Is Mike Martz a good coach?

[TroyF]

I had posted in another thread about Martz. Pro Football Prospectus had a long article on Martz. It talked about how he was the only coach to get more wins from his team than "expected" every year for a five year period.

Also pointed out a stat that just boggled my mind. (and this one isn't an opinion, it was a real stat) From 1972 through last year Mike Martz was the best coach in the NFL at winning a game when he had a lead at any point in the fourth quarter. He wins over 90% of the time in those situations.

Now, it can be pointed out that he blows a lot of teams out, but I went back and looked and he's had more than his fair share of 7 point or less games. The stat is really remarkable. Point blank, if Martz gets a lead in the fourth, he closes the deal more often than Bill Belicek.

Obviously, you have to get a lead through three quarters for all of that to matter, but it's still an odd stat that I found very surprising.

And no, I don't want Martz coaching my football team. It's just numbers that were hard to look away from.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by duckman

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

Single most acceptable response to this really simple question.

[MizzouRah]

Obviously, you have to get a lead through three quarters for all of that to matter, but it's still an odd stat that I found very surprising.

That's key!

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

That said, one could make the argument that if you give anyone this offensive line, Tony Gonzalez, Priest Holmes, Tony Richardson, and Trent Green, they could make anyone look good.

You say that like Holmes and Green had success pre-Vermeil...

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

You say that like Holmes and Green had success pre-Vermeil...

I remember Holmes had a 1000 yard year in Baltimore and then something happened the next year and he lost out to Lewis- injury, I think. KC picked him up on the cheap and he became the best TD machine in the league for a couple of years.

Green still doesn't get mentioned as an elite QB so let's not go nuts like he's being compared to Peyton or something. Judging by the "fourth best QB" thread, he hangs out around 8th and always gets that damning-with-faint-praise "he's the most underrated QB in the NFL". He had a nice half year in Washington (I remember because he saved my fantasy team's ass that year) and had some really nice numbers in St Louis and was primed to be their QB and not Warner until he got a season-ending injury in the preseason.

My point being, the signs were there that they had talent before but it wasn't really tapped until they got there and the Chiefs benefited by grabbing them both off of injuries. And I'll still contend that they're as much a product of the offensive line than anything- put them behind an average one and their numbers look slightly above but much more in line with average.

SI