Bears QB must be open to coaching style of team's new OC. Matt Bowen
Now that Mike Martz is in the fold as the Bears offensive coordinator, is it time to focus squarely on Jay Cutler?
No more Ron Turner, no more off-tackle runs on first and second down, and hopefully, no more 3rd and 8-plus on almost every other series.
Cutler now has the play caller in Martz — a coordinator who is not going to go lightly on his franchise QB. I wrote yesterday that Martz was the right hire for the Bears because he is a brilliant offensive mind, but that comes with guidelines.
And Cutler, the QB who threw 26 INTs in 2009, is going to have to change.
Martz will break him down, from his footwork to his release point, to his primary and secondary reads on the field. He is always coaching, and even when he was the head man in St. Louis, he was always about offense.
This is his gig — but it better be the quarterback’s gig as well.
Martz was hard on Kurt Warner and Trent Green is St. Louis. Throw the ball where it is supposed to go — and on time. But, I like to think that this style of coaching — along with the dynamic play calling—is exactly what Cutler needs.
The meeting in Nashville where Martz and Cutler got together on the chalkboard and talked offense is nice, but when spring rolls around with mini-camps, OTA’s and offseason workouts, Martz will press the pedal all the way to the floor.
There will be no more private meetings and handshakes. It will be about football and near-perfect mechanics in the pocket. Basically, it could be a major wake-up call for the Bears QB.
He will be coached extremely hard and he will be asked to do things he has never done from the quarterback position. But, maybe this is what the quarterback — who cost the Bears the 2010 draft — needs.
A great play caller, but more importantly, a coach who is going to hold him accountable for every snap he takes — and that includes throwing one-on-one’s in practice and during walk-throughs. There is no time to rest with Martz, and that is the main reason I like that he is in Chicago now.
But, make no mistake about it. Now that Lovie and Angelo have their new coordinator, for the sake of their jobs, they need their quarterback to produce.
The pressure in now on Cutler. Will he deliver?
Follow me on Twitter: MattBowen41
For a look at how the Martz hire affects Chicago's other offensive players, check out this article from Bleacher Report.
Needs to produce points. He now has a coach who will let him throw the ball down field. No excuses in 2010, Jay.
I'm not a Bears fan so correct me if I'm wrong BUT!.........I seem to remember reading during the season their offensive line was awful. THIS HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH FORTE'S AWFUL SEASON ALSO.
IT ALL STARTS UP FRONT ........WINNING IS ON THE LINE !
Matt, does Martz bring in a QB coach or is he the QB coach? Great read as always.
Hi everyone. I post nearly the exact same thing on every story about Cutler/Martz, which is: why, oh why, does everyone automatically think this going to work?
Let's forget, for a second, that Martz's system produced a whole lot of yards and not much else in Detroit and SF. Let's go back and assume that the very few highly productive years he enjoyed in St. Louis were as much about him as they were about an offense that featured, depending on who you ask, five or six future Hall of Famers.
Even making that assumption, there is an immutable fact that everyone seems to simply gloss over: Martz's system demands an offensive line that can pass protect at an elite level. He likes those deep drops, runs minimal protection--does that sound like something that Chicago can accomplish, seeing as they have one of the worst o-lines in the NFL and no impact draft picks?
This is a kind of group-think at work. People hear the words "Mike Martz" and think, hey! Score a ton of points! Win Super Bowl! Joined with "Jay Cutler" they think, even better! Laser rocket arm!
And they forget that Martz's actual legacy is one of burnt bridges, picks galore (everywhere he's gone, his QBs have thrown a ton of them, and he evidently doesn't care), problems with his own players and quarterbacks who take vicious beatings. The one exception was St. Louis, and they had one of the best left tackles in recent history anchoring an excellent offensive line.
I'm baffled. I think this move has the potential to ruin Cutler's career, along with what's left of Martz's.
Hi everyone. I post nearly the exact same thing on every story about Cutler/Martz, which is: why, oh why, does everyone automatically think this going to work?
Let's forget, for a second, that Martz's system produced a whole lot of yards and not much else in Detroit and SF. Let's go back and assume that the very few highly productive years he enjoyed in St. Louis were as much about him as they were about an offense that featured, depending on who you ask, five or six future Hall of Famers.
