It's difficult to see why this man is being given another shot, but I guess when a team pegged as a sleeper playoff pick goes 5 and 11 you get pretty desperate. It just seems to me like Mr. Martz doesn't exactly play to the team's strengths. I know he's supposed to be excellent at developing young quarterbacks, but on that praise alone it's difficult to see why he's being rehired, I mean Brian Billick had the same tag, and he was still fired. Although the "Greatest Show on Turf" certainly looks great on his resume, I think people should be giving more weight to his recent failure with the Lions. Going into the season, it seemed as if they would be at least fairly competitive, and despite a 6-2 start, they managed just a 7-9 record by the end of the season.
It's a well known fact that everybody loses their edge and, for the sake of argument, let's take his two years with the Lions as more indicative of his ability (not taking into account his final, full year with the St. Louis Rams in which he went 8-8, and then the year he took off, albeit for health reasons. Given this, it has been four years since he last coached a team to above .500. In 2003 his Rams went 12-4, but lost in the NFC divisional round.) So. Mike Martz was given possible playoff talent on offense and turned in a 7-9 result, in fairness, he was only the offensive coordinator, but I'd like to do some comparisons between his Lions team and the 49er team he'll inherit in San Francisco. Before we begin, I'd like you to try to name a 49ers Wide Receiver. Is his name Darrell Jackson, who clearly made his name with the Seahawks? Now try again. Vernon Davis doesn't count. The names you might be looking for are Arnaz Battle and Ashley Lelie. Now name three Lions ones. Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams, and perhaps Mike Furrey, NFC leader in receptions last year. If you can't see my point already, it will hopefully become obvious.
This Season, A Few Offensive (No Pun Intended) Stats
2007 Detroit Lions
QB: Jon Kitna
Completion Percentage: 63.3 (14th in the League)
Touchdown Percentage: 3.2% (22nd in League)
Sacks: 51 (32nd in the League)
Yards: 4068 (6th in the League)
Touchdowns: 18 (16th in the League)
RB: Kevin Jones
Attempts: 153 (35th in the League)
Yards: 581 (38th in the League, Two Way Tie)
Average Yards Per Attempt: 3.8 (38th in League, out of players with a minimum of 6.25 attempts in games played)
Average Yards Per Game: 44.7 (42nd in League, out of players with a minimum of 6.25 attempts in games played)
Touchdowns: 10th (8th in the League)
WR: Roy Williams
Yards: 836 (34th in the League)
Receptions: 63 (34th in the League)
Average Yards Per Catch: 13.3 (39th in the League)
Average Yards Per Game: 69.7 (22nd in the League)
Touchdowns: 5
WR: Calvin Johnson
Yards: 756
Receptions: 48
Average Yards Per Catch: 15.8 (10th in the League)
Average Yards Per Game: 50.4
Touchdowns: 4
WR: Shaun McDonald
Yards: 943 (28th in League)
Receptions: 79 (22nd in League)
Average Yards Per Catch: 11.9
Average Yards Per Game: 58.9 (35th in the League)
Touchdowns: 6 (28th in the League, Seven Way Tie)
2007 San Francisco 49ers
QB:
The 49ers suffered from instability at this position all season, and thus their statistics will not be recorded. The following starters were used: Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, Chris Weinke. For the purposes of this comparison, the team can be assumed to have nobody even remotely as qualified as Jon Kitna.
RB: Frank Gore
Attempts: 260 (12th in the League)
Yards: 1102 (13th in the League)
Average Yards Per Attempt: 4.2 (23rd in the League)
Average Yards Per Game: 73.5 (15th in the League
Touchdowns: 5 (21rst in the League, Five Way Tie)
WR: Darrell Jackson
Yards: 497
Receptions: 46
Average Yards Per Catch: 10.8
Average Yards Per Game: 33.1
Touchdowns: 3
WR: Arnaz Battle
Yards: 600
Receptions: 50
Average Yards Per Catch: 12.0
Average Yards Per Game: 37.5
Touchdowns: 5
WR: Ashley Lelie
Yards: 115
Receptions: 10
Average Yards Per Catch: 11.5
Average Yards Per Game: 7.6
Touchdowns: 0
Conclusion to come tomorrow.
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