As New England inches even closer to perfection, there lies a faint memory of Mike Martz and his powerful St. Louis Rams, a team heavily favored over the underdog Patriots six years ago in Super Bowl XXXVI.
After the Adam Vinatieri field goals and
Tom Brady heroics, poor Mike Martz fell into relative obscurity and the New England Patriots kept on winning Super Bowls.
Now in the present day, here we have Martz on Mike Nolan's staff. Martz has a proven track record as an offensive guru but with a great mind comes a great ego. However, at this point, offensive stability is the main concern.
Since Alex Smith was drafted, he has had a different offensive coordinator each year that he has been in the NFL. Hopefully this time he will have Martz to learn from for a longer period of time.
Smith has now learned the West Coast Offense, the Norv Turner version of the Coryell offense, the confused "I'm lost" Jim Hostler offense, and now he will learn Martz's variation of the Coryell offense. While we're at it, we should add in the Run and Shoot and Triple Option just for fun.
I wouldn't exactly call that a recipe for offensive success, but alas we may finally have a savior.
Martz brings a General George S. Patton like swagger and arrogance to the offense that we haven't seen in a very long time. However, our personnel on offense is still a big question mark.
Martz had the likes of Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Roy Williams, and Calvin Johnson to utilize. He does have Vernon Davis and
Frank Gore to work with, but the receivers' situation needs to be addressed in the off season if we are ever to see the Greatest Show on Candlestick Slop.
Ah, what a sight that would be seeing our 49ers light up the scoreboard again.
Before we get ahead of ourselves now, the offensive line is still a gigantic concern.
Larry Allen's retirement isn't going to make things any better for this inconsistent unit. Jonas Jennings always seems to be hurt and David Baas has been slow to develop. Joe Staley seems like he could be a fixture on the line for years to come, but still has a ways to go.
The offensive line looked good on paper at the beginning of the season but vastly underperformed under George Worhop. If the Martz offense is to click, the line will need to provide enough time to get the ball downfield.
Although concerns are warranted about our personnel and Martz's ego, Nolan is apparently giving Martz full control over the offense. This will allow Martz to work his genius how he see fits without being micromanaged, although Nolan isn't a likely candidate to micromanage his offensive coordinator. Nolan has proven that he does not have much aptitude for offense and should let Martz do his thing.
George Seifert, another former defensive coordinator, let Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan do their thing with the offense and it won him two Super Bowls. Although our current talent level isn't even close to the 1989 and 1994 teams, an analogy can be drawn from the past.
Once Martz starts to put the pieces together to his new masterpiece, expect results. At this point, all we can do is speculate but we can rest assure that the offense is now in good hands.
Welcome to the Mike Martz era.
Tight end George Kittle values the presence of Brock Purdy in the San Francisco 49ers' huddle. The quarterback has played efficiently, contributing to the team's three consecutive wins following a costly October slump.
Purdy is on track to become the first 49ers quarterback to surpass 4,000 passing yards since Jeff Garcia did so in 2000. In fact, his projected 4,437 yards would set a franchise record.
"I think I can speak for everybody on our offense, we're continually impressed with the things that Brock does all the time," Kittle told Jim Rome on Tuesday. "His consistency every single day, the relationship that he's built with all of our skilled players, all the guys that he gets the ball to, it's pretty amazing. And we all feel that [comfort] with
The San Francisco 49ers will undoubtedly rise to the top of most—if not all—power rankings this week after their 42-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It will be hard to find anyone who doesn't view the Bay Area squad as the Super Bowl favorite after 13 weeks of NFL play.
San Francisco is proving to be a balanced team, equally impressive on offense and defense. Even 49ers defenders are in awe of the firepower on the offensive side of the football.
"I think the offense showed what we capable of when we're fully healthy," cornerback Charvarius Ward said in the locker room after the game.
The San Francisco 49ers will be well-rested when they arrive at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday to face the Philadelphia Eagles. The team is riding high from a big Thursday night Week 12 win against division-rival Seattle Seahawks and has dominated over opponents in recent weeks.
The 49ers aim to extend their impressive three-game winning streak this weekend by beating the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, ending their Super Bowl hopes. This presents an opportunity for them to climb within striking distance of the top seed in the NFC playoff picture. A loss will make it challenging for the 49ers to overtake the Eagles in the standings.
While Sunday's matchup could serve as a playoff preview, the 49ers are focusing on the present rather
Prepare to rally behind the Las Vegas Raiders or the New York Giants as the San Francisco 49ers look to secure a playoff spot in Week 14 with a helping hand from one of these two teams.
First, the 49ers must handle business at home against the Seattle Seahawks. The two teams met in Week 12 at Lumen Field, with San Francisco coming out on top 31-13 in the NFC West clash. The 49ers enter the Week 14 rematch as a 10.5-point favorite.
Even with a win, San Francisco still needs to see a victory from either the Raiders or the Giants to guarantee their postseason spot with four games remaining.
The Raiders play host to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. However, Minnesota
