Josh McDaniels

[UofApatsfan]

I've been maybe more critical of him all year than anyone else, but in spite of the score, I thought he called a great game and the offense just didn't execute. Quite frankly, this offense is outmatched without Gronk and with Deion Branch as the 3rd best receiver on the team and no amount of coaching can overcome that. McDaniels had several great play calls where the Ravens over-pursued and the offense either didn't execute or got a lot less yards than they could have.

Obviously the offense has major holes that need to be addressed and I'm on the we need a real #1 receiver bandwagon as much as anybody, but McDaniels got progressively better during the year and I think having him next year with 2012 back in New England under his belt is something to look forward to. The running game is better than it's been in years, and the offense was elite this year in spite of the fact it's only real physical advantage over other teams (Gronknandez) wasn't healthy all year. I would love to see what he can do with a healthy Gronknandez and a #1 receiver opposite Lloyd next year.

 

[simijet]

I've been maybe more critical of him all year than anyone else, but in spite of the score, I thought he called a great game and the offense just didn't execute. Quite frankly, this offense is outmatched without Gronk and with Deion Branch as the 3rd best receiver on the team and no amount of coaching can overcome that. McDaniels had several great play calls where the Ravens over-pursued and the offense either didn't execute or got a lot less yards than they could have.

Obviously the offense has major holes that need to be addressed and I'm on the we need a real #1 receiver bandwagon as much as anybody, but McDaniels got progressively better during the year and I think having him next year with 2012 back in New England under his belt is something to look forward to. The running game is better than it's been in years, and the offense was elite this year in spite of the fact it's only real physical advantage over other teams (Gronknandez) wasn't healthy all year. I would love to see what he can do with a healthy Gronknandez and a #1 receiver opposite Lloyd next year.

While I do feel the Pats could use a legitimate #1 receiver, I really believe they have one of the most well balanced offenses in the NFL. The reason your team lost tonight was the defense's inability to adjust once the Ravens decided to air it out after halftime. Relax - the offense is fine.

 

[UofApatsfan]

While I do feel the Pats could use a legitimate #1 receiver, I really believe they have one of the most well balanced offenses in the NFL. The reason your team lost tonight was the defense's inability to adjust once the Ravens decided to air it out after halftime. Relax - the offense is fine.

The defense's inability to adjust has nothing to do with the fact New England only scored 13 points and 0 points in the 2nd half. If you watched that game and thought New England's offense looked fine then you should climb back into your mother's birth canal after handing her a clothes hanger.

It's now 3 years in a row where the offense fell flat on its face because the other team's defense jammed up the middle of the field and made Brady beat them by throwing it outside. I really don't know what to say to anyone who watched the 2010 Jets game, 2011 Giants (or Ravens) game, and 2012 Ravens game and didn't see a reoccurring theme with the offense

Anywho, this thread is about Josh McDaniels. I thought he did a good job calling plays and was wondering what other people thought.

 

[Fencer]

you should climb back into your mother's birth canal after handing her a clothes hanger.

That seems rather harsh.

 

[UofApatsfan]

That seems rather harsh.

I'm pretty sure he's Ravens fan, so it really wasn't harsh given he cheers for a team that embraces murder.

 

[condon84]

When the success of your offense largely depends on it's ability to out scheme opponents, getting shutout in the second half and only scoring 13 overall is all you need to know whether McD did a good job or not.

 

[ausbacker]

I've been maybe more critical of him all year than anyone else, but in spite of the score, I thought he called a great game and the offense just didn't execute. Quite frankly, this offense is outmatched without Gronk and with Deion Branch as the 3rd best receiver on the team and no amount of coaching can overcome that. McDaniels had several great play calls where the Ravens over-pursued and the offense either didn't execute or got a lot less yards than they could have.

Obviously the offense has major holes that need to be addressed and I'm on the we need a real #1 receiver bandwagon as much as anybody, but McDaniels got progressively better during the year and I think having him next year with 2012 back in New England under his belt is something to look forward to. The running game is better than it's been in years, and the offense was elite this year in spite of the fact it's only real physical advantage over other teams (Gronknandez) wasn't healthy all year. I would love to see what he can do with a healthy Gronknandez and a #1 receiver opposite Lloyd next year.

The Patriots scored 13 points and were shut out in the second half. The necessary adjustments were not made. I disagree with your initial statement about McDaniels calling a good game on that alone.

 

[UofApatsfan]

The Patriots scored 13 points and were shut out in the second half. The necessary adjustments were not made. I disagree with your initial statement about McDaniels calling a good game on that alone.

What adjustments do you think he should make? There's really nothing a coach can do to prepare for a receiver dropping a pass on 3rd down that hits him right in the chest.

 

[ausbacker]

What adjustments do you think he should make? There's really nothing a coach can do to prepare for a receiver dropping a pass on 3rd down that hits him right in the chest.

There was very few screens called throughout the entire game, the use of the snap count was reasonably poor and the choice of 3rd down play selection was average at best. Vereen was used far too sparingly. The list is long and distinguished.

As for receivers dropping passes, I wholeheartedly agree. Brady missed a plethora of wide open receivers. Connect on those then who knows. The fact remains that the Patriots allowed the game to get away from them. That's on D and the O.

