Martz?

by sven406 on Dec 30, 2007 8:00 AM PST

As the announcers won't have much interesting to say during the game this morning, I'm sure they will bring this up at some point: the Mercury News is reporting that once the Lions fire Mike Martz as offensive coordinator, the 49ers will pursue him. I have been as frustrated by our offense this year as the next guy, but this just makes me nervous. Does it concern anyone else that Martz hasn't led an above-average offense in several years now? Does he still have it? These were Bill Simmons' words on the Lions this preseason:

"Mike Martz hasn't had a top-10 offense since 2001. Last season, he gave us a Detroit attack that tallied 63 sacks allowed, 17 fumbles and 22 picks. Why didn't I realize either of these things until I read the 2007 Pro Football Prospectus? I don't know. But I'm going cold turkey on the "(Fill in the player) should thrive in a Mike Martz offense ..." references until he realizes his manifest destiny and lands in the Arena League."

The pattern has continued this season, as the Lions' offense is 16th in scoring and 19th in total yardage. I realize that's light years ahead of the 49ers, but I just don't think that Martz is the offensive guru that people say he is. Either he's lost a step, opponents have figured him out, or he isn't good unless he has exactly the right personnel. If personnel has been Martz's problem (best case scenario), then there is no reason to believe he can turn around this Niners' team with a pass-happy approach. Smith/Hill/Dilfer are not Kurt Warner cerca 1999, and Frank Gore's strengths are not the same as Marshall Faulk's.

Are people with me here, or am I letting the fact that Martz bugs the hell out of me cloud my judgment?

Poll

Would Mike Martz be a good fit to run the Niners' offense?

Yes

7 votes

No

17 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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Comments

The other thing about Martz

Is that he runs a VERY pass heavy offense dependent on sharp routes, timing patterns, quick reads, and having a lot of speed at receiver. Also, a scheme that iirc, doesn't involve the TE particularly well.

Mike Martz is probably still a good OC, a great one even, if he has the personell to play his pretty specific schemes. But the Niners are not set that way, and aren't likely to be. We expect Frank Gore to lead the way, right? At least for the foreseeable future. And we expect VD to be our most potent receiving threat, right? At least for the foreseeable future. Then Mike Martz is not the guy for this team. Unless he can manage a philosophical sea change, which I know he's been very slow to do in the past.

I know he's tempting, but really. Do not want cat.

I keep reliving the moment when Steve Young almost fell down. Over and over. / My Blog, For Writers

by howtheyscored on Dec 30, 2007 10:43 AM PST reply actions

I agree 100%

Martz is good if you have a QB, lots of speedy WR, and 3rd down back-type of RB. He's bad for traditional RB's and TE's, and the Niners would have to acquire an entire stable of WR's before they could attempt to run Martz's office.

Also, I think the odds of Martz and Nolan working well together are about the same as the odds that Hilary Clinton will choose Rush Limbaugh as her running mate.

"You gotta bring ass, to get ass." --EDDIE DeBARTOLO JR.

by Josh from Hollywood on Dec 30, 2007 11:22 AM PST up reply actions