Martz on radio

[Blue and Gold]

http://www.insidestlaudio.com/Edmonds/010915-3E.mp3

 

[Stranger]

We can only dream that he'd return to take us back to a SB victory. What a story that would be. For me, it would be even sweeter than SB34.

 

[Blue and Gold]

Check right wing far pass right y smash --- touchdown

 

[iced]

Loved his comments on how he would use tavon austin (starts about 19:20'ish mark)

I know that echoes some Sentiments some of us have here, right @jrry32 ?

 

[Ramathon]

VERY interesting listen....on a bunch of different levels.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Love listening to Mike. I'll be looking for the Panthers to use hard counts on the 'Hawks' today!

 

[jap]

Loved his comments on how he would use tavon austin (starts about 19:20'ish mark)

I know that echoes some Sentiments some of us have here, right @jrry32 ?

It would pure heaven for Mad Mike to have Tavon---someone faster and quicker than even the mercurial Wizard of Az, who isn't a fumbling headache!

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Mike interviewed for the Raiders OC job in 2013.

Maybe he still has interest.

 

[bojack34]

He is a beauty to listen to! He's forgot more about offense than most coordinators know today!

 

[iced]

Mike interviewed for the Raiders OC job in 2013.

Maybe he still has interest.

Don't know about you but after hearing that interview, especially when they asked if he would to have the open OC job for us, I believe he still has that strong itch to coach...

 

[fearsomefour]

Love listening to Mike Martz break down stuff.

It would a great experience to watch him break down film or get a tutorial in prepping a pass game from him.

 

[Mojo Ram]

VERY interesting listen....on a bunch of different levels.

Definitely. I love to listen to him talk about QB's. He said that Aaron Rodgers is the best out there right now and I've agreed with him for the last few years.

 

[Ramathon]

Definitely. I love to listen to him talk about QB's. He said that Aaron Rodgers is the best out there right now and I've agreed with him for the last few years.

Yeah, he didn't hesitate a bit on that call, did he.

I was most fascinated by his talk about the current state of the running game vs the passing game and his take on the background of why that has come to be. And his belief that it's cyclical and will swing back to at least a more balanced approach at some point. And for a supposed pass happy O coach, I thought it was interesting when he suggested that a team needs to be able to lean on both the running game and passing game at times.

The other thing I took from it was just his general congeniality. Listening to him talk in that setting, it's almost hard to believe he's this sort of raving egomaniac that can't get along with anyone that seems to be his rep.

 

[Stranger]

The other thing I took from it was just his general congeniality. Listening to him talk in that setting, it's almost hard to believe he's this sort of raving egomaniac that can't get along with anyone that seems to be his rep

I've never bought into the propaganda on Mike. The NFL did a real number on his reputation, while doing everything it could to protect Belicheat's rep - tells u where NFL leadership is at.

 

[jap]

Yeah, he didn't hesitate a bit on that call, did he.

I was most fascinated by his talk about the current state of the running game vs the passing game and his take on the background of why that has come to be. And his belief that it's cyclical and will swing back to at least a more balanced approach at some point. And for a supposed pass happy O coach, I thought it was interesting when he suggested that a team needs to be able to lean on both the running game and passing game at times.

The other thing I took from it was just his general congeniality. Listening to him talk in that setting, it's almost hard to believe he's this sort of raving egomaniac that can't get along with anyone that seems to be his rep.

A lot of material about Mad Mike is exaggerated too far. I call him 'Mad Mike,' but that is in reference to his 'mad scientist' manner of concocting new play designs, even scribbling them out on napkins if he thought something up while eating a meal.

While Mike was with the Rams, offenses were more balanced with respect to pass vs run. Mike loves to look for mismatches and loves to move the ball fast (& furious! ). When Washington OC Mike defected to the Rams in 1999, they already had his own protege Isaac Bruce, who he coached as the Rams receiver coach, as their top WR and Ricky Proehl, who led the Rams in receiving in 1998 as Isaac struggled with hamstring injuries. The Wizard of Az had been drafted in 1998. The Horns acquired Marshall Faulk in a trade with the Colts and drafted the gifted wideout Torry Holt as the 1999 #6 overall selection. G Adam Timmermann was acquired from Green Bay to assist 1998 #1 over all draft pick LOT Orlando Pace in anchoring the OL. In other words the premier pieces for the GSOT were all coming together almost miraculously for the coach who was to transform them into the most dynamic unit the NFL has ever seen to date.

