McDaniels Gameplan flawed

[upstater1]

I agree with Bakes. There was something SERIOUSLY WRONG with the offensive gameplan last night.

I checked YPA and it was much lower than all our other games. We had long sustained drives designed to tire out the opposing defense, but that never happened as the Eagles had more stops in the second half than in the first. Typically this Patriots team moves down field faster with big chunks, and then gets the ball back to score again.

Why did we only have a few possessions in the first half? Not only because of the onsides kick (the Eagles went 3 and out there after all) but because of the dink and dunk offense.

Now, I'm not opposed to 5 wide sets, but using it continually reeks of desperation. When we went to having Maroney in the backfield, Brady had a lot of time to throw especially on playfakes.

Here's one example of a completely bogus gameplan: One the Randy Moss OPI series of play calls, we went to an empty backfield when Heath Evans split out wide. Now, how effective is that going to be with Evans way out in space? I can't be convinced that our offensive strategy wouldn't be much more productive with Maroney behind center. Even if Maroney curls into a fetal position as soon as the ball is snapped, that would have much more impact than putting Evans out wide.

 

[DaBruinz]

I have to disagree that there was nothing wrong with the offensive gameplan.

The Pats HELPED Philly out by not disguising the plays better. Also, the Pats killed Philly and Jim Johnson's defense with screens back in the SB. That is exactly what the Pats should have started doing in the 1st half.

Also, why is it that they didn't stack the receivers like they do sometimes? Have Welker, Stallworth and Moss lined up next to one another. Have them start out running straight and then have 2 of the 3 break into different routes. The likelihood of the 3-4 defensive players covering all 3 of them wiht the confusion it creates is almost nil. If you have Stallworth run a go pattern, Welker run an up and out and Moss run either a slant or an in, especially with how they were keying on Moss, you end up with either Stallworth deep or Welker near the sidelines and a lot of open field in front of him.

Now, this is not to say that the offense was bad. It was could, but could have been MUCH better.

 

[Deus Irae]

I agree with Bakes. There was something SERIOUSLY WRONG with the offensive gameplan last night.

I checked YPA and it was much lower than all our other games. We had long sustained drives designed to tire out the opposing defense, but that never happened as the Eagles had more stops in the second half than in the first. Typically this Patriots team moves down field faster with big chunks, and then gets the ball back to score again.

Why did we only have a few possessions in the first half? Not only because of the onsides kick (the Eagles went 3 and out there after all) but because of the dink and dunk offense.

Now, I'm not opposed to 5 wide sets, but using it continually reeks of desperation. When we went to having Maroney in the backfield, Brady had a lot of time to throw especially on playfakes.

Here's one example of a completely bogus gameplan: One the Randy Moss OPI series of play calls, we went to an empty backfield when Heath Evans split out wide. Now, how effective is that going to be with Evans way out in space? I can't be convinced that our offensive strategy wouldn't be much more productive with Maroney behind center. Even if Maroney curls into a fetal position as soon as the ball is snapped, that would have much more impact than putting Evans out wide.

You do realize that the YPA argument is completely bogus because of the team throwing underneath more than downfield and Moss dropping that easy deep ball, right?

 

[BradyManny]

One brutal call took 7 points off the board and we weren't as efficient in the Red Zone in general as we have been. That's basically all that separated this game from the others...execution wasn't as sharp. McD and BB adapted and started throwing screens, and that worked well in the 2nd half.

 

[bakes781]

I don't think our defense played badly. I do think tackling in the secondary is our weakness, but last night it was Feeley killing us not Westbrook.

 

[upstater1]

You do realize that the YPA argument is completely bogus because of the team throwing underneath more than downfield and Moss dropping that easy deep ball, right?

Duh. That's what YPA means. That's what I'm saying. They deliberately went to a low protection offense that necessitated short passes. This is what I wrote initially.

With Maroney back there, they could have given Brady more time for the type of passing game we've seen from the Patriots this year. I believe the offense would have been much more effective this way. And we would have had more possessions.

People don't want to believe it but there is definitely something wrong with the coaching staff's relationship with Maroney. Heath Evans was in there on 5 wide out sets. Please tell me how that helps the Patriots. I'm dying for any answer at all.

 

[Oswlek]

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.

This entire post is wrong. The Eagle pass defense was most certainly their problem.

Footballoutsiders has them as a medicore rush defense and a poor pass defense,

If it is conventional stats that you like, Philly is the sixth ranked team in defensive ypc while they are 23rd in pasing ypa allowed and 22nd in defensive passer rating.

