Posts tagged MikeMartz at FanHouse

Vernon Davis Has Best Game of Season, 49ers Still Lose

Last week, Ryan Wilson pointed out how 49ers tight end Vernon Davis has been less productive under innovative offensive coordinator Mike Martz than he was under the boring and vanilla Jim Hostler. After all, heading into Week 6 action, the third-year tight end had only registered five catches, and was growing frustrated by being used in pass-protection more often than he was being used as a pass-catcher.

That said, it's only fair to point out that yesterday the 49ers used him a little more often, as he hauled in more passes than he did in the previous five games ... combined. Whether it was intentional or not, Davis was clearly a bigger part of the team's offense. Especially since he was targeted on seven passes on Sunday, while only being thrown to 11 times in the previous five games.

Davis finished with six catches for 75 yards, including a 57-yard catch in the third quarter. The final numbers were so good that it almost makes you forget he had three catches go for negative yardage, and another go for only six yards. Oops. Still, 57- and 24-yard plays are the types of things 49ers fans were expecting when the freakish athlete was taken with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft.

Of course, in the end, Davis' big plays were wasted when quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan forgot which team he was playing for, and handed the ball back over to the Eagles three times in the final six minutes.

Wait, What ... Vernon Davis Is Less Productive Under Mike Martz Than Jim Hostler?

Way back in May, during the 49ers minicamp, tight end Vernon Davis got in a scrape with teammate Parys Haralson. After practice, the Press Democrat's Matt Maiocco jokingly asked Davis if he was acting out of frustration built up from the offense-less team Mike Nolan put on the field last season.

The team has it's fourth offensive coordinator in as many seasons, and this one, Mike Martz, is known for matriculating the ball down the field, primarily through the air. Good news for Davis, right? Eh, maybe not. Through five games, he has five catches for 87 yards. I'm guessing the 49ers (and Davis, judging from this) were looking for more production from the former sixth-overall pick.

Sorry, Vernon, Martz doesn't care.
Q: But is there a sense that Davis is starting to get antsy with his production?
Martz: Is this a serious question?

Q: Yeah - he has five catches in five games.
Martz: I have no idea what he has. I don't think about those things to be honest with you. I'm sure anyone with five catches - I don't care who you are - is probably not satisfied. It's not the point, though, probably, is it? We're just trying to win. His time will come
Okay, so it's not that Martz doesn't care, he's just more interested in winning. Fair enough, particularly for an outfit that hasn't had a winning season Steve Mariucci, Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens were on the premises seven years ago. Plus, if Davis is more valuable as a run blocker then, well, that's okay, too. At least as far as Frank Gore is concerned.

Even William Clay Ford Sr.'s Son Thinks Matt Millen Should Be Canned


For reasons that defy explanation, Lions president Matt Millen didn't motivate the charges with his "stay the course" speech prior to Sunday's shellacking at the hands of the 49ers, a team that finished dead last in offensive efficiency last season.

Way to rally the troops, Matt.

Now, after being embarrassed by Mike Martz, the guy apparently not fit to run Detroit's offense, it seems as if at least one member of the Ford family has come to the realization that has plagued fans since that fateful day in 2000 when Millen was announced as the Lions new president and general manager.
Detroit Lions vice chairman Bill Ford Jr., at a Detroit Economic Club event Monday, had this to say in response to a reporter's question about the Lions game on Sunday:

"It was an embarrassment, the fans deserve better, and if I had the authority, I would have fired the general manager," Matt Millen, Ford said. When asked again a few minutes later if he would fire Millen, he said, "Yes, but I don't have that authority."

Road Chalk and Alaskan Pipelines: Week 3


Road Chalk and Alaskan Pipelines is Will Brinson's weekly NFL gambling column at FanHouse. Because everyone loves a loser.


I don't expect to be perfect every week. In fact, I rarely expect to be good. But Ed Hochuli ... you are killing me, sir. Anyway. We've chatted enough about that little debacle enough already, haven't we?

