Former Rams Coach Mike Martz Faces Backlash For Ravens QB Lamar Jackson Take
Mike Martz doesn't see Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson joining him in the expansive, yet exclusive, club of Super Bowl champions.
Martz, the victorious offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 1999 (before taking them back to the game as the head coach two years later), isn't a believer in Jackson, revealing his stance on the "Maggie and Perloff" program on CBS Sports Radio. He first tried to partly blame the Ravens' support staff and game plans (despite making changes to both with Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers, and Todd Monken all making their way to Charm City) but had particularly scathing comments about the quarterback himself.
"I don’t know how good (at) processing things and that’s the key, how quick you can process, read and react," when asked by hosts Maggie Gray and Andrew Perloff if Jackson was able to win a Super Bowl. "He certainly can throw the ball well, I’ll never doubt that, but the key to everything that Joe Montana or you know (Tom) Brady and (Patrick) Mahomes is what they see and can react to correctly is remarkable in such a short period of time. I don’t know if he has that.”
With Jackson having built a solid reputation as the Ravens' franchise man, many ripped Martz for his thoughts on the multi-faceted thrower. Many cited Jackson's MVP campaign in 2019 as clear evidence again his claims, while others accused Martz of perpetuating racist tropes and criticisms that have unfortunately followed Jackson since he entered the league .
Martz spent three decades between major college football and the NFL levels in a variety of coaching roles, posting a 53-32 record in six seasons at the helm of the Rams.
His last NFL job came in 2011 when he resigned after two years as the Chicago Bears' offensive boss after two seasons. That tenure is perhaps best known for a brief verbal confrontation with then-franchise quarterback Jay Cutler during a nationally televised game. Martz briefly ended his retirement when he served as the head coach of the San Diego Fleet in the Alliance of American Football, a short-lived spring league that folded after eight weeks of operation.
Most Ravens fans will be more than happy to welcome Jackson back to the fold, especially after he missed the final six games of last season due to injury. Since 2018, Jackson has guided Baltimore to 49 wins, the fifth-most among NFL quarterbacks in that span.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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