Mike Martz Stay Away!

The recent opening of the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator position has brought rumors that Mike Martz might fill the position. I really hope this does not happen. Martz's offense consists of long drop backs for the quarterback and deep routes for the recievers. The only time Martz has had success with this offense was when everything was perfectly put in place: Hall of Fame players at the skill positions and a good offensive line. His stints in Detroit and San Fransico were not good years for Martz. The problem with his type of offense is the vulnerability for sacks on the quarterback. The Bears offensive line was terrible this past season and with no headlining free agent or high draft pick the room for improvement on the line is minimal. With the high amount of sacks given up, there is a higher possibility of injury on Jay Cutler just because of the fact he is taking a higher amount of hits. Another reason why Martz should not be hired is the lack of use of the tight end. Greg Olsen is one of the Bears top weapons and with a Martz system in place, his production would drop significantly. When Martz was in San Fransico, he had Vernon Davis as his tight end. The one year Martz was in San Fransico, Davis had only 31 catches for 358 yards and 2 touchdowns. This year, Davis had a breakout year with 78 catches for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Also during Martz's year with the 49er's, Martz and head coach Mike Singletary did not see eye to eye on their offensive philosohpies. Martz is more of a pass happy coach, while Singletary wants to control the clock by running the football. This is the same situation as it is in Chicago. Lovie Smith always uses the expression, "We come off the bus running." The difference in coaching philosophies would not be a good idea. You would like to have your head coach and offensive coordinator on the same page. Martz also said some words about Jay Cutler's play earlier this year. "He just doesn't get it," Martz said. It would be interesting to see how the two would work together. My prediction would be it would not be a good relationship. Both of them have big ego's and neither would back down. I do not want Martz to come in and ruin the career of Cutler.