Mike Martz just spoke for a few minutes to a gaggle of reporters. He spoke about the offense, what is expected from the quarterback and his thoughts on being upstairs, where he'll call plays with the 49ers.
When asked if he's satisfied with what he's seen from the quarterbacks, Martz said, "Right now, it's organized chaos and they're just trying to learn all this stuff."
He said after seven or eight days of practice, things will start to click and the results will become more noticeable.
Here's more notes and quotes from Martz:
--On the 49ers' two-TE tandem of Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker: "What makes it hard on the defense is the fact that they're substantial blockers. If they weren't, it would have a different affect on the defense. If Frank Gore was not back there . . . all those things with that inside receiver, you've got a blocker, you got a runner, you have different structures of defense where a vertical tight end now can become a serious threat."
--On how he can get more production out of Davis: "Well, 52 (catches) is pretty good production. That's really good for the tight end position. What we'll try to do with him is try to take advantage of his speed more, probably, than what they've done in the past. We'll try to get him down the field, more or less like a wide receiver -- move him out, move him around. At first it was so different for him, but he's really adapted well to it. He's really kind of thrived with it."
--Martz talked to Smith, reminding him to bend his knees after some early passes missed. Here's what Martz had to say about that: "He gets stiff-legged sometimes and he's not quick with the ball. I think he thought the receiver was going to do something. We're still trying to get on the same page with some of those things."
--On whether Smith or Hill reminds him of anybody he's had in the past: "No. They're just different. They're all different."
--On how much of the offense has been installed: "The basis of the offense is in. We've got some three- and four-wide receiver things that we haven't put in yet. By and large, the system and how we do things is in. And we kind of tinker as we go through it.
"That's why . . . when you asked that question about (Smith), that's why he gets kind of . . . he's not sure and won't turn it loose. He's guessing where (the receiver) is going to be, instead of being real positive about it. That's when he gets stiff-legged."
--So there's a correlation between knowing the offense and a quarterback's mechanics? "Oh, no question. If you're not sure, then you get off balance and stiff, and you're not aggressive and sure and let that thing go."
--On what we'll see Frank Gore do this season that we haven't seen in the past: "We'll use him everywhere we can in the running game, of course. And then in the passing game, we'll use him every way possible, as a deep threat, a short threat and a crossing threat. Watching him out there, he's really comfortable with himself. We have to be careful not to overload him and take away from what he's there for and what he really does well, which is run the football. But we'll create some scenarios for him, too."
--On fullback Zak Keasey: "I think Zak has a real good feel for getting through traffic and getting on linebackers and DBs as a blocker. He's unusual that way. It's kind of a lost art, if you will. He sees things and reacts to things very, very well -- very quickly. He's got such good body control, he can avoid and get into little tiny holes and get to a linebacker. It's hard to find guys who can do that. He does that very well. Mo (Moran Norris) is more of a real powerful, get-on-that-line-and-blow-them-up kind of deal. So theyr'e different kinds of fullbacks, but they're both effective."
--When you look at your two TEs, Davis and Walker, how would you expect defenses to try to counter that? "I don't know. I really don't know because we haven't gotten going with it, yet. I guess that'll all work out. The one thing that it's premised on is that they're both substantial blockers. If they're not, they'll be treated like receivers. We got to make sure that those guys are first-and-foremost blockers. They understand that. And, of course, defensively, you have to create run defenses with Frank back there as opposed to more coverage-oriented things. If they're not real good blockers, it makes it easier on the defense."
--On Isaac Bruce helping install the offense: "More than anything, for the young receivers back there, when we're going through these routes, particularly against press coverage, he'll quietly talk to these guys about how to beat it and the confidence it takes and changing directions and the technical aspet of it. I think he's a help there. There are some things he can do that he can't teach anybody else. The demonstration is the most significant part of it."
--Martz said he plans to call plays from the booth. "I think it's the best spot, the most effective spot, for me. With Ted (Tollner) on the staff to deal with quarterbacks, we got plenty of guys on the sideline, I'll be more a little more comfortable calling plays from up there."
--Do you wish the quarterbacks here would go downfield more than what they've been showing in practice? "I'm never happy with the choices at this time in camp, especially with new quarterbacks. You got to be very decisive and most of the time they do a good job with that, but we're not where we need to be. They don't have those kinds of choices to make. There is no judgment. We're not going to do what they want to do because they feel they should go down the field or check down. It doesn't work like that. You have to identify the defense and make a real quick decision based on what we've told them to do, and you have to stay with that. There's no interpretation.
