Martz and a Cadre of Assistants Hired
February 9, 2006 on 4:32 pm | In Uncategorized |The Lions finally got their man. It will be intersting to see how this story unfolds. Will Kurt Warner or Jamie Martin (both familiar with Martz’s system) be brought in to aid Joey Harrington in learning Martz’s system? The Lions have been decidedly non-committal about Joey’s future since Marinelli has been hired. I expect that that will soon change. Once the Lion’s have decided on Harrington, a lot of things will be much clearer. Free agency begins soon, the Lions likely will attempt to retain Kalimba Edwards and Jeff Backus above all of their other free agents.
Along with Martz, the Lions hired offensive assistant Shawn Jefferson, Tight Ends coach Pat Carter, Running Backs Coach Wilbert Montgomery and Defensive Line Coach Joe Cullen. Carter and Montgomery coached with Martz in St. Louis. Martz will also be the QB’s coach. With Martz’s past success in developing Trent Green, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger it will be interesting to see if he can reproduce similar results from whomever the Lion’s choose as a starting QB next season.
The league is entering a very tumultous era. The owner’s are experiencing disagreements over how to handle the distribution (or lack thereof) of local revenues. The socialist NFL tries to keep a level playing field amongst owners but with the success of owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder in generating local revenue as compared to owners like Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson, the league is entering a disharmonious time period.
On top of that, the player’s and owner’s have not renewed their collective bargaining agreement. Should this contract lapse, the 2007 season will be played without a salary cap. Also, the player’s union has threatened to dissolve, which would threaten the NFL’s anti-trust exemption that it currently enjoys. One can only hope that the player’s and owner’s will bridge their differences so that the world’s most successful professional sports league is not weakened in a labor dispute, strike, etc.
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K man, (sorry i posted in wrong place previous)
Bottom line, give (read little) credit to the organization for moving decisively on clearing out Mooch (to the chagrin of us native Michiganders that wanted him to succeed) and hiring a tough minded accomplished football guy like Rod M…with Martz in the mix now, at least things will be entertaining…I mean even if we suck again…we can still watch for signs of a leadership battle between Rod and Mike! Who knows, we may even see a little bitch slap fight some Sunday…
On to the point of my post…you’ve got to agree that job numero uno is to completely re-tool the O-line…draft priority, F.A., whatever…it all starts there. More specifically…
Backus…gone
Raiola…don’t make me laugh
Woody…c ya
Butler…cryin’ over here now
DeMuling…possible keep
Pollard…one more year
Now don’t tell me I’m throwing the baby out with the bathwater here…these guys simply did not produce…if we’re startin’ over, let’s really start over. Rod’s forte is line play…so, let’s go get a group that’s hungry to win and wants to work together. Just build it baby!
Job #2…Martz quickly determines if Joey should goey…much like he got rid of Toney Banks when he arrived in St. Lou…don’t be suprised to see Kurt Warner arrive in Detroit either.
What say you?
Comment by Jon — February 10, 2006 #
I think you are expressing a popular, if unreasonable opinion in regards to Joey and the O-line. In successive seasons the line has performed much better down the stretch than during the beginning. I believe that this is an indication of poor preparation and unfortunately, a sign that the players seem to perform when the pressure of the playoffs are off of their soldiers.
In regards to the line, DeMulling and Loverne both have been big mistakes. I read in Pro Football Weekly that scouts think that DeMulling was attempting to play injured. The Lions linemen were supposedly unhappy with former line coach Pat Morris’s schemes. That being said, they quite obviously have a job to do. The biggest failing of the Mariucci regime was an inability to adjust to the abilities and skills of their personnel rather than trying to force a round peg into a square hole.
Damien Woody draws my ire because he has been overweight, attempts to be a team spokesperson, when his performance has been nowhere near what the Lions are paying him for. Re-signing Backus has to be a priority. Between the draft and free agency, their are few viable replacements. I would like to see some quality O-Line depth added, but the Lions have little room to attempt addition by subtraction.
In regards to Joey, if he won’t renegotiate his contract he’s gone. The Lions can ill afford to lose him, yet, they can’t afford to retain his services at his large cost. I shudder to think if the Lions have to find 2 or more QB’s this offseason. Even if the Lions chose to draft Jay Cutler, they would STILL need two QB’s if they didn’t choose to keep Joey. I can’t honestly believe that they’d retain Orlowsky under those circumstances. You need a starter and a semi-dependable backup. Otherwise, 2-14 here we come. I don’t think that Lion’s fans are ready for that nightmare scernario! Thanks Jon…..Steve
Comment by steve — February 14, 2006 #
Do you think the Lions will finally draft a Wide Receiver this year?
Comment by MillenManMarcher — February 17, 2006 #