's clear the team's three top receivers want the assistant back in 2012.

Earl Bennett, Devin Hester and Roy Williams said Martz deserves an extension and that the widespread criticism concerning the coach is "unfair."

"I definitely think he deserves to be back with us," Bennett said. "He's done a great job these last two years of putting us in position to succeed."

On Wednesday, Bears coach Lovie Smith was annoyed by a question about Martz's future.

"What kind of a question is that, anyway, at this time?" Smith asked. "What kind of a question is that? Why would you ask a question like that any way?"

Martz was linked to various college coaching jobs. Smith called the reports at the time "made up," and Martz attempted to defuse rumors that he wouldn't be back with the Bears in 2012. He repeated his desire Wednesday to return to the Bears next season.

Williams said that although it's Martz's job to call the plays, it's the players' jobs to execute, adding that he understands that criticism comes with being the offensive coordinator of an NFL team. Bennett said the offense's struggles have been the result of "multiple guys making multiple mistakes" and "that's not on the coach."

Hester's season as a receiver never unfolded the way he expected after putting together a strong showing at training camp. But he said Martz has "taught me a lot as a receiver," and recalled the coach taking the extra step of pairing the six-year veteran with Isaac Bruce, who once played for Martz and is considered one of the best receivers to ever play the game.

"I'm not in charge of that situation," Hester said of Martz's future. "He knows the game real well. That's plain and simple. When it comes to offense, he's one of the best to ever come up with plays. But at the same time, it was kind of tough on him with the injuries. His top guys got hurt this year. When you've got a star quarterback likeJay Cutler and then you've got a phenomenal running back like Matt Forte, who missed five, six games and still made the Pro Bowl, that speaks for itself. It's just tough when you're put in a situation like that."

Martz hasn't directed a top 10 offense since 2004 in St. Louis. Since then, Martz's offenses have finished 22nd, 24th, 29th, 23rd, 22nd and 24th in total yardage. In 2005, Martz's Rams ranked No. 11 in scoring. But since then, none of Martz's offenses have ranked better than 16th (Detroit in 2007).

With Martz at the controls, the Bears finished 2010 ranked No. 30 in total offense and 21st in scoring, yet the team still managed to advance to the NFC Championship Game. The Bears entered the game on Sunday ranked 20th in total offense, and 16th in scoring despite losing five offensive starters to season-ending injuries.

Bennett also missed five games with an injury.

"I think we were rolling when we were on that [five-game] winning streak [from Weeks 6-11]," Williams said. "We had everybody in place -- had our quarterback, running back, offensive line, wideouts -- everything in place and we were rolling. So why break it up? Why break it up?"

Michael C. Wright covers the Bears for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.
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Great a ringing endorsement from Moe Larry and Curly.
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Thats just great that they want Martz back,but if they want him back then maybe they should of stepped up and caught balls when they they were right in their hands. Maybe they should of ran their routes better. This is what happens when you don`t do what you are taught to do and GET PAID TO DO!!! So, I really could care less what they think.
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not sure why espn chicago even gave the bears wide recievers an article. martz knows his stuff but it doesn't fit our team. its been two years and the guys who are backing him are the reasons why we stink. the offensive line scheme is way too complicated and the bears wide receivers suck with the exception of bennet who i think is overrated.
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I worry more about upgrading the player-talent this off season than the coaching. Martz is not great, but not bad either. I hate to see a new offensive scheme change this off-season (it will only set the team back another year). The Bears are failures at evaluating draft talent - especially on offense.

Our woes are primarily talent related and not so much coaching related (I'm not saying it's perfect, just saying that the player talent is really sucking right now & the quality of our roster depth sucks too).
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So let me get this straight. The guys that can barely execute his offense want him back? Really? Why?

The Old Defense is not getting any younger. The offensive line is an issue, you can't spend another season shifting your starting RG to C, and your drafted LT to RT. You need more than one top round (1-3) draft pick on the line. Not a bunch of castaways and 7th rounders.

As long as Angelo is here that will continue to be the Bears fatal weakness. That and his absolute lack of action in both protecting Cutler and having a backup plan for Cutler. Teams like the Patriots, Steelers, et cetera are always on top because they always have a plan B...and C... Angelo's lack of execution when the team was in the midst of a playoff race cost them dearly.

While the decision to bring in a top flight WR was a good choice, the result yielded Roy Williams which we all can see was a disappointment.

What was achieved two seasons ago has no bearing on 2012-13. You can't hero worship past glories because you'll lose sight of the prize in front of you. The Bears are one of the oldest franchises in the history of the NFL. And despite their early glory under GSH, their mediocrity under his daughter is a joke.
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The Bears had won 5 games in a row with the adjustments Martz had made giving Cutler more time so Martz isn't the problem. Who remembers the 1st couple games of the season when Cutler openly questioned whether he would even LIVE through the year? When healthy the Bears with Martz were NFC runner-ups last year & 7-3 this season.

