Why should Belichick get a pass?

Let me be clear, I consider Belichick to be the best coach in the game by a long margin just like everyone else, however, some of his decision making make no sense to me. One of the primary reasons why I like Belichick is because he thinks analytically (myself being a mathematician).

He looks at all possible outcomes and selects the best possible one for the team at that moment. However, there are some decisions that he makes which to me makes no sense at all. I believe there are better options available at those situation.

1. What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.
2. Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.
3. Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.
4. Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.

I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations. I'm no coach and I'm criticizing a 6 time SB champion coach, but just because he has won 6 superbowls doesn't mean that every decision he makes is the right one.

\end rant

Geh nach Hause, Du kleiner "Möchtegern Fan". Deine Art hier den Coach oder auch das Team zu kritisieren ist nicht zu ertragen. You are more then irritated.

patsrulenfl said:

Let me be clear, I consider Belichick to be the best coach in the game by a long margin just like everyone else, however, some of his decision making make no sense to me. One of the primary reasons why I like Belichick is because he thinks analytically (myself being a mathematician).

He looks at all possible outcomes and selects the best possible one for the team at that moment. However, there are some decisions that he makes which to me makes no sense at all. I believe there are better options available at those situation.

1. What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.
2. Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.
3. Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.
4. Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.

I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations. I'm no coach and I'm criticizing a 6 time SB champion coach, but just because he has won 6 superbowls doesn't mean that every decision he makes is the right one.

\end rant

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I'll try here:

1). He wanted to make sure the Pats had the right alignment/personnel/play call and needed extra time to get everyone on the same page.

2). He played the percentages; plus, the punt went into the end zone for a touchback. I was OK with that choice.

3). With the offense on shaky ground with all the injuries, he felt he had a better chance of winning by putting the defense out there to ultimately force a punt and then win with a field goal.

4). This one I couldn't figure out myself, but the Pats have been doing this a lot the last few games. I think it's just a lack of confidence that good things can happen and a concern that something might backfire.

patsrulenfl said:

Let me be clear, I consider Belichick to be the best coach in the game by a long margin just like everyone else, however, some of his decision making make no sense to me. One of the primary reasons why I like Belichick is because he thinks analytically (myself being a mathematician).

He looks at all possible outcomes and selects the best possible one for the team at that moment. However, there are some decisions that he makes which to me makes no sense at all. I believe there are better options available at those situation.

1. What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.
2. Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.
3. Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.
4. Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.

I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations. I'm no coach and I'm criticizing a 6 time SB champion coach, but just because he has won 6 superbowls doesn't mean that every decision he makes is the right one.

\end rant

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Come on Roger, you gotta have more important things to do today......

Belichick makes mistakes just like anyone else. Fortunately for us, he keeps those mistakes to a minimum.

Bill has been consistent. Just hope he doesn't do this in the playoffs when he has number 12

Tunescribe said:

I'll try here:

1). He wanted to make sure the Pats had the right alignment/personnel/play call and needed extra time to get everyone on the same page.

2). He played the percentages; plus, the punt went into the end zone for a touchback. I was OK with that choice.

3). With the offense on shaky ground with all the injuries, he felt he had a better chance of winning by putting the defense out there to ultimately force a punt and then win with a field goal.

4). This one I couldn't figure out myself, but the Pats have been doing this a lot the last few games. I think it's just a lack of confidence that good things can happen and a concern that something might backfire.

Click to expand...

I agree, it seems to be more of trying tout force the situation without people Brady trusts and cause a turnover that puts the game out of reach.

patsrulenfl said:

Let me be clear, I consider Belichick to be the best coach in the game by a long margin just like everyone else, however, some of his decision making make no sense to me. One of the primary reasons why I like Belichick is because he thinks analytically (myself being a mathematician).

He looks at all possible outcomes and selects the best possible one for the team at that moment. However, there are some decisions that he makes which to me makes no sense at all. I believe there are better options available at those situation.

