Martz brings painful memory to game against Patriots

Even though Tom Brady will not be on the field, it’ll be no easy task for the 49ers when the New England Patriots come to town.

Facing the Patriots when they’ve had two weeks to prepare, coming off a bye week, might even be considered unfair. After all, Bill Belichick is the master of preparation — using whatever means necessary.

There was just one week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl after the 2001 season. Yet, Belichick put together a flawless defensive game plan that was the difference in the organization’s first Super Bowl title.

It was the worst day of Mike Martz’s career as an NFL coach: Super Bowl XXXVI, Feb. 3, 2002.

Martz’s St. Louis Rams were were a prohibitive favorite. With Martz running the offensive controls, it seemed implausible the Rams could lose.

“The Greatest Show on Turf” was something to behold. Running back Marshall Faulk was unstoppable. Quarterback Kurt Warner distributed the ball freely to receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.

But something happened that day that changed forever how Martz was viewed in St. Louis.

Faulk touched the ball on just 21 of the Rams’ 69 offensive plays. Meanwhile, Warner attempted 44 passes and was sacked three times. Sure, Warner threw for 365 yards – not too shabby. But the perception was that Martz abandoned the run game and prevented the Rams from winning their second Super Bowl in three years.

Brady led the Patriots down the field in the closing seconds for the game-winning field goal in the Patriots’ 20-17 victory.

Four years later, Martz was out as Rams coach. (By the way, many of his same detractors in St. Louis now might want him back after Scott Linehan’s disastrous tenure as coach.) After two years as offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions, Martz landed with the 49ers this year.

And for the first time with the 49ers, there were questions whether Martz had gotten away from the running game too early on Sunday in a 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The game took place in the Louisiana Superdome, the same building that housed that Patriots’ legendary victory over the Rams. (Added post-script intrigue was cast on that game when an apparently erroneous report surfaced in February that the Patriots videotaped the Rams’ final walk-through practice the day before the game.) On Sunday, the 49ers ran 28 plays in the first half. Frank Gore carried just eight times and did not catch a pass. Meanwhile, J.T. O’Sullivan completed just seven of 16 passes and was sacked four times. The 49ers trailed 21-6 at halftime.

There seems to be little doubt that if the 49ers are going to have a chance Sunday against the Patriots, Gore is going to have to shoulder the load.

DAVIS BENCHED

Tight end Vernon Davis invested extra time with O’Sullivan after practices last week. There were no immediate dividends, however. All it seemed to create was more frustration for the sixth overall pick of the 2006 draft.

For 54 minutes on Sunday, Davis did not catch a pass. He was not even an intended target before he caught a 19-yard pass on a tight-end screen in the fourth quarter. After getting tackled, Davis got up and pounded his chest while barking some unknown words toward the 49ers’ bench.

Davis struck a nerve with coach Mike Nolan, who took him out of the game after the next play and angrily told him to take a seat on the bench.

“He’s very emotional. He was excited at the time,” Nolan said on Monday. “I really don’t know what transpired at the time, but he was right there in front of me and was really excited about whatever was going on, so I pulled him aside.

“Because any player that’s in that kind of mode, I don’t think is best to stay on the field. At that time, I just called him off. Obviously, I grabbed him. I said, ‘Look, sit down. Sit down and calm down.’ I turned my attention back to the game because we were on the field. But I have not had words with him since. But I will.”

STAYING THE COURSE

Nolan said there would be no lineup changes after the 49ers’ decisive loss to the Saints, a game in which the defensive secondary surrendered four passes of 30 yards or more.

The 49ers’ starters in the defensive backfield — Nate Clements, Walt Harris, Mark Roman and Michael Lewis — have started a combined 439 games. That’s more than any other backfield in the league.

“We’ll have the same thing there,” Nolan said. “That’s an experienced group. That has not been a recurring theme in the secondary, what happened.”

The 49ers entered the game with the league’s No.7 pass defense. After Drew Brees torched them for 363 yards, the 49ers tumbled to 19th.

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at 49ers.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com