"Here's how this works: Our quarterbacks don't come out and we don't give them . . . you can throw the ball deep, you can throw it intermediate or you can check it down. They don't have those options. Here's what the play is. The ball should go here with this coverage. Make the throw. We don't give them that kind of flexibility. It is very, very, very structured and rigid, and that's the only way this works. They don't have that (flexibility) based on how they feel. They have to read and see what the defense does and make that decision off that. It's not a judgment of what they want to do. It's a reaction to what the defense has taken away."
--When your QBs throw the ball, are they throwing to a spot or a receiver? "It depends on the play. There are times when they throw the ball and you won't see anybody within 10 yards, and there he is. When we give them a play, we're giving them a set of things they need to do. Here's your first, second and third choice and the read part of it comes back in that order and you cancel it as you go. So that has to be done really fast."
--Do you like the shotgun formation? Is that part of the offense? "We do have some shotgun. We're not quite there yet. That's one of the last things we deal with. That moves more toward two-minute (situations). I'm not a real big fan of shotgun because we like to get the ball out real fast. I like to have the ball under center with a chance of handing it off. Shotgun eliminates some of that."
--How about no-huddle? "I like no-huddle a lot." He said the team would start working on that along with shotgun as part of the two-minute package.
--Martz said he thought it would be more of an issue to have two quarterbacks competing and sharing snaps in training camp. "It's not an issue. I've never done this before, and I was curious about it, but it's not an issue."
--Do you have a theory on do-overs at practice? "I think when there's a mistake at the line of scrimmage with a snap count, somebody jumps offsides, you have to do that over. But if you run a play and it's not done right, there's a place for when they run the play and you watch, if they made a mistake because they didn't understand how to do that against that structure defense, a do-over is good because you can do it over and correct it. Most of the times do-overs happen in the film room and you come out and do it again the next day. There are sometimes it's necessary to re-load it and do it again because somebody completely misunderstood how to do that. You want to get that fixed for everybody right away. It doesn't happen very often, but there's a place for that."
* * *
I've gotten tons of grief for the shirt I decided to wear this morning on national TV. Check it out, as I speak with Sage Steele about the 49ers.
* * *
Comments | Add Comment
Posted By: Hilo49er (30/07/2008 12:43:43 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt,
Love the Tommy Bahama shrit! Hope you had the shorts and slippers to match. Jimmy Buffett would be proud.
Posted By: Kirk Hinds (29/07/2008 3:23:15 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt! Great Job so far with the blog this season. Hey and the shirt... I like it. It's different. Don't be afraid to be original. You are the man...
Posted By: H.E. from NJ (29/07/2008 11:00:31 AM)
Comment: Yea that shirt was pretty bad... and you went on television with that thing? Best advice you can (ever) get would be to burn that shirt or at least donate it to the salvation army.
great blog tho. really good stuff on martz/smith. goes to show you, one man's great journalistic skills doesn't always translate to his wardrobe :-)
Posted By: HE from NJ (29/07/2008 10:56:25 AM)
Comment: Yea that shirt was pretty bad... and you went on television with that thing? Best advice you can (ever) get would be to burn that shirt or at least donate it to the salvation army.
great blog tho. really good stuff on martz/smith. goes to show you, a man's great journalistic skills doesn't always translate to his wardrobe :-)
Posted By: shootme (29/07/2008 1:25:24 AM)
Comment: "Here's how this works: Our quarterbacks don't come out and we don't give them . . . you can throw the ball deep, you can throw it intermediate or you can check it down. They don't have those options. " ............. --When your QBs throw the ball, are they throwing to a spot or a receiver? "It depends on the play.... When we give them a play, we're giving them a set of things they need to do. Here's your first, second and third choice and the read part of it comes back in that order and you cancel it as you go._________________Hey, thanks for clearing that up.
Posted By: IL Giacomo The Great (28/07/2008 11:11:23 PM)
Comment: Now that's reporting. That's what I want to know about the 9ers. Great job Matt.
Posted By: ninermaniac (28/07/2008 10:26:40 PM)
Comment: Good thing the 9ers got the high tempo going now. I saw some of the other team practice highlights and man some teams were slow, especially the Saints had the slowest tempo ive ever seen, its like they were playing slow with pads not to get hurt.
Posted By: Marc - NJ49er (28/07/2008 9:36:45 PM)
Comment: Only thing missing with the shirt is the cold beer Matt. Nicely done, (I've got no problem with the shirt), and I happen to agree that the Defense could be very special this year. If the Offense can give them any sort of break between series' there's no reason to think we can't hold our own in the NFC West.
