maverick4

(posted this in last night's temporary forum, I guess it wasn't migrated over to the main one):

I was very disappointed by the play-calling, and before you say it's because we lost, I have been calling out McDaniels' work a few times this season even when we were winning and scoring a bazillion points. The offensive calls were slow to adjust, and didn't take advantage of the Giants' going for the pass rush every single down. Where were the 3-step drops, no huddle, inside runs and traps and draws, the slants, the screens? When it was clear our O-Line couldn't handle the Giants' pass rush in the first quarter, we should have stopped going for the home run and all the slow-developing plays that we kept trying to do in the second half, especially in the final drive. There is no excuse for 5 sacks and 18 knockdowns of Brady in the game, the O-Line was outplayed but you also have to blame the playcalling for stats like that.

The final drive was, in one word, inexcusable. We had 30 seconds, all 3 timeouts, and we basically chuck it deep to Moss twice and also have a sack on *another* slow developing pass pattern?

Basically, I think Josh McDaniels is one of the luckest coaches in the NFL. The Pats are so stacked at offensive talent that this guy gets bailed out for average playcalling that is not just slow to adjust, but also becoming very predictable. Well, the Superbowl exposed his inexperience, it shows he doesn't know what to do against certain things, he may be a good worker but he isn't a strategy genius. And Belichick should be more hands-on with the offense instead of let such a young guy run the show.

nashvillepatsfan

ummm, first off, i thought ole josh did much better this year with play calling, than last year(up till the playoffs). with that said, i COMPLETELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE YOU SAID. no quick passes? screens, etc, would have helped greatly.

MRBLAZE

It was inexcusable. However, I don't think BB is wrong about McDaniels. I have a lot of faith in Bill, McDaniels is going to win Super Bowls as a head coach one day, it just sucks that his learning curve had to occur at the least opportune time. I'm still shocked adjustments weren't made sooner. And I don't give a damn what anyone says or that Stephen missed the 35yder against the Jags and shanked the kickoff, you take the 49yder in such a low-scoring defensive struggle. That was just insane.

__________________
"What Tom Brady just did gives me goosebumps"
-John Madden


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

nashvillepatsfan

has b.b. said anything about why he made that call?? it was bizzzzzare.

maverick4

Another thing I thought of, was I can't recall maybe more than 1 time we used shotgun... how do you not use shotgun, or more 3-step-drops, or many other strategies listed above, against a devastating pass rush?

unoriginal

I sincerely and completely question your recollection.

I also will politely ask if you know what a shotgun formation is.

I'm trying not to be rude here but either you (a) are confused about football terminology, (b) did not watch the same game the rest of us saw, or (c) are suffering from amnesiac shock.

maverick4

If this thread is true, I'm not surprised, it confirms what I thought already, that our gameplan sucked, and McDaniels refused to deviate or adjust to what the Giants were doing:

McDaniels to Brady: 'We are not changing a thing'
McDaniels to Brady: "We are not changing a thing"

maverick4

I read all the recent offensive threads, especially the one about the poster concerned that he/she isn't sure what happened this time won't happen again.

I think that a common demoninator for our struggles in the playoffs, ever since 2004, is McDaniels.
I'd say that for both of our crushing losses at Denver, at Indy, and against the Giants, there was talk about slow or failed adjustments on offense, and how the offense let us down, or simply 'didn't execute'.

When are people going to finally call this guy out?

JoeSixPat

I've been tough on McDaniels in the past as well - though its interesting to note the 180 degrees difference he's had in personnel and therefore 2 very different challenges.

In 2006 I fault him for completely giving up on a deep game - even though he didn't have the greatest talent I don't think you can EVER give up on trying to keep defenses honest.

He gave up and the team paid the consequences, with the OL deserving twice as much credit for a job well done in 2006 than in 2007.

In 2007 he had Moss - and while the Brady to Moss combination - that of course opened up Welker quite nicely - was unstoppable in the first half, teams began to adjust in the 2nd half and I never saw McDaniels adjust well. We certainly had some additional talent on the field and I don't feel like he utilized Stallworth all that well, or even Watson.

I hope that the lure of a record for Moss and Brady didn't affect his playcalling, but it remained far too Moss centered for my preference, especially when Moss was being double teamed consistently.

Most people won't look beyond the 16-0 mark and therefore wouldn't think of criticizing McDaniels, but he's far from perfect, and has learned, I hope, two polar opposite lessons on playcalling in the last 2 years.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

maverick4

People keep apologizing for this guy like they apologized for Bledsoe.
First the excuse was the lack of offensive talent, but even with a stacked offense the guy falls apart when it comes to big time games against tough defenses. One great example is our last superbowl drive with 3 timeouts, what does the guy do, call multiple deep bombs and low developing plays to Moss, when he knows Brady has been sacked or knocked down 20+ times already in the game.

The past 3 straight years against Denver, Indy, and NY, this guy has been out-coached on the offensive side of the ball.
Can't blame the lack of talent anymore, at some point people have to start looking at the guy responsible for calling the plays, being the field strategist, and running the unit.