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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/s...fice-dysfunction-puts-rams-in-a-fix.html?_r=0
Front-Office Strife Put Rams in a Fix
By MIKE TANIER - SEPT. 17, 2011
The St. Louis Rams, who face the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Monday night, have not had a winning season in eight years. They finished second to last in the N.F.L.in points allowed four times from 2005 through 2009. They posted a 6-42 record from 2007 through 2009, and although last season’s 7-9 finish offered hope that the franchise was finally headed in the right direction, a season-opening 31-13 loss to Philadelphia proved that the Rams still have a long way to go.
The N.F.L. is not supposed to work like this. The league has safety nets like the draft and the salary cap to keep teams from falling into the basement for eight years. The Rams’ near decade of futility is a result of muddled management, bad coaching and the brutal economics of trying to keep a championship team together.
Trouble began for the Rams less than two days after they won Super BowlXXXIV in the 1999 season. Dick Vermeil retired as the coach and the director of football operations, forcing the Rams to restructure their front office. John Shaw, the team president, promoted the longtime staffers Jay Zygmunt to director of football operations and Charley Armey to general manager.
The offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the architect of the newly named Greatest Show on Turf, became the coach. Martz was given control of player personnel decisions, though Shaw retained veto power from Los Angeles, where he remained when the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995.
The Rams once had the Greatest Show on Turf, with stars like Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner. CreditPeter Muhly/Agence France-Presse
For the next two seasons, the team remained an N.F.C. powerhouse, losing to New England in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Rams rewarded their biggest offensive stars with hefty long-term contracts. Quarterback Kurt Warner and receiver Isaac Bruce received seven-year deals valued over $40 million in 2000. Marshall Faulk earned a seven-year, $46.4 million deal in 2002.
The huge contracts kept the nucleus intact but kept the Rams close to the salary cap and became limiting factors in free agency. Important players like linebacker London Fletcher and receiver Az-Zahir Hakim received lucrative offers from other teams, and the Rams were forced to sign lower-priced alternatives.
“We’ve known that free agency over the last couple years would be more of a minus than a plus for us,” Shaw said in January 2003.
By 2005, most of the Rams’ salary-cap space was absorbed by a handful of players. Warner, released two seasons earlier, still cost them $6.72 million. Faulk, Bruce and receiver Torry Holt consumed another $20 million. A long list of valuable performers signed elsewhere, including defensive end Grant Wistrom, defensive back Dre’ Bly and receiver Ricky Proehl.
The draft brought few reinforcements. The Rams selected three defenders in the first round in 2001, but only safety Adam Archuleta emerged as a star, and he left as a free agent in 2006. The Rams’ offense remained competitive, with Faulk, Bruce and Holt running on afterburners, but the defense fell apart.
Meanwhile, tension between Martz and the Armey-Zygmunt old guard erupted into public warfare. At one point, the Rams’ director of football operations, Samir Suleiman, an Armey supporter, left a threatening voice-mail message, in which he called himself a throat slasher, for a St. Louis columnist who had accused some executives of undermining Martz. When Martz, on medical leave after a heart attack, tried to contact the Rams’ offensive coordinator with advice during a game, Zygmunt reportedly refused to allow the call to go through.
Martz also had conflicts with Warner and engaged in an open feud with tackle Kyle Turley. A former wunderkind coach, Martz was increasingly characterized as an egomaniac, though the “throat slasher” incident suggestion that the Rams’ dysfunction went well beyond Martz.
“Playing for the Rams,” Turley later told Sports Illustrated, “was like being on ‘Survivor,’ with Mike Martz and all of those other guys forming secret alliances and doing whatever they could to sabotage each other.”
Martz was fired and replaced by Scott Linehan after the 2005 season. Armey was also quietly reassigned after the 2006 draft. The 2005-6 drafts were exceptionally fallow, yielding the first-round picks Alex Barron (a perennial league leader in false-start penalties) and Tye Hill (a 5-foot-9 cornerback who never developed into a starter).
The team climbed out of cap trouble as players like Faulk retired, but an ill-advised 2006 spending spree choked the roster with aging, undistinguished veterans. The quick veteran fix, last gasps by Bruce and Holt, and a fine year by quarterback Marc Bulger helped Linehan post an 8-8 record, but the optimism was short-lived.
Linehan’s tenure proved to be nearly as soap operatic as Martz’s, but without the intermittent success. Linehan turned play-calling duties over to the coordinator Greg Olsen late in the 2006 season, prompting a brief winning streak, then fired Olsen after the 2007 season. After the Rams lost their first three games by a combined 29-116 score in 2008, Linehan benched Bulger and five other starters in what was perceived as a desperate move. Players criticized Linehan on local sports radio. Linehan was fired late in the season.
Georgia Frontiere, the Rams’ owner, died in January 2008, beginning a slow regime change in which front-office veterans like Shaw and Zygmunt were replaced or eased into consulting roles. Many of the old guard had traveled with the Rams from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995.
Vermeil’s brief success and the tumultuous Martz-Linehan tenures masked longstanding organizational atrophy. The Rams had nine straight losing seasons before Vermeil, Martz and Warner joined forces to win 13 games and a Super Bowl. When the last traces of Vermeil’s influence faded away, the Rams were once again directionless.
The multisport mogul Stan Kroenke bought a majority interest in the Rams in 2010, providing an influx of cash. The newly promoted general manager, Billy Devaney, took over draft responsibilities that year, selecting the franchise quarterback Sam Bradford and the impressive left tackle Rodger Saffold. Under Coach Steve Spagnuolo, the team improved to 7-9 in 2010 from 1-15 the season before without provoking public spats or leaving ominous voice-mail messages.
The Rams may finally be moving forward. Then again, the new coordinator Josh McDaniels has a reputation for offensive genius, personality conflicts and backroom machinations. The Rams have a poor track record when it comes to coaches like that.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/22/former-player-speaks-to-martz-ego-as-detriment/
Former Player Speaks To Martz Ego As Detriment
October 22, 2010 3:07 PM
Mike Martz (Photo Credit: Getty Images, By: Jonathan Daniel)
Former NFL receiver, Ricky Proehl, knows the Mike Martz offense as well as anyone. Proehl played for Martz in St. Louis and was part of the “greatest show on turf” teams and talk with the Danny Mac Show earlier today.
As a member of the most prolific offenses that Martz has produced, Proehl is not only knowledgeable of the intricacies of the the system, but also the ego of the man calling the plays.
Martz’s former player was critical of the coach’s ability and openness to adapt to what the defense is giving. Proehl talked about Super Bowl XXXVI featured the Rams and Patriots.
“New England did a great job of game planning our offense,” he said. “They showed blitz and dropped into zone. They basically rushed three and dropped eight. And [Martz’s] comment was ‘we’re going to throw that ball anyway.”
Martz’s desire to continue throwing the ball instead of running it, was a choice that according to Proehl was not well received by the Rams’ offensive players.
Beyond Martz' ego, Proehl was able to provide valuable insight into the lack of audibles in the system.
“Everything was sight adjustments,” Proehl said . “Hot [routes] were built in, but there was communication that we had, as receivers, with Kurt. But that didn’t happen over night.”
Just as important as the sight adjustments is the offensive line. While every offense lives and dies by the offensive lineman, Proehl explained why he thought the o-line was more crucial for the Martz system.
“Quarterbacks hold on to the ball a little longer becasue the was the offense is designed,” he said. “Guys clear for other guys to open up spots and different holes, the quarterback needs that extra second to get the ball down the field.”
http://forum.ninercaphell.com/showthread.php?t=6358
49ers: Another view of Mike Martz
By Daniel Brown
Mercury News
Article Launched: 01/10/2008
Can Mike Martz fix the 49ers? What does his hiring mean for running back Frank Gore?
And what's the deal with that Mad Mike ego?
In search of answers, we called two people who ought to know. Say hello to Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.
The running back and quarterback combined to take the St. Louis Rams to rollicking heights under Martz from 1999-2005. They reached two Super Bowls during that span (winning one) and led the NFL in scoring three times. Faulk won an MVP award. Warner won two.
Each agreed to give The Mercury News a scouting report on the offensive coordinator hired by the 49ers this week. The consensus? The big winner with Martz's arrival is Gore - although not for the reasons you might think.
Faulk, for example, said Gore would flourish not by doing more but by doing less. He said Martz's knack for relying on other playmakers means defenses will stop loading up on the 49ers' lone threat.