Besides, it's more fun to talk about things that are positive in nature ... like me being 3-0 this week on the STONE COLD TUNGSTEN PIPERS (shown with asterisks). That's right, Brandon Lang (*cough*0-3*cough*), bring it.

Overall, however, not as well, only going 8-7. But hey, we're slowly climbing back up the ladder of mediocrity, checking in with a season record of: 14-17. Woo.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Atlanta Falcons (-6)
I feel like the "Loser Bowl" starts us off every week, for whatever reason. Might wanna work on that, BoDog. The beauty of this FAIL-fest, is that the freaking Falcons are going to be 2-1 once it's all said and done. Additionally, we should be just about finished writing up the eulogy for Larry Johnson's fantasy career by the time the 4:15 games kick off.

Falcons -7

Epic Battle Between Seahawks and Niners Somehow Needs Overtime to Finish Failing

Let's go ahead and get the good news out of the way first. Julius Jones rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, flashing the revamped running game that Mike Holmgren had mentioned bringing back around the Northwest.

As for the rest of the news (all bad), the Seattle defense allowed: San Francisco to score 33 points, J.T. O'Sullivan to throw for 321 yards, and Isaac Bruce to catch 153 yards worth of passing. Yipes. On offense, John Carlson seems nice ... which is good because he's all they've got in the passing game. Courtney Taylor -- fresh off bemoaning his potential release -- was nonexistent, and Seneca Wallace didn't catch a single pass. That could be because he got hurt before the game, joining Logan Payne, Nate Burelson, Deion Branch and Bobby Engram on Seattle's Red Cross list.

Also, Matt Hasselbeck was a horrid 18 of 36 for 189 yards and two interceptions, probably because he has no receivers.

So, yeah, Seattle is more or less finished at this point, in all honesty. The crazy thing is that if 'Beck can somehow manage to get kind of healthy and Branch can come back, they could still win the NFC West.

Why's that? Because the Niners, who needed two shots at victory (Joe Nedney whiffed the potential walk off field goal) to topple these pathetic 'Hawks. And they're the second best team in the division. Epic fail indeed.

Mike Martz Is a Big Fan of Casting Aspersions in the General Direction of His Quarterbacks


When you hear 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz in an interview, he sounds like a reasonable, extremely intelligent football mind. Apparently, he's also an awesome actor. Because once he steps on the field, It's Mr. Hyde time.

Cardinals starting quarterback Kurt Warner regaled the San Francisco media with stories of what playing for Martz entailed during their time together in St. Louis. Basically, it was a one-way conversation involving Martz denigrating his quarterbacks. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Which segues nicely into to this revelation from Yahoo's Michael Silver (via Niner Insider):
Mike Silver at Yahoo sports wrote a provocative story about the 49ers' quarterback situation. According to sources cited by Silver, offensive coordinator Mike Martz would muttered aspersions at [Alex] Smith after feeding him a play at practice. And daily, he buried Shaun Hill in meetings. All this suggests that Martz wanted [J.T.] O'Sullivan to be the starter all along and made sure that it happened.
Eh, I'm not sure this is evidence Martz wanted O'Sullivan to win the job. Instead, as Warner pointed out, Martz is just a perfectionist who also happens to be a humongous a-hole. I'm guessing if either Smith or Hill had played better, they would be starting right now. As it turns out, they were less impressive than a journeyman and Smith's days are likely numbered.

The Once-Over: Week One



With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Cincinnati at Baltimore: Ed Reed is iffy for the Ravens, but Chad Ocho Cinco is literally insane, so that's a wash. The Bengals will be starting a converted tight end at fullback, so I hope Ray Lewis doesn't load up on pre-game carbs; he'll have a chance to eat Chris Perry on the field. Despite a new coach and rookie quarterback, the Ravens have had a more stable offseason than the Bengals, which I guess doesn't say much but could make a difference.