A couple pieces are still missing... at least one receiver (as a Tar Heel fan I suggest Dwight Jones with the 2nd round pick) at least one o-lineman & the defense is aging. But The team hosted the NFC title game last year & was only missing a couple pieces to be a Super Bowl contender & Angelo proved he wasn't willing to add those pieces. He had plenty of $$ to work with & chose to go rummaging through Dallas' garbage which is the equivalent to shopping at Goodwill for a prom dress.

With the guys available he picked a receiver that can't catch, a running back that apparently even God doesn't like & the reincarnation of G-Money from New Jack City. There's no reason for optimism he'll do what's necessary to add the right pieces this offseason either
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Of course they want him back. He gives them a better chance of keeping their jobs, with the old 'takes so long to learn the Martz offence' cliche.

Martz needs to go as soon as possible. His offense might have looked futuristic in 1999, but it now looks completely dated. At a time when the best offenses are taking advantage of mismatches like big tight-ends and routes to take advantage of back shoulder throw, Martz is still stuck trying to make WR look better than their talent with timing routes that opposing defensive co-ordinators have over a decade of tape on.

He is unbending and his only recent innovations are gadget plays that are more likely to go for a loss than a gain!

The Bears need an offense that takes advantage of what the talent they have does well and/or what players are available to bring in. Running a Martz offense means the Bears are already reducing their number of options of players they can bring in, not because they aren't good enough, but because they don't fit and Martz cannot adapt!
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That system is so complex per the players might as well sign Martz back and get some offensive lineman to make this a success. If they are planning on winning this coming season they need to draft at OL position 1 and 2. Cutler was putting up solid #'s I think if Hanie was able to get 1 win or if McCown was the #2 at the start of the season Cutler could have gave the Saints some headaches in the rematch
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Sorry but before Cutler was hurt Martz offense was playing great. The numbers just don't lie. Roy Williams I can agree with. He needs to go. Jerry and Tim are a no brainier to go. The new GM needs to give Martz an OL and a #1 WR. Until that happens I find it hard to blame Martz for much of anything.
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The WRs might like him, but when you look at the shots our QBs take the Bears have to let Martz go. If not Cutler is going to get hit a ton again next year. Martz' plays just take too long to develop and have been injuring QBs for years: Cutler, Green, Warner, Bulger, and several in between.

 

[Boffo97]

I thought it was telling that the only two players I've ever seen publicly critique Martz are Cutler and Kyle Turley.

Neither of which strikes me as a stellar representative of humanity.

 

[Thordaddy]

I would certainly challenge you in being Mike's #1 Fan. It would be a close battle though.

I have a framed note in my office that Mad Mike wrote to me. He thanks me for being "such a GREAT Ram Fan". Makes me smile every time I glance at it.

I'm comforted in knowing that he is living extremely well there in beautiful San Diego. The stress he endured with the Ram Clown Show management team back then had to be unbearable torture.

Relax Brudda Mike! You deserve it!

OH YEAH?



I have long debated the "we should have kept Lovie and fired Martz sooner" constituency,but Lovies personnel moves I.E. two firsts for Cutler and the dearth of talent on defense puts the lie to that, he was worse than Martz in that regard.
I'll take a tie BTW, it comforts me to think someone is as big a fan as I.
More of my contentions about Martz:

Like he did with Trent Green ,I always thought Martz was good for developing a QB for which we could get a high round draft choice every three years or so, but for KW's infirmities we probably could have gotten a 2nd maybe a first for Bulger.

Martz flat ass SAVED Vermeils job

A hands on GM/ people manager in the house, instead of an absentee one with a "pet" (Zyg) could have resolved the personality issues instead of sitting afar and let the smoldering turn into a bonfire.

If Kyle Turly hadn't been damaged goods Martz might be ready to retire at the end of the six years we searched for an acceptable replacement for him with one or two more Lombardi's and likely with the best winning record in franchise history

It always slays me to hear people SLAM Belicek AND MARTZ, either it was the cheating OR it was incompetence but IMO you can't HAVE BOTH positions.

My position on the above is this ,despite the cheating , and the reticence to run ( they were tackling Marshal with or without the ball anyway) Martz still managed to get the tie, Lovies defense gave up the FG, in addition we were beat to shit by that second half against Philly,one of the most physical half's of football I've ever seen,left us with two injured RT's which IMO was why Ty Law got the int. we failed to cut the DE on that play.
SO had the time period between the conferance game and the SB didn't give us time to heal, sure NE played and beat the Steelers, but Pittsburg were beat to shit from the previous week against the Ravens. Often the attrition due to the previous game eventuates in teams being eliminated the next week in the playoffs. I know the press hates to actually have to work to get enough stories for a two week wait , but IMO the game is worth giving the teams a bye to heal and able to play at the best they can be.

"His hair was perfect" ahoo ............................................Warren Zevon

 

[fearsomefour]

Was Shaun Hill in Detroit or San Fran when Martz was there?

He was a starter in SF. He was replaced after a bit. Martz has said that was a mistake and Hill is a good player.