"The one thing Mike does is find multiple ways to win games," said Faulk, from Culver City, where he was preparing to go on air as an analyst for the NFL Network.
"There will be times when the defense will be focused on Frank, and that's the time of the game when you find out whether your third or fourth options were paying attention in practice. "Are those players prepared? Can they handle the pressure? With Mike, it's in the details and he'll find as many ways as he can to win.'
In other words, there will be no repeat of what happened when the 49ers played at Seattle Nov. 12. On fourth-and-1, everybody knew Gore would get the ball. The Seahawks pummeled him for no gain.
"Mike will move him around," Warner said from his home in Arizona, where he now serves as quarterback for the Cardinals. "Mike will get the most of Frank because Gore is a tremendous player, and he finds creative ways to use his playmakers."
Martz used Faulk all over the field, frequently lining him up as a split end. That's how the runner wound up joining former 49ers star Roger Craig as the only backs to amass 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.
Gore has decent hands (114 catches over the past few seasons), although it's tough to imagine him being as nimble a receiver as Faulk. No matter, Faulk said, because Martz will capitalize on Gore's other skills.
"Frank is a much better inside runner than I ever was," Faulk said. "That's good for Mike because it gives him another weapon."
Of course, Gore's performance will be wasted again if the 49ers can't get more out of their moribund passing game. AWEKS SHIT and Shaun Hill are expected to compete for the starting job, a competition that Coach Mike Nowin has indicated will be left to Martz.
"Mike is the expert on quarterback play, let's not kid ourselves," Nowin said.
Regardless of who wins the job, Warner said both quarterbacks will essentially be starting from scratch. He recalled being shocked - and a tad bit offended - when Martz began working with him on basic fundamentals.
"He changed the way I'd been dropping back my whole life," Warner said.
Most coaches, Warner said, put an emphasis on big strides and getting depth from the line of scrimmage. Martz worried more about rhythm. The coach wanted the ball out at the "top of the drop," Warner said, and in practice Martz rarely concerned himself with the result of the play. He just wanted to make sure the footwork was correct.
"Every once in a while, you'd like to get credit for making a good throw," Warner recalled with a laugh. "But it was all about timing."
Martz had terrific receivers to work with in St. Louis, namely Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.
The 49ers have - well, no one like that. Their top wideout, Arnaz Battle, ranked 62nd in the NFL for receptions.
But Warner and Faulk insisted that Martz could find untapped potential in
some players. The previously obscure Mike Furrey, for example, caught 98 passes for 1,086 yards after Martz arrived in Detroit in 2006.
"I think what I liked most was his ability to instill confidence in the players," Warner said. "He had confidence in us no matter what, that he was going to put the ball in our hands. His philosophy was, 'You guys dictate the outcome of the game.' When he put that confidence in us, we wanted to reward him."
Confidence, incidentally, is not something Martz lacks in himself. His famously brash personality already has raised questions about whether he can coexist with Nowin, who isn't exactly the poster boy for humility.
Martz's ego is no myth. Warner and Faulk both stressed that the coach wants things done precisely his way, right down to the small stuff.
For all Martz's bluster, though, Faulk said the coach won over the locker room by never criticizing a player in the media. Instead, Martz freely shouldered the blame for his own mistakes.
"He's a very confident coach, but he's accountable," Faulk said. "He would stand before players and say, 'I messed that up. I should have made a better call there.' Most coaches just don't do that."
Martz apparently did his fair share of messing up in Detroit. He was fired as the offensive coordinator after two seasons.
He had resurrected the Lions' passing game, taking a unit that ranked No. 26 in 2005 and delivering two top-10 finishes. But Martz's running game was horrible both seasons, finishing 32nd in '06 and 31st in '07. Why didn't it work out for Martz in Detroit?
"Who said it didn't work out," Faulk protested. "It was very difficult for the offense because the defense wasn't getting off the field. The Lions had the feeling that they had to score, that they had to push it, that they had to put the ball in the air.
"In San Francisco, it won't be like that. He'll have more time to be patient with the running game.'
Warner, too, predicted things would work for Martz and the 49ers. That's a bittersweet reaction for someone who happens to play in the same division. "He'll get it going," Warner said. "I just hope it takes him a few years."
