life-long chicagoan. never left cook county. too scared.
There's never been this much ado about the Bears offensive coordinator.
Mike Martz matters more than which Republican gets elected senator in November. (And it will be the GOP as long as the President keeps pushing health-care while unemployment is in double digits.)
Mike Martz, who got the job today, is the first certified genius to coordinate the Bears offense. The Bears have
had defensive geniuses. George Allen, Buddy Ryan, Lovie Smith. But never a guy on offense. Ok, whoever it was who "thrilled the nation, with the T-formation," as the Bears song go, must have had a creative thought or two, but we don't want to hear the name of Sid Luckman again. Besides, they didn't have coordinators back then, did they? George Halas coordinated everything, including paying receivers after each reception, or so the legend I just made up has it.
There are no excuses. Matt Forte not a quick enough back for a Martz offense? No excuse. The Bears without a number one wideout? No excuse. Martz did it in St. Louis and supposedly has been tempered by going to Detroit, San Francisco and even Nashville on Saturday to make peace with Jay Cutler. Martz did not get off the bus running in Nashville to Cutler's house. He got off Air Coryell but supplicating.
If he could get Jon Kitna to throw for 4,000 yards, he must discipline Cutler into doing it with half the interceptions he threw this year.
He's got some advantages. Cutler has a year in Chicago, where he discovered two Devins and re-discovered his Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett as well as his tight end Greg Olsen in the last couple of games.
I'm not sure the Bear offense can be more explosive than it was in the last two games of the season when Cutler threw eight touchdown passes against one interception. But it would be nice to have anywhere near that consistency in the first 14 games.
There is only so much Martz can teach Cutler. Jim McMahon the other day said he had seen Cutler a couple of times and observed, "You don't have to throw it through the wall to be a good quarterback in this league. You need timing and instincts. You can't teach instincts. You either got 'em or you don't."
Martz must think Cutler has the instincts even though Martz, as an NFL tv analyst this year, ripped Cutler.
Did Cutler have too much a say in the decision? Who knows? Will Brett Favre have too much a say when he's permitted to decide that he wants to be a Viking two days into training camp? Is Cutler as good as Favre? Sure he is. Cutler could have led the Vikings with Adrian Peterson in the backfield and the Viking defense supporting him. And Cutler also could have thrown that crazy interception to end the season.
But Cutler is not all-powerful. Like Peyton Manning, Cutler will have to stew on the sidelines next season and watch the Bears' perfect record disintegrate in the last two regular season games so that he can be healthy for the Super Bowl that everyone was disappointed he didn't get the Bears to this year.
3 Comments
goodoldnumbernine said:
what about me????
I guess I should have checked your site tonight before wisecracking about you on the Feder blog, oops.
dalbefilms said:
Hello, Mr. Wolf - I made a point of listening to the Score on Saturday, even though I rarely ever listen to any sports radio, simply to listen to you. You did a terrific job - you're still one of the most fascinating voices on the air - as well as in print. I am disheartened however, at how freely you're allowing your more stinging conservative or mean-spirited comments to fly out of your mouth or your keyboard. You seem to have adopted a "Who cares anymore" attitude that comes across more surly and bitter than honest or funny. Your comment on Rob Feder's blog the other day about dealing with the out-of-wedlock children born to Hispanics - it felt out of place and, quite frankly, like the kind of jab a racist would like to make. I wish you'd turn your anger and that amazingly creative brain of yours into more constructive outlets. Artists who don't vilify can still have teeth. And I know you feel you still have to be like the kid in high school who refused to walk out with the other students during their protest - but there's less anger in the group, and you may yet find a way that allows you to be who you are.
A concerned but loyal fan.
dalbefilms said:
Mr. Wolf - nice use of the word "deign" on Rob Feder's comments page today. What time will you be on the Score this Saturday and Sunday? (Hopefully this weekend you'll catch each "Godfather" reference as it comes by. But I loved how you dragged in kicking and screaming all the other movie references! Really! More movie analogies please! Actually, on that note - a bummer to lose Jean Simmons this week, huh? Loved her in Spartacus, Elmer Gantry, Guys and Dolls (a favorite of yours as well), and the hypnotic Black Narcissus, which I'm going to be using in a film presentation next week.)
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