Martz holds biweekly session with reporters

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz met with the media today in Santa Clara. He talks to the media every-other week.

Here are some excerpts of his question-and-answer session, courtesy of the 49ers’ PR department.

Q: Did your job at all change with the coaching change?

Martz: “No.”

Q: What was your reaction on Monday? I know that you and Coach Nolan were close?

Martz: “Those are all things that for me are off limits. For me, this is strictly about Seattle and getting ready for them”

Q: As offensive coordinator, how much interaction did you have with Mike Singletary up until this point?

Martz: “Very little. We’re all, but that’s normal, on both sides of the ball for everybody. Other than the coordinators when we’re talking about the structure of practice and the things of that nature. Not a whole lot.”

Q: How much more interaction do you envision having with Mike Singletary now?

Martz: “I think just as any coordinator-head coach relationship would demand. That’s pretty normal. Any head coach-coordinator situation.”

Q: I think there’s a sense out there that some feel you’ve been passed over. Is that the case?

Martz: “No. Not at all. I’ll address this because it was kind of a question that I kind of expected from you, really. I didn’t come here to do that. Let’s understand that immediately. I came here because of Mike Nolan, and I think that Mike Singletary deserves this opportunity. We’re all thrilled for him to have this opportunity, although the circumstances really diminished that part to some extent because Mike [Nolan] was such a good friend, and is such a good friend. But at this point, we’re all trying to help Mike [Singletary] in every way we can and help this football team move on to win. We were hired on to do a job and we’re going to do it. In terms of at this point? No. I didn’t come here with any kind of thought, nor did it pass my mind to be honest with you. I love what I’m doing, and that’s why I’m here, and this is what I continue doing well. I’ve kind of had my moments in that respect, and it’s time for all of us to get behind Mike and help him any way we can.”

Q: After the Giants game, Mike Nolan said he would have to look at the film to see if J.T. O’Sullivan would continue to be the starter. Did you ever waver on that subject?

Martz: “I’ll just lay this out there for you real quick, and then really it’s not an issue at all. J.T. [O’Sullivan] is our quarterback. J.T. is going through a learning curve. He didn’t have any preparation going into the season: here, or with past experiences playing in the league, or practice. He is learning on the run, and we’re trying to still come up with game plans that will challenge and beat teams that are really good, etc., etc Right? So, he’s kind of learning on the run, and as he makes mistakes, we’ve got to limit those as much as we can, but we’ve got to play better around him as well. There’s a sense that these things are all on his shoulders, and as a quarterback, that’s natural. We’ve got to play way better around J.T. as well, and that’s very important. J.T. is going to be an outstanding player in this league. He’s on his way. I’m not displeased with him in any sense, and I think he’s going to be fine. But, he’s not where he needs to be, but we’re going to get him there as quickly as we can.”

Q: Where do you see progress in him from Game 1 to Game 7?

Martz: “I think his awareness. He sees so many different fronts on defense. Every week is something different. I think the ability to make plays under duress and pressure and recognition, I think, continues to improve. Judgment continues to improve. There are things that have there that he’s got no control over that will affect him in a negative way, and he’s been able to fight through that and not get wrapped up in it from an emotional standpoint.”

Q: Are 29 sacks after seven games too many under any offense?

Martz: “I think so, yeah. I think so. But that’s part of him learning to play. There’s a mixture of reasons for that, those sacks. None of them are excusable. There’s a lot of reasons. We’re all learning this offense together. It can be a missed assignment. It can be somebody getting beat. He could be holding the ball too long. It could be the wrong read. There’s all kinds of reasons why, and those things are not acceptable. However, as we get going, that should diminish.”

Q: We haven’t talked to you since Zak Keasey was placed on IR. How has the absence of the fullback affected what you do?

Martz: “Yeah, it changes quite a bit. We have not replaced him. We have not replaced Zak [Keasey]. So it does change. It does affect your running game dramatically. We’re trying to adjust to that in various ways. So, we’re doing the best we can with that.”

Q: Is Josh Morgan (or Bryant Johnson) your starter at split end?

Martz: “I’m not sure. We haven’t really discussed a whole lot about that yet. I’m not sure where we are health wise or in terms of – he’s got that groin. We held him out yesterday. I’m not going to make any assumptions or address that because I’m not sure about that.”

Q: Is that typical for Year 1 in your offense, or are there more missed opportunities than you’re used to having?

Martz: “Way more than I’m used to. The plays that we just normally make out here, we just sometimes don’t make them. And they’re learning. We put a lot of pressure on them. We’ve played some good teams, and when you play good teams like that it comes down to a couple plays. You make them, you win. You don’t, you don’t win.”

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