Nolan and Martz, a match made in game-management hell
Kawakami is all fired up, so I’m going to defer on the what-it-all-means and just add the historical record, which shows that if there is one person in the NFL who is loonier/dumber than Mike Nolan on game-day matters, it is undoubtedly Mike Martz.
Some highlights/lowlights:
–I cannot right now find the excerpt from David Halberstam’s book “The Education of a Coach” in which he details how, in the Super Bowl in January 2002, Bill Belichick knew the Patriots could keep extra defensive backs on the field because he knew Martz would never take the bait and run the ball. Frank Gore, your services will not be needed in 2008.
(Many times after that Super Bowl, Martz has said his only mistake was in not throwing it more.)
–There was this 2002 game when he passed on a game-tying field goal at the end of the third quarter, got stuffed on fourth down, and ended up losing by three points. In poker terms, he was still on tilt from the Super Bowl.
–In the playoffs after the 2003 season, Martz’s Rams — not the Greatest Show on Turf anymore, but high-powered enough to go 12-4 — trailed the Panthers by three points but reached the Carolina 15. With 30 seconds left and one timeout, Martz chose to run out the clock and take the field goal. Perhaps the most baffling decision of his entire career, if only because it was so passive, but maybe that’s the Mike Martz that Mike Nolan fell in love with.
–Martz actually did Mike Nolan a huge favor in 2005. In the season opener, Nolan’s coaching debut, the game started with a Rams player flubbing a kickoff out of bounds at his own 2-yard line. Martz challenged it. And lost. So five seconds into the game, he had already burned a challenge and a timeout for no apparent reason.
–This season, against the Arizona Cardinals, with fans screaming for weeks for Detroit to run the ball more, the Lions rushed for negative 18 yards. Negative 18. That’s minus. I don’t know if that’s Celsius or Fahrenheit, but I do know it wasn’t the ‘85 Bears they were running against.
It was perfect Martz: I’ll do it my way damn you and if you question me I’ll do it even more my way.
Which makes me understand that gleam in Mike Nolan’s eye.
This list is by no means comprehensive; I don’t think the Internet has enough room. But I just can’t wait for the Mensa-level strategic discussions destined to occur on the sidelines.
what a wasted choice … we neither have the receivers and/or the qb to fit Martz “greatest show ..”
frank gore has just left the building ..
are you nuts did marshall faulk leave the building with him as offensive coach and qb wise he made a star out of a grocery worker named warner he will be fine give him a chance
When they say ‘greatest show on turf’ they actually mean ‘greatest show on artificial turf’. Martz’ teams have never performed as well away from the domes and the fast artificial surfaces.
Whew. Now Arthur Blank can’t make the same mistake.
Are you high? Is this the best you can do–throw out a handful of decisions over a couple of years and say the guy is poor at game management? Is it my imagination or did the Rams win a Super Bowl with Martz as OC?
Yeah Martz was a real moron in that Super Bowl loss to the Patriots–the Pats blew out the Patriots by a hundred points if I remember correctly.
Get a clue. The 49ers offense will be greatly improved with Martz. Without him the Lions would have been 0-everything.
Orra, are you nuts? The 49ers are terrible, and now with Martz as your OC, the best you can hope for is 4-12….Good Luck!
“Frank Gore, your services will not be needed in 2008.” Dude, before making a ass out of yourself, you may want to actually PAY ATTENTION. Martz clearly stated that the offense will be built AROUND GORE. Ever hear of Marshall Faulk? Apparently not. If your going to pop off you sould at least know what the heck you’re talking about. Embarrassing really.