Does Belichick Last Beyond 2023, and What Needs to Happen?

[RobertWeathers]

LOL, you and the rest of us

You might as well put me on probation now @Ian.

After 3 decades on this board, i'm too old and not as patient as I once was.

 

[Ian]

Or you could just admit a kneel down was the better call.

Hindsight is always 20/20. It is what it is.

 

[sb1]

I think they thought Stevenson might break off a big gain and even take it all the way on the play they called. I don't think they expected him to lateral. That seemed to be the sentiment within the media based on things multiple reporters said.

That run could have drawn a flag for face mask or horse collar tackle or some other penalty against the Raiders. When Rham lateraled he was already in FG range and the game cannot end on a defensive penalty. Chip shot for Folk, Patriots win.

I didn't mind the call to run. Obviously I liked it a lot more than deciding to lateral.

 

[Ian]

You might as well put me on probation now @Ian.

After 3 decades on this board, i'm too old and not as patient as I once was.

LOL, after all these years I'm almost 50 - I'm right there with you

 

[RobertWeathers]

Definitely a good question. Obviously, I'm sure the goal was to try and fill that billion dollar stadium but I don't know even how much impact the win had on their season ticket numbers. The other thing I wondered was if maybe he'd rather ultimately go somewhere where they care about the NFL, because aside from the transplants who go to watch the visiting teams, I don't know if LA really cares all that much about either team, honestly. With the Chargers maybe having at least some of an edge having had the longer history in the state.

McVay came from an Ohio football family (dad and grandad). No question he likes the glam and the Russian supermodels but the kid loves football at its core.

There are very few coaches who can come here and follow BB's legacy with some level of credibility. We absolutely cannot have another Pete Carroll situation.

 

[RobertWeathers]

LOL, after all these years I'm almost 50 - I'm right there with you

I have a year on you!

 

[RobertWeathers]

All a big assumption that he's 1) leaving and 2) coming here.

All speculation and fun to think about.

Seasons over and there is nothing to do but think and wait.

 

[Ian]

McVay came from an Ohio football family (dad and grandad). No question he likes the glam and the Russian supermodels but the kid loves football at its core.

There are very few coaches who can come here and follow BB's legacy with some level of credibility. We absolutely cannot have another Pete Carroll situation.

That's sort of what's crazy. I mean, previously the thought was that it might have been McDaniels, which people might have scoffed at, but it could have been worse and most people would have been in a "wait and see" hindsight. Right now, they don't have a competent staff and they have an uncertain future beyond Belichick. They need to at least start building toward the future sooner than later.

 

[upstater1]

Definitely a good question. Obviously, I'm sure the goal was to try and fill that billion dollar stadium but I don't know even how much impact the win had on their season ticket numbers. The other thing I wondered was if maybe he'd rather ultimately go somewhere where they care about the NFL, because aside from the transplants who go to watch the visiting teams, I don't know if LA really cares all that much about either team, honestly. With the Chargers maybe having at least some of an edge having had the longer history in the state.

They had injuries, but so did a lot of teams.

I want to know exactly what is the talent drain that caused them to lose 12 games?

Because before Stafford and Kupp got injured, they were a .333 team. So... losing Von Miller caused them to fall back this much?

I honestly don't get it.

 

[crawhammer]

Had this discussion with venecol. I haven't had time to dig but I mean you have the opener last year where they were down by one and could have won with a field goal but fumbled, another this year where they were knocking on the door and could have gone ahead with a touchdown and fumbled. It's not like it's been all on him.

Their red zone offense was the worst in the NFL this season by a wide margin. Mac had 6 red zone TDs on the entire season which ranked 30th in the NFL (tied with Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield). There's a reason why by week 16 they're exclusively handing off to Stevenson inside the red zone.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Why would Mcvay think there is less pressure in LA than New England?
He’s in a worse situation hearing be in BBs shadow.
Whoever is the new coach has to have a strong mental well-being to be unflapped by that.
We need the next Sirianni.

