Analyst Irvin dismisses Martz as 'a nut'

[RamWraith]

BY JEFF GORDON
Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
06/03/2005

Rams head coach Mike Martz has won an NFC Championship. He has led his team into postseason play again and again and again, working around a litany of serious injuries.

And yet he STILL has plenty to prove to the NFL "experts.

Take Michael Irvin, for instance. The former All-Pro receiver, now an ESPN analyst, remains as skeptical of Mad Mike as ever.

“He’s a nut,” Irvin said with a chuckle during an interview with 1380 ESPN, which will air Monday morning. “He’s a nut.

“Sometimes, Mike, it’s OK to run the ball.”

Irvin has great respect for veteran NFL coach Norv Turner, who speaks highly of Martz’s offensive acumen. “I know he has a great passing mind,” Irvin said. “I know how great his head is.”

But . . .

“Sometimes you can be a great coordinator and not great at the head coaching thing,” Irvin said.

It’s not just that Martz can get pass-happy with his play calling. Irvin also questioned Martz’s ability to support his players when they need a lift and spur them when they need a nudge. He still doesn’t believe Mike projects the head-coaching persona on the sidelines.

On other topics:

Irvin, who was on a conference call to promote his appearance in “The Longest Yard,” lined up in support of Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens –- who has chosen to hold out for a new contract just one year into his seven-year deal.

“I don’t have a problem with what T.O. is doing because of the way NFL contracts are structured,” Irvin said.

The players are bound to the club by contract, Irvin notes, but most NFL deals allow teams to cut players at any point without paying the rest of the contract.

“How is a contract binding when they can cut you any time they want?” Irvin asked.

He also suggested that receiver Koren Robinson, just cut loose by the Seahawks, is a talented player with a confidence problem.

“You don’t think he has the ability to play in this league?” Irvin said. “It’s discipline. It’s playing with discipline.”

[HUbison]

Here's a little equation for you. I call it the Irvin formula:

Michael Irvin's opinion + 180 degrees = the Truth

[RealRam]

Michael Irvin? Michael Irvin!?! Drugs, cocaine, etc. Arrests, indictments.

What a nut... :bored:

[ZigZagRam]

"Sometimes you can be a great coordinator and not great at the head coaching thing."

...and sometimes you can be a great player and not be good at this analyst thing.

This ESPN created hatred of Martz is really starting to get on my nerves. It'll make it even more sweet when he leads us back to the Super Bowl.

[general counsel]

Real Ram took the words out of my mouth. A convicted cocaine abuser caught in a hotel room with the stuff blaming it on his friends is calling martz a nut? Spend another month hanging out imbibing with your buddy nate newton on his weed farm you ignorant self righteous pathetic excuse for a human being.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[ZigZagRam]

Spend another month hanging out imbibing with your buddy nate newton on his weed farm you ignorant self righteous pathetic excuse for a human being.

That's beautiful, GC. Well said!

[RamTime]

Allow me to give my take on why Owens is holding out. When he was a free agent for the niners his soap opera departure inhibited a bidding war by teams who wanted to bid on an over-rated player like himself. The media protected the niners by throwing the entire blame into the lap of Owens agent. While the medias blanket conclusion was "Owens agent is an idiot" for failing to file for free agency by the February ## deadline. What they didn't tell you is the niners signed an addendum to Owens contract giving him til March 5th to file for free agency. The niners and Owens agent both signed the addendum 5 months after the nfl ruled that the deadline for free agency was Feb. ##. What is missing in this whole affair is the bidding war for Owens by idiotic teams that wanted him. He simply settled some type of contract with the Eagles minus the competition of a bidding war. The other little item that was swept under was the niners profited from their crime of ignoring the NFL deadline. They received a free player for Owens when they should have received nothing like every other team when a free agent leaves. Niner fans were actually upset that the charity wasn't more then they got. The niners got the equivalent of a third round draft pick for their crime while Owens lost the shot at being the focus of a bidding war. That said; one may reasonably assume that the lack of a bidding war has finally sunk into Owens and he feels he is worth more then what he signed for. Of course this conclusion of mine has been drawn from logic which as we know can be entirely off the mark when discussing the NFL.

[RamTime]

...and sometimes you can be a great player and not be good at this analyst thing.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Ohhohohohohoho To damned funny.

Gimme five ZZR.
LMAO

[jkramsfan]

Gc Could Not Have Said It Better.

[cowboyhater]

“How is a contract binding when they can cut you any time they want?” Irvin asked.

ummmm... the player gets to keep the signing bonus, and make still more money if he can still play by finding a team that wants him. Career-ending injury? You still get to keep it.

Oh, and nothing stops players from just doing a series of one-year contracts, ask Orlando Pace.

The player and his agent can negotiate whatever contract he can. I suspect a "no cut" clause would be VERY costly to the player.

[Chiledog]

Considering Irvin's past, his off-field antics, as well as his level of talent and competence required for getting a job as an ESPN analyst, I predict that the next NFL players turned ESPN analysts will be:

- Warren Sapp
- Randy Moss
- Terrell Owens

[rammiser]

I don't really have a problem with what Irvin said about Martz, I've thought that myself before. What I do have a problem with is how can you be that way towards Martz and in support of T.O. I just don't get it the guy signed a contract last year. After crying that he absolutely would not play for the Ravens. Then for some reason getting what he wanted and going to Philly, a place he said he wanted to be and signing a contract. How can you support him trying to now get more money. It has only been 1 yr of his contract that he AGREED to play for. There was no stipulation that if Philly went to the Bowl he deserved more. I gained respect for T.O. after the gutty Superbowl performance but I have no respect for T.O now. How Irvin can support him and be against Martz is beyond me. You are either on one side of the fence or the other, you can't be on both Irvin.

[jkramsfan]

great points rammiser,i have never been a to fan but you have to give him credit for his sb performance,but all that respect he gained he has now lost by his recent actions.

[r8rh8rmike]

Questioning Martz' head coaching abilities is one thing, but to call him a "nut" pushes the limit of something Irvin doesn't have, journalistic integrity. In fact, he has no integrity period. Another great hire by the keepers of the integrity torch, ESPN.

[Shadesofgrey]

Oh I can't wait for the day when Irvin slips up and gets put in the pen where he belongs...and were he'd be if it weren't for NFL money....Martz has def. had his moments, but has probobly forgotten more about football than Irvin ever understood in all his years at Dallas...the boy needs and acid and glass enema