jbb9s

I dont know whose call it is for substitution packages, but seeing Vrabel on the field for consecutive NON-goal-line plays is pretty worrisome. Especially since that was after the Adalius injury.

If you are defending having Vrabel in on random offensive plays, you are telling me he is a better tight end than Dave Thomas and if that is the case, Thomas needs to be cut if he is outplayed by a OLB.

Also, remember the play that seemed to trigger a series of injuries for Big Sey - the fullback snaps 3 or 4 years ago.

Deus Irae

The problem is that a lot of what people call "play calling" is nothing of the kind. Go take a look at the Bills board from today's loss, like this thread for example:

A Few Thoughts About The Game - Two Bills Drive Forums

And you will see the fans of other teams making the same claims of "I knew every play they were going to call", etc...

Those people are lying, of course. Furthermore, what looks the same to the viewer is often a similar play run from the same formation because something was seen earlier, or some other variant brought forth in the course of the game.

Another problem is that people complain no matter what happens, if a play is deemed unsuccessful. If a 3rd and long leads the coach to try a draw, the screams are that the team was too conservative. If that same play results in an incomplete pass, the complaint is that a draw would have gotten the yards. Coordinators are always in the cross hairs because, no matter how good a game the O.C. calls, there will always be some plays which didn't succeed, so there will always be someone who thinks that they could have done a better job.

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"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius

captain stone

How in the world can a game in which the offense scores only 20 points be considered an OC's best game? When/if Heath Evans is used more often as BJGE's lead blocker, when/if the coaches don't outsmart themselves with empty backfield formations during runnable down/distances, and when/if they stop tightening their sphincters in the RZ, then we can more likely discuss whether McD has had a "best game evah" moment...and I hope that happens this Thursday night.

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Question Authority.

Deus Irae

And, once again, as if by magic, someone comes along and proves my point.....

__________________
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius

Leave No Doubt

I think we all forget Josh is(to some degree anyway) a work in progress. Also this year he's had to gameplan around a backup QB who's seen no real NFL playtime yet had to step in for a HOF QB. When Brady went down EVERYTHING changed, and the priority shifted from slamdunking every game to the development of Matt Cassel and his offense.

Josh deserves a lot of credit this season for the way he (with BB) has nurtured this development. Maybe some of the playcalling has been at the expense of a win here and there but preparing and building the Cassel-led team for a playoff run is more important than anything else. As long as we win enough games to get to the dance...the most important thing is that once we get there the stakes go up, and MattyIce has to be prepped and ready. Josh and BB are steadily (and thus far pretty successfully) working towards that goal.

If nothing else we should have learned something key from last year...it doesn't matter how you start out, what matters is how you finish.

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edit...2012 BABY!

maverick4

McDaniels is not a BAD offensive coordinator. I can give him credit for a great game yesterday. Going into a game plan with an above average strategy was never his problem. The problem is when things aren't working like he wrote on the blackboard, and he has trouble recognizing or adjusting while in-game. The game plan worked yesterday so there was no need for adjustments in game. Yesterday was a good game though, BJGE is a great runner, he finds small holes and makes the most of them, always churning for more yards.

maverick4

First of all, Charlie Weiss won a Superbowl with a no-name 6th round QB, a free agent castoff in Antowain Smith, an offensive line made up of spare parts, and David Patten and Troy Brown as his receivers. Only Brown was a stud going into that season.

Second of all, I love how your last sentence admits that McDaniels runs the show mostly on offense, yet whenever something goes wrong offensively you will deny this and point all your fingers at Belichick. McDaniels must be your relative, the way you defend him with such bias.

Rob0729

First, I don't remember the Pats going to the Super Bowl with just an offense and no defense or special teams. I am pretty sure the Pats got to the first two Super Bowls with dominant defenses and offenses that didn't make costly mistakes. In fact, the defense got the Pats to the Super Bowl in 2003 despite a very average offense that had a lot of trouble converting third downs.

Second, I have never said McDaniels does anything alone. Belichick gives him autonomy, but he has a staff and Belichick is still very involved in the offense. In fact, if you look at my response to DaBruinz, I said that Belichick played "an important role" in Cassel's development. Whether an OC succeeds or fails, he has a staff and a head coach who play a role in that success or failure. As I said to DaBruinz, the OC gets the blame or credit for that success or failure. You can say the same thing about Belichick. He cannot succeed unless he has talented coaches supporting him.

As for bias, your hatred of McDaniels is well documented. You should worry about your on credibility on the subject of the man when you blamed him last week for Dave Thomas' late hit and Jabbar Gaffney's dropped ball. With comments like those, you really shouldn't be questioning other people's biases and credibility now should you?

maverick4

Yet more ad hominem because you cannot debate on the facts.

I do not have hatred for McDaniels, but I am able to objectively see, over a 3 year body of evidence, that he isn't the offensive God you and others make him out to be. The guy comes in with good game plans, but is horrible with in-game adjustments.

Rather than brand every McDaniels criticism from anybody as being out of hate, why don't you take a look in the mirror and think about why you get so uppity every time anyone says a negative thing about him? In terms of who is a less objective fan, it is the one who refuses to see any faults with his team whatsoever.

Deus Irae

You're another one who confuses opinions with facts. Your opinion is NOT fact.

__________________
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius