Martz bashers now have proof: He doesn't know the score
BY JEFF GORDON
Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
09/03/2004
I believe we all like a little self-deprecating humor in our coaches. In a field of know-it-alls and Inventors of the Sport, the ability to mock oneself is an endearing quality.
We can only take so much of the Bill Walshs and Marty Schottenheimers of the world.
However, I'd like to use this corner of cyberspace to give Rams coach Mike Martz a little advice.
Never, never, NEVER come clean during a post-game news conference. Never admit to a lapse in your cognitive powers.
Never admit you didn't know what the score was in the last minute of a game.
You know how some citizens of Rams Nation are. They doubt Martz as a head coach and disparage his game management skills. They bristle every time he burns his timeouts, as he did in the second half of the Raiders game.
They hang on his every word, waiting for him to make an incriminating statement or use an improper tone of voice. There are folks who walk around town muttering one of Martz's favorite lines, "Shoot, we'll fix that," under their breaths.
As veteran talk show host Howard Balzer noted on 1380 ESPN Friday morning, Martz should NOT have made a confession after Thursday night's 28-24 loss at Oakland.
He admitted ordering Jeff Smoker to throw a sideline pass with nine seconds left, even though the Rams needed to get in the end zone.
"I can't believe I was yelling for a field goal," Martz told reporters. "That was the dumbest thing I've ever done as a football coach."
Oh, boy. You don't want to get Rams fans going down that road.
That was tantamount to throwing out a three-hour radio call-in topic. That was like throwing fresh hamburger into the shark tank. Fans will be eager to respond to that assertion.
"Smoker was yelling at me, 'Hey coach, we're down by four!'" Martz continued. "Can you imagine Jeff Smoker telling me what the score was?"
Everybody at once: YES!
Now I'm a pretty big Mike Martz fan. He inherited outstanding talent from Dick Vermeil, but he also had to rebuild an atrocious defense.
He has accomplished plenty on his own, including winning an NFC Championship and reaching postseason play three times.
The NFL is a tough place to coach, as Steve Spurrier would tell you. Rams fans tend not to give Mad Mike all the credit he deserves.
But Martz DOES do some goofy things. He seems to become immersed in his scripted play chart, to the point of becoming impervious to all the drama swirling around him.
When asked to comment on such-and-such an incident on the sidelines, Martz often has no idea what reporters...
-09-03-2004, 05:19 PM
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