Can we please deal in reality when making a criticism?

 

[mgteich]

If we are going to need 30 points from the offense each game, in addition to 7
from the defense and special teams, then indeed the offense didn't do enough. Personally, after the Samuel score, I think the offense did fine scoring 24 points, with 10 plays per drive.

It is the defense that allowed 28 points, and might have lost the game had the eagles not called the pass to the end zone. Allowing Feely and eagles to score 28 points is aweful, and bb will address the situation. Obviously, we should ahve signed Feely as our backup QB in one the last two offseasons (as several here suggested).

Do we have a running game? I suppose we have one when we are ahead in the second half. I believe that we called exactly zero running plays for maroney and faulk in the first half. Our offense rests on brady's arm, period. And it is what it is, one of the best offenses in history.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

One brutal call took 7 points off the board and we weren't as efficient in the Red Zone in general as we have been. That's basically all that separated this game from the others...execution wasn't as sharp. McD and BB adapted and started throwing screens, and that worked well in the 2nd half.

A missed field goal.

A break-out play down the field to Moss, who juggled and dropped the ball.

Lots of pass interference by the Eagles defense, pulling Moss's jersey over his shoulder pads at the line of scrimmage.

Lots of drops by the WRs.

Blaming the offensive game plan that has worked all year when the fault is that our skill players dropped passes, our defense was out of position due to coaching and not generating pass rush, and the officials blatantly ignored the cheating Eagles, is a bad idea.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

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.

Maroney made some great cuts and clearly has lots of talent.

I believe that the reason they used Faulk in the first half of the game is because they feel he is more of an all around asset at this point in time. He is simply ahead of Maroney, and Maroney still has a way to go to close the gap over Faulk's all around game. There are some thin skinned people around here who percieve that as a slight on Maroney. I don't care. It is simply the truth. Maroney is a work in progress.

I think it is clear that the Pats don't simply enforce their will on other teams in the run game. It seems that they need extra blocking from TEs, and they need the passing game to be working in order to set up the run.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I have to disagree that there was nothing wrong with the offensive gameplan.

The Pats HELPED Philly out by not disguising the plays better. Also, the Pats killed Philly and Jim Johnson's defense with screens back in the SB. That is exactly what the Pats should have started doing in the 1st half.

Also, why is it that they didn't stack the receivers like they do sometimes? Have Welker, Stallworth and Moss lined up next to one another. Have them start out running straight and then have 2 of the 3 break into different routes. The likelihood of the 3-4 defensive players covering all 3 of them wiht the confusion it creates is almost nil. If you have Stallworth run a go pattern, Welker run an up and out and Moss run either a slant or an in, especially with how they were keying on Moss, you end up with either Stallworth deep or Welker near the sidelines and a lot of open field in front of him.

Now, this is not to say that the offense was bad. It was could, but could have been MUCH better.

Well put. Abandoning any semblance of a running game really backfired vs the Eagles. And why in the world would you abandon the run when the Eagles don't have a very strong run D in the first place?

Going all pass, all the time allowed the Eagles to key on Moss. The Patriots also needed to be more creative in getting Moss involved in the gameplan. Leaving him alone on an island simply allowed the Eagles defense to double team him all day. Not smart.

Put him on the 3 side of the bunch now and then, and see if he can get open and make a play for you. Another way to get him free, is motion him to the other side and see who follows. If nothing else, that tells you if the Eagles are playing zone, man, or spy.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I didn't know McDaniel was doing defensive gameplans now as well.

 

[mgteich]

How many points is badly against Feely and the eagles? 28 is a lot.

I don't think our defense played badly. I do think tackling in the secondary is our weakness, but last night it was Feeley killing us not Westbrook.

 

[Deus Irae]

Are you people high? The team scored on every offensive possession in the first half. In the second half, the team dropped some easy screen passes, Moss dropped that play-action pass that was right in his hands, and the officials took 7 points off the board on the phantom P.I. call against Moss. There were no turnovers by the offense, 410 yards of offense put up and only 2 punts in the entire game. The team is 11-0 and on pace to be the greatest scoring offense in the history of the game. Quit looking for things to complain about. There is plenty of humble pie to be eaten based upon the poor defensive showing and the shoddy execution of some offensive plays. The offensive game plan was fine.

