One coordinator down, one to go.
And the "one down" deserves a thumbs up. Mike Martz, who offensively coordinated the Rams to 526 points and a Super Bowl victory in 1999, is the Bears' new offensive coordinator. Martz coached the Rams to the playoffs in 2001, 2003 and 2004 (with Lovie Smith serving as defensive coordinator in '01 and '03), including a Super Bowl appearance in 2001. He also coaxed two 4,000-yard seasons out of Lions QB Jon Kitna, which is clearly the most impressive line on his resume.
The real question is why it took this long for the Bears' brass to get around to interviewing Martz. Hue Jackson? Ken Zampese? Kevin Rogers? Snuffleupagus? (Just checking to see if you're paying attention.) At least Martz can fill a whole page with his resume and presumably has some ideas about how to run an offense.
One wonders if Martz kindly suggested in his interview that the Bears sign a #1 receiver this offseason. After all, we can assume that Martz will help make the offense better, but we can also step back and realize that the Greatest Show on Turf didn't have Devin Hester and Earl Bennett as its co-stars. There's also that whole "blocking for the quarterback" thing. Martz does not bring a magic potion with him to the sideline, but he is a known quantity and a proven offensive mind.
P.S. Does anyone else think it likely that during the dinner meeting between Cutler and Martz (which, by the way, was a ridiculous thing for the Bears to require of Martz), Martz asked Cutler to please pass him a roll, and then Cutler tossed one across the table only to see it sail over Martz's head and get intercepted by the waiter?
An addendum to Friday's post (that's right, an addendum)
I mentioned on Friday how impressive the Bulls had looked in winning four straight road games against good teams. After winning yet again on Friday night in New Orleans, the Bulls became the first team ever to win five straight road games against teams with winning records. This according to Blog-a-Bull.
Keep in mind, teams don't often play five straight road games against teams with winning records. So, would the '95-'96 Bulls have done the same thing given the opportunity? Almost certainly. So it's one of those slightly misleading statistics where at first you go, "Holy crap!" and then you go, "Wait, how often does that even happen?" I don't know the answer to that, but it's still impressive.
Too bad the Bulls pulled a Bulls by losing an obscenely winnable game in their return home against the Clippers.
Quick comment on Martz...
ReplyDeleteAt a minimum, this should make for some very entertaining Bears games. Would anything surprise us this year? Cutler could throw 40 touchdown passes, or he could throw 40 interceptions. Or he could very well do both. Win or lose, these games will be fun to watch.
Also, I think the most amusing part of all this might be when Lovie Smith STILL insists that they get off the bus running the football. That should be etched on his future tombstone.
Thanks for the comment, Matt.
ReplyDeleteIs that a death threat directed at Lovie Smith? Just kidding.
It was absurd when Lovie continued to insist that the Bears were a running team this past season. If he does the same thing in 2010, I will be convinced that he's a robot.