Is Josh McDaniels any good?

I know Tom Brady hasn't been Tom Brady lately (although he did give you a little taster against the Saints) but seriously I think no one has sucked as bad as McDaniels this season.

His play calling BLOWS MY MIND. Someone tell me why yesterday when Ridley started to get rolling against the toughest front in the league he decided to go empty back and let Tom sling it like a Madden game when clearly he and our receivers aren't exactly playing Madden-esque football right now?

I would honestly have more faith in letting Tom run a Denver style offense where they just say 'Hey Peyton, what you think' than McDaniels calling his god awful plays right now.

Surely red zone creativity and atrocious 3rd down percentage comes down to the lack of play call inspiration to get guys open from your OC because i refuse to believe that Brady who has been all time great in both categories is the reason.

On the contraire we have to give a huge thumbs up to Matt Patricia for the way he's finally got his D playing the way it should.

They abandoned the run because they were stuffed for 3 loses and one no-gain in their horrid third quarter.

But, overall, I do tend to agree with you.

There's a few times - including the miserable red zone all running plays series against the Saints last week which included Brady audibling out of the original play into one that in the end doesn't work.

If the offense was executing, McDaniels wouldn't be getting bashed by anyone on here - look at the first half the last 2 games, both good performances then the 2nd half is just pathetic, I don't know what happens there?

I'm not a fan of his play-calling at all.

McDaniels play calling is not the problem. I've counted at least 6 times these last 3 weeks that if Brady throws a better ball they are all touchdowns and for the season it's probably double that.

I am sure that McDaniels could call a better game (what OC couldn't), but the problems with the offense is mostly execution. McDaniels didn't call a play where he told Solder to let Mohammed Wilkerson run straight at Brady without being touched. McDaniels didn't tell Brady to throw a ball right to the defender so he could have a pick six.

I don't get how people always blame McDaniels when the offense struggles and say it is despite his bad play calling when it is clicking on all cylanders. Again, he probably could call a better game and has some questionable calls at times, but he shouldn't be blamed for the poor execution from the offense.

I don't think you can make an argument that MacDaniels is a bad OC by any means, his track record is exceptional, however he gets way too cute at times and will abandon the run game in favor of empty backfields much too often imo. Like Brady he is also suffering from the lack of experience at the skill positions, although I think he was a driving force behind the decision to get rid of Welker in favor of Amendola, and while that may pay off over the next five years asof this point in time it has been a big loss for the patriots, as Welker continues to be Welker and Amendola has largely been unavailable. When the Patriots get healthy and the young players have more experience I expect the offense to improve significantly but right now it is going to be a struggle, which is all the more reason to be m ore aggressive in the run game.

Right now every aspect of the patriots offense has to get better but their track record in this regard has always been strong and I expect that will be the case this year as well.

It's hard to do well on 3rd dwn when you take a feast or famine approach on 1st and 2nd down. Too often if they lose on those downs the conversion becomes unlikely. Please stop running it on 2nd and 10, how is 3rd and 8 more manageable than 3rd and 10?

Honestly. He is but not really that consistent...some games yes...others no

Re: Is Josh McD any good?

Lets put it this way?

When Charlie Weis gets fired after this season, I would welcome him back as NE OC with open arms.

Every fan base seems to think they have the worse OC in the entire league. At the end of the day, McDaniels only calls the plays. He's not the one dropping passes or over throwing receivers. As I've said before, just because a play didn't work doesn't mean it was a bad call.

Big-T said:

There's a few times - including the miserable red zone all running plays series against the Saints last week which included Brady audibling out of the original play into one that in the end doesn't work.

If the offense was executing, McDaniels wouldn't be getting bashed by anyone on here - look at the first half the last 2 games, both good performances then the 2nd half is just pathetic, I don't know what happens there?

Click to expand...

It seems like the other team adjusts in the locker room and the Pats just keep doing the same thing as the 1st half.

Froob said:

Every fan base seems to think they have the worse OC in the entire league. At the end of the day, McDaniels only calls the plays. He's not the one dropping passes or over throwing receivers. As I've said before, just because a play didn't work doesn't mean it was a bad call.

Click to expand...

But he is the guy who, when he panics, goes empty backfield and tries to chuck it all over the place.

Froob said:

Every fan base seems to think they have the worse OC in the entire league. At the end of the day, McDaniels only calls the plays. He's not the one dropping passes or over throwing receivers. As I've said before, just because a play didn't work doesn't mean it was a bad call.

Click to expand...

That's the thing. People forget that a large portion of Pats' fanbase hated Weis in 2003. People complained that his play calling was too predictable. People complained that they couldn't convert third downs. People complained about him giving up on the run.

It's revisionist history now that Weis was always universally loved in this town. It is wonders what Corey Dillon and two additional Super Bowl rings (obvious three all together) can do for your legacy.

Nobody ever likes their OC

NE ran 70 plays, but only 20 were runs.

So the pattern this year is going to be blaming the QB and the O.C. for every loss, while letting the rookies, running backs and offensive line off the hook, and ignoring the injury factor, even though those are likely to all be much bigger contributors to the losses.


Good to know, moving forward.

People weren't saying this last year when we were carving up defenses every week and putting up ridiculous scores.

The loss of Hernandez, Welker (and Gronk/Vereen) hasn't been easy for McDaniels either. He can't call the same plays with players who don't know the system aswell/are rookies/have butterfingers. It will take time.

Who was our OC in 2007 when we broke many league records including most TD passes (Brady) and receptions (Moss), most team TDs, most points in a season, and went 16-0 (18-0, really, but whatever)... yep. I thought so. Maybe it's the PLAYERS?

Its pretty sad how you can predict every 2nd and long play will be a run for 2 yards or less. Thats because the defenses know exactly what the Patriots are doing in that situation because they do it every time. Embarrasingly too predictable, and it makes no sense, especially against a D-line like the Jets.

The argument that he abandons the run too fast is inaccurate, he runs the ball plenty, just in stupid situations when you shouldnt be running and the defense can easily stop it. Save the run plays for 2nd and 5, not 2nd and 14 after a sack or run for a loss. Maybe hes thinking running on a long distance down will catch the defense off guard, but it doesnt. Because they do it every time. The defense is fully on guard every time.

Not to mention the random lobs and bombs down field on 3rd down, instead of trying to move the chains. If you are going to take a long shot, do it on 1st of 2nd so you have time to recover. Don't lob the ball 20 yards down field on 3rd and 4 and hope Gronk can jump over a perfectly positioned defender to make the catch.

And dont get me wrong, I am well aware of the WR struggles, but the playcalling, and more specifically, the situational playcalling, has been absolutely mind blowing. Its like Josh is trying to outsmart himself and make nonsensical playcalls on purpose. Like does he think its a mind game that will confuse the opponent by making painfully bad play call choices?

As a fan, I shouldnt be able to predict how EVERY SINGLE play is going to fail specifically, before the ball is even snapped. And yet I have done that on so many occasions this year, with the exception of the Falcons game.

End rant.