Front-Office Strife Put Rams in a Fix
By MIKE TANIER - SEPT. 17, 2011
The St. Louis Rams, who face the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Monday night, have not had a winning season in eight years. They finished second to last in the N.F.L.in points allowed four times from 2005 through 2009. They posted a 6-42 record from 2007 through 2009, and although last season’s 7-9 finish offered hope that the franchise was finally headed in the right direction, a season-opening 31-13 loss to Philadelphia proved that the Rams still have a long way to go.
The N.F.L. is not supposed to work like this. The league has safety nets like the draft and the salary cap to keep teams from falling into the basement for eight years. The Rams’ near decade of futility is a result of muddled management, bad coaching and the brutal economics of trying to keep a championship team together.
Trouble began for the Rams less than two days after they won Super BowlXXXIV in the 1999 season. Dick Vermeil retired as the coach and the director of football operations, forcing the Rams to restructure their front office. John Shaw, the team president, promoted the longtime staffers Jay Zygmunt to director of football operations and Charley Armey to general manager.
The offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the architect of the newly named Greatest Show on Turf, became the coach. Martz was given control of player personnel decisions, though Shaw retained veto power from Los Angeles, where he remained when the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995.
The Rams once had the Greatest Show on Turf, with stars like Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner. CreditPeter Muhly/Agence France-Presse
For the next two seasons, the team remained an N.F.C. powerhouse, losing to New England in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Rams rewarded their biggest offensive stars with hefty long-term contracts. Quarterback Kurt Warner and receiver Isaac Bruce received seven-year deals valued over $40 million in 2000. Marshall Faulk earned a seven-year, $46.4 million deal in 2002.
The huge contracts kept the nucleus intact but kept the Rams close to the salary cap and became limiting factors in free agency. Important players like linebacker London Fletcher and receiver Az-Zahir Hakim received lucrative offers from other teams, and the Rams were forced to sign lower-priced alternatives.
“We’ve known that free agency over the last couple years would be more of a minus than a plus for us,” Shaw said in January 2003.
By 2005, most of the Rams’ salary-cap space was absorbed by a handful of players. Warner, released two seasons earlier, still cost them $6.72 million. Faulk, Bruce and receiver Torry Holt consumed another $20 million. A long list of valuable performers signed elsewhere, including defensive end Grant Wistrom, defensive back Dre’ Bly and receiver Ricky Proehl.
The draft brought few reinforcements. The Rams selected three defenders in the first round in 2001, but only safety Adam Archuleta emerged as a star, and he left as a free agent in 2006. The Rams’ offense remained competitive, with Faulk, Bruce and Holt running on afterburners, but the defense fell apart.
Meanwhile, tension between Martz and the Armey-Zygmunt old guard erupted into public warfare. At one point, the Rams’ director of football operations, Samir Suleiman, an Armey supporter, left a threatening voice-mail message, in which he called himself a throat slasher, for a St. Louis columnist who had accused some executives of undermining Martz. When Martz, on medical leave after a heart attack, tried to contact the Rams’ offensive coordinator with advice during a game, Zygmunt reportedly refused to allow the call to go through.
Martz also had conflicts with Warner and engaged in an open feud with tackle Kyle Turley. A former wunderkind coach, Martz was increasingly characterized as an egomaniac, though the “throat slasher” incident suggestion that the Rams’ dysfunction went well beyond Martz.
“Playing for the Rams,” Turley later told Sports Illustrated, “was like being on ‘Survivor,’ with Mike Martz and all of those other guys forming secret alliances and doing whatever they could to sabotage each other.”
Martz was fired and replaced by Scott Linehan after the 2005 season. Armey was also quietly reassigned after the 2006 draft. The 2005-6 drafts were exceptionally fallow, yielding the first-round picks Alex Barron (a perennial league leader in false-start penalties) and Tye Hill (a 5-foot-9 cornerback who never developed into a starter).
The team climbed out of cap trouble as players like Faulk retired, but an ill-advised 2006 spending spree choked the roster with aging, undistinguished veterans. The quick veteran fix, last gasps by Bruce and Holt, and a fine year by quarterback Marc Bulger helped Linehan post an 8-8 record, but the optimism was short-lived.
