The year Martz's magic runs out?
J.T. O'Sullivan is not going away. If he looks halfway decent this weekend against the Packers, he's going to start Week 1 for the Mad Mikes in San Francisco. I admit that I didn't take it seriously when O' Sullivan was mentioned as a serious candidate to start early in the off-season.
O'Sullivan was a Rotoworld favorite all the way back in 2004 as a Saint, even before he won NFLE MVP honors as a member of Frankfurt. He got dealt to Green Bay in a deial to acquire Mike McKenzie, then bounced around to seven teams in five years before finding a home in Mike Martz's bosom in Detroit.
By late May this year, Mike Nolan indicated O'Sullivan wouldn't really be part of the QB race. But after Alex Smith and Shaun Hill struggled early in camp, O' Sullivan has taken almost all the first team reps. San Francisco's offense just seems so dysfunctional. The whole team does. (Except my new rookie mancrush Josh Morgan).
I'd like to see someone succeed, but this looks like the year that Mike Martz's magic could run out. It feels weird to call a Martz quarterback undraftable, but I wouldn't touch the situation in a redraft league. Something tells me that Martz, Nolan, O'Sullivan, and Smith will all be looking for new jobs this in six months.
Comments
Dude, I think you're blowing this call. At the very least, Martz deserves the benefit of the doubt when one considers what he's done in STL. I believe the SF offence is disfunctional but so was the STL offence in 1999. I'm not suggesting that JT O'sullivan is the second coming of Kurt Warner but if this team can protect the quarterback long enough for O'Sullivan to gell with his receivers on his endless supply of 10 yard timing patterns then this team may surprise. Plus he also has a healthy Frank Gore for dumping off to, which I suspect will result in a lot of broken plays going for gains rather than losses.
Posted by: TFram | August 15, 2008 09:45 AM
I think Nolan bought himself an extra year or two by doing two things: 1) Bringing in Martz puts the offense out of his hands and gives him some insulation if it bombs. Martz's celebrity may be tarnished, but the NFC West (and 49ers management) probably remembers him well; and 2) by admitting Smith was a mistake and opening up a competition at QB, Nolan is showing he won't run the team into the ground out of misplaced loyalty, which seems to be what happens to a lot of coaches who miss on high first round QBs.
I can't say whether Martz and O'Sullivan are a good match, but its a situation to monitor for a Derek Anderson-like week 1 waiver pickup.
Posted by: Chad F. | August 15, 2008 11:40 AM
How can you continue to be so bullish on Gore with such a negative point of view on SF?
Posted by: Mike | August 15, 2008 03:10 PM
I remember when we were saying pretty much the same thing about some loser named, "Kurt Warner" or something like that. That guys sucked.
Posted by: Rex Dart, Eskimo Spy | August 15, 2008 03:33 PM
"this looks like the year... martz's magic could run out."
are we gonna pretend that the last 3 never happened, then?
martz is a dinosaur in the nfl, and his offense doesn't work anymore. you've gotta run to win, and he won't do it.
Posted by: echo | August 16, 2008 10:47 AM
I'd take Martz coaching my team anyday. SF has next to no offensive talent (Gore nothwithstanding) and they'll be competitive this year. Watch and learn...
Posted by: Tfram | August 18, 2008 10:58 AM
I think Nolan will be Roling out of town. I am sorry to say. Hope I am wrong. they should have gotten Brett Favre to come to town.
Posted by: andy | August 19, 2008 12:55 AM