Bedard: Patriots coaches dropped the ball as well vs Seahawks

So far this year, I don't trust McD's ability to call the right play/manage the game when the game gets tight. I don't know if it's ultimately coming from BB or not, but we've had a good amount of questionable calls from our sideline this year.

Deus Irae said:

Last year was a record setting year for Gronk. He set the TE records for yards and TDs. If he wasn't behind those paces, even if 100% healthy, that would be the shock. He's also had to stay in more because of the O-line problems in the first few weeks. His numbers are fine, and the Graham thing was entirely without merit.

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I agree he has been called on to stay in more thus my Daniel Graham analogy which you can choose to dismiss but I'll simply say we agree to disagree. I want to see Gronk targeted more especially off of play action in run heavy sets. Gronk and Hernandez have carved up the Jets so this will be an interesting week. I half think they'll be decoys and they'll go with a heavy dose of Welker with Revis out and Cromartie on Lloyd. I also expect we'll see 30+ runs with the Jets focusing on the passing game and with the fact their run defense has more or less sucked.

Seems that game plan pre determination that going all in on the passing game and not attempting to feature the run against Seattle was another case of coaches dropping the ball... The 49ers certainly don't have the alternative passing capacity we do but they managed to win running the ball against Seattle. They also allowed Seattle to run the ball a little more which kept Seattle from passing as much as we forced them to. Maybe Bill should have revisited his HOF game plan. Sometimes determination to stop the run just forces an opponent to take their chances in the air, and however limited an opponents QB capacity may appear to be, we don't have the secondary to be inviting that sort of counter. Perhaps one reason we are struggling in games close and late is we are too focused on forcing scenarios designed to avoid that eventuality. Only to end up leaving equally valuable small ball points on the field in the process. Small ball points win games, too, lest Bill has forgotten.

If you're going to sacrifice the tried and true one game at a time mantra in order to work some ultimate goal like forceably developing a passing offense that can't be shut down by tougher defenses in crucial games taking away Brady's top two targets maybe rather than focusing exclusively on creating better third and fourth receiving options you should be focused on establishing the capacity to run the damn ball consistently for balance regardless. I know Bolden was lost early, which of course begs the question wtf is going on with Vereen, but even before that Josh had admittedly determined we were not going to feature the run in the game plan against Seattle. Then it becomes a given that when it turns out we need it the ability to execute isn't there.

Some times efforts to jump out on a team just forces them to shift gears and become less risk aversive. Unfortunately we don't have a secondary that plays to that strategically. So I hope we don't plan to unleash the Jets inner desperate child by painting Rex and Sanchez or even Tebow into that kind of corner. Our game plan strategy from here on out should feature a plan to score some level of points on every possession while limiting the number of opportunities the opponent has to score any. Complimentary offense designed to limit the potential damage inherent in exposing that secondary.

^that got me thinking. If your pass defense sucks but your own passing offense is amazing, it's probably best to give up run yards versus pass yards if you're giving up yards either way.

Hopefully temptation makes them take the run yards and waste precious time early when they're not focused on the clock.

SVN said:

Patriots coaches dropped the ball as well against Seahawks - Patriots - Boston.com

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That loss is 100% on the coaches.

DocHoliday said:

^that got me thinking. If your pass defense sucks but your own passing offense is amazing, it's probably best to give up run yards versus pass yards if you're giving up yards either way.

Hopefully temptation makes them take the run yards and waste precious time early when they're not focused on the clock.

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The theory for quite some time has been the exact opposite: allowing lengthy possessions, limits possessions, and increases the chances of the worse team winning. Ideally they can continue to shutdown the run, clean things up in pass coverage, and the offense won't become prone to leaving lots of points on the field.

MrNathanDrake said:

That loss is 100% on the coaches.

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Long gone is the era when the Pats won games because of their depth. Brady finding 8-10 different pass catchers in a contest was the normal back in the day. Rotational substitutions in the different groupings was standard operating procedure. Today's Patriots are top heavy in talent and the % snaps reflects it. Wilfork, Mayo, Jones, McCourty, and the starting safeties are on the field for up to 100% of the snaps. Is it really a surprise that teams have succeeded in the 4th quarter vs a gassed D. And on O, Welker and Gronk getting pounded on play after play during their high # of snaps. The entire O line operating with minimal substitutions. Factor in the high octane offense in the no huddle. And how about Brady, chucking the ball 58 times in a game while getting helmets to the head. A tired 35 year old arm with a beat up body passing to his weapons that have been on the field with him for those 82 plays. Some call the Pats offense in the 4th quarters "tight".....tired seems more logical.
Excluding the Buffalo game (full moon craziness), the Pats have scored 85 points in the first half and 55 points in the second half. On defense, the Pats have given up 40 points in the first half and 69 points in the second half. In the 4th quarters of those 5 games, the Pats have been outscored 43-19. In other words, the Pats offense averaged 3.8 points in the 4th quarter and surrendered 8.6 points.
If the game plan is to keep their defense off the field by long sustained time consuming marches, the Pats are succeeding in the 1st half, but fatigue may be affecting the O execution at the end of the game which results in more D reps at the end of the game. And the D's deficiency eventually get exposed, especially as fatigue sets in on the core players.

MrNathanDrake said:

That loss is 100% on the coaches.

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Not quite 100%. It wasn't the coaches who caused a 5th-year, 245-lb Mayo to allow the
rookie, 200-lb QB to easily bounce off him & gain a first down when a tackle would've
forced Seattle to kick a FG. That one whiff cost us 4 points.
And it wasn't the coaches who told Brady to throw to absolutely nobody in the EZ while
Gronk was more open on the corner route than Hernandez was when he caught his TD
earlier in the quarter.

Otherwise, you'll not get much of an argument from me...

SVN said:

Patriots coaches dropped the ball as well against Seahawks - Patriots - Boston.com

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BB has lost his head. I wish pats don't make to playoff this year so some heads can roll.

Red_Sox_Fan said:

BB has lost his head. I wish pats don't make to playoff this year so some heads can roll.

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which heads you want go and what are the replacements ?

condon84 said:

So far this year, I don't trust McD's ability to call the right play/manage the game when the game gets tight. I don't know if it's ultimately coming from BB or not, but we've had a good amount of questionable calls from our sideline this year.

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We've also had some brilliant offensive gameplans. Let's not get carried away here. McDaniels just needs to be more consistent, especially with the ground game.