Mike Martz on the Lions-By Chuck House!

In attending my first Mike Martz interview I found him a pleasant, soft-spoken man who enjoys talking about the Lions. He is easily one of the smartest men I

In attending my first Mike Martz interview I found him a pleasant, soft-spoken man who enjoys talking about the Lions. He is easily one of the smartest men I have been able to listen to talk football. He talked so openly and honestly, I had trouble keeping up and even got a bit of writer’s cramp at the end.  

 Mike Martz on the draft  

 “I was getting really excited waiting for the Lions next pick (Drew Stanton). What a thrill to get a player of this caliber.” (Most draft analysts gave the Cleveland Browns high marks for getting Joe Thomas AND Brady Quinn. Listening to Martz, he sounded like Detroit scooped everybody by getting Stanton AND Calvin Johnson.)  

Mike Martz and his QB’s: 

1.     On Stanton: “His ability to quickly receive and process information is remarkable.” Most players who enter the NFL can’t do it. In this Stanton is “comparable to Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce.” Martz talked about Drew’s performance against Notre Dame last year. How well he handled adversity in a game situation. “His competitiveness is beyond reproach.” “He is comfortable is all situations. A real leader.”  

2.     On Kitna: Jon is a perfect role model as a QB, but his job is not to mentor Stanton or Orlovsky. That is up to the coaches.  

3.     On McCown: I really like Josh. I’m sorry he had to go, but I really wanted Drew Stanton. Drew is going to be a great NFL quarterback.”  

Who is the back up QB?  

Martz does not know who the number 2 quarterback is going to be. He is just going to put them (Stanton and Orlovsky) up against each other and see what happens.  

Responding to a few questions Martz had these things to say,  

Re: a question on Calvin Johnson: “He doesn’t have to unlearn anything,” the coaches taught him in college. This really helps us a NFL coaches. (I think there was an inference here that Drew Stanton might have to unlearn a thing or two.)  

Re: a question on team attitude: (Martz) we now have a lot of players who want to work hard to succeed. That was not the case this time last year.  

Re: a question on team needs the Lions still have: (Martz) At the end of the season we sat down and identified all of our needs on offense. In free agency and in the draft we have addressed every need we had. I like my whole offense. I really have no questions about them.  

Writers note: Let me repeat what Coach Martz just said: In free agency and in the draft we have addressed every need we had. I like my whole offense. I really have no questions about them.  

I have read many, many editorials and comments written about the Detroit Lions draft. Many of those comments were less than enthusiastic. Now here we have one of the sharpest offensive minds in football saying, “I like my whole offense. I really have no questions about them.” No hesitation. No qualifications. Just, “I like my whole offense.”  

You know what? I like the whole Lions offense too. Today is a good day to be a Lion’s fan.