I would go all out for Shane Steichen.
Look how he developed Jalen Hurts.
Or Ben Johnson on the Lions who has rejuvenated Goffs Career.

McVay strikes me as someone with the ****iness and the street cred to be perfect rebuilding after BB leaves.

 

[upstater1]

What is the alternative to a coach who will be 71 at the start of the 2023 season, and has been a career mediocrity as a HC until he caught lightning in a bottle back in 2000? People need to stop asking this question and, instead, focus on what Bill is going to do for the team in 2023.

It's 2023.

Until he caught lightning in a bottle in 2000? He caught lightning for 20 years?

That's the greatest record of all time.

Honestly, given what he did with the Giants, Cleveland, the Patriots in '96, the Jets, I was already a huge fan in 2000.

I've seen him shut down top 10 offenses in NFL history 3x in Super Bowls. Seriously, teams averaging 35ppg have scored a total of 40 points COMBINED against the Patriots in 3 Super Bowls. That's an incredible accomplishment. Not to mention his defensive game plans with the Giants, those pans are in the HOF. His defenses just shut down the greatest offenses of all time.

 

[Ian]

Their red zone offense was the worst in the NFL this season by a wide margin. Mac had 6 red zone TDs on the entire season which ranked 30th in the NFL (tied with Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield). There's a reason why by week 16 they're exclusively handing off to Stevenson inside the red zone.

You spend a lot of time looking up stats to tell me why Mac is so terrible. Just for fun, go look at Mac's red zone passing stats the final three games. I haven't put them in the stats DB yet and I would tell you, but I promise, it's going to annoy you

 

[crawhammer]

If you want to call it stubbornness fine but BB is based on principals to the core. There are key tenants to his program that are uncompromising as he believes if the are compromised the whole thing is based on a house of cards.

I don't think the intangibles of Bill's system, or the supposed Patriot Way, have withstood the test of Brady's departure.

 

[Ian]

I don't think the intangibles of Bill's system, or the supposed Patriot Way, have withstood the test of Brady's departure.

(Sigh) yes, he's gone. Yes, he took an irreplaceable veteran presence and skillset from that position and the team with him.

Gotta start letting that go.

Replace this with "He's Gone"

 

[All3Phases]

The NEP have a ton of B+ players.

They have 1, maybe 2 A players.

I don’t think this is unfair at all, I think this is close to how they’ve built teams in the past, just that the A players were at quarterback, so it made a lot of things look better

 

[Vindicate]

That's a dig at Kraft. He's talking about guaranteed money (bonuses).

Interesting - mind elaborating a bit? I don't understand the contract negotiation / cap management nuance much in the NFL. I was under the impression that Bill sets these incentive-based contracts and determines guarantees, etc. - Kraft has a hand in that process?

 

[crawhammer]

You spend a lot of time looking up stats to tell me why Mac is so terrible. Just for fun, go look at Mac's red zone passing stats the final three games. I haven't put them in the stats DB yet and I would tell you, but I promise, it's going to annoy you

That critical INT by Tre'Davious White was thrown from 1-yard outside the red zone, so lucky for your stats.

 

[Ian]

The NEP have a ton of B+ players.

They have 1, maybe 2 A players.

Can't get away with not having a top wideout when you have a young QB. With Brady, it was a luxury. With Mac - or any other young quarterback - it's a necessity. Plus, it makes the other guys around him better.

 

[All3Phases]

I don't disagree. But the fact they were at least in it and had a shot is something that I think gets forgotten by the people who want Bill gone. Do they need to fix issues with the staff? Absolutely. But thinking things will improve if Bill wasn't here anymore, I think is one of those "be careful what you wish for" situations that people are underestimating.

I think you could go through a lot of teams and realize that most team losses are relatively close. How many games could the raiders have won this year? They were in basically every game except the last