Once in a while, I’ll discuss with my therapist the gift and the curse of my brain’s desire to turn over every stone in the quest for information en route to a better understanding of things. Whether it is football-related or something else, my mind insists on trying to find answers. So when I saw that Mike Martz was chiming in on Caleb Williams’ situation, I knew I had to finish watching the clip.
In the clip below, Martz explains to former Chicago sports talker Dan McNeil how a bad situation can mess up even the most highly touted quarterback prospect:
"They get all these bad fundamentals because they're just trying to survive in there"
Former coach and current analyst Mike Martz explains how a bad offensive line and first year experience can ruin a prospect like Caleb Williams
Full Episode ➡️ https://t.co/BqUNa7WjhU pic.twitter.com/wpEd8V5kWi— BetRivers Network (@BRNPodcasts) September 25, 2024
Dan McNeil: Can a prospect โ Caleb Williams or anybody โ be ruined by a bad first-year experience?
Mike Martz: I’ve seen it many times in the league. Guys get beat up. They can’t get any help. Then what happens is they get all these bad fundamentals because they’re just trying to survive in there. What you don’t want is to go through this year trying to survive. They don’t get any better, they just go in the opposite direction. And then they get injured, they get a little gun shy. It happens all the time.
Martz goes on to name-check Steve Young as an example of a quarterback getting dropped into a bad situation (few people remember the Hall of Fame QB’s time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) before leaving for a better one (those of us of a certain age recall Young’s career with the San Francisco 49ers) and seeing their career take off. The former Bears offensive coordinator goes on to add the Bears have “a diamond” in Caleb Williams. And while that’s all fine and dandy, I can’t help but think about how Martz knows a thing or two about ruining a good quarterback due to a poor situation.
On the one hand, Martz isn’t wrong with his assessment. And that is important to point out. For all of his shortcomings in Chicago, this bit of analysis is spot on and I do not want to lose sight of it โ especially since that seems to be coming to fruition once again. But on the other hand, there is a lack of self-awareness when Martz discusses these things that makes me, as a Chicago sports fan, want to jump in a lake and not be found.
With all due respect to Martz (who had a wonderful coaching career with the St. Louis Rams), there is a part of me that can’t help but think that the last person I want to hear from is someone who actively worked to de-rail Jay Cutler’s quarterbacking career in Chicago with seven-step drops behind a porous offensive line. Or did we just whitewash those years away because he wears an analyst hat now?
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Don’t get me wrong. I think having some of these ex-coaches in the booth or on shows serving in an analysis capacity is good for the game and good for fans who want to learn more about the game they love. But it is tough to take certain coaches-turned-analysts seriously when they didn’t take the advice back then that they are dishing out today. Maybe this is a “do as I say, not as I did” kind of thing. But still … the lack of self-awareness bugs me.
For the sake of fairness and balance, I’ll say this: I hope that guys like Mike Martz and others continue to bang the drum and sound off about the Bears’ situation around Caleb Williams. What was once championed as a good situation to step into is now looking suspect. Sigh. What’s old is new again.
Don’t get it twisted. Chicago’s football team came into the year with quality pieces in place around the offense. Offensive tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright were well-regarded by analysts and insiders around the league. So was left guard Teven Jenkins. The wide receiver trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze were supposed to strike fear in the hearts of defenses. But through three games, the improvements on the roster around the quarterback haven’t hit their stride. This isn’t to say that they can’t, it’s just that they haven’t at this point. And that bums me out.