Jets at Dolphins: I think the storylines of this game have been discussed to the point of inducing nausea, correct? OK, good, let's just move on before my eyes start to bleed.



There's Absolutely No Way Alex Smith Returns to 49ers as a Backup in 2009

Two weeks ago, Mike Martz Nolan named J.T. O'Sullivan the 49ers starting quarterback, which meant that Alex Smith, the first-overall pick of the 2005 draft, would start the season on the bench.

Apparently, Smith, who seems like a swell guy, isn't very good at this quarterbacking thing, and consequently, he's been relegated to wearing a baseball hat, holding a clipboard, and feigning interest in the on-field goings-on once the season starts.

Come 2009, though, Smith will either be the starter or elsewhere due to his exorbitant contract. History suggests it'll be the latter.
Backup quarterback Alex Smith can't be the backup all season if he has any chance of returning to the 49ers next season, 49ers GM Scot McCloughan said today.

When asked if the 49ers might bring back Smith next season if he weren't the starter, [GM Scot] McCloughan answered, "You can't. The amount of money we're going to invest in him, he'd have to be proven that he's the guy. When we get to the offseason, he'd have to be the guy for next year."
Yeah, that's going to be a problem. Smith has all sorts of issues and it'll take an injury for him to see the field. And while that's possible -- this is tackle football, after all -- once he's under center he'll actually have to impress the front-office types enough to make them keep him around. So far, so bad on that front.

'Frank Gore,' 'Mike Martz,' 'Marshall Faulk' ... Ridiculously Overexaggerated Zeal Ensues

I just can't believe how often I've been reading about the vaunted Mike Martz effect on running backs recently. You could read that Frank Gore is going to put up over 2500 total yards if you look hard enough. The easiest -- and frankly the laziest -- argument is when people bring up Marshall Faulk. Huh? Marshall Faulk and Frank Gore are comparable? In what lifetime? Marshall Faulk was one of the most talented running backs in NFL history, and that's not because of Mike Martz. Check out Faulk's last season in Indianapolis compared to his first in St. Louis under Martz.

1998, Indianapolis: 1319 yards rushing, 10 total TDs, 908 yards receiving on 86 catches

1999, St. Louis: 1381 yards rushing, 12 total TDs, 1048 yards receiving on 87 catches

Sure, 1999 was a bit better ... so was his team. The Rams went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl while the '98 Colts sputtered to 3-13. You can't look at those numbers and point to Martz. The following season Faulk went bonkers with TDs, but the rest of the numbers were largely comparable. Again, you can attribute that to playing on a good team instead of an awful one, because the Greatest Show on Turf was an absolute machine.

'Frank Gore' 'Mike Martz' 'Marshall Faulk' ... Ridiculously Overexaggerated Zeal Ensues

I just can't believe how often I've been reading about the vaunted Mike Martz effect on running backs recently. You could read that Frank Gore is going to put up over 2500 total yards if you look hard enough. The easiest -- and frankly the laziest -- argument is when people bring up Marshall Faulk. Huh? Marshall Faulk and Frank Gore are comparable? In what lifetime? Marshall Faulk was one of the most talented running backs in NFL history, and that's not because of Mike Martz. Check out Faulk's last season in Indianapolis compared to his first in St. Louis under Martz.

1998, Indianapolis: 1319 yards rushing, 10 total TDs, 908 yards receiving on 86 catches

1999, St. Louis: 1381 yards rushing, 12 total TDs, 1048 yards receiving on 87 catches

Sure, 1999 was a bit better ... so was his team. The Rams went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl while the '98 Colts sputtered to 3-13. You can't look at those numbers and point to Martz. The following season Faulk went bonkers with TDs, but the rest of the numbers were largely comparable. Again, you can attribute that to playing on a good team instead of an awful one, because the Greatest Show on Turf was an absolute machine.
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