Martin sees advantage to O-line being intact with same coaches
Center Nick Martin may know more about Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and his ability as a first-time play caller than any player on the team.
When Martin was a secondround pick in 2016, one of the first coaches he met was Kelly, who was entering his third season as an assistant under Bill O’Brien.
“I’m fortunate because when I came in, he was the assistant line coach,” Martin said Monday. “I love the relationship I have with him. Tim’s really special, and he’s got a gift.”
Kelly has gone from assistant line coach to second-year coordinator who’s trusted enough by O’Brien to replace him calling plays for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“I think he’ll do great,” Martin said. “We’re excited about it. Tim’s been with OB for nine years (since 2012 at Penn State), and he knows his stuff.
“His knowledge of the game is awesome. He’s so smart. Sometimes guys that smart can’t necessarily teach it in a way where his players understand, but he does. One thing he does so well is make everyone comfortable and on the same page.”
Calling plays for the first time puts Kelly under a lot of pressure, but Martin is confident he can handle it.
“It goes back to his knowledge of the game and his knowledge of the offense,” Martin said. “He knows his players, and the relationship he has with us is important.
“We can talk with him about anything. He wants to know what
we think. His intelligence and the way he communicates will be huge for us. Seeing him relay the information he has to us is really unbelievable.”
Martin and his teammates are like every player in the NFL in that their communication with their coaches must be done virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Martin and his wife, Kathleen, like to take a vacation after the season. Last year, they went to Thailand on their honeymoon. This year, they spent two weeks in Japan and returned home before the coronavirus became a pandemic.
“We went to Japan before it hit America and got bad,” Martin said. “Nothing bad happened to us. We never got stuck anywhere. We had a great time. We didn’t have any trouble leaving or returning. We’re were fortunate to be able to get in a vacation before all this got started.”
Under current restrictions caused by the coronavirus, the Texans have an advantage over some teams because they have the same system and, in the case of the offensive line and coach Mike Devlin, the same five starters returning for the first time since O’Brien was fired in 2014.
The continuity of having Martin returning with left tackle Laremy Tunsil, left guard Max Scharping, right guard Zach Fulton and right tackle Tytus Howard should benefit the offense immensely.
“We got some good new pieces last year,” Martin said. “In my first couple of years, I was the only returning starter on the O-line. Last year, it was me and Fulton. This year, we’ve got five really good players, and it’s the first year since I’ve been here that we’ve got our full line coming back and being able to play together again.
“Being in the same system every year and having the starters back on the O-line is huge, whether it’s the verbiage of the offense or schematically, especially at this time of year.
“We’ve been with OB, Mike and Timmy a long time, and that’s an advantage for us.”
Martin and his wife took a recent trip to Dallas to visit his brother, Dallas Cowboys guard Zach Martin. The Martin brothers are best friends.
“My brother has to learn a whole new offense with (Mike) McCarthy coming in,” Martin said. “We’re installing the same offense we’ve had for years. It helps when guys have been through it, especially since we can’t go into the building.”
Martin is coming off the best season of his career. He’s the leader of the offensive line and signed a three-year, $33 million extension last year. He was asked for his reaction when he learned Tunsil had become the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history when he signed a three-year extension averaging $22 million a year.
“It was no surprise, and he deserves every penny,” Martin said. “He’s an unbelievable player. When you watch some of the things he does on film, there’s just a lot of people that can’t do the things he does. That’s why he deserves it, and that’s why he got it.”
O’Brien gave Miami two firstround draft choices and a secondround pick to get Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills the week before regular season began.
“L.T. got thrown in the fire,” Martin said. “He had a week to prepare, and he did an unbelievable job. That’s a testament to him that shows how good and smart he is. I’m hoping to play with him for a long time.”
Martin expects substantial improvement from Howard and Scharping in their second seasons. They were drafted in the first and second rounds last year and started as rookies before Howard suffered a midseason knee injury that sidelined him for the last eight games.
“Having Tytus and Max getting ready to make what’s usually the biggest jump from the first to second year and them having a season under their belt is going to be good for us,” Martin said. “We expect big things from them.
“One of Max’s biggest advantages is how intelligent he is. He’s one of the smartest guys in the room. He was able to pick up the offense early, understood the concepts, and that put him in a good position. Tytus did that, too.
“They’re both hard workers. Tytus has that mean streak you want. He tries to kill his guy. He’s the kind of guy that’ll fight with you to the death, and that’s good to know you’re playing with a guy with that attitude.”