Schefter on WEEI - McDaniels could be hottest coaching candidate next offseason

[JoeSixPat]

I'd have to give him some credit for last year though.

I don't. Yes, I know they didn't have anywhere near the tools that we have this year.

And yes, I know we were one play away from going to and winning the Super Bowl.

But the thing that hurt us all season was the lack of a deep threat. This brought the DBs up to the line of scrimmage, placed pressure on the QB, RB and ensured double coverage on our limited WR corps.

He never attempted anything that I saw to try to keep defenses honest. Although Caldwell and Watson don't have anywhere near the skills, one should still be able to send them 20 yards deep enough and have them catch enough to keep defenses 5- 10 yards further back than they played all last season against us.

McDaniels never appeared to recognize this fault and the adverse impact it had on other aspects of the game. It just seemed to me he was willing to give up that aspect of the game.

And its far more likely that he'd be walking into THAT situation next season than one in which he has a Tom Brady and Randy Moss.

 

[Amnorix]

I don't. Yes, I know they didn't have anywhere near the tools that we have this year.

And yes, I know we were one play away from going to and winning the Super Bowl.

But the thing that hurt us all season was the lack of a deep threat. This brought the DBs up to the line of scrimmage, placed pressure on the QB, RB and ensured double coverage on our limited WR corps.

He never attempted anything that I saw to try to keep defenses honest. Although Caldwell and Watson don't have anywhere near the skills, one should still be able to send them 20 yards deep enough and have them catch enough to keep defenses 5- 10 yards further back than they played all last season against us.

McDaniels never appeared to recognize this fault and the adverse impact it had on other aspects of the game. It just seemed to me he was willing to give up that aspect of the game.

And its far more likely that he'd be walking into THAT situation next season than one in which he has a Tom Brady and Randy Moss.

And you're thinking BB is also too dumb to have seen this, or perhaps was too shy to mention it?

How about -- we didn't have a legitimate deep threat, and throwing an incomplete pass 25 yards downfield does NOT keep defenses honest.

 

[Amnorix]

NEM was right about McDaniel's playcalling last year (and anyone who knows me I never think NEM's right about anything) - as far as the job he's done this year, he's done a good job... but I also think that I could do a great job as an OC with Randy Moss, Stallworth & Welker in the WR spots too.

Yeah, you're incredibly wrong.

Look at Norv Turner and his crew taking a ton of talent in SD and just wasting it.

This isn't pop warner. You have no idea how to analyze game film, spot tendencies and weaknesses, earn the respect of your players and the locker room, make mid-game adjustments, coach up your players, etc. etc. etc.

And neither do I, FWIW. But I dont' pretend I could either.

 

[marty]

So Josh McDaniel will be the hottest coach sought after?

I guess that means the Rats have already decided that this is Mangina's last season.

Do you think NY coaching jobs are becoming less and less attractive these days? Media being the #1 negative in that town!!!!
That being said, it's a worry in bean town too unless you handle it the way BB does, (with owners support of course).

 

[Ice Cold Bruschi]

I'm honestly really not that concerned about losing him aside from a coaching consistancy stand point, I really feel like Brady runs the offense 85-90% of the time I mean he's less than a year younger than mcdaniels and has been here longer than he has. McDaniels is just a guy who can relay stuff from the booth to him.

 

[The Gr8est]

Do you think NY coaching jobs are becoming less and less attractive these days? Media being the #1 negative in that town!!!!
That being said, it's a worry in bean town too unless you handle it the way BB does, (with owners support of course).

I hope so, but that doesn't mean that the Rats won't, yet again, come looking to pilfer another one of our coaches to try to resurrect their sorry franchise. Hopefully the failures of Mangina will have the Rats looking elsewhere than us, as well as get the next candidate to listen when BB tells him the Rats job may not be the best opportunity for him.

While I dislike many of their fans, it is the Rats organization that I truly despise. They were unwilling to wait for the Pats to finish their yearlong quest to win a Superbowl back when they tampered with Parcells. They put the potential gain to their sorry franchise above the definite possibility that a team's season long preparation and sacrifice, could end in a Superbowl for the long-suffering Pats fans and organization.

