As a rookie in 2005, Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick played under then St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz. Things didn't end well that season for Martz, who took a leave of absence and didn't finish out the season.
But Fitzpatrick, a seventh-round pick out of Harvard, shared his insights on Martz's offense, one of five he's already played in already during his NFL career.
* On how hard it was to learn Martz's offense, as a rookie: "It was extremely difficult. I mean, it was a lot different than anything I had been exposed to. At the same time, I think that it was fun, it was a challenge. And it's obviously been very successful. For me, it provided a great base, just in terms of understanding concepts, offensive philosophy, and different way to exploit a defense. It was difficult, but I spent a lot of time trying to get it down and understanding why he was doing what he was doing, and I think it's helped me throughout my career."
* With experience, would it have been less difficult? "I think it places a lot of demands on the quarterback, and, in that sense, it's probably more difficult. But that's why, if you look over the years, he's had so many great years and so many good quarterbacks because they understand the challenge and he does a good job of teaching them."
* On the most difficult part of running Martz's offense: "I was a rookie, so I was third string on the depth chart. So I didn't really get a ton of exposure, if terms of running plays and stuff in camp. I think it's all based on muscle memory and repetition, if you don't get the chance to get the reps, than it's increasingly difficult because it's an offense that's so much based on timing and footwork. So I think the hardest thing, for me at least, was not being able to get the reps. I was the third string quarterback, so at that point it wasn't a big deal."
* On if Martz's offense was the hardest of all of them: "Yeah, but it's the most difficult I guess, in terms of maybe terminology and volume. But, at the same time, it's one of those that is the most fun because when you're on the same page with everybody, and when you have weapons, then there's a lot of different things he'll do to exploit the defense."
The more and more I hear about the Martz offense, the worse and worse of an idea it seems having brought him in. Granted, he was the ONLY option, but let's face facts: Devin Hester and Johnny Knox are not smart receivers. Heck, Hester's not even a #1 receiver, and Martz said so when he took the job. And it's been pretty obvious both guys have looked absolutely lost on occasion. Long story short, if the Bills beat the Bears this Sunday, and a coach needs to be fired due to the aftermath, I vote Martz goes first.
The ONLY thing that matters is that Martz's game MUST have QB protection, at a bare minimum. We do NOT have QB protection worth spit. NOTHING else matters, not the WR's, not the QB, not the RB's, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. Nuff said...