 

[DaBruinz]

Are you people high? The team scored on every offensive possession in the first half. In the second half, the team dropped some easy screen passes, Moss dropped that play-action pass that was right in his hands, and the officials took 7 points off the board on the phantom P.I. call against Moss. There were no turnovers by the offense, 410 yards of offense put up and only 2 punts in the entire game. The team is 11-0 and on pace to be the greatest scoring offense in the history of the game. Quit looking for things to complain about. There is plenty of humble pie to be eaten based upon the poor defensive showing and the shoddy execution of some offensive plays. The offensive game plan was fine.

So, you think that because they scored on every offensive play in the 1st half that the game plan wasn't flawed and couldn't have been better?

Sorry, but that tells me you are the one that is HIGH.

Also, before you saw about Moss dropping the one pass, I suggest you watch the play again. He was expecting it to his LEFT shoulder, not his right one. So he had to adjust at the last second.. Not an easy adjustment to make.

ANd no. sorry, the offensive plan wasn't fine. It was flawed. It opened Brady up to more hits. It led to more 3rd and longs needing to be converted. And it willingly made the Pats one dimensional. And while people want to point out that Philly's pass defense is ranked 23rd, I also want to submit that Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown are two of the better CBs in the league and that Brown missed 5 games this year.

At least in other games, the Pats have come out with different variations of the 3, 4, and 5 wide sets. Last night, there were 2. And they just ran the same routes over and over again. I am all for execution, but it cost the Pats.

Also, it was well know that Johnson is a blitz happy guy. Having some screens in earlier in the game would have changed the Eagles philosphy and forced them into different coverages.

 

[bakes781]

A missed field goal.

A break-out play down the field to Moss, who juggled and dropped the ball.

Lots of pass interference by the Eagles defense, pulling Moss's jersey over his shoulder pads at the line of scrimmage.

Lots of drops by the WRs.

Blaming the offensive game plan that has worked all year when the fault is that our skill players dropped passes, our defense was out of position due to coaching and not generating pass rush, and the officials blatantly ignored the cheating Eagles, is a bad idea.

Contact at the line is not pass interference!

Give some credit to the Eagles secondary!

It's not the same gameplan we've had all year. There's been a healthy mix of run in games prior to last night. This gameplan was perfect for the Vikings. Not against Lito Sheppard & Co.


We won despite of the gameplan & because of Tom Brady.

 

[Oswlek]

Contact at the line is not pass interference!

Give some credit to the Eagles secondary!

It's not the same gameplan we've had all year. There's been a healthy mix of run in games prior to last night. This gameplan was perfect for the Vikings. Not against Lito Sheppard & Co.

Did you read my above post? You rattling off names does not counter the fact that:

Footballoutsiders has them as a medicore rush defense and a poor pass defense,

If it is conventional stats that you like, Philly is the sixth ranked team in defensive ypc while they are 23rd in pasing ypa allowed and 22nd in defensive passer rating.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Contact at the line is not pass interference!

Give some credit to the Eagles secondary!

It's not the same gameplan we've had all year. There's been a healthy mix of run in games prior to last night. This gameplan was perfect for the Vikings. Not against Lito Sheppard & Co.


We won despite of the gameplan & because of Tom Brady.

Yup I think the Pats gameplan really underestimated Lito Sheppard and the the Eagles secondary. Going one dimensional also did not help. We pulled out the win this time, but hopefully McDaniel can learn from his mistakes and come up with a better plan vs the Ravens.

 

[bakes781]

Did you read my above post? You rattling off names does not counter the fact that:

I don't care what the stats say. Philly has quality DBs & poor LBs. The strength is their pass defense. That's my opinion.

 

[DW Toys]

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

\Cousin, The way to get Randy back involved would have been crossing patterns like T.O. runs. I guarantee this is the right formula because now every NFL team that plays us will have their safeties back 20 yards like the Eagles. Of course Welker had a buck and a half underneath so at the end of the game, he got them.
And then if the game plan is to run, Maroney has a big game with the safeties so far off. Good game plan by the Eagles, but just wait until Maddens' "blueprint" has got a BB adjustment in it.
The way to stop this and get Randy room is crossing patterns. BB will adjust to this when the safeties drop the next time. I think you will see them run Gaffney deeper in his slot position more consistently and leave Welker short. When they come up for Welker, Moss is running across the safeties and Stallworth and Gaffney go deep with no safety help.
Why they didn't do that, I do not know. All of Moss's catches were "ins". He breaks them over the middle and he is running free. Its all an adjustment to a good Johnson "D" scheme last night. Give them credit but now BB will know what to do....Fool me once..........
DW Toys