Mike Martz is set to be fired after today's game against Green Bay. Personally I'm wondering what the hold up is. Why let him finish? I never understood lame duck coaches. You're getting fired for a reason, and that reason is you suck. Don't let him suck another game.
I was really excited for Martz when he got hired, but his offense has grown old. In St. Louis his offense was unique, fresh, new, and exciting. Now the league has adjusted, and Martz hasn't. In today's NFL, even though QBs are dominating the stat lines, you still have to run the football. Less than 10 carries a game for Kevin Jones and TJ Duckett? Ridiculous. And have you noticed the games that we won? Yup, it's when we actually gave our backs the ball. Hmmm, interesting...
Well the rumor now is that Martz will be recruited by the 49ers because of his west coast ties. Good luck, Niners. All I know is that if he gets hired to be the O-coordinator in San Fran, Frank Gore officially drops off my fantasy board next year.
Good move Lions; I'm proud of you.
~Mikey D
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4 comments:
Their offense is abismal, but Martz isn't the only to blame. I think Martz's unwillingness to run is covering up the fact that Kevin Jones is not a starting caliber running back (ok, I said it!). Plus, Kitna is like one of those tiny bandaids that you're supposed to use on a papercut that is on your pinky. He is not going to stop the Lions bleeding. Stacey's uncle believes Stanton will be starting next year... I tend to believe he will start at least 3-4 games. The Lions will be playing the "who is our QB" game that Atlanta and Arizona played this year.
I disagree. I think Jones is a starting caliber running back, but doesn't fit Martz's system. As a coach, I think you have to work with what you are given. You are given a power running game with Jones and Duckett, and poor O-line, and a less than mobile QB in Kitna. Consistent deep pass plays and using the running back more as a receiver rather than runner just won't work- at least not with this personnel. While he has the receivers to make his system work, the rest of the pieces aren't in place.
I'm no NFL offensive genius like Martz, but it seems to me you would want to wear down defenses with Jones and Duckett, establishing the run to then set up the pass. Your early passes should be quick- slants and the such- and then go deep later in the game, utilizing the talents of Williams and Johnson. When teams know all you're going to do is chuck it down field, it's pretty easy to defend, even with the talent of the Detroit receivers.
Kitna will go into next year as the starter, and Stanton's playing time will depend on how well he does in the camps. Remember, he's coming off a season-long injury. It's not like he'd be getting starts anyway, but he'd at least be running plays in practice and the such. He's missed all of that. I'm sure we'll see Stanton sometime next year, but that'll depend more on how Kitna does. If Kitna starts strong, Stanton won't show himself until the end of the year.
Another comment on Martz's system...why not run the Lion's like Green Bay's offense if we're just going to throw it all the time? Favre has less talented receivers (in my opinion) than Detroit, but he makes quick, short, throws consistently to move the ball down field. When teams start to defend them, he goes deep to Jennings. A simple, pass happy system, but it works. Even more so with Ryan Grant establishing the run.
Kevin Jones is a starter when he's 100%. But what I really want to see is more carries to TJ Duckett. He seemed to do very well, at least the few times that I saw.
And I think Martz's system can work in today's NFL, but like Mike said, not with the Lion's personnel.
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