Posted By: http:// (28/07/2008 8:14:18 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt do you think alex smith could sell shirts like that after he gets canned this year?
Posted By: buzz (S.F.) (28/07/2008 8:13:53 PM)
Comment: This is one of your better posts of late-another angle into a masterful football mind... Coach Martz! I am eager to see how his conceptions unfold!(Matt you look a little like Eric Clapton with the beard !) Go Niners
Posted By: http:// (28/07/2008 7:22:30 PM)
Comment: Martz sounds like a bright guy, and his system seems to well conceived. However, can you imagine a Brett Favre type quarterback fitting into this rigid scheme. Doesn't seem to allow for any improvisation or creativity on the quarterbacks part. On the other hand, maybe its ideal for Smith.
Posted By: Carl (28/07/2008 5:58:00 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, the only good thing about that shirt is it makes me think of something other than Brett Favre coming out of retirement... or did he retire? Just kidding about the shirt...
Posted By: pete (28/07/2008 5:28:48 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt
We have spent a lot hearing about the offense but my question pertains to the D. What is going on with J Smith? Do you believe he can be effective standing up since he has spent his career "getting dirty"? If you look at past OLBs J Peterson was forced into coverage, left the team and returned to prominence as a pass rusher. Same with A Carter- Nolan put him in coverage to fit schemes and then he went to DC where he put together a ten sack season. Is this another case of trying to fit a triangle into a square with J Smith?
Posted By: Giovanni Carmazzi (28/07/2008 5:19:16 PM)
Comment: Matt, I'm curious to find out if Justin Smith looks slow or fast when he drops into coverage at OLB.
Posted By: Jon in SoCal (28/07/2008 5:11:25 PM)
Comment: Sage Steele sounds like a porn star or a wrestler
Posted By: Rich, DE (28/07/2008 5:04:57 PM)
Comment: Martz - impressive. He's got it all under control.
Posted By: Jeff B (28/07/2008 4:51:26 PM)
Comment: By the way, that wouldn't happen to be a Tommy Bahama shirt, would it?
Response: Indeed. --Matt M.
Posted By: Jeff B (28/07/2008 4:48:47 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, thanks for answering my question about Martz being in the box or on the field and I also wanted to know about the do-overs in practice, so I really appreciate that! Keep up the great work!
Posted By: Razoreater (28/07/2008 4:46:51 PM)
Comment: Finally someone who knows that VD needs to get upfield deeper than deep.
Posted By: HawaiianNinerFan (28/07/2008 4:42:32 PM)
Comment: Matt, don't let these weak mainland bodyboarders bag on your shirt.. It rocks.. Hawaiian braddah!!!!
Oh, and great job as always on the 49er stuff...
Posted By: John V. (28/07/2008 4:34:41 PM)
Comment: Matt, isn't it concerning when the defense has a lot of interceptions on the QB during practice, especially since they did not get a lot of picks during the regular season? I mean that if our defense can figure out Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, couldn't other defenses do it pretty easily too? I'd think that the fewer picks they throw in practice than the fewer that would be thrown during games. It would definitely indicate that the QB's were getting better/harder to defned which might mean that the offense will be more effective this year. Do you agree with this logic? Any correlation here with past 49ers QB's practice/pick stats and ratios?
Posted By: oneniner (28/07/2008 4:21:13 PM)
Comment: FYI -CNNSI- fyi - Nolan says he thought it was 50-50 whether he would be brought back for a fourth season, but Jed York, son of team owners Denise and John York, says the only way Nolan wasn't going to return was if Nolan told them he wanted out. York won't say that Nolan is on the hot seat or whether there is a win total the team must reach for Nolan to have job security. But he does believe it's time for the team to take the next step and get to the playoffs after three years of rebuilding.
Posted By: Lou (28/07/2008 4:13:13 PM)
Comment: Matt, has JT gotten any snaps yet? If so, how'd he look?
Posted By: Indiana Jim (28/07/2008 4:09:38 PM)
Comment: Thank God we finally have a genius in town! (No, I am not talking about THA GRINCH. Geez, I remember THA GRINCH and FIRENOLAN like it was 2007. Oh, right. It was.)
Posted By: Don Roberto (28/07/2008 4:00:37 PM)
Comment: Hi Matt,
Thanks for the prescient 49er coverage.I Always check your recent posts. Ok, I'll weigh in, and I'm an avid board surfer.
Lose the shirt. cheer, The Don Roberto
Response: Here's the best part about the shirt: After I get done talking with Sage Steele about the 49ers, the producer in my ear tells me, "Stay there for just a few seconds and smile. We're taking a digital photo of you that we'll use if we ever get you on a phone hookup." So, in other words, even if I threw away the shirt at this point, there's a strong chance I'll still be modeling it on future ESPN shows. --Matt M.