1. What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.
2. Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.
3. Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.
4. Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.

I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations. I'm no coach and I'm criticizing a 6 time SB champion coach, but just because he has won 6 superbowls doesn't mean that every decision he makes is the right one.

\end rant

Click to expand...

How many starters on offense were on the field on offense when Brady is playing without Vollmer, Solder, Amendola, Edelman, Blount, Lewis, Kline, and Chandler? This not "banged up." This is decimated.

Yet, still they have have a shot at the #1 seed.

Be grateful for what you are watching. I only ask for one for word in response. Which NFL coach would you prefer to Bill Belichick in today's game against the 9-5 Jets on the road?

goheels22002 said:

Be grateful for what you are watching. I only ask for one for word in response. Which NFL coach would you prefer to Bill Belichick in today's game against the 9-5 Jets on the road?

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I never questioned the fact the Bill is the best coach out there. What baffles me is that how can he make Chuck Pagano like decisions sometimes when the game is on the line. That is not what is expected from the best coach in the NFL. If Bill goes by the mantra "What's best for the team in that situation", then I'm sorry, there are certainly better options in those situations which he missed.

Bill is just a coach. The players decide whether we win or lose based on how they perform. We sucked today and got beat.

goheels22002 said:

How many starters on offense were on the field on offense when Brady is playing without Vollmer, Solder, Amendola, Edelman, Blount, Lewis, Kline, and Chandler? This not "banged up." This is decimated.

Yet, still they have have a shot at the #1 seed.

Be grateful for what you are watching. I only ask for one for word in response. Which NFL coach would you prefer to Bill Belichick in today's game against the 9-5 Jets on the road?

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I agree with u but it's not a given they will turn it on once they get everybody back. That's why i am hoping everybody plays next week on offense before the playoffs . Edelman needs the snaps. At least 30 to 35

patsrulenfl said:

What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.

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Because the decision to go for OT was already made and you can't take the timeout with you into OT. He called the TO to make sure everyone knows their assignment and there are no screw ups on a punt as in the last 3 games. Nothing wrong here.

patsrulenfl said:

Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.

Click to expand...

Have you missed the last three games ? We had turnovers on punts 3 games in a row. If you remember at the beginning of today's game the coaching staff made it even a point to fair catch punts and not attempt a return. There was no reason at all to try to return the ball and risk another turnover.

patsrulenfl said:

Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.

Click to expand...

I have said it in other threads but I will write it here again. Our defense was able to repeatedly stop the Jets quickly whereas our offense was barely able to produce a single TD drive in the entire game. Choosing to kick tells you a lot about how he trusted our defense more than our offense.

If we stop the Jets quickly, the offense works with a shortened field. If the Jets score a FG we can drive down the field using 4 downs instead only 3. The only downside was the Jets scoring the TD which happened due to unlucky circumstances (Richards getting injured, the replacement immediately taking a bad angle and running into a pick play and giving up the big play).

All in all, I think it was a ballsy and definitely reasonable decision. And I don't see any more reason to criticize this one than any other playcall in the game. If the D holds the Jets to a three and out, and we get the ball back around midfield everyone will start gushing about how much of a genius BB is.

patsrulenfl said:

Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.

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Down 7 points, we are getting ball at start of second half and we are playing with a LT that just came back from a serious injury and signed here a little more than a week ago. No reason to risk anything at that point.

I don't see anything that BB did wrong. You can philosophically disagree with playing conservatively or kicking the ball but they are by no means stupid decision but pretty reasonable.

Deferring in OT -- after calming down and thinking about it, I kind of get it. Bill plays percentages and took into account what he saw from this team all game. The D was having a decent outing, the o line was disastrous, receivers having a hard time getting open ect. Say we receive the to start OT, we get the ball at the 20, the Jets dial up a couple blitzes, blow through that shamble of an o line and we lose yardage and have to punt from let's say the 10. Your giving the Jets good feild position at that point to win on a go ahead feild goal. He took the bet on our D stopping them and us being the ones granted better field position. Do I agree with what he did? Meh, I didnt like it, but is it the worst call in the history of his coaching tenure. Absolute not.

