One of the big questions facing the Bears in Oakland today is whether quarterback Caleb Hanie can be the right fit in the Mike Martz offense. But Martz says that’s not as big an issue as you might think.
Instead, Martz says, he can tailor an offense for the talents of an individual quarterback. The Greatest Show on Turf offense that Martz ran with Kurt Warner in St. Louis isn’t the same thing as the offense Martz has run in Chicago with Jay Cutler, and it’s even further from what Martz will ask Cutler to do.
“The things we were doing in St. Louis — get it out quick, things happen so quick — we’d never ask him to do that kind of stuff,” Martz told the Chicago Tribune.
Martz says that with Hanie, he’s just going to continue an offensive evolution that began when the Bears realized they needed to do more to protect Cutler: More running, more fullbacks, more tight ends.
“We can really run the football,” Martz said. “Those two big tight ends and the back and the line, they are just getting better every week. It allows you to go bang, bang, bang, get them all up there, and then throw it. There is nothing worse than having to throw the football every snap. I hated that because it’s just so stressful for everybody. The quarterback gets hit. That’s not fun. Fortunately, that’s not where we are.”
And being a quarterback who can win games with a big game passing is not where Hanie is. But Martz thinks he’s got the right offense to make things work with Hanie.
