Kudos to Bill O'Brien

[The Dynasty]

After a week where he was getting criticized left and right on this board I think he deserves a lot of credit for last nights performance and some posters need to reevaluate their opinions on him. This guy has improved a great deal from last year and it has shown.

Clearly the coming in it was known that it was going to be tough to run the ball against the Steelers defense, but you simply cannot pass the ball every single play. BOB did a great job of running the ball just enough to be able to keep the safeties honest which set up the play action and Brady is one of the best play action fakers in the league. This set up some big plays last night.

Also, they got creative with the TEs. There were pretty much always 2 TEs on the field at a time, this helped with the blocking and giving Brady some time, but it also set up Gronk in some passing plays based on the coverages, defense schemes from the Steelers. Herndandez wasnt on the field much because he is not known for his blocking, and last night was a game where you needed blocking TEs both in the running game and passing game. This shows how valuable the TEs are in the Pats offense and how they can be used effectively.

Another thing that BOB has been criticized on has been is lack of creativity and predictability. He was very creative last night and mixed things up. He also took some shots down the field, which he hasnt the past few weeks. The Patriots did a good job on first and second downs setting up manageable 3rd downs, which definitely was key against the Steelers D.

I would like to see this game plan in the majority of the games the rest of the season. The Patriots are not a run first offense, so they arent going to be a run the ball down your throat team, but they need to run the ball just enough for the opposing defense to atleast respect it. Doing this helps Brady and the WRs in the passing game. BOB definitely deserves some credit on his game plan, especially after getting a great deal of criticism last week.

 

[Patsfan_22]

Agreed, I thought there was a nice mix in the playcalling, I especially liked the plays when he faked the reverse and bought even more time for receivers to break free.

That being said, I feel like the steelers (especially Polamalu) were overplaying the run alot of the time, I mean the patriots don't usually run on 2nd and long.

 

[mgteich]

I agree with the OP. Kudos to O'Brien.

Personally, I don't understand how using two TE's is "creative", when we have three quality TE's.

Using a 2 TE formation most times (and sometimes there TE's) merely puts high priority on the protection of Brady and put high priority on the use of the considerable talent of the tight ends.

This approach is overdue.

 

[apple strudel]

... BOB ...

Wow Bob wow. YouTube - Red Room - Wow Bob Wow

 

[The Dynasty]

I agree with the OP. Kudos to O'Brien.

Personally, I don't understand how using two TE's is "creative", when we have three quality TE's.

Using a 2 TE formation most times (and sometimes there TE's) merely puts high priority on the protection of Brady and put high priority on the use of the considerable talent of the tight ends.

This approach is overdue.

Good point. I guess creative wasnt a good word. I guess it just took 9 games to figure out the best way of utilizing their TEs the best way

 

[WelshPat]

The thing that impressed me was how they managed to keep the Steelers in mismatches, keeping Hampton off the field, getting Gronk matched up with William Gay.

I like how attacked the defense short, med and long, really took advantage of those Steeler corners.

 

[The Brandon Five]

The Steelers bit hard on the play-action that led to Gronk's 2nd TD. Nicely designed and well-executed.

 

[Kid~Brady]

I liked the one best where BJ ran into Brady and threw the whole defense off

 

[apple strudel]

I liked the one best where BJ ran into Brady and threw the whole defense off

"I meant to do that!"

 

[The Dynasty]

The Steelers bit hard on the play-action that led to Gronk's 2nd TD. Nicely designed and well-executed.

Brady's play action ability of one of the best in the league and that sometimes doesnt get recognized.

 

[sbpatfan]

Yup, the offense made Polamalu look like an idiot out there last night.

 

[RayClay]

I used the word "superb" for the play calling in the game thread. I thought it was very creative, so sue me.:bricks:

 

[SVN]

as i posted in another thread, one of the cool plays for me was hiding welker in the backfield between brady and woody and on snap he ran to the left to catch an easy 10 yard completion.

 

[SVN]

Brady's play action ability of one of the best in the league and that sometimes doesnt get recognized.

frankly the steelers inflexibility on defense was exposed and has been exposed by the pats in the past. even though they know the pats dont want to run much they always try and stop the run. pats exploited it perfectly.

 

[RayClay]

as i posted in another thread, one of the cool plays for me was hiding welker in the backfield between brady and woody and on snap he ran to the left to catch an easy 10 yard completion.

Possible future play, put Woodhead on Welker's shoulder in a Gronkowski sized uniform, then have him jump off after a short route and both go in opposite directions.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Outstanding play calling AND execution last night. What is it about Pittsburgh that brings out the best in the coaching and Brady?

Regards,
Chris

 

[SVN]

Outstanding play calling AND execution last night. What is it about Pittsburgh that brings out the best in the coaching and Brady?

Regards,
Chris

same pitt defense over and over again. trying to stop the run when pats dont want to run the ball, leaving passing lanes open.

 

[Kontradiction]

O'Brien has been unfairly criticized on this forum all season. Last night, he called a great gameplan. The key for the offensive playcalls was to use the Steelers' over-aggressive nature against them... and that's exactly what he did. Although the pass was incomplete, the fake reverse that turned into a deep bomb for Tate was an excellent call. On top of that, we used the play action more in this game than I can remember at any point in this season and ran the ball just enough to execute it. One thing that I'm ecstatic about is the fact that we finally used Gronk in more of a pass catching role than a blocking role. That paid off big time as Gronk, naturally, is a big target at tight end that can cause serious match-up problems.

Also, big kudos to Mike Reiss for predicting that TBC was going to have a huge game. Their back-up LT simply could not stop him and got away with a lot of holding calls that he shouldn't have. Furthermore, big kudos to Matt Light for containing Harrison.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Kudos are all well and good, but the fact is he has never been the problem. Talent and execution are the problem. Both have improved over the last two seasons, although execution is still spotty even as Brady's rant last night underscored. Same holds true on the other side of the ball. The game plans and coaching are sound, the players just don't always take advantage of or listen to them. Oddly it seems to happen everywhere, including even where former iconic coordinators are at the helm. If they can get to the point where their execution and focus are consistent week to week and opponent to opponent, they will be in position to accomplish every teams goal.

 

[mgteich]

Yes, execution and talent matter. Even mediocre coaches can succeed with great talent, although truly aweful coaches can fail even with fine talent (see SD and Dallas).

The issue has neve been whether O'Brien came plans would be successful with perfect execution.

The issues have been whether his game plans have taken greatest advantage of the strengths of the players, and made best efforts to mask any weaknesses.

Kudos are all well and good, but the fact is he has never been the problem. Talent and execution are the problem. Both have improved over the last two seasons, although execution is still spotty even as Brady's rant last night underscored. Same holds true on the other side of the ball. The game plans and coaching are sound, the players just don't always take advantage of or listen to them. Oddly it seems to happen everywhere, including even where former iconic coordinators are at the helm. If they can get to the point where their execution and focus are consistent week to week and opponent to opponent, they will be in position to accomplish every teams goal.