...and BB leaving them to coach the Pats wouldn't have even been an issue if they hadn't stolen Parcells in the first place. BB just came along as part of the package.

I guess the Rats were upset since they felt they had stolen BB fair and square, but what goes around comes around.

 

[patchick]

I'm honestly really not that concerned about losing him aside from a coaching consistancy stand point, I really feel like Brady runs the offense 85-90% of the time I mean he's less than a year younger than mcdaniels and has been here longer than he has. McDaniels is just a guy who can relay stuff from the booth to him.

But playcalling is just one part of being an offensive coordinator. The talent is great, but as another poster noted, you only have to look to San Diego to see that it's not nearly enough on its own. This offensive looks cohesive and disciplined and has a terrific esprit de corps. McDaniels surely deserves a good bit of credit for that.

 

[JoeSixPat]

And you're thinking BB is also too dumb to have seen this, or perhaps was too shy to mention it?

How about -- we didn't have a legitimate deep threat, and throwing an incomplete pass 25 yards downfield does NOT keep defenses honest.

Who's to blame? Does BB share responsibility? Sure... but its the OC's job to cover up deficiencies...

The hallmark of our Defensive Coordinators over time has been an ability to cover up personnel deficiencies... plugging Hank Poteat in when there's an injury and barely missing a step.

The hallmark of Josh McDaniel as OC last year was to showcase the lack of a deep threat, not even attempting to make DB's think twice that a multiple WR/TE set might involve sending Watson deep for example - as we all know he has the speed and ability, having just demonstrated that last week.

So who gets the "blame"? Ultimately it falls with the OC. Now did Josh tell Pioli that he desparately needed a deep WR threat last year and he was ignored, say when Stallworth was available?

Who knows, but the bottom line is that he gave up trying to create even the threat that the Patriots would occasionally look downfield, and his playcalling resulted in DB's playing up near the line of scrimmage, adversely impacting other aspects of the offense as well.

No, I was NOT happy with the playcalling last year, nor the personnel, and I wasn't alone, even though many spent the entire season spouting statistics demonstrating that the 2006 offense was as good as any previous season.

But if McDaniels wants credit for this year's success he has to accept responsibility for last year's troubles.

 

[Tunescribe]

On the flip side, if Mangini's grand New York adventure continues on its current trajectory, that might help convince McDaniels that the grass isn't greener!

I was just going to say that with any luck, McDaniels will end up in the AFCE so BB can own BOTH him and Tubby Ratfink.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Yeah, you're incredibly wrong.

Look at Norv Turner and his crew taking a ton of talent in SD and just wasting it.

This isn't pop warner. You have no idea how to analyze game film, spot tendencies and weaknesses, earn the respect of your players and the locker room, make mid-game adjustments, coach up your players, etc. etc. etc.

And neither do I, FWIW. But I dont' pretend I could either.

You're going to eat your words as I'm actively being pursued as an OC on several NFL teams as we speak.

Actually, since you couldn't figure it out, I was using a literary tool called "hyperbole" and was not actually suggesting that I should be the OC of the Patriots or any NFL team.

 

[BelichickFan]

But if McDaniels wants credit for this year's success he has to accept responsibility for last year's troubles.

7th in the league in scoring. With sh!tty WR. What troubles ?

 

[JoeSixPat]

7th in the league in scoring. With sh!tty WR. What troubles ?

A perfect example of how statistics can tell you one thing when your eyeballs tell you another.

The offense last year, unlike nearly every other season, could not perform when it most needed to. No stat is going to convince me other than what my eyes could plainly see.

DB's consistently playing up at or near the line of scrimmage - putting pressure on the RB, consistently double covering Caldwell and Watson as the only consistent receivers.. and worst of all putting an incredible amount of pressure on Brady as DBs didn't need to fear a deep threat.

The lack of talent was certainly a problem - but so too was the playcalling.

And let's give Brady a little bit of credit for making lemonade out of lemons as well.

McDaniels isn't going to have Brady or Moss or Welker next year.

How well do you think last year's offense would have done without Brady last year and with a mediocore WR corps.

THAT'S the situation McDaniels is walking into - and I'd think twice about putting him in that situation were I a GM...

