1. Martz may have a few personality issues, but I don’t think there was any greater acquisition during the off-season than Martz and his offensive schemes. While it is rather unfortunate that Martz’s high-powered offense was unable to take root in Detroit, I am quite pleased because it led to his defection to the 49ers. High praise, perhaps, but I can’t help but think that our offense would still be averaging around 14 ppg were it not for his presence.

2. He is utilizing Gore much like he was able to utilize Marshall Faulk; Gore is a dominant and agile back who has the ability to make defenders miss in the open field. That combined with his ability to catch the ball makes him ideal for the Martz scheme.

During “The Greatest Show On Turf” era, Faulk averaged 1374 yards per year on the ground (including only playing 14 games in the 2000 and 2001 seasons) on an average 255 touches. Compare Jones to Faulk, who only had 3.8 ypc in the Martz offense while Faulk averaged 5.4 over those 3 seasons. In Gore’s 3 seasons, he has averaged 4.9 ypc, so I would expect to see Gore have seasons much like Faulk had under the Martz offense.

3. I have an itching feeling that once O’Sullivan has played a few more games and coordinators have more film on him, his production will see a definite decrease. While he looks very good on the field at times, he has a tendency to telegraph his throws and fall too far back in the pocket. Once defenses start making adjustments to counter his play-style, I don’t think he will have the tenacity and vision to face the better NFL defenses.

4. Willis is to the linebacker position as Phelps is to swimming; he is simply dominant. His ability to read the play and make the tackle combined with his sheer athletic talent make him a monster linebacker with the potential to make cross-field tackles and score points for the D (as seen last week). For Kevin Smith, nowhere on the field is safe while Willis is in the game.

5. I think it is too early to determine who will take the NFC West; Seattle is going to be a step behind even when Branch and Engram return, but they still have some talent on the field. Arizona may yet crumble, and would likely be 1-1 to our 2-0 had we not turned the ball over 5 times.

Quote:

“Even though we’re only two games into the season, I’m curious about what your opinion of Martz is. Do you see him as someone that has immediately upgraded the 49ers’ offense or someone that controls things a bit too much and is stunting the growth of the team?”

Response:

It’s absurd to think that Martz controls things a bit too much. O’Sullivan is the first QB in three years to throw for over 300 yards. And that’s stunting the growth of the team? Moreover the 49ers have scored 30 or more points three times over the course of preseason and regular season already. Stunted?

I’d say a seed was planted and is growing. Fast. Martz’s offense is the type which you have to follow the exact particulars to make it successful. Trust. Execution.

We will allow the entirety of the season to reveal whether Martz is for real or not. But it’s up to his players to execute the weekly game plans.

1. As HTS points out above, Mike Martz seems to be kind of a big baby. While that may be a little harsh, he does like to get his way A LOT. Compromise doesn’t seem to be one of his favorite bargaining tools.

With that said, he has definitely improved this offense and the results are visible even only two weeks into the season. You have to remember that JT O’Sullivan didn’t get any snaps until training camp practices were a third of the way through or so, so it’s amazing how well he’s working with the rest of the offense. It’s also good to see that the other players are picking up on the offense as well.

As for the whole control thing, I think HTS says it best. Martz’s controlling nature prevents Nolan from trying to control something he has no idea about, and that’s definitely a good thing for this team. When last season was going down the tube fast, it became clear that Mike Nolan basically needed as second head coach on his side, one that knew how to run an offense. That’s why Norv Turner worked out kind of well, and it may be why Martz is working out well now.

2. I think his playcalling has been “okay,” but his use of personnel has been kind of interesting. I think Billy Bajema has seen the field a lot more this season in comparison to the first two weeks of last season. Martz’ use of Keasey so far seems to be pretty solid, and I can see why they opted for Keasey over Moran Norris. As HTS pointed out above, his actual playcalling has been kind of predictable early on, and that’s something I’m sure most 49ers fans are kind of sick of by now. The last two quarters against Seattle were nice, and perhaps it was because they HAD to score points. Perhaps it was because the players and Martz are starting to trust each other, as that’s a pretty big thing in any scheme, let alone Martz’s complex scheme.

3. O’Sullivan is an interesting player. As HTS points out, we’ve seen two sides of him. A not-so-good side, and a pretty-good side. The pretty-good O’Sullivan was the one that helped lead the 49ers to a win over the Seahawks in Seattle. He still makes a lot of mistakes and needs to gain better understanding of how things work (in terms of situation and NEED for a play). He may learn all that as the season progresses, and if he does, he will certainly be a QB worth looking at. However, I think that “TBA” is the more appropriate answers to Sean’s question.

4. Willis is a dominant linebacker because.. well, it’s hard to say really. I don’t think there are any one, two or three things that make him great. For someone in his second season, he’s a VERY sure tackler. He’s got tremendous physical ability that I think VERY few other linebackers have in the NFL. He’s got a very confident but humble personality. He knows that he’s capable of a lot, but he also knows that there is a lot he still needs to learn. I suppose you’d call that a very willing student, and those tend to make the best kind of players if they have the physical ability to go with it, regardless of position.

