Martz to resign???

[Dimethod]

KMOX and 1380 Radio in St. Louis reports that Mike Martz will resign at a 6PM EST press conference today.
Martz has struggled with an infection in his heart during the last month. He spoke of working to beat the infection Sunday night after the game, but also appeared weary and despondent. No word on who will take over the team and we'll confirm the news once it's reported elsewhere. Losing Martz certainly would hurt this offense long-term, but would imagine they'd still be productive in the 2005 season with the system in place. Oct. 10 - 4:05 pm et

[BrutallyHuge]

Steven Jackson value goes up.

[The_Dude]

If that's true, this is BIG news... still haven't seen it on any of the national outlets, but I'll keep looking...

[Daddymike59]

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BREAKING NEWS

KMOX Radio in St. Louis just reported Rams HC Mike Martz will step down as head coach of the team, citing health reasons as the major contributing factor in his decision. Martz will reportedly hold a press conference at 5 pm this afternoon to make his announcement official. No replacment has been named, though sources have said Joe Vitt (assistant head coach/linebackers coach) is the leading candidate to take over on an interim basis.

Fantasy Impact: Medium.
Steve Jackson owners have to be salivating. Let me rephrase that... Steven Jackson owners in a non-PPR league have to be salivating. Chances are, whoever they allow to become the head coach will probably be more prone to running the ball with their first round draft pick. This might have some impact on the fantasy effectiveness of Marc Bulger, too. I don't believe Torry Holt will be affected much. Remember, this is simply a radio report and is NOT official, just specultation.

[gatorman1122]

Hmm...without Mike Martz, doesn't the value of Marc Bulger go down since he won't throw the ball as much?

[BrutallyHuge]

Hmm...without Mike Martz, doesn't the value of Marc Bulger go down since he won't throw the ball as much?

Duh. Yes.

[The_Dude]

All that NFL.com currently has listed is:

Rams: Press conference at 6 p.m. ET to discuss Martz's health

under headlines...

The link just goes to a story about yesterday's game and how Martz felt he let the team down...

With Seattle's top two receivers out for the game, St. Louis decided to stack the box and shut down Shaun Alexander. But what happened was the Seahawks still went to the air and ended up beating the Rams 37-31 in a battle for first place in the NFC West. Facing an early deficit, Marc Bulger also went to the air and had 336 yards with two touchdowns. And down 37-31 with three minutes to go, it looked like Bulger would get a chance to win the contest as Seattle punted away on fourth down. But Shaun McDonald was stripped of the ball on the punt and the Seahawks ran out the clock. Head coach Mike Martz felt he could have done better with the game plan because of the time he missed due to an infection of the heart. "I wasn't myself this week, the game plan wasn't clear for me," Martz said. "It's over with now but I just feel what happened to me has affected this team, and that breaks my heart."

[moonhead]

ESPN radio just said 4-6 weeks. I own bulger and jackson. I'd much rather have jackson's stock go up than bulgers stay where it is. As much as I dislike Mike Martz, I wish him the best.

[biju]

All that NFL.com currently has listed is:

Rams: Press conference at 6 p.m. ET to discuss Martz's health

under headlines...

The link just goes to a story about yesterday's game and how Martz felt he let the team down...

With Seattle's top two receivers out for the game, St. Louis decided to stack the box and shut down Shaun Alexander. But what happened was the Seahawks still went to the air and ended up beating the Rams 37-31 in a battle for first place in the NFC West. Facing an early deficit, Marc Bulger also went to the air and had 336 yards with two touchdowns. And down 37-31 with three minutes to go, it looked like Bulger would get a chance to win the contest as Seattle punted away on fourth down. But Shaun McDonald was stripped of the ball on the punt and the Seahawks ran out the clock. Head coach Mike Martz felt he could have done better with the game plan because of the time he missed due to an infection of the heart. "I wasn't myself this week, the game plan wasn't clear for me," Martz said. "It's over with now but I just feel what happened to me has affected this team, and that breaks my heart."

Without trying to sound like a complete ass, I'm glad it was my Hawks that broke Martz spirit. I never liked him and his offensive scheme.

Having said that, I sincerely hope he gets well. I don't wish ill on anyone regardless of how much I hate the Rams.

[The_Dude]

So, we all hope Martz is ok, even those of us who are S-Jax owners and felt he's been underutilized.

That said, does this really have a lot of fantasy impact if Martz is taking a leave of absense and not actually resigning? If he resigned, then there would seem to be a mandate for the new coach to restructure the offense, and perhaps alter the play-calling. With an absense, then its more likely that Martz's assistants end up working the game plans and running the offense. It will still be Martz's offense with Martz's offensive coordinator presumably calling the plays (even though Martz typically calls the plays himself, right?)