We get off the bus running!!

[Wesson44]

We are going to be a better offensive football team this year with Martz!!!

 

 

 

Everything starts in the offensive line. Everything. They allow you to keep your defense off the field, to protect the quarterback, to do what you want to do on offense. When that’s established—which we’ll get done—then I think more than anything else, you get off the bus and really you are getting in a position to hit them right in the mouth.”

 

Martz is known primarily for coordinating an explosive Rams offense that was dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Led by quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, St. Louis boasted a potent passing attack.

 

But the Rams could also run the ball. In Martz’s first three seasons in St. Louis—as offensive coordinator in 1999 and head coach in 2000 and 2001—Faulk rushed for 1,381, 1,359 and 1,382 yards—the three highest totals of his illustrious 13-year NFL career—and 37 touchdowns.Asked about the perception that he loves the pass and despises the run, Martz said: “I am very pragmatic in the approach. I think you have to analyze your personnel, the circumstances and the situation, like [playing in] Soldier Field, and look at what you have and the conditions and then go from there.

 

“Really it’s just about winning games and doing whatever it takes to take advantage of your strengths.”

 

Despite Smith’s run-first mentality, the Bears threw 563 passes and had 373 rushing attempts in 2009, ranking 23rd in the NFL in total yards, 29th rushing and 17th passing.“It’ll be a change, we know that,” general manager Jerry Angelo said about Martz’s arrival. “Philosophy, we’ll just wait and see what Mike does. Obviously, we know what Mike’s reputation is. He likes to throw the football. He’s very aggressive in play-calling. He runs an attacking offense.

 

[balta1701-A]

The big problems with comparing the Bears' running game and the Rams's...Marshall Faulk vs. Matt Forte, and Orlando Pace vs. Chris Williams.

[Wesson44]

The big problems with comparing the Bears' running game and the Rams's...Marshall Faulk vs. Matt Forte, and Orlando Pace vs. Chris Williams.

I see your point but Forte and Faulk have similar running styles. Pace and Williams there is no comparing right now

[defiantgiant]

I see your point but Forte and Faulk have similar running styles. Pace and Williams there is no comparing right now

Yeah, of our current players, I think Forte is probably the most tailor-made for Martz's system. He probably won't get as many carries as he's had in the past (which could be a good thing, given how dinged up he was after his rookie year) but he'll be getting a ton of receptions. Didn't Faulk break 80 catches in a season under Martz? Forte being as smooth a receiver as he is, I think he'll do well in a Martz offense.

 

The thing I'm worried about isn't Williams: he looked perfectly fine once he shifted back to left tackle, and his lateral agility is his biggest asset. He should be pretty well cut out for the deep drops that Martz has run in the past. My worry is the rest of the line. Omiyale could be OK at left guard if he gets his technique down; as much as I hated him early on, he was playing pretty well by the end of the season. The rest of the line, though, I really don't know. Kreutz and Garza both seem to be on the decline, and Shaffer is definitely not a great pass-protector...the Browns found that out the hard way.

 

If Martz is going to call for as many deep drops as he has in the past, he and Tice better be able to develop James Marten. Marten's a former left tackle, he's very athletic, and his pass-blocking was always better than his run-blocking. He'd be the closest thing we have to a pass-protecting right tackle, but he's a huge question mark right now.

[chitownman]

I have to agree that I am not concerned with Forte or who is brought in to spell him. I am more concerned with our offensive line. I agree as much as I have loved Kreutz, he definitely is winding down a bit for as long as he has been in the league. The rest of the line expect for maybe Williams at this point is a bigger concern and the question is whether or not Tice will be able to get through to these guys to help them improve enough once the 2010 regular season gets started.

[nfoligno]

IMHO, those stats are a tad deceptive. Faulk was awesome, and due to his incredible 5.5 ypc avg, their rushing totals were not bad at all, but that doesn't necessarily indicate how much they actually ran the ball.

 

1999

 

Faulk had 253 carries, and the Rams backs had a total of 400 carries, which ranked them 17th in the leauge in rushing attempts, compared to their 530 pass attempts.

 

2000

 

Faulk again had 253 carries, while the Rams had 340, ranking 26th in the league, vs 587 attempts.

 

2001

 

Faulk had 260 carries w/ a team total of 390, ranking 22nd v 551 pass attempts.

 

Now, this may not surprise many as this was a passing offense, but at the same time, consider how often they had a big league, and how early they had such a league, and yet they continued to pass the ball.

