Former NFL head coach Mike Martz was trending on Twitter and made headlines Tuesday, when he delivered a super spicy take on second-year quarterbacks Trey Lance and Justin Fields.
Though the seemingly personal attacks seemed overboard on its face, they look worse when you juxtapose them against comments he made on 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” Aug. 26.
During Tuesday’s broadcast, host Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto looked back at how Martz flip-flopped within the span of about three weeks.
“I know he’s got a very strong arm, he’s accurate,” Martz said on Aug. 26. “I love his passing skills. I don’t know how he’ll be in terms of decision making until he gets in the fire. … I just trust their judgment with him. Under pressure, when they blitz you and when they’re bringing the ranch, that’s when you find out if he’s got it or not. If he can take a hit and make that throw. If he does, then they’ve got a good one.”
Martz also added that he thought Lance was ready to take over the starting gig from Jimmy Garoppolo.
“He’s been there long enough to be ready, I promise you that,” Martz said. “He’s been with them now. He knows the offense. If he’s not ready now, he’ll never be ready. … I’m not there, I’ve never seen him practice, but I would trust that they made that move, that there’s a great belief in his ability and where he’ll be. They’ll coach him like that.”
Check out Martz's full appearance from Aug. 26 here:
Lance’s performance in sloppy conditions, which included a torrential downpour in the second half, left much to be desired. He went 13-of-28 for 164 yards, no interceptions, while rushing 13 times for 54 yards.
Apparently, this was enough for Martz to completely lose faith in Lance, and make him forget he ever said something nice about the quarterback. In a recent appearance with the 33rd Team, Martz went scorched earth on the 22-year-old.
“I’ve never seen anything about this kid that was encouraging at all,” Martz said. “He really has to plant himself to make a good throw. He’s not a quick decision guy. Everybody’s shot in the rear about him for being a mobile guy making plays with his feet – he looked like a fullback looking around to stumble trying to run the ball, to me. He’s not Lamar (Jackson). I dunno what he is. He’s not a particularly good guy running with the football and based on what I saw today, he missed two guys completely by themselves. I know it was in the rain, but quarterbacks do that, you make those throws.
“I know this – he can only go up, he can only get better. He can’t get any worse than what he did today. I’ve never liked him. I still don’t like him. I’d like to know what he does so well, because he’s not a great passer, he doesn’t have good skills. Takes him a long time to set himself and throw the football. Misses easy throws. He’s not a particularly good runner. Other than that, he’s a hell of a player.”
What does Martz really believe? Who knows, but I think it's fair to say we take any of Martz’s criticism with a grain of salt going forward.
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