In OT -It was 3rd and 4 at the Jets 26 and the Pats just stopped the Jets - but wait PI on Butler. If they do not throw the flag on Butler the Jets punt and Pats will likely get the ball back somewhere around their own 35 and only need 30 or so yards to be in FG range. Obviously the plan to kick in OT was bad in hindsight but at the time it was logical particularly with the way the OL was playing.

Doctor DDS said:

In OT -It was 3rd and 4 at the Jets 26 and the Pats just stopped the Jets - but wait PI on Butler. If they do not throw the flag on Butler the Jets punt and Pats will likely get the ball back somewhere around their own 35 and only need 30 or so yards to be in FG range. Obviously the plan to kick in OT was bad in hindsight but at the time it was logical particularly with the way the OL was playing.

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Yes..... One can look at today's game sort of like this:

The Patriots were one instance of Malcolm Butler stupidly and needlessly pulling on a jersey from being in position to likely win the game, despite suffering more injuries and being clearly underpowered on offense. If Malcolm Butler keeps his hand to himself, BB is being feted as a genius.

This team left everything until the final day. I hope they don't get burned in miami. Miami sucks but you let them hang around and anything can happen. The refs can screwed u.

HeadHunter said:

Deferring in OT -- after calming down and thinking about it, I kind of get it. Bill plays percentages and took into account what he saw from this team all game. The D was having a decent outing, the o line was disastrous, receivers having a hard time getting open ect. Say we receive the to start OT, we get the ball at the 20, the Jets dial up a couple blitzes, blow through that shamble of an o line and we lose yardage and have to punt from let's say the 10. Your giving the Jets good feild position at that point to win on a go ahead feild goal. He took the bet on our D stopping them and us being the ones granted better field position. Do I agree with what he did? Meh, I didnt like it, but is it the worst call in the history of his coaching tenure. Absolute not.

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^This.

Not a fan of it myself, but I understand.

patsrulenfl said:

I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations.

Click to expand...

BB has said they needed better coaching many times.

patsrulenfl said:

Let me be clear, I consider Belichick to be the best coach in the game by a long margin just like everyone else, however, some of his decision making make no sense to me. One of the primary reasons why I like Belichick is because he thinks analytically (myself being a mathematician).

He looks at all possible outcomes and selects the best possible one for the team at that moment. However, there are some decisions that he makes which to me makes no sense at all. I believe there are better options available at those situation.

1. What was the point of wasting a timeout at the end of regulation time, when the clock was already stopped.
2. Why did he go for a blocked punt formation and not keep a punt returner? It's hard to block a punt when the blockers already know it. With a good return and a timeout we could have atleast tried a 50 yard FG with the best kicker in the game.
3. Why did he chose to kick the ball in OT? His answer is "It's best for the team". WTF does that mean? It clearly isn't. The Pats couldn't stop the Jets for most of the game and he suddenly realized he could stop them? You get the ball and try to score. The defense then knows what it needs to do.
4. Why was there no urgency at the end of the half when we had over a minute left? I understand that we were banged up, but with this banged up team we wouldn't have scored at the start of the 2nd half either. What's the point of playing if you are not confident in your team. Just take out Brady, Gronk and all the starters and put in the 2nd stringers.

I find it irritating that Bill never (or atleast I've never heard him say) says "I made a mistake with that call". It's always "What's best for the team", when clearly it's not the case in some situations. I'm no coach and I'm criticizing a 6 time SB champion coach, but just because he has won 6 superbowls doesn't mean that every decision he makes is the right one.

\end rant

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Others have done a good job at explaining your questions. All I have to add is that I agree with you, you're no coach.

Both double B's cost us the game today.

We best beat Miami