His own tenure with the team was unremarkable, but Mike Martz has plenty of praise for the current Detroit Lions.
Mike Martz is best-known for his time with the St. Louis Rams, as offensive coordinator of “The Greatest Show on Turf” then becoming the Rams’ head coach. He was an offensive coordinator in other places after that, including with the Detroit Lions for two years (2006-2007).
Martz is now a contributor for The 33rd Team. He recently talked about this year’s Lions, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Johnson has of course become a rising head coaching candidate with how good Detroit’s offense has been this year, in his first year as a coordinator and play caller. And he’s getting plenty of notice around the league.
"I think, right now, Ben Johnson is doing the best job in the league."
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) January 1, 2023
The #Lions are rolling on offense and their OC is a huge reason why 🙌#OnePride pic.twitter.com/E8PEbT9dXW
"Watching Detroit play in the last eight weeks – actually all year but particularly the last seven or eight weeks – Ben Johnson the coordinator there has got such a good feel for play calling. I think right now he’s doing the best job in the league bar-none,” Martz said. “He incorporates the run. Not just the run, but the variation of the run. The downhill run. They’re not just out of the shotgun or read-option or all that stuff. They run the power plays, zone plays in and out, they run pitches. They’re creative. The offensive line is one of the better ones in the league in terms of rushing the football.”"
Mike Martz extends praise for 2022 Detroit Lions beyond Ben Johnson
Martz certainly knows something of which he speaks regarding offensive football. But he didn’t stop there talking about this year’s Lions.
"I think they can end up in the NFC Championship."#OnePride pic.twitter.com/Q9fpmTUpVH
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) January 2, 2023
"Are they good enough to get to the Super Bowl? I don’t know if they’re good enough on defense. But this is a team that is clearly one of the top five or six in the league right now,”"
Winners of seven of their last nine games, the Lions enter Week 18 with a chance to make the playoffs. They are shaping up to be a challenging matchup in the Wild Card Round if they do get in, and put Martz on any list of those who think they could pull an upset.