Even making that assumption, there is an immutable fact that everyone seems to simply gloss over: Martz's system demands an offensive line that can pass protect at an elite level. He likes those deep drops, runs minimal protection--does that sound like something that Chicago can accomplish, seeing as they have one of the worst o-lines in the NFL and no impact draft picks?
This is a kind of group-think at work. People hear the words "Mike Martz" and think, hey! Score a ton of points! Win Super Bowl! Joined with "Jay Cutler" they think, even better! Laser rocket arm!
And they forget that Martz's actual legacy is one of burnt bridges, picks galore (everywhere he's gone, his QBs have thrown a ton of them, and he evidently doesn't care), problems with his own players and quarterbacks who take vicious beatings. The one exception was St. Louis, and they had one of the best left tackles in recent history anchoring an excellent offensive line.
I'm baffled. I think this move has the potential to ruin Cutler's career, along with what's left of Martz's.
Cecil, I guess only time will tell, but in the meantime it should be a fun ride to watch.
A few things, Kruetz had medical issues with his foot that no one knew about last year, healthy he might help (couldn't be any worse)....and Forte also had problems all year, recent procedure hopefully took care of it.
I don't know that everyone is thinking Martz is the savior, but he can't be any worse than Turner was....I plain don't think Turner can teach, and that's a problem.
It will be fun no doubt. Especially for Bears fans who pass out when a QB passes out 300 yards. Be still my beating heart.
Martz said in his teleconference that when he got to St. Loo people told him he had a skinny guy (Bruce), a little guy (Az) and a slow white guy (Proehl). Add to that a reject from Arena. They didn't start out as HOFers. They all had to start somewhere.
Everybody says this guy is a genius. I think that means he's pretty smart. He'll figure out what he's got pretty fast.
BearMarket, both Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt started out as first-rounders. Proehl had been in the league for about 10 years at that point. He had the best young tackle in the game, and one of the best of all time.
Maybe it will work. But Martz's history without all that talent--and those guys didn't stop being good when he left--doesn't inspire a ton of confidence.
I'm a Broncos fan, but I certainly don't wish ill on either Cutler or the Bears. I just think that Angelo brought in Cutler without the pieces in place for him to succeed; and it's gonna be hard to shore up that line without any high-end draft picks.
Also, sorry about the double post earlier. No idea what happened...
Keep in mind that Martz has a reputation for keeping the protection at a minimum. With the woeful offensive line that Chicago has, Cutler will be lucky to make it through the season.
Martz has that Gillman coaching tree in his experience, it is a huge influence in his game planning and calls. That means he brands certain items, certain strengths, and calls on that to the point you know it's coming.
That actually fits a lot of Cutler's own persona, perhaps dangerously so. Give the gunslinger another pistol, odds are he'll shootout the lights on your scoreboard.
Very good article.
Thanks
@Cecil - you are multiple posting most likely because you are hitting the refresh button. That's what happens.
Re your points they are good ones. Hard to argue.
Re the OL - Martz demands that tackles block one on one. We think Chris Williams can do it. Time will tell. RT more of issue.
Re the WRs - Martz doesn't care if they are slow, fast, big, small, etc. He cares about one thing - can they beat the CBs. He said the Bears receivers are diamonds in the rough. We'll see.
One thing is for sure - these guys will be running routes in their sleep. Makes my head explode. Devin Hester, come on down!
It can't be any worse for Cutler in Chicago. There might be some transitional period while everyone gets used to one another but I think there should be a decent amount of improvement over the first season for Martz and Cutler.
Where will Peyton Manning end...
Velocity and throws to the left...
Who makes up this talented small-school...
A look at the most impressive...
From SEC stud to small-school...
Feb 02, 2010
01:00 PM
I should have mentioned that I agree with everything Matt writes here. My problem is that I think that the ability to throw on time is a god-given talent. It cannot be created, it can only be refined.
Due to Cutler's tremendous physical skills, he has never needed to operate entirely in the framework of an offense. Thus he has never proved he has that talent.
John Elway was in the same situation before Denver went to the Bill Walsh offense. He is one of the very rare "great athlete" QBs that was able to play within a structured system.
Steve Young would be another.
The reason that most of the successful QBs under Walsh and Martz had only moderate arms is because they would have never made it as far as they did without the talent of timing.