Even Mike Martz Is Taking Shots At Matt Nagy And Ryan Pace Now
It is interesting how many people are throwing criticisms in the direction of GM Ryan Poles. They can’t believe he failed to throw every available resource into the offense to help Justin Fields during the off-season. He is a dead man walking in their eyes. They so ignore the context. Poles inherited that bad roster mere months ago. He had modest spending money and no 1st round pick. Yet he was somehow supposed to rebuild the oldest roster in the league. He didn’t make the mess. His job was to clean it up. Mike Martz seems to agree.
The former Bears offensive coordinator wrote a column recently for The 33rd Team. In it, he was tasked with ranking the four quarterbacks in the NFC North. Fields was dead last on his list. His reasoning was simple. The guy had zero help around, even going so far as to call it the worst assembly of offensive talent since the 0-16 Detroit Lions in 2008. Based on his comments, it isn’t hard to see where his criticisms were directed.
“I also have questions about whether he can really react fast. I think he’s a talented guy as a passer, but you don’t know how to evaluate him because he just doesn’t have anything around him.
And they were so bad coaching-wise. The head coach there (Matt Nagy) didn’t know what he wanted to do with him. It’s a no-win situation, and I feel bad for the kid. He needs to be on a good team where he can back somebody up for a year or two.
If he got to someplace like San Francisco, maybe it would work out for him, but I don’t see it working out at all in Chicago.”
Mike Martz has lived through rough experiences like that.
Most people remember him for his incredible run as an offensive coordinator and head coach with the St. Louis Rams from 1999 to 2005. During that span, they finished top 10 in points scored six times. Much of it was thanks to having outstanding talents like Torey Holt, Isaac Bruce, Marshall Faulk, and Orlando Pace leading the way. However, that changed after Martz moved on. Stops in Detroit, San Francisco, and Chicago showed how challenging it was to elevate a quarterback without a good supporting cast.
Nagy and Pace were the ones who set the foundation for this offense. Their fingerprints are all over it. Expecting Poles to remove all traces in one off-season was never feasible. Yet he and Matt Eberflus still managed to salvage the situation. New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has installed a system with a clear identity that is far more quarterback-friendly.
As for talent, Mike Martz has a point. It isn’t an inspiring group. Then again, the worst since the winless Lions feels a bit dramatic. David Montgomery is far better than Kevin Smith. Cole Kmet is more talented than Michael Gaines. As for Darnell Mooney, he isn’t Calvin Johnson, but he is still a capable wide receiver. Nobody is saying the offense will be good in 2022. It has enough to be average, which would be a nice improvement.