Posted By: oneniner (28/07/2008 3:53:22 PM)
Comment: Matt- I just read Nolan only wants to keep 4 receivers on the roster....Is this one of nolan-media circus or his he serious?
Response: He never said that. This is what Nolan said, "I would hope for at least four (receivers). Five would be reasonable, but six would mean that we’ve got a decent core of guys." --Matt M.
Posted By: Sean (28/07/2008 3:43:40 PM)
Comment: I don't see what the big deal is about the shirt Matt. I like it. Do they make them in men's sizes also?
Posted By: oneniner (28/07/2008 3:40:34 PM)
Comment: i am tryin so hard to ignore the mrob injury...i just pray to God its not serious....this was meant to be his breakout yr...
Posted By: P. in Paradise (28/07/2008 3:37:35 PM)
Comment: Aloha Matt: Nice shirt! Matt, hope you are wearing slippers .The post is GREAT..P.
Posted By: Jon in SoCal (28/07/2008 3:37:05 PM)
Comment: Great job in the interview. Most non-tv press types talk to fast, their voice gets high and they stammer and say "you know" or "Umm" too much. Did you have media training? I always had the impression that Martz's offense was organized chaos, most fans don't realize how rigid it actually is, thanks for the great Martzisms
Posted By: Sadie (28/07/2008 3:11:18 PM)
Comment: Aloha Matt!
Well,I LOVE the shirt! Of course I do live over here in Paradise....
Excellent job by the way on your interview and, of course, on here.
Has my Hawaii guy Lelie snuck back into Nolan's doghouse,or are ScottyMc and Martz going to save his okole?
Mahalos for your dedicated work!
Response: My shirt says, "Thanks." Lelie needs to get back on the field. His injuries have been legit. Last year, his quad was nearly torn all the way through. This calf injury might keep him out a week or longer. At this stage, it doesn't bode well for him. He is running out of time to prove himself. --Matt M.
Posted By: Rico (28/07/2008 3:09:31 PM)
Comment: Aloha. That shirt is hideously awesome. In fact, it is so obnoxious it almost makes me forget the fact that the person interviewing you had the name "Sage Steele."
Posted By: stampede (28/07/2008 2:57:10 PM)
Comment: touching on a different aspect of oneniners comment, I think it's amazing how the anaylsis of A. Smith's technique is very similar to that of Urban Meyer's.
"That's why . . . when you asked that question about (Smith), that's why he gets kind of . . . he's not sure and won't turn it loose. He's guessing where (the receiver) is going to be, instead of being real positive about it. That's when he gets stiff-legged."
I just thought that was interesting.
GO NINERS!
Posted By: FunnyShirt (28/07/2008 2:55:59 PM)
Comment: Ha, "cute" shirt Matt!
Posted By: THA GRINCH (28/07/2008 2:52:03 PM)
Comment: Lets see stiff legged,holding the ball to long cant make a decision....Geez sounds awfully familiar.....Hold on Niner fans this Alex Smith show wont last much longer.Yes this will be another long season but with Nolan and Smith gone after this year hopefully a new coach will turn this team back into a respectable team again.
Posted By: 9r4life (28/07/2008 2:41:13 PM)
Comment: Thanks for asking about the do-overs in practice. i like this years answer alot better than last years. You can tell that the coach has been around. Thanks again.
Posted By: oneniner (28/07/2008 2:39:38 PM)
Comment: "He gets stiff-legged sometimes and he's not quick with the ball. I think he thought the receiver was going to do something. We're still trying to get on the same page with some of those things.".........this is why he might need 2yrs to finally get this offense, especially if he his splitting reps in camp.....
Posted By: Cyrus (28/07/2008 2:26:15 PM)
Comment: Is there any noticeable difference in the pass rush thus far with Smith at OLB? Or is what they're running still getting stymied at the LOS?
Posted By: http:// (28/07/2008 1:49:06 PM)
Comment: Not much has been said about the running game. Do the 49ers plan on running the ball this year?
Posted By: Dino (28/07/2008 1:44:31 PM)
Comment: 50 to 60 catches is what I'm hoping for VD this year in this offense. Matt do you think Vernon will achieve that? Also, not much is said about J. Hill in your reports other than he ran a bad route. How's Jason Hill looking out there?
Posted By: Graham (28/07/2008 1:39:30 PM)
Comment: first. remember when matt advised everyone there's no longer any prize?
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