Josh McDaniels: The X Factor

[WinstonSmith]

Mcdaniels has a unique Patriots' insider/outsider perspective, which was shaped and refined by his head coaching experience in Denver. It necessitated that he have a big picture perspective and take into concideration how to incorporate offense, deffense and special teams into a unified game plan.

He was able to stretch his wings outside of Bill's shadow and obsorb new ideas from his staff and experiences, and his brief stop with the Rams would supply him with additional ideas and frameworks. Ultimately, he failed in his non Patriots' endeavors, but they made him stronger and a better coach.

His post Patriots' experience coupled with his intimate knowledge of the Pats will allow him to spot critical tendencies, weak spots, and hidden strengths for both teams. He has had 2 games to assimilate himselve with the team, and with the additional week to prepare I believe that Josh will and has made significant contributions to the game plan.

With Obrien focused on making the calls, Mcdaniels' perspective will allow the Patriots to make adjustments quicker, almost on the fly, which could be the difference in the game.

 

[oldskool138]

So long as he doesn't try to bomb it deep if the Pats are down by three late instead of methodically moving the ball down the field and into field goal range like he didn't do in 2007, he'll be alright.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Funny you bring this up because this has crossed my mind a few times this week. Hard to guess how much power he has in calling the plays or if he just identifying defensive changes and schemes. I haven't seen it anywhere, but is McDaniels on the field or in the booth?

 

[oldskool138]

I haven't seen it anywhere, but is McDaniels on the field or in the booth?

In the booth. The showed him there a couple of times during the Pats two playoff games.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Might be a reach but I wonder how much working for Spagnulo in StL and understanding the defensive scheme he has (my understanding is that it's pretty much the same still, just different coach obviously) will help the Pats today. Its probably minimal but I guess it can't hurt.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I think the more smart football minds you have working for you, the better.

I still think this is BOB's offense and Josh hasn't worked with the caliber of TEs that we have here so I don't think he'll have a huge impact on the game. But he's another set of eyes, and I think takes on almost a mini-Ernie Adams-type role.

 

[alvinnf]

Might be a reach but I wonder how much working for Spagnulo in StL and understanding the defensive scheme he has (my understanding is that it's pretty much the same still, just different coach obviously) will help the Pats today. Its probably minimal but I guess it can't hurt.

Brilliant......

 

[Ochmed Jones]

On Surius XMradio. they said the Pats spent a lot of time on picking up the Giants D Line stunts and inside and various outside blitzes by Safeties,CB's and LBers and that McDaniels spent a lot of time teaching the scout team how to run those blitzes correctly.

I expect the Patriots to use Solder as a blocking TE a good bit tonight and I am not sure McDaniels will have anything to do with the play calling.