shaneo69
11-27-2004, 12:15 PM
Is it just me, or does it sound like Gretz is taking indirect shots at DV when he praises Marty?
GRETZ: Return of Marty
Nov 26, 2004, 5:17:02 AM by Bob Gretz
“Marty Ball is dead,” said the man himself, “Done.”
When I read that quote this week in a San Diego newspaper column about the Chargers it made me laugh. Marty Schottenheimer said it himself about two weeks ago, after San Diego had torched New Orleans for its sixth victory of the season. They added No. 7 this past Sunday, beating Oakland on a day when they did not play their best football.
That victory alone is evidence enough for me that Marty Ball is far from deceased. It’s alive, kicking and has the Chargers tied atop the AFC West rankings with Denver, each team sporting 7-3 records and a head-to-head showdown coming up a week from this Sunday in San Diego.
Over the years, Marty Ball has come to be defined and identified for one thing: an offense built on the running game. Its public face was always Marty himself, a man steadfast in purpose, which is called stubborn by some people.
That description of Marty Ball is wrong and always has been. Marty Ball is many things. It’s about winning, and doing everything within the rules to make that happen. It’s about turnovers, forcing them on defense, not giving the ball away on offense. It’s about stopping the run and yes, being able to run the ball.
But the No. 1 credo of Marty Ball is not three yards and a cloud of dust. It’s about identifying the problems and coming up with solutions. During the hundreds of interviews and conversations I sat through with him during his 10 years at the helm of the Chiefs, Marty said many things that I will remember. Two stand out:
1.) “It’s no longer what have you done for me lately in our society. It’s what are you going to do for me next.”
2.) “My No. 1 job as a coach is to be a problem solver.”
Those that believe him to be nothing more than a stubborn German from western Pennsylvania did not pay attention to what was really going on. If he was so stubborn, why did he have three different defensive coordinators in the first six years he was the Chiefs head coach? Would a stubborn guy change from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive scheme in the middle of the season? Marty did that in 1992, after the team signed DT Joe Phillips in late September and the former member of the Chargers showed he was going to be a contributor. The next year, the Chiefs played what amounted to a hybrid defense, with Derrick Thomas playing a position created for him: rush backer. Sometimes it was the 3-4, other times it was the 4-3, with Thomas putting his hand on the ground as a defensive end.
Would a stubborn guy who believes only in the running game on offense fire his offensive coordinator after the 1992 season and bring in an entirely new offensive scheme, one that was designed to move the ball with short passes? Schottenheimer did that when he fired Joe Pendry and brought in the west coast offense and Paul Hackett. He wanted more long plays, chunks as he called them. He knew then his team wasn’t scoring enough points to be able to seriously challenge for post-season success. His plan was to change that.
After a disappointing 1996 season, Schottenheimer pulled the plug on some veteran players in his defense because the unit had regressed that season. Out went guys like Mark Collins and Brian Washington and into the starting lineup came second-year guys Jerome Woods, Reggie Tongue, Donnie Edwards and John Browning. It’s pretty much the same thing he did this past season with the Chargers offensive line. He allowed a bunch of veteran players to walk in free agency because he already knew they weren’t good enough. Instead, he went with a bunch of no-names, late draft choices, guys who weren’t even drafted out of college. He mixed in a couple of veterans from other teams and suddenly, the San Diego offense is effective moving the ball whether through the air or on the ground.
Marty Schottenheimer has always been willing to adapt to his talent, or the current state of the game. He did that in Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and now San Diego.
The man has really only been stubborn about one thing: winning. That’s the No. 1 attribute of Marty Ball. Always has been, always will be.
And, that is not dead.
GRETZ: Return of Marty
Nov 26, 2004, 5:17:02 AM by Bob Gretz
“Marty Ball is dead,” said the man himself, “Done.”
When I read that quote this week in a San Diego newspaper column about the Chargers it made me laugh. Marty Schottenheimer said it himself about two weeks ago, after San Diego had torched New Orleans for its sixth victory of the season. They added No. 7 this past Sunday, beating Oakland on a day when they did not play their best football.
That victory alone is evidence enough for me that Marty Ball is far from deceased. It’s alive, kicking and has the Chargers tied atop the AFC West rankings with Denver, each team sporting 7-3 records and a head-to-head showdown coming up a week from this Sunday in San Diego.
Over the years, Marty Ball has come to be defined and identified for one thing: an offense built on the running game. Its public face was always Marty himself, a man steadfast in purpose, which is called stubborn by some people.
That description of Marty Ball is wrong and always has been. Marty Ball is many things. It’s about winning, and doing everything within the rules to make that happen. It’s about turnovers, forcing them on defense, not giving the ball away on offense. It’s about stopping the run and yes, being able to run the ball.
But the No. 1 credo of Marty Ball is not three yards and a cloud of dust. It’s about identifying the problems and coming up with solutions. During the hundreds of interviews and conversations I sat through with him during his 10 years at the helm of the Chiefs, Marty said many things that I will remember. Two stand out:
1.) “It’s no longer what have you done for me lately in our society. It’s what are you going to do for me next.”
2.) “My No. 1 job as a coach is to be a problem solver.”
Those that believe him to be nothing more than a stubborn German from western Pennsylvania did not pay attention to what was really going on. If he was so stubborn, why did he have three different defensive coordinators in the first six years he was the Chiefs head coach? Would a stubborn guy change from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive scheme in the middle of the season? Marty did that in 1992, after the team signed DT Joe Phillips in late September and the former member of the Chargers showed he was going to be a contributor. The next year, the Chiefs played what amounted to a hybrid defense, with Derrick Thomas playing a position created for him: rush backer. Sometimes it was the 3-4, other times it was the 4-3, with Thomas putting his hand on the ground as a defensive end.
Would a stubborn guy who believes only in the running game on offense fire his offensive coordinator after the 1992 season and bring in an entirely new offensive scheme, one that was designed to move the ball with short passes? Schottenheimer did that when he fired Joe Pendry and brought in the west coast offense and Paul Hackett. He wanted more long plays, chunks as he called them. He knew then his team wasn’t scoring enough points to be able to seriously challenge for post-season success. His plan was to change that.
After a disappointing 1996 season, Schottenheimer pulled the plug on some veteran players in his defense because the unit had regressed that season. Out went guys like Mark Collins and Brian Washington and into the starting lineup came second-year guys Jerome Woods, Reggie Tongue, Donnie Edwards and John Browning. It’s pretty much the same thing he did this past season with the Chargers offensive line. He allowed a bunch of veteran players to walk in free agency because he already knew they weren’t good enough. Instead, he went with a bunch of no-names, late draft choices, guys who weren’t even drafted out of college. He mixed in a couple of veterans from other teams and suddenly, the San Diego offense is effective moving the ball whether through the air or on the ground.
Marty Schottenheimer has always been willing to adapt to his talent, or the current state of the game. He did that in Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and now San Diego.
The man has really only been stubborn about one thing: winning. That’s the No. 1 attribute of Marty Ball. Always has been, always will be.
And, that is not dead.