 

Due to Faulk, and his great ypc avg, their overall rushing totals were solid, but when you look at their attempts, they were between middle of the pack and low in terms of attempts.

 

We are going to be a better offensive football team this year with Martz!!!

 

 

 

Everything starts in the offensive line. Everything. They allow you to keep your defense off the field, to protect the quarterback, to do what you want to do on offense. When that’s established—which we’ll get done—then I think more than anything else, you get off the bus and really you are getting in a position to hit them right in the mouth.”

 

Martz is known primarily for coordinating an explosive Rams offense that was dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Led by quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, St. Louis boasted a potent passing attack.

 

But the Rams could also run the ball. In Martz’s first three seasons in St. Louis—as offensive coordinator in 1999 and head coach in 2000 and 2001—Faulk rushed for 1,381, 1,359 and 1,382 yards—the three highest totals of his illustrious 13-year NFL career—and 37 touchdowns.Asked about the perception that he loves the pass and despises the run, Martz said: “I am very pragmatic in the approach. I think you have to analyze your personnel, the circumstances and the situation, like [playing in] Soldier Field, and look at what you have and the conditions and then go from there.

 

“Really it’s just about winning games and doing whatever it takes to take advantage of your strengths.”

 

Despite Smith’s run-first mentality, the Bears threw 563 passes and had 373 rushing attempts in 2009, ranking 23rd in the NFL in total yards, 29th rushing and 17th passing.“It’ll be a change, we know that,” general manager Jerry Angelo said about Martz’s arrival. “Philosophy, we’ll just wait and see what Mike does. Obviously, we know what Mike’s reputation is. He likes to throw the football. He’s very aggressive in play-calling. He runs an attacking offense.

 

[defiantgiant]

Yeah, I think that Martz will run the ball somewhat often when he's got a very effective run game and defense, and he's proven that he'll run it next to not at all if he gets behind or the run game stalls. So if Tice can keep the run-blocking effective, maybe we'll get some runs in there. I'm not saying we need to be a run-first team at all, and that 's certainly not the way the league appears to be going, but we've got to have some balance. If Martz wants to go 60-40 pass, so be it. But it can't be 75-25 pass like we've seen before. That makes the offense one-dimensional.

 

EDIT: So I'm listening to Martz's press conference now, and one thing jumped out at me...the receiver he mentions the most, the one he seems to be the most excited about, is Johnny Knox. He calls the guy a "diamond" and uses his name when talking about sending a receiver on a streak route for a touchdown. I may be reading way too much into this, but he also specifically mentions using Hester both outside and in the slot. I'm not trying to get my hopes up, but a package with Knox and Aromashodu on the outside and Hester in the slot could create some serious mismatches.

 

Also, I was kind of encouraged by the way he talked about Olsen. Martz mentioned that most of his TEs in the past have been big blocking tight ends, and so he used them as such. He also made it sound like he has a model (Kellen Winslow, Sr.) for how he wants to use Olsen in his offense, and that model is different than what he's done with TEs in the past. He came right out and said "Greg's a different kind of player," which makes me think he gets it.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

The big problems with comparing the Bears' running game and the Rams's...Marshall Faulk vs. Matt Forte, and Orlando Pace vs. Chris Williams.

Forte's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield though act as a safe running play so I think we'll see a very very productive season from Forte and whomever his back-up ultimately is (and I expect it to be a very good back-up, ie a Chester Taylor or LT).

[Pixote]

Forte's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield though act as a safe running play so I think we'll see a very very productive season from Forte and whomever his back-up ultimately is (and I expect it to be a very good back-up, ie a Chester Taylor or LT).

 

I consider a "short" pass to a RB out of the backfield or in the flat the same as a running play. It is just a "looooonger" handoff, LOL.

[AZ54]

I consider a "short" pass to a RB out of the backfield or in the flat the same as a running play. It is just a "looooonger" handoff, LOL.

 

Yesterday I was telling my son (said Martz won't run enough) about how the 49ers used to pass as often as Martz does with his offense. Walsh used to hear about it but then they started scoring and nobody could stop them and suddenly everyone converted to saying the 49ers replace the run with their short swing routes to the RBs. All you have to do is be successful and the naysayers go away.

 

Even though I wanted him as our OC I'm not saying Martz will be successful, much less wildly successful just that I'll grade him on his results when the games begin. After all what was the point of Turner running Garrett Wolfe up the middle against the Vikings? Offense's goal is to score points. Defense's goal is to stop the opponent from scoring.