It didn't seem like the coaches had a grasp on the flow of the game after half time.

 

[UofApatsfan]

When the success of your offense largely depends on it's ability to out scheme opponents

That's more of an indictment on the talent than it is on the coaching. Scheming can only get you so far with inferior talent. The fact Baltimore had a weapon in Boldin who didn't need great scheming to be productive and New England didn't isn't McDaniels' fault.

What do you think he should have done differently?

 

[UofApatsfan]

There was very few screens called throughout the entire game, the use of the snap count was reasonably poor and the choice of 3rd down play selection was average at best. Vereen was used far too sparingly. The list is long and distinguished.

As for receivers dropping passes, I wholeheartedly agree. Brady missed a plethora of wide open receivers. Connect on those then who knows. The fact remains that the Patriots allowed the game to get away from them. That's on D and the O.

It didn't seem like the coaches had a grasp on the flow of the game after half time.

I'll agree with you on Vereen. The fact Woodhead still gets snaps over him is a joke. I think you didn't see a lot of the plays on 3rd down we normally see because Baltimore made a concerted effort to shut them down and force Brady to beat them another way.

As for screens, there were 1-2 where McDaniels called them, they were there because Baltimore was over aggressive, and Brady didn't execute for one reason or another. Screens are also only gonna work so many times against a veteran defense.

 

[Wilfork#75]

Relax - the offense is fine.

I strongly disagree. The last 5 times the Pats have been eliminated from the playoffs, they have only scored:
15
17
21
14
14

The offense in big games is a huge concern. It just gets masked in the regular season because Brady is so good. While you can blame the 2nd half defense for the loss, they should never have been in that position. We should have had a comfortable half time lead because we dominated for the most part, but just couldn't execute when it mattered in the red zone. Is that McDaniels fault? I don't really think so, I thought he was pretty good in the first half. I was a little concerned with the play calling early in the second half where I felt Brady was trying too hard to push the ball down the field. I would have preferred they establish the run once again with Ridley and use more of a screen game to move the Ravens bigger LBers around a bit.

 

[DefenseRules]

I strongly disagree. The last 5 times the Pats have been eliminated from the playoffs, they have only scored:
15
17
21
14
14

The offense in big games is a huge concern. It just gets masked in the regular season because Brady is so good. While you can blame the 2nd half defense for the loss, they should never have been in that position. We should have had a comfortable half time lead because we dominated for the most part, but just couldn't execute when it mattered in the red zone. Is that McDaniels fault? I don't really think so, I thought he was pretty good in the first half. I was a little concerned with the play calling early in the second half where I felt Brady was trying too hard to push the ball down the field. I would have preferred they establish the run once again with Ridley and use more of a screen game to move the Ravens bigger LBers around a bit.

There has not been decent offensive play calling in big games since Weis left.
I put a lot of our playoff woes on the coaching. The players get 50% of the blame, and 50% on the coaches. McDaniels did not adjust well to what the Ravens D was doing. He had no answer and the Players did not execute the plays that he called well. As for the defense, they were never good enough to begin with, and neither was the DC. One injury left him incapable of adjusting his defensive personnel. The entire team failed. Blame one player if you like, but I blame the entire team. I saw failure on both sides of the ball. At least special teams showed up, or it could have been so much worse.

 

[DarrylS]

When a team commits 3 turnovers, and the other team commits 0 the team with the most turnovers generally loses...

 

[Fencer]

When a team commits 3 turnovers, and the other team commits 0 the team with the most turnovers generally loses...

15 point margin on 2 TOs, before the desperation TO at the end. TOs weren't the whole problem by any means.

 

[Fencer]

I was calling for shotgun/Vereen one drive before the Patriots actually went to that (i.e., before the drive on which Brady fumbled). Nothing else was working; it was time to go back to Brady's roots.

The first such drive DID get into FG territory. A FG on what wound up being the fumble drive would have cut the margin to 5 points.

 

[pats_premi]

The Patriots played scared, punting the ball (twice) when they were inside the raven 40 yard line instead of taking another shot to get a first.. They just neted 20+ yards. The raven took the ball and marched down the field. They knew it was just matter of time before the raven offense would start clicking after Talib went out.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The play-calling could have been better. Adjustments could have been made. but...

1) No Gronk to go to in the red zone
2) WW drop
3) Ridley fumble
4) Injured Talib

Change those 4 things into positives and I firmly believe that we are talking differently this morning.

 

[DarrylS]

15 point margin on 2 TOs, before the desperation TO at the end. TOs weren't the whole problem by any means.

Statistically it has been proven that if you commit two more turnovers than the other team your chance of losing goes up significantly.. remember Kerry Byrnes talking about that, cannot find the stats right now but it is significant.

They were not the whole problem, but a significant problem.. coupled with 5 drives into the red zone and only getting 13 points..

 

[DarrylS]

The play-calling could have been better. Adjustments could have been made. but...

1) No Gronk to go to in the red zone
2) WW drop
3) Ridley fumble
4) Injured Talib

Change those 4 things into positives and I firmly believe that we are talking differently this morning.

Throw in the lucky bounced interception and we are in complete agreement..