Linehan’s tenure proved to be nearly as soap operatic as Martz’s, but without the intermittent success. Linehan turned play-calling duties over to the coordinator Greg Olsen late in the 2006 season, prompting a brief winning streak, then fired Olsen after the 2007 season. After the Rams lost their first three games by a combined 29-116 score in 2008, Linehan benched Bulger and five other starters in what was perceived as a desperate move. Players criticized Linehan on local sports radio. Linehan was fired late in the season.
Georgia Frontiere, the Rams’ owner, died in January 2008, beginning a slow regime change in which front-office veterans like Shaw and Zygmunt were replaced or eased into consulting roles. Many of the old guard had traveled with the Rams from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995.
Vermeil’s brief success and the tumultuous Martz-Linehan tenures masked longstanding organizational atrophy. The Rams had nine straight losing seasons before Vermeil, Martz and Warner joined forces to win 13 games and a Super Bowl. When the last traces of Vermeil’s influence faded away, the Rams were once again directionless.
The multisport mogul Stan Kroenke bought a majority interest in the Rams in 2010, providing an influx of cash. The newly promoted general manager, Billy Devaney, took over draft responsibilities that year, selecting the franchise quarterback Sam Bradford and the impressive left tackle Rodger Saffold. Under Coach Steve Spagnuolo, the team improved to 7-9 in 2010 from 1-15 the season before without provoking public spats or leaving ominous voice-mail messages.
The Rams may finally be moving forward. Then again, the new coordinator Josh McDaniels has a reputation for offensive genius, personality conflicts and backroom machinations. The Rams have a poor track record when it comes to coaches like that.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/10/22/former-player-speaks-to-martz-ego-as-detriment/
Former Player Speaks To Martz Ego As Detriment
October 22, 2010 3:07 PM
Mike Martz (Photo Credit: Getty Images, By: Jonathan Daniel)
Former NFL receiver, Ricky Proehl, knows the Mike Martz offense as well as anyone. Proehl played for Martz in St. Louis and was part of the “greatest show on turf” teams and talk with the Danny Mac Show earlier today.
As a member of the most prolific offenses that Martz has produced, Proehl is not only knowledgeable of the intricacies of the the system, but also the ego of the man calling the plays.
Martz’s former player was critical of the coach’s ability and openness to adapt to what the defense is giving. Proehl talked about Super Bowl XXXVI featured the Rams and Patriots.
“New England did a great job of game planning our offense,” he said. “They showed blitz and dropped into zone. They basically rushed three and dropped eight. And [Martz’s] comment was ‘we’re going to throw that ball anyway.”
Martz’s desire to continue throwing the ball instead of running it, was a choice that according to Proehl was not well received by the Rams’ offensive players.
Beyond Martz' ego, Proehl was able to provide valuable insight into the lack of audibles in the system.
“Everything was sight adjustments,” Proehl said . “Hot [routes] were built in, but there was communication that we had, as receivers, with Kurt. But that didn’t happen over night.”
Just as important as the sight adjustments is the offensive line. While every offense lives and dies by the offensive lineman, Proehl explained why he thought the o-line was more crucial for the Martz system.
“Quarterbacks hold on to the ball a little longer becasue the was the offense is designed,” he said. “Guys clear for other guys to open up spots and different holes, the quarterback needs that extra second to get the ball down the field.”
http://forum.ninercaphell.com/showthread.php?t=6358
49ers: Another view of Mike Martz
By Daniel Brown
Mercury News
Article Launched: 01/10/2008
Can Mike Martz fix the 49ers? What does his hiring mean for running back Frank Gore?
And what's the deal with that Mad Mike ego?
In search of answers, we called two people who ought to know. Say hello to Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.
The running back and quarterback combined to take the St. Louis Rams to rollicking heights under Martz from 1999-2005. They reached two Super Bowls during that span (winning one) and led the NFL in scoring three times. Faulk won an MVP award. Warner won two.
Each agreed to give The Mercury News a scouting report on the offensive coordinator hired by the 49ers this week. The consensus? The big winner with Martz's arrival is Gore - although not for the reasons you might think.
Faulk, for example, said Gore would flourish not by doing more but by doing less. He said Martz's knack for relying on other playmakers means defenses will stop loading up on the 49ers' lone threat.