 

[patsox23]

I like McDaniels but that would be a really premature move, IMO, even just for HIM. Then again, Lane Kiffin's done okay and I wouldn't be surprised if teams look at the perfect storm of the Browns getting better, Mangini's initial success, Kiffin doing okay despite his youth and the Pats O looking like such a juggernaut (not to mention the Pats making the AFCCG with junk at WR), and decided JM is a miracle worker.

 

[BelichickFan]

A perfect example of how statistics can tell you one thing when your eyeballs tell you another.

I agree with that to a certain extent, we did run up some good points against teams like Minnesota and GB that skewed the numbers somewhat.

The offense last year, unlike nearly every other season, could not perform when it most needed to. No stat is going to convince me other than what my eyes could plainly see.

DB's consistently playing up at or near the line of scrimmage - putting pressure on the RB, consistently double covering Caldwell and Watson as the only consistent receivers.. and worst of all putting an incredible amount of pressure on Brady as DBs didn't need to fear a deep threat.

That's because the WR sucked. They were so good that one has been released and the other barely sees the field. Criticize McDaniels for not making a consistently great offense out of that and two RB one of which was hurt the second half and the other who was ready to retire.

Think of it this way - did our HoF HC think the talent was the problem or the OC ? Which one did he replace ?

 

[patsox23]

same thing that was said about mangini

RIGHT. And that lack of maturity and readiness is rearing its ugly head now, at the first sign of adversity. Duh.

 

[cstjohn17]

I have nothing against McDaniels but it appears to b a typical knee-jerk reaction to the 'hot' coordinator. McDaniels will become an NFL headcoach someday but has barely cut his teeth. To be honest the offense seems to be based more on superior talent (Moss & Brady) than superior play calling, but as long as we score 38 points a week who I am to argue.

My focus is on the Patriots but there are a lot of proven coordinators on other staffs as well as very good college coaches (Weis, Carroll, Meyers, etc.). Plus ex-coaches such as Cowher.

If nothing else the current NFL has highlighted the clear benefit of having a good coaching staff. Since there is no cap on coaches I would rather over spend and get a very high quality established HC than take a chance on a young protege with no real track record.

Lets just use the Giants as an example, after Coughlin is fired who will have a better chance of building a winning system Cowher or McDaniels?

 

[patchick]

The true test of a coach or coordinator is not how well they can adapt when they have Randy Moss and Tom Brady - but how well they adapt and cover up deficiencies when they have, say Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney as the #1 & #2 WRs.
...
he's done a good job... but I also think that I could do a great job as an OC with Randy Moss, Stallworth & Welker in the WR spots too.

The lack of talent was certainly a problem - but so too was the playcalling.
...
McDaniels isn't going to have Brady or Moss or Welker next year.

if McDaniels wants credit for this year's success he has to accept responsibility for last year's troubles.

JSP, it seems like you're falling into the same credit/blame trap. You repeatedly say that McDaniels deserves the blame for last season despite the poor talent he had to work with, but that this year's success doesn't count because he has good talent. To be fair, you have to turn around your own proclamation above. The result, using your words: "if McDaniels accepts responsibility for last year's troubles he has to get credit for this year's success."

(BTW, if I were a GM no way would I be looking at Josh McDaniels as a head coach. But I still think he deserves credit for an offense which finds Randy Moss blocking effectively and Benjamin Watson running nifty end-arounds.)

 

[patsox23]

And you're thinking BB is also too dumb to have seen this, or perhaps was too shy to mention it?

How about -- we didn't have a legitimate deep threat, and throwing an incomplete pass 25 yards downfield does NOT keep defenses honest.

EXACTLY. "Too shy to mention it." LOL.

 

[BelichickFan]

This is another (as if we needed another) reason to root against the Ratgina. The worse he does the more the perception around the league could be that the young assistants aren't "the next Belichick" but are just along for the ride.

 

[patsox23]

So who gets the "blame"? Ultimately it falls with the OC.

LOL! Are you JOKING? "Ultimately" it falls with Belichick. You act like BB has no say in the everyday machinations of the offense. I'm not saying McDaniels deserves no blame or no credit - I'm not saying anything like that. But "ultimately?" Give me a break. Anyone with half a brain knows that ULTIMATELY the blame goes to one man. (He's the guy in the hoodie.)