Schefter: McDaniels will join Pats (Updated: Now Official)

[Deus Irae]

Just as an aside, this Bruins/Canucks game has been a blast to watch.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Another aside: It's REALLY nice outside here near Boston. Sunny, low- to mid-50s.

 

[BritPat]

Remind me again, who were the TE's the Patriots had when McDaniels was the OC? Right.

First round pick Ben Watson, highly rated Dave Thomas, plus others.

Hardly bums were they? The worst thing was, the gameplans barely included the TE's. Only when Moss and Welker were double covered did Brady even have to start thinking about looking that way.

 

[Deus Irae]

Another aside: It's REALLY nice outside here near Boston. Sunny, low- to mid-50s.

The Frozen Fenway should be a blast to watch live in this weather, as long as the ice holds up.

 

[RodThePat]

First round pick Ben Watson, highly rated Dave Thomas, plus others.

Hardly bums were they? The worst thing was, the gameplans barely included the TE's. Only when Moss and Welker were double covered did Brady even have to start thinking about looking that way.

Hardly bums? Really? None of those guys were ever top 20 TEs at any point of their careers. They had Moss, Welker, Gaffney, Stallworth at WR, why would you run a TE heavy offense? That's like saying Bill O'Brien has ignored the WR position as an OC. You should suit the offense to your personnel's strengths.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

It would be funny if Moss came back for the playoffs. Unfinished business.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

At the very least he'll have knowledge of how the NFC teams attacked his (obviously not exactly the same as the 2011 Pats offense, but comparable) offensive system this year. Would be a nice little bonus should the Pats reach the Super Bowl.

And welcome home, Josh!

He also might have some insight into Denver if they beat the Steelers today and we need to play them next week.

 

[BritPat]

Hardly bums? Really? None of those guys were ever top 20 TEs at any point of their careers.

The Pats barely threw to Watson and Thomas before the receivers arrived. Even in 2006 when Watson was clearly the best option the gameplans were about Doug sodding Gabriel and Reche Caldwell. And Watson had the chance to be one of the best in the league even with his stone-hands. He could run and block, not to Gronk's standards, but he was a better athlete than Hernandez. In fact he's had a very good year in Cleveland - he's become McCoy's safety blanket.

They had Moss, Welker, Gaffney, Stallworth at WR, why would you run a TE heavy offense? That's like saying Bill O'Brien has ignored the WR position as an OC. You should suit the offense to your personnel's strengths.

You're completely ignoring the fact that the Pats have purposely moved away from a receiver led offense to include the Tight Ends. What does that tell you?

The Pats have let Stallworth, Gaffney and Moss walk away without actually replacing any of them. It's not like the moves were forced. BB realised what the problem with the offense was.

 

[BritPat]

It would be funny if Moss came back for the playoffs. Unfinished business.

I'd play him at Safety.

 

[Fencer]

One pretty obvious way to separate duties between BoB and JMcD:

BoB keeps on coordinating and coaching.

But Josh McD does a lot of the "mad scientist" work to suggest post-season tweaks, because BoB's creative-thinking energies are focused in big part on his next job.

I.e., McDaniels creates, O'Brien approves and implements, and Belichick closely supervises the whole process.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Pats barely threw to Watson and Thomas before the receivers arrived. Even in 2006 when Watson was clearly the best option the gameplans were about Doug sodding Gabriel and Reche Caldwell. And Watson had the chance to be one of the best in the league even with his stone-hands. He could run and block, not to Gronk's standards, but he was a better athlete than Hernandez. In fact he's had a very good year in Cleveland - he's become McCoy's safety blanket.



You're completely ignoring the fact that the Pats have purposely moved away from a receiver led offense to include the Tight Ends. What does that tell you?

The Pats have let Stallworth, Gaffney and Moss walk away without actually replacing any of them. It's not like the moves were forced. BB realised what the problem with the offense was.

Your memory about 2006 is incorrect. Watson was the second leading receiver on the team, and he was the #1 option until he got hurt.

 

[Guts]

Be interesting to see what kind of plays McDaniels comes up with with the heavy TE offense this team has become since he was last here.

 

[BritPat]

Your memory about 2006 is incorrect. Watson was the second leading receiver on the team, and he was the #1 option until he got hurt.

Caldwell was always the #1 that year. The passing game was infuriating - look for Caldwell, look for Brown/Gabriel - then Watson. I lost count of the amount of times that Brady would complete to Watson under heavy pressure due to the fact that Caldwell and whoever else couldn't get open.

 

[andrewgarrr]

Serious question:

Can the Patriots sign Brandon Lloyd right now?

 

[jefmblrd]

I remember getting frustrated with some of McDaniel's situational play calling, but I think this is a good move which will smooth out the transition and end the never-ending question of who will be named OC.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Yes, Mangini had the misfortune of having the 2005 defense, he did such a horrible job that I can't see it happening. [Scary fact: for the first month and a half or so, every time a team got into the red zone against Mangini's D, they scored a touchdown.]

In 2005, over the last 10 games (inc playoffs) the Pats D allowed 14.8ppg.

Why the improvement?
Bru came back and started playing
Seymour got healthy
Starks was cut
Hobbs started
Vrabel moved to ILB
Colvin started to become Colvin again
Beisel was removed from the starting lineup
Chad Brown was effectively benched
Artrell Hawkins stabilized the SS position

I can't stand Mangini either but to say he did a crap job without understanding the sheer amount of flux on the defensive side of the ball is ignoring the main reason for the defensive shortcomings in the first few weeks of that season.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I was just coming to post this. They're saying he will join as an assistant coach and he will be with the team during the playoff run. That's pretty intriguing.

Wow! This is interesting news. So the prodigal son returns. I wonder what kind of new wrinkles he can add for our already potent offense? Hey as long as he helps with half-time adjustments and helps coach our team to a Lombardi, he's welcome! Of course I've gotta wonder what kind of role he will play in the coaching staff? Assistant coach is a very vague title.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I remember getting frustrated with some of McDaniel's situational play calling, but I think this is a good move which will smooth out the transition and end the never-ending question of who will be named OC.

I don't think there is an offensive coordinator that has coached this team that I haven't questioned. The reason why I question them is because I think I am smarter then them and I need to remind myself every now and then that I am not

 

[DaBruinz]

Serious question:

Can the Patriots sign Brandon Lloyd right now?

No. Brandon Lloyd is under contract until the end of the NFL season. Not the end of the Rams season.

 

[Deus Irae]

Caldwell was always the #1 that year. The passing game was infuriating - look for Caldwell, look for Brown/Gabriel - then Watson. I lost count of the amount of times that Brady would complete to Watson under heavy pressure due to the fact that Caldwell and whoever else couldn't get open.

Again, your memory is incorrect. Watson was the team's #1 receiver until he got hurt.