McDaniels Gameplan flawed

[bakes781]

The 5 WR sets in the 1st half looked like the game plan they had for the Vikings which would be appropriate for them. However the Eagles weakness is their run defense where as their strength is in the secondary. Perhaps it was pure arrogance on the Patriots, but I thought that was a mistake from the get go. We saw Maroney tear them up in the 2nd half. So it's not like we can't run. So why not make them respect that? Instead we almost had Brady & Moss get killed in this game. A game in which we should have won handily. Now yes the Eagles deserve all credit in the world for playing their A game. But had this been the Steelers we lose.

 

[BelichickFan]

First, I disagree given that we scored on every drive in the first half. Second, McDaniels doesn't work in a vacuum, if the gameplan were flawed then it's on Belichick just as much as McDaniels.

 

[bakes781]

True but they didnt sustain lengthy drives in the 1st half putting their already tired defense back on the field quicker.

Ok then BB deserves a share of the blame for last night's gameplan as well then.

 

[p8ryts]

The 5 WR sets in the 1st half looked like the game plan they had for the Vikings which would be appropriate for them. However the Eagles weakness is their run defense where as their strength is in the secondary. Perhaps it was pure arrogance on the Patriots, but I thought that was a mistake from the get go. We saw Maroney tear them up in the 2nd half. So it's not like we can't run. So why not make them respect that? Instead we almost had Brady & Moss get killed in this game. A game in which we should have won handily. Now yes the Eagles deserve all credit in the world for playing their A game. But had this been the Steelers we lose.

Hey, the offense scored 24 points, it couldn't have totally sucked. Seems to me it was a game plan that worked. If the defense could have gotten off the field we would have put 10-14 more points using that offense.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

The problem last night was our defense. It was unable to stop the future hall of famer Feeley

If our defense had been able to make a few more stops then the Pats offense probably scores a couple more TD's at least.

 

[bakes781]

I'm just glad Brady finally went away from Randy & gave Welker the opportunity to save our perfect season.

 

[bradmahn]

I think maybe they went five wide instead of running the ball because of the blitzes. They wanted Brady to be able to see the field and make the adjustments based on where the blitz was coming from, and the Eagles blitzed a lot.

 

[bakes781]

I think maybe they went five wide instead of running the ball because of the blitzes. They wanted Brady to be able to see the field and make the adjustments based on where the blitz was coming from, and the Eagles blitzed a lot.

That kinda makes sense, but doesn't a good run game negate a blitz even more effectively?

 

[BelichickFan]

True but they didnt sustain lengthy drives in the 1st half putting their already tired defense back on the field quicker.

First drive was 10 plays.
Second drive was 11 plays.
Thrid drive was 9 plays.

10 plays per drive is sustaining lengthy drives.

 

[pats1yes]

I posted this on another thread, but I what to repeat it.

I agree with almost all of the points made here, but I would like to add one more point.

I think our team was beginning to believe the hype. I say that because of the play calling in the first half. 4 wide-outs, no running back -- and an attitude of hey try to stop us.

The Eagles came to play and were hitting hard on both sides of the ball. But if you know what's coming, you can defend it much better. We need to rethink the play calling which will open up guys like Moss in such a game.

I don't know if anyone else was thinking this, but by the time the second quarter started I was saying to myself, OK if they will not give you the deep ball how about some running and screen plays.

We cannot become a one dimensional team -- pass, pass and pass some more. We have got to get our running game in gear and start mixing up the plays.

But I also believe the Eagles played "over their heads" last night. Not to take anything away from them. And their lines looked pretty darn good -- we could not get to the QB. I think that bothered me more than anything about the game -- get in there guys.
Edit/Delete Message

 

[bakes781]

First drive was 10 plays.
Second drive was 11 plays.
Thrid drive was 9 plays.

10 plays per drive is sustaining lengthy drives.

I'm pretty sure Philly dominated time of possesion that 1st half. We were only leading thanks to the Samuel INT return.

