Size Doesn’t Matter and Other Mike Martz Nonsense
I’m requesting that Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith head over to Mike Martz’s house to do a wellness check. With the recent wave of bad thunderstorms and subsequent widespread power outages all over Chicagoland, maybe Martz is locked in an un-air conditioned house somewhere and starting to get delusional? Or maybe he’s finally showing why they call him the Mad Scientist. Either way, the Bears’ offensive coordinator seems to have lost his damn fool mind.
First, you heard the reports yesterday that Martz believes that the Bears could be ready to play in the Hall of Fame game with just 1 days notice:
"“If we report to camp and they say, `Tomorrow, you’re playing the game,’ that’ll be plenty,” Martz, Chicago’s offensive coordinator, said Wednesday.“You don’t do game plans for those games, anyway,” he said. “It’s not like a regular-season game at all. There’s not a whole lot of game preparation. You look at personnel, things of that nature, and clean things up execution-wise. The preparation for preseason games, particularly the first one, is not real hard.”"
Hey Mike, we all know that you’re a genius and don’t need weeks to prepare for a preseason tilt against the vaunted St. Louis Rams, but did you stop to think for a minute that the players (you remember them, right?) might need more than an sun-kissed Bourbonnais afternoon to get themselves ready to play a game? Did it ever occur to you that you’re a missed blocking assignment away from the Caleb Hanie Experience?
How about if we figure out where the new guy(s) are supposed to go? Maybe J’Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi need a couple of sessions to see who makes more sense where? I know that preseason games don’t count in the standings, but potential injuries, even to bottom of the roster/special teams types, could come back to haunt you for the entire season.
The latest nonsense coming from Mad Martz’s mouth was his reply about getting a big wide receiver:
"He also expects bigger things from Hester as a receiver and doesn’t necessarily think the Bears need more height there.“Size doesn’t make any difference,” Martz said. “It makes absolutely no difference. With Matt as a runner and our ability to run the ball, we get a lot of one-on-one coverage, and you have to have receivers that can beat corners one on one. And generally, the guys that can change direction and run fast — those are the kinds of guys that you’re looking for. If he’s a big guy that can do all that, that’s a rare find. A lot of times, those guys are more 5-10 guys.”"
You know who says “size doesn’t matter?” Guys who have no size? The guys that say “good things come in small packages” undoubtedly have small packages, so to speak. How many times last season did Johnny Knox come open but give up on the route or get out-muscled or out-jumped?
Jay Cutler’s accuracy is not his biggest strength, which is why he has been most successful with a “go up and get it” kind of wide receiver like Brandon Marshall to bail him out when he gets in trouble. Last season, JC exposed himself to more risk by tucking and running instead of heaving up another prayer to one of the 5-10 guys only to get intercepted. That was Jay adapting to the situation.
Mike Martz lauds his little, quick-twitch receivers from the Greatest Show on Turf. That was more than a decade ago and the league has changed, it’s adapted. Besides, Martz had Kurt Warner, a bit more accurate than Cutler. It’s time for Martz to adapt and get his quarterback, the quarterback for whom the Bears mortgaged their future, the weapons he needs to be successful.