5. Another case of “TBA.” As HTS points out, I don’t think anyone really knows what to expect of this 49ers team, yet. They still shoot themselves in the foot too much, and if Seattle were any other team this past weekend, the 49ers would probably be 0-2.

With that said, the same theory can be applied to everyone else in the division (except maybe the Rams). No one really knows what to expect out of the Cardinals. Every season, they are projected to be “up and coming” but they never seem to make it there. This could be the year they finally do it, but they DEFINITELY have to stay healthy. I think an injury or two to their front seven will drastically hurt their defensive unit. The Seahawks are very similar in that regard, as well. If they start getting their WRs back, they may be able to free up the running game just enough to be somewhat balanced. As Mike Nolan pointed out, Holmgren’s offensive scheme is really good, and he’s a really good coach to boot. Seattle will definitely try to find a way to win as long as Hasselbeck is still at QB.

All that said, the division is wide open and it may be an interesting season for the NFC West.

Perhaps the biggest storyline surrounding this upcoming game between Detroit and San Francisco is Mike Martz. He had a messy divorce with the Lions after the 2007 season and since then both he and Lions players have traded jabs in the press. Even though we’re only two games into the season, I’m curious about what your opinion of Martz is. Do you see him as someone that has immediately upgraded the 49ers’ offense or someone that controls things a bit too much and is stunting the growth of the team?

If you went through what we went through last year on offense with Hostler you wouldnt be asking this question in my opinion. For me it doesn’t matter what the guy’s personality is like, the fact of the matter is that he has taken one of the worst offenses in the history of the game and turned it into a point scoring, somewhat dynamic, give you a chance to win offense and for that I am thankful to have him here. Let me put it this way: This season we have had 2 games both of which we went for over 290 total yards. Last year we had 2 games of 290 yards all season.

2. Staying on the topic of Martz, what are your general thoughts on his play-calling so far? Just looking at the stats alone it appears he’s running a much more balanced offense than he ever did in Detroit, but do you think that is because his running back is Frank Gore rather than Kevin Jones?

Again compared to Hostler I am not sure that I can find reason to complain about playcalling. Last year we would run straight into the line on 3rd and longs over and over and over again. It is so funny to me that Detroit fans complain that he wouldnt run the ball while we were complaining that we never pass the ball. Something had to change for both teams and perhaps Martz was both the problem and the solution rolled into one. As far as your second question: YES!

3. The 49ers’ starting quarterback, J.T. O’Sullivan, wisely followed Martz to San Francisco after spending a year with Detroit as Jon Kitna’s backup. In the time he was on the field he did look like a decent QB, but has he really become a legit NFL starter? To me it seems like Martz’s system has benefited him more than his actual talent. Am I correct in that assessment?

To be honest there are a lot of things about JTO that leave something to be desired. Ball protection, decision making, sack avoiding, etc. But with that said I have been very impressed with his ability to throw the ball. During the QB competition I wanted Smith but I will admit that I was wrong. I have seen O’sullivan make throws that Smith never made and wether or not there is an excuse for it the fact is that JTO has been putting up points and that is something that is special around here. I dont think that we will know for sure about JTO until later in the season but as of right now he seems legit and should only get better.

4. Back in the 2007 draft there was talk that the Lions might trade down and draft Patrick Willis. Considering Detroit’s future starting middle linebacker is Jordon Dizon, I sort of wish that would have happened, especially since Willis is so talented. What specifically makes Willis such a dominant linebacker, and should Kevin Smith be afraid for Sunday’s game?

Willis is big, fast, has great vision, is smart, athletic, quick, a sure tackler, coachable, is a playmaker, an astronaut, future CEO of Microsoft and Macintosh, and proudly calls Chuch Norris his bitch. In other words he is so dominate because he has “IT” And yes Kevin should be scared.

5. Looking at the NFC West, the standings certainly aren’t what I expected coming into the season. Arizona is 2-0, Seattle is 0-2, and San Francisco is in between at 1-1 (and the Rams just suck). Looking at the rest of the season, do you think this trend will continue with the Cardinals at the top or is it only a matter of time until the Seahawks retake first-place? And finally, could the 49ers make a run at the NFC West title?

I dont see the Seahawks coming back from this that easily they just dont seem right to me, and I cant see Arizona being anything other than what it has been for the past decade a derailed hype train at the end of the season. I could be way off base and will admit that ARZ has looked really good in their first two games and as of now has to be the favorite but until the prove otherwise i will have a hard time overlooking their past. With that said yes I think that the 49ers could and probably will make a run at the division title. Whether or not we get it I am not ready to say but I think for the first time in years we will be playing meaningful games in December.