It is presumed, at least for the sake of this posting, that once he was hailed as a genius, Albert Einstein never had to re-prove himself as such. Nor did Stephen Hawking, or any of the panel from “Stump the Professor” (warning: obscure Detroit pop culture reference, so don’t sweat it if you went, “Huh?”). No, I don’t think Einstein or Hawking, or anyone else to whom the word “genius” has been properly applied, ever had to go back and remind us why they were being hailed.
In sports we like to use the word “genius” haphazardly — sometimes even, dare I say it, sarcastically (gasp!). This morning, with NFL training camps just about to get underway, I’m not sure where the meaning of “genius” lies when it comes to offensive mind Mike Martz. But I’m thinking it’s edging toward sarcastic, because I’m almost certain that it was probably initially used haphazardly.
Martz, the erstwhile Lions offensive coordinator in 2006 and 2007, has taken his voluminious playbook and “genius” mind (there’s that word again) and headed west, to infiltrate the mind of poor Alex Smith and the rest of his San Francisco 49ers offensive teammates. 49ers head coach Mike Nolan is the latest to gamble that Martz can do for him what he once did for the St. Louis Rams, some nine years ago. The Lions took that gamble in early 2006, courting Martz with everything but chocolates and roses with Super Bowl week in Detroit as the backdrop. He turned the Lions down, Martz did, but that didn’t stop new head coach Rod Marinelli from pursuing the genius relentlessly, confident that Martz was the man to inject life into an offense teeming with wide receivers but with a brand new quarterback at the helm, Jon Kitna.
So Martz breezed into town, clearly regaling in his reputation as a genius — and with a playbook the size of the New York City yellow pages in tow, as if to prove his brilliance in terms of quantity, if not quality.
After two seasons in Detroit, about the only thing we could conclude definitively about Martz was that, if he was good at anything, it was at being in control and being less-than-amenable to suggestions from the rank-and-file, or from his boss. His playbook clogged the Lions’ players minds and mystified some of the brutuses in the trenches. Yet, for all of its content, Martz’s playbook seemed to somehow ignore something intricate to a football offense — namely, the running game.
Smith: “Whaa?”
By the end of last season, about the only player who publicly endorsed Martz was Kitna — and with back-to-back 4,000 yard passing seasons, that was no wonder, really. It was less than surprising when Martz was given the ziggy by Marinelli, and maybe even less so when Martz was snapped up by the 49ers — if only because once you get labeled in the NFL, good or bad, it takes some time to shed it. Nolan, we presume, did his due diligence on Martz and knows what he’s getting himself into. Whether the Lions did is always open to conjecture.
The Lions have a new offensive coordinator, Jim Colletto. I’m tempted to call him a simpleton, and in doing so, I mean no offense. But Colletto, he says, is all about paring down the playbook and relying more on the running game. The Lions drafted a huge offensive tackle with their no. 1 pick, Gosder Cherilus, as if to emphasize this new way of thinking. Substance instead of flash.
I saw a photograph the other day of Martz, in the 49ers colors and wearing the gratuitous team baseball cap, instructing Smith, the fine young San Francisco quarterback. I couldn’t tell through his helmet and face mask whether Smith had a faraway look on his face.
I guess we’ll find out whether he did once they start playing the games for real.
