The old guard of the NFL doesn’t always have the kindest things to say about Lamar Jackson and his ability as a quarterback. And that reared its ugly head when former Rams head coach Mike Martz was asked on CBS Sports Radio if Jackson can get to the point where he is a great passer and win a Super Bowl.
Martz was complimentary of Jackson as a passer but stopped short when talking about his ability to process information.
“I don’t know because they don’t have a lot of receivers around him and just kind of by the nature of what they do,” Martz said on Maggie and Perloff Thursday. “I don’t know how good [at] processing things and that’s the key, how quick you can process, read and react. He certainly can throw the ball well, I’ll never doubt that, but the key to everything that Joe Montana or you know [Tom] Brady and [Patrick] Mahomes is what they see and can react to correctly is remarkable in such a short period of time. I don’t know if he has that.”
"The key to (quarterbacking) is what they see and react to correctly. I don't know if (Lamar Jackson) has that"@Coach_MikeMartz pic.twitter.com/7upt5Yqx0U
— Maggie and Perloff (@MaggieandPerl) July 12, 2023
The old guard of the NFL is still heavily rooted in its ways, especially when it comes to how it talks about Black quarterbacks. Martz’s comments were a bit pointed and many of those in the NFL world accused the former head coach of using racist tropes when he recently made these comments about Jackson. And as you might expect, that boiled over to social media:
of course Martz would say that because if he was coaching Lamar, he'd have to react to at least two defenders coming in untouched every time he drops back https://t.co/tbbvbZXFhS
— Outlaw Mudkip (@m_p_d_l_p_) July 13, 2023
Lamar Jackson could lead the league in every advanced metric for quarterbacks and have the best eye test tape, and people will still question him as a quarterback under the veneer of dogwhistles. https://t.co/MmN2M0m9xT
— SB (@StatsboyeVEVO) July 14, 2023
Racism remains in football https://t.co/Gi7e6ew4dX
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) July 14, 2023
Two things. First we know the real reason why he said this. Secondly, do you know how stupid you sound saying this about a man that won the MVP award at QUARTERBACK https://t.co/ZWRo2ynk0e
— Naysayer With Attitude (@_Buddhist) July 14, 2023
But we’ve watched other QBs throw into double coverage, hit defenders in the numbers and throw it up for grabs. Mike you know there’s a metric that’ll debunk your take as pure speculation. But hey we can’t take it away from you. Just be here to say you were wrong later this year. https://t.co/vieirnd7Fl
— War Ready81 (@WReady81) July 13, 2023
Listen QB is the most racialized position in all sports because he’s only questioning Lamar’s cognitive abilities because of what he looks & talks like, nothing else. If Mike actually did research he would know processing was one of Lamar’s strengths he came into the league with. https://t.co/axB2PbukxZ
— Gold Linx (@LEXDIAMONDSLINX) July 13, 2023
Again, a great example of why appeals to authority don’t hold up.
Mike Martz is a legendary coach, this just isn’t true. https://t.co/cCigpWIfcu
— Max Toscano (@maxtoscano1) July 13, 2023
Still doing this in 2023? https://t.co/ep46vWlxxU
— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) July 13, 2023
https://t.co/iykLpOmOG8 pic.twitter.com/35FFcMU2ep
— Mr. 007 (@Sccampbell23) July 13, 2023
He lead the NFL in touchdown passes Mike https://t.co/pURiDzcvpU
— HogwartsDropout🏁824 (@mr_burton91) July 13, 2023
Crazy to have a quote like that when the offense he runs is RPO. The “O” is for option… meaning he has to REACT To what the defense does… https://t.co/6S6wyRVI6T
— Buzz Kyteyear (@ChrisKyte) July 13, 2023
Needless to say, Martz’s comments regarding Jackson were not well received.
