The Bears can go ahead and kiss good by to whatever shred of a running game that remains. I guarantee the most P.O.ed person on Earth right now is Matt Forte.

I guarantee we will get 1 win and probably 2 wins against the Bears this year. For some unknown reason they are like the moth to the flame when it comes to hiring our discredited former coaches.

Cutler will be sacked 50+ times ( if he isn't knocked onto the IR before then).

Their defense is yet another year older and they don't have a pick until the 3rd round. And they will probably use it on an OL player.

I see them finishing next year in the NFC North basement. Lovie Gets canned.

Martz was never discredited.

Egocentric? Sure. An bunghole. Probably. Hard to work with - Thats why he got fired.

He also had the best offense weve had in awhile. and is still a great OC (although his QBss do get beat up).

Martz was fired by the Rams, Lions, and 49ers...I do not think that would qualify someone as great.

Martz was fired by the Rams, Lions, and 49ers...I do not think that would qualify someone as great.

Bears' hiring of Mike Martz as offensive coordinator spells more trouble for Lions
By Tom Kowalski
February 02, 2010, 1:15PM

The Detroit Lions already had issues stopping the Chicago Bears' patchwork offense but now that Mike Martz has been hired to be Chicago's offensive coordinator, the Lions' problems in the division just took a sharp turn for the worse.

Think about it.

In addition to the strong possibility that Brett Favre will be back with the Vikings, you've got Aaron Rodgers and those receivers in Green Bay and now you can add a Martz-coached Jay Cutler to the equation.

The Lions have given up more points in a two-year span than any other team in NFL history. Unless the Lions hit some tape-measure home runs in the draft and free agency, they're looking at a third straight year of futility.

The Bears used to be a run-first and dink-and-dunk team second. That changed a little when Cutler, the strong-armed quarterback, arrived in Chicago in the trade with the Broncos. That's going to change drastically now that Martz is in town. The Bears will certainly have balance with the run game, but they're going to be a big-time vertical passing team.

People need to be reminded that when Martz arrived in Detroit in 2006, he was put in charge of the offense and his only directive was to score points. Then-head coach Rod Marinelli believed he could do enough with the defense to turn the Lions into a winner.

However, it quickly became apparent that Detroit's defense was beyond pathetic and that a run-based, control-the-clock-type offensive attack was needed to limit the devastation. That's when the problems started. Martz wanted to keep attacking on offense -- which he was hired to do -- and Marinelli wanted him to throttle it way back.

That's why Martz became the scapegoat and got sacked in 2007, his second year on the job.

Some believe that Martz's reunion with Marinelli in Chicago is a recipe for disaster. Martz holds no ill will toward Marinelli at all and, even after he was fired, spoke in the most glowing terms about Marnelli. Martz understood the situation and what Marinelli had to do.

Bears coach Lovie Smith, who had worked with Martz in St Louis, is the guy who suggested Martz to Marinelli in the first place. Marinelli has a great deal of respect in Martz's coaching ability -- in fact, even Martz's most ardent critics have to admit the guy is a brilliant teacher, strategist and playcaller.

The problem? Martz is also a bit quirky. Not in a divisive way, but he can rub some people the wrong way and he's definitely stubborn. He's a character, not a cancer.

Going into Chicago, Martz can make things easier on himself if he changes in two distinct areas: One, he has to quit giving too much busy work to his assistant coaches and give them more trust and, two, he has to understand that all players don't see the football world in the same Matrix-type patterns that he does. Martz sees things most others don't and he gets irritated and cranky when they can't see it, too.

Martz will continue to be extremely hard on his players -- the discipline of his system requires attention to detail - but he has to know when to pull off.

Whether Martz is a success or failure in Chicago will ultimately come down to one thing and one thing only ---do the players buy into his system and stick with him?

In Detroit, they bought in early, but the hard work -- especially mentally -- began to wear on them and they ultimately bailed. Guys such as Jon Kitna and Dominic Raiola stayed true to the end but they were outnumbered and they knew it. The terrible defense and Marinelli's desire to change the offensive attack gave the malcontents the excuse they needed.

But now Martz is in Chicago and has a defense that doesn't need to be protected.

For Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew and the Lions, the urgency in acquiring quality defensive help in the off-season just went up a few notches.

He won a SB in St. Louis, built one of the best offenses in football, took a guy that was sacking groceries and turned him into the MVP, and greatly improved our offense (which suffered when he left, despite getting more offensive talent).

His problems seem more to do with likability than with his football mind.

That and the fact that he doesn't know what a RB is supposed to do.

Since when has Cutler thrown to a spot on the field?

NEVER.

Cutler is not a Martz QB and is not a pure pocket passer like Warner, Bulger, or Kitna were. He's at his best on a rollout, which he'll need to do alot with Chicago ancient patchwork line.