 

[Ring 6]

The 5 WR sets in the 1st half looked like the game plan they had for the Vikings which would be appropriate for them. However the Eagles weakness is their run defense where as their strength is in the secondary. Perhaps it was pure arrogance on the Patriots, but I thought that was a mistake from the get go. We saw Maroney tear them up in the 2nd half. So it's not like we can't run. So why not make them respect that? Instead we almost had Brady & Moss get killed in this game. A game in which we should have won handily. Now yes the Eagles deserve all credit in the world for playing their A game. But had this been the Steelers we lose.[/QUOT

<<But had this been the Steelers we lose.>>>
What?????
They are 2 different teams. We won the game, but we would have lost to a team that the Jets beat?
I wasn't thrilled with the gameplan myself. Actually coming out that way was fine, but I thought staying with it for so long made it harder to do what we wanted to do, which was throw.

I do not understand the arrogance comment. How is it more arrogant to throw than to run? Do you really feel that this coaching staff would sit down and say "They are a weak run D and a strong pass D. We are going to throw it all day. I dont care about winning, I care about proving we can have a bad game plan and win anyway"?????

 

[cblesz]

Offense is fine. The defense was bad last night. I am concerned, however that Brady is locking in on Moss too much...even trying to sling the ball into double coverage. When he went away from him and to Welker, they moved the ball at will...would like to see Watson and Stallworth involved much more.

 

[SVN]

But had this been the Steelers we lose.

we WILL do the same thing against the steelers. We wont run on the steelers and wont be able to. Even BB said this during the hawks/steelers Superbowl. You need to throw the ball to beat the steelers.

 

[BelichickFan]

I'm pretty sure Philly dominated time of possesion that 1st half. We were only leading thanks to the Samuel INT return.

They did but not because of our lack of "sustained drives". We averaged 10 plays per possession in the first half. The Eagles' drives were 3, 14, 8, 5, 8, an average of 7.6. The Eagles had two more possessions due to the INT/TD and onside kick. It had NOTHING to do with our offensive gameplan.

 

[Metaphors]

Hey, the offense scored 24 points, it couldn't have totally sucked. Seems to me it was a game plan that worked. If the defense could have gotten off the field we would have put 10-14 more points using that offense.

Couple of overlooked points:

1) The Eagles aren't deep on defense.
2) They play at 100 miles-per-hour on every play

Spread them out and make them run in the 1st half. Bring in a fresh Maroney against a spent defense and run out the game. Couple of unexpected issues with how it actually turned out...the Eagles kept it close and actually led into the 4th, and the field position to start the 2nd half was horrible.

So I agree...good gameplan, not as effective as it could have been had the defense and ST played a little better.

 

[LoveDemPats]

Sometimes that fat guys on the other team are more determined.

We could not get to A.J. Freeny because of this fact.

This is really why many of us dig football. Those big dudes really have a great impact and yet much of the time they are forgotten.

Hail to the big fat guys.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

There was NOTHING wrong with the offensive game plan last night.

The problem was that our defensive game plan left the middle of the field wide open all night. So consequently our defense looked bad. Also, our DLine got ZERO PRESSURE all night. Our blitzes didn't arrive in time either. We looked like the Bills on defense.

Ironically, Samuels won that game for us. He is the MVP of that game, and he is the one I would have put on the horse trailer. His initial 7 points and his final 7 points 'defended' contributed more to our victory than any other single factor outside of Brady. Not saying he played great in between, but who else did besides Brady and Welker?

If you notice, our running game in the second half didn't work that well when we really needed the yards and the Eagles realized that we were going to run the ball. So the idea that we could have just pounded it all night is wrong IMO. Our running game only worked when it had an element of surprise to it.

 

[bradmahn]

Sometimes that fat guys on the other team are more determined.

We could not get to A.J. Freeny because of this fact.

This is really why many of us dig football. Those big dudes really have a great impact and yet much of the time they are forgotten.

Hail to the big fat guys.

And the fat guys for the Steelers are the weakness of that team. The secondary is also questionable for Pittsburgh. Complete opposite of the Eagles.

 

[bradmahn]

If you notice, our running game in the second half didn't work that well when we really needed the yards and the Eagles realized that we were going to run the ball. So the idea that we could have just pounded it all night is wrong IMO. Our running game only worked when it had an element of surprise to it.

That's been the issue with the personnel (primarily Maroney) for a good deal of the season. Last night Maroney ran well, but on 2/3 of the snaps he was in he was handed the ball. The way they've been using him has become predictable and allows the defense to tee off. He had some good runs that impressed me because of the cuts he made, but for the most part he had nowhere to go.