In the NFL at that time, teams normally possessed two top CB's, with a considerable drop-off in talent at the #3 & #4 CB spots. Mad Mike changed all of that! In Isaac and Torry, he possessed two #1 WR talents. Ricky Proehl, who had led the Rams in receiving in 1998 over the ailing Bruce, was at least a bonafide #2 WR. The Wizard of Az was too small to be a true starting NFL receiver, a fact he learned the hard way when he bolted to Detroit years later, but there wasn't a more dynamic #3 WR in the league. Newcomer Marshall Faulk possessed gifted hands that could have easily earned him WR duties in the NFL if he wasn't an even better runner.

The NFL simply was not prepared for what the mad scientific OC in Saint Louis was getting ready to spring on them. One more piece still was left to be put in place. Enter journey man QB, Kurt Warner, who Mike labored to bring up to speed with his offensive schemes if the unthinkable should happen to his anointed #1 QB.

Mike encouraged the Rams to pick up his Washington Redskin QB protege, Trent Green, as his QB of choice. And Trent looked scintillating during the 1999 pre-season until a hard tackle by Rodney Harrison ended his season before it could start. A frustrated Isaac Bruce pounded the artificial turf in despair, and a tearful Dick Vermeil uttered the now famous words, "We will rally behind Kurt Warner, and we will play good football!"

Does Mike have his peculiarities? Of course he does! But whom among us does not, particularly one as focused & determined as Martz? He is a hell of an OC, but he is no GM and needs help selecting the talent he needs to do is thing. He had to struggle with the public relations side of head coaching before he was prepared to do so. The original plan was to keep him as Dick Vermeil's understudy for three years so he had time to learn the in's & out's of the HC role. However, he became so red hot a HC-ing prospect after the Rams' worst to first Super Bowl run, the Rams administrative brass were terrified of losing him and encouraged Dickie V to retire earlier than planned so they could elevate Mike to head coaching post.

The whole crazy saga of Martz, QB's Warner, Green, & Bulger, and the GSOT crew could easily be made into a movie series. I want Josh Whedon as the director & writer!!! Brian Dennehy can play Mad Mike!

Nevertheless, Mike at his core, is all about exploiting mismatches wherever they are, rushing or passing, in as fast & furious! a manner as humanly possible.

 

[Ramathon]

...
Nevertheless, Mike at his core, is all about exploiting mismatches wherever they are, rushing or passing, in as fast & furious! a manner as humanly possible.

That's how I always took his overall philosophy as well. I was always impressed at the speed with which plays developed during MM's tenure.

 

[lockdnram21]

Loved his comments on how he would use tavon austin (starts about 19:20'ish mark)

I know that echoes some Sentiments some of us have here, right @jrry32 ?

Won't work if he can't run routes that well. Small catch radius. How do u know it's not Tavon holding his self back and not Schotty

 

[Legatron4]

What would that offense look like in today's NFL? Could they score 700?

 

[Ramathon]

I've never bought into the propaganda on Mike. The NFL did a real number on his reputation, while doing everything it could to protect Belicheat's rep - tells u where NFL leadership is at.

Why would 'NFL Leadership' do a number on MM's rep? Do you mean the league office & Tagliabue?

While I don't think there's much question the Cheatriots got away with some shenanigans, I'm not sure I buy the notion the 'NFL', at least at the league office level, would 'do a number' on MM's rep. Now, if you mean the NFL's 'front office fraternity' (GM's, coaches, etc) , I could buy that. Once word gets around that an individual is 'difficult' (however you want to define that), and whether the rep is fair or not, it frequently translates into making it difficult for that individual to find work. Shouldn't, but it does.

The NFL can be weird like that. First round draft picks get chance after chance almost no matter how badly they may have 'busted' at their previous stop(s), but coaches seem to get pushed out to pasture pretty quickly.

IMO, Martz is a good example of that. Another one is Brian Billick.

 

[LesBaker]

That's how I always took his overall philosophy as well. I was always impressed at the speed with which plays developed during MM's tenure.

It was deceiving.....and it actually wasn't fast as in bangbang play after play. Often the Rams took most of the play clock. The ting was the amount of motion had never been seen/used before. There was SO much activity prior to the snap that had not ever occurred before.

And 4 wide sets on 3rd and 2. Stuff like that.

Defenses didn't know what was coming, or where it was coming from. It went beyond unpredictable.