Oh Mike Martz, how I love thee.

Instead of playing some kind of old school, grind-em-out system of running football, complete with 17-14 game scores, Mike Martz plays to take flight, running the ball only when the defense is stuck in dime packages for a good 4-5 plays.

He is the father of the “Greatest Show on Turf”, as well as Jon Kitna’s two 4,000+ yard seasons.

The fact that Mike Martz was ever let go is a joke. Even his doubters will find it hard to question his effectiveness. He turned no name Kurt Warner into a star, duped people into thinking Marc Bulger was a solid QB, and made Jon Kitna look like the messiah. His teams after his dismissal are a joke too. He left the Rams in 2005, right before their collapse and then the 7-9 Lions in 2007, right before their following 0 win season. His only real knock was his tenure with the 49ers, where he was stuck with a broken team and a coach that got fired mid-season. Also, having J.T. O’Sullivan as your starting QB isn’t exactly the best way to get through a season.

Mike Martz’s scheme, much like the scheme of Mike Leach (of former Texas Tech fame) on the college level, didn’t need stud receivers or an amazing running back. He had those on his Rams squad, but his Lions squad really wasn’t that talented at all. He just needs a QB with a big, accurate arm… and some brains. Alex Smith, in a recent conversation with Jay Cutler on the amount of plays in the Mike Martz playbook, said that “I wouldn’t even know how to put a number on (the amount of plays in the playbook). I think it was never-ending,” he said with a laugh. “I think the thing with coach Martz was he was always coming up with new stuff. You would be in the meeting and he would be coming up with new plays.” With play calls like “Flank RT Scat 370 F Shoot/Pump/Wing” and “Jack RT Zip Ace RT Hot 940 F Arrow/Swing” you need to have a brain in your head.

With Jay Cutler throwing to the super fast Devin Hester and Johnny Knox, as well as TE Greg Olson and RB Matt Forte, I’d say the Bears are in for a pretty darn good offensive year. I definitely expect Cutler to throw for 4,000+ yards (hey, if Jon Kitna can do it, Jay Cutler certainly can) and 30+ TD’s (with probably just as many picks, but hey, you have to pay to play), and both of the starting receivers to have pretty decent years. Neither of them compare to Torry Holt or Isaac Bruce, so I wouldn’t be looking for gimme 1,000 yard seasons, but they will both outproduce their 2009 selves. The running back situation is a bit of a toss up. On one hand, I expect Matt Forte to become a much more effective pass catching RB, but with Chester Taylor now on the team, I think his rushing numbers will take a slight dive. the hardest person to gauge is TE Greg Olson. Being a great pass catching TE, it would be a total waste to not get him into the offense, but Martz has no history of featured TE’s. Still, I expect Martz to find a way to use his talent, and he will probably have a great season.