Former Green Bay Packers linebacker Blake Martinez answered questions from New York reporters during a conference call on Monday. Martinez officially signed a three-year deal with the Giants, ending his four-year career with the Packers.
Martinez touched on several different topics during the Q&A. A transcript of the call is available at Big Blue Interactive.
Here are four things to know about the call from the Packers side:
1. Different wavelengths: The Packers offered Martinez a contract to return to Green Bay, but substantial differences in valuation existed between the two sides. Early in the process, both knew they’d be parting ways. The Packers eventually signed Christian Kirksey on the first day of the legal tampering period, opening the door for Martinez to depart.
“We were just in different wavelengths on where I valued myself and where they valued it,” Martinez said. “At the end of the day, it was one of the decisions that had to be made on both sides. It’s a business.”
2. Overlooked position: Martinez said he wasn’t all that surprised to be leaving Green Bay based on how the Packers value (or don’t value) the inside linebacker position. The team rarely sinks substantial resources into the position, and Martinez, a fourth-round pick, often operated as a lone linebacker during the last two seasons.
“It was 50/50 of a surprise and not a surprise. I think the way they value the inside linebacker position, especially in that defense, it wasn’t as valued as other places, I guess, in my opinion,” Martinez said.
3. Frustration with scheme: It was clear Martinez held onto some personal frustration with the way he was used by Mike Pettine in the Packers defense. He said he was often asked to be “the clean-up crew guy” behind a freelancing defensive line. According to Martinez, the responsibility of covering so many gaps limited his big-play opportunities, creating a negative outside perception of his play.
“The way we ran the defense, at least the last two years, is I’m put into the clean-up crew guy,” Martinez said. “In our defense no matter what it was, since I was the only linebacker on the field, I was taught and told once again, to be the clean-up crew guy. There wasn’t any gap responsibilities for me, it was just, ‘Hey, play off Kenny (Clark), play off Za’Darius (Smith), play off Preston (Smith), play off Dean (Lowry),’ play off these guys and basically make them right. They were able to do whatever they wanted to do and then I would go make the plays depending on that. I know there’s been things like you make tackles down the field, you make tackles here, you make tackles there. For the majority of the time there that’s what I was told to do. It’s just me doing my job in that sense.”
4. Excited to work with Graham again: One of the Giants’ main selling points for Martinez was the presence of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, the linebackers coach for the Packers during the 2018 season. Once the Giants expressed interest, Martinez pinpointed New York – and a reunion with Graham – as his preferred destination.
Martinez said he is “super close” with Graham.
“For me, what made me so excited to work with him this year and the following years is how smart he is,” Martinez said. “I think he is probably the smartest coach I’ve ever been around. The preparation he puts in every week, his intensity, just how much he cares about the game of football. It just allowed me to go in every Sunday or Monday or Thursday games fully prepared. I never felt like I didn’t know what play was going to happen next. He put that much into it and that’s how it easy it was us to understand what he was communicating to us that made everything so much easier.”