<p>Analyzing at the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears" target="_blank" >Bears</a> with the help of 22 names, starting with …</p><p><b>Mike Martz (1), </b>who was watching Monday Night Football back home in St. Louis when he recognized a play from his past: The Sucker Sneak.</p><p>“It just tickled me,” Martz told me on Tuesday.</p><p>Bears quarterback<b> Case Keenum</b> <b>(2)</b> was under center on third-and-goal from the Eagles’ 1 halfway through the fourth quarter. When he took the snap, the Bears’ guards pulled — left guard <b>Joe Thuney (3)</b> to his left and right guard <b>Jonah Jackson</b> <b>(4)</b> to his right. Defensive tackles <b>Jordan Davis</b> <b>(5)</b> and <b>Byron Young</b> <b>(6)</b> did what they’re coached to do when the guards in front of them pull — charge forward.</p><p>When they did, Keenum simply pushed ahead behind the uncovered center for an easy one-yard touchdown.</p><p>It’s a Jedi mind trick of a play.</p><p>“You can’t undo good coaching, so you take advantage of it,” said Martz, the architect of the Greatest Show on Turf Rams. “Those guys are going to jet charge — they’re going to get up the field as fast as they can. They’re trying to penetrate and knock things back.</p><p>“You just let them do that. You don’t even have to block them.”</p><p>Martz shared cutups of his sneak with the Dolphins when <b>Ben Johnson (7)</b> coached there, though he’s unsure if Johnson had already seen it.</p><p>Believing in the play takes faith, but Keenum said “my word of the week was ‘trust.’”</p><p>Few have ever run it in a game. Martz called the play for a 2-yard <b>Kurt Warner</b> <b>(8)</b> touchdown in the Super Bowl 24 years ago. Two years later, <b>Marc Bulger (9)</b>, another Rams quarterback, ran the sneak for 15 yards. The 49ers pulled it off in 2024.</p><p>“It’s never not worked, to be honest with you,” Martz said.</p><p>The fact Johnson ran the sneak against a team known for the brute-force “Tush Push” wasn’t lost on Martz.</p><p>“I get such a kick out of that,” said Martz, who texted Johnson after he ran the play. “Only Ben would do that.”</p><h3><b>The better Bears scrambler, of course, is …</b></h3><p><b>Caleb Williams (10), </b>who remains sidelined with a pulled hamstring. Martz thinks he and Johnson make a perfect pairing.</p><p>“Chicago, my gosh, they’re so lucky to have [Johnson],” he said. “He’s going to be there a long time and be a great coach. They finally got it right. They got the quarterback right, too. Caleb, he was lost in the wilderness until Ben got him.”</p><p>Players who have had success off-script often find it hard at first to conform to a strict offensive system. Martz had a similar experience with <b>Jay Cutler (11)</b> when he was the Bears’ offensive coordinator from 2011-12.</p><p>Williams had to “unlearn” everything from his rookie year, Martz said. With Johnson, Williams has a ridiculously high ceiling.</p><p>“He doesn’t know how good he can be,” he said.</p><p>Martz has been enamored by Johnson since his stint as the Lions’ play-caller.</p><p>“I knew he was different,” Martz said. “It’s not just the play selection, which is impeccable. …</p><p>“The great play-callers? When you get into the game and they’re taking something away, you can morph into something else. He can do that. You’ve got to carry a pretty good plan to do that.”</p><p></p><h3><b>Keenum reminded Martz of his own former QBs …</b></h3><p>“<b>Trent Green (12),</b> <b>Kurt Warner (13), Jon Kitna (14)</b>, <b>Bulger</b> … They had something to prove,” Martz said. “When you have a guy with talent like that that has something to prove, they tend to play pretty good.”</p><p>Keenum seems to be the same way.</p><p>“Guys that I like coaching the best are the guys that have been kicked around a little bit,” Martz said.</p><p></p><h3><b>It’ll help him become a football player …</b></h3><p><b>Kyler Keenum (15), </b>Case’s son<b>, </b>was born<b> </b>in Virginia while his dad played for the Commanders in 2019. Case had his parents scoop dirt from his Texas backyard and put it in a mason jar, which Case slipped under the delivery table so Kyle could be “born on Texas soil.”</p><p>That might help his future NFL career. Texas boasts the most native NFL players — both active and all-time — as well as the most Hall of Famers. Across NFL history, Texans have played more games and scored more touchdowns than players from any other state.</p><p>The Bears boast four Texas-born Hall of Famers — <b>Ed Sprinkle</b> <b>(16)</b> of Bradshaw, <b>Bulldog Turner (17) </b>of Plains and <b>Steve McMichael (18)</b> and <b>Mike Singletary (19)</b> of Houston.</p><h3><b>Speaking of backup QBs …</b></h3><p><b>Trevor Siemian (20)</b> played quarterback the last time the Bears faced the Jets. <b>Justin Fields’ (21)</b> backup strained his oblique while warming up at The Meadowlands in 2022, thouh, prompting the Bears to name <b>Nathan Peterman</b> <b>(22)</b> the starter.</p><p>The medication Siemian took kicked in before the game began, though, and the team then named him the starter a second time before kickoff.</p><p>The Bears then lost 31-10 to a Jets team that went on to lose the next six games.</p>
CATCH-22: Mike Martz thinks Bears ‘finally got it right’ with coach, QB 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-10-01 12:58:00
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
