Mike Martz Brings High-Powered Gameplan to Low-Powered Offense
The greatest show on grass? I highly doubt it. But apparently that’s what the Bears think Mike Martz can bring to the table. And when I say that the Bears think he brings that to the table, what I really mean is that the other 17 crappy candidates they interviewed turned them down. What is really going on is that Lovie is bringing in his old crew (first Marinelli, now Martz) and Angelo has no choice but to capitulate since not a single other candidate was even remotely interested in this job.
Which brings us back to where we were in the first place: having to make do with the crap we’ve got. So what did Martz have to say in response to critics that claim his style is ill-suited for the Bears personnel?
“You know, (I’m) very pragmatic in the approach. And I think that you have to analyze your personnel, the circumstances and situation like Soldier Field, and look at what you have with the conditions and then proceed from there.
“Really, it’s about winning games and just doing whatever it takes to take advantage of your strengths.”
Okay fair enough. If he even shows any flexibility in his stretch the field type of offense, that will be way more flexibility than Lovie has shown in his devotion to the Cover 2 in the last 5 years. He has to understand that he doesn’t exactly have the same tools to work with as he did in St. Louis though, right?
[On Bears Wide Receivers] “Well, they’ve got some speed. And that really is kind of a diamond to me. When you look at that group, it could be a real strength of this football team. With (Devin) Aromashodu — I hope I pronounced it right. (Johnny) Knox is really a diamond to me. And Hester, with what he can do whether he’s outside or in the slot. The matchups on these guys are extreme.
“When I went to St. Louis from Washington, Isaac Bruce was too skinny. They weren’t too happy with him. He was always hurt. Had this little guy, Az Hakim, and they didn’t know what they were going to do with him. Rick Proehl, slow white guy. This is three-quarters of the Greatest Show on Turf.
“And really, what we’ll do with these guys, I think there’s plenty of talent there. I’m really excited about their speed and the potential. And what we’ll do is give them every opportunity to explore that and not make a definition on what any one of those guys can do, but let them prove to us and put no limits on them.”
[On Matt Forte] “There’s so many thing you can do with him. He has the same kind of multi-abilities as (former Rams star) Marshall (Faulk). Soft hands. Change of direction. Good route runner. He’s a very unselfish pass-blocker, so he’s willing to stick his nose in there. He’s the complete package. And the formation to get him matched up inside on linebackers and, on occasion, safeties will be a good part of what we do.”
Oh boy. I’m having trouble suppressing my instincts here that tell me this is going to be a disaster, but let’s try. If you think about what he said, and how his system works, he does have some speedy wide receivers. The one thing he forgot to mention about that St. Louis team was a young guy named Tori Holt. No one on the Bears is remotely close to that skill level. Forte does have some Faulk-type qualities and could thrive in the offense, but what about Olsen? Will he be wasted, as it’s common knowledge that Martz is not fond of giving tight ends touches?
This one is going to be interesting, but it might not turn out all bad. Cutler could be a good fit if everyone on the offense can get on the same page this season. Still don’t see anyone doing anything about that offensive line…
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Comments
Comment from Chicago F-Link
Time February 2, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I think this was the right move…we are in the pits…not much lower can the Bears go…everyday that I walk down Randolph from the apt and I have to look across Millenium Park at that spaceship stadium and am reminded about how terrible we have been…why would hiring Mike Martz be a bad thing? He has a high powered offense that can score points…what do we have to lose? If we suck again…which everyone in the world thinks will happen…they are all gonna get fired anyways and Bill Cowher will come in and rework the entire coaching staff anyways…so lets take a shot at this and see what happens when Cutler gets unleashed on the NFC North…BEAR DOWN!!!
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Comment from Kevin Tapani Fan Club
Time February 2, 2010 at 11:54 am
Bottom of the barrel selection. At least it might be entertaining, as opposed to them hiring some unknown, under-qualified high school QB coach. We’ll at least get some sound-bytes and possibly some crazy, meaningless stats with a bunch of losses.