"The one thing Mike does is find multiple ways to win games," said Faulk, from Culver City, where he was preparing to go on air as an analyst for the NFL Network.
"There will be times when the defense will be focused on Frank, and that's the time of the game when you find out whether your third or fourth options were paying attention in practice. "Are those players prepared? Can they handle the pressure? With Mike, it's in the details and he'll find as many ways as he can to win.'
In other words, there will be no repeat of what happened when the 49ers played at Seattle Nov. 12. On fourth-and-1, everybody knew Gore would get the ball. The Seahawks pummeled him for no gain.
"Mike will move him around," Warner said from his home in Arizona, where he now serves as quarterback for the Cardinals. "Mike will get the most of Frank because Gore is a tremendous player, and he finds creative ways to use his playmakers."
Martz used Faulk all over the field, frequently lining him up as a split end. That's how the runner wound up joining former 49ers star Roger Craig as the only backs to amass 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.
Gore has decent hands (114 catches over the past few seasons), although it's tough to imagine him being as nimble a receiver as Faulk. No matter, Faulk said, because Martz will capitalize on Gore's other skills.
"Frank is a much better inside runner than I ever was," Faulk said. "That's good for Mike because it gives him another weapon."
Of course, Gore's performance will be wasted again if the 49ers can't get more out of their moribund passing game. AWEKS SHIT and Shaun Hill are expected to compete for the starting job, a competition that Coach Mike Nowin has indicated will be left to Martz.
"Mike is the expert on quarterback play, let's not kid ourselves," Nowin said.
Regardless of who wins the job, Warner said both quarterbacks will essentially be starting from scratch. He recalled being shocked - and a tad bit offended - when Martz began working with him on basic fundamentals.
"He changed the way I'd been dropping back my whole life," Warner said.
Most coaches, Warner said, put an emphasis on big strides and getting depth from the line of scrimmage. Martz worried more about rhythm. The coach wanted the ball out at the "top of the drop," Warner said, and in practice Martz rarely concerned himself with the result of the play. He just wanted to make sure the footwork was correct.
"Every once in a while, you'd like to get credit for making a good throw," Warner recalled with a laugh. "But it was all about timing."
Martz had terrific receivers to work with in St. Louis, namely Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.
The 49ers have - well, no one like that. Their top wideout, Arnaz Battle, ranked 62nd in the NFL for receptions.
But Warner and Faulk insisted that Martz could find untapped potential in
some players. The previously obscure Mike Furrey, for example, caught 98 passes for 1,086 yards after Martz arrived in Detroit in 2006.
"I think what I liked most was his ability to instill confidence in the players," Warner said. "He had confidence in us no matter what, that he was going to put the ball in our hands. His philosophy was, 'You guys dictate the outcome of the game.' When he put that confidence in us, we wanted to reward him."
Confidence, incidentally, is not something Martz lacks in himself. His famously brash personality already has raised questions about whether he can coexist with Nowin, who isn't exactly the poster boy for humility.
Martz's ego is no myth. Warner and Faulk both stressed that the coach wants things done precisely his way, right down to the small stuff.
For all Martz's bluster, though, Faulk said the coach won over the locker room by never criticizing a player in the media. Instead, Martz freely shouldered the blame for his own mistakes.
"He's a very confident coach, but he's accountable," Faulk said. "He would stand before players and say, 'I messed that up. I should have made a better call there.' Most coaches just don't do that."
Martz apparently did his fair share of messing up in Detroit. He was fired as the offensive coordinator after two seasons.
He had resurrected the Lions' passing game, taking a unit that ranked No. 26 in 2005 and delivering two top-10 finishes. But Martz's running game was horrible both seasons, finishing 32nd in '06 and 31st in '07. Why didn't it work out for Martz in Detroit?
"Who said it didn't work out," Faulk protested. "It was very difficult for the offense because the defense wasn't getting off the field. The Lions had the feeling that they had to score, that they had to push it, that they had to put the ball in the air.
"In San Francisco, it won't be like that. He'll have more time to be patient with the running game.'
Warner, too, predicted things would work for Martz and the 49ers. That's a bittersweet reaction for someone who happens to play in the same division. "He'll get it going," Warner said. "I just hope it takes him a few years."
