SF Hires Mike Martz As New OC

The San Francisco 49ers have hired former STL/DET OC Mike Martz as their new offensive coordinator.

I'm not sure what the 49ers are doing here, at least on paper. Martz runs a downfield passing attack that requires a heady pocket QB, a RB who can catch passes out of the backfield, and quick WRs running precise routes. While Alex Smith is definitely an intelligent QB (he scored very high on the Wunderlich), he's more mobile than anyone Martz has coached before (Warner, Bulger, Kitna), and it remains to be seen how much he'll move Smith around. Frank Gore will play a big part in the passing game, but Martz often abandons the run. Perhaps the added scoring chances will make up for what is likely to be a downtick in carries, although it can't be much worse than this past year. The 49ers WRs are mostly a mess. Darrell Jackson doesn't look the same as he once did in Seattle, Arnaz Battle is alright, and they don't have much beyond that. Martz has never featured a TE in his offense, but Vernon Davis is easily the most talented pass catcher he has. Martz's scheme seems completely backwards from the personel that SF has, but he'll undoubtedly improve the offense's production.

Cam Cameron seemed like a far better choice, unless he wasn't interested, but I find that hard to believe. Cameron designed and engineered the prolific SD offense that featured a great all-around RB in LT and great TE in Gates before taking Miami's head coaching position last year. His scheme would seemingly fit perfectly into the personel that SF has with Gore and Davis.

Fantasy Impact: This is good news for Alex Smith. He's smart enough to run Martz's offense, and SF will upgrade their WR group in the offseason. Smith should easily post career highs all across the board next year. Frank Gore's value stays about the same. Think Kevin Jones of 2006, who posted RB1 numbers before busting his foot. Gore possesses great passing game skills, which will suit the new offense, and he'll likely receive more scoring chances. Darrell Jackson, if he's healthy, could be a sleeper, but that "if" I just mentioned is a big question mark. Opening up the offense will only mean good things for Vernon Davis, although like I mentioned above, Martz has never featured a TE before. He'll have to now. All in all, this is good news for all SF skill positions as Martz has featured a very good offense every year except in 2007.