BOB 'Completely Reworking' Pats Offense

[Rob0729]

Matt Patricia was a short team solution at O/C because the Detroit Lions were paying his salary.

If Bill O’Brien is handed the head coaching job when BB steps down, then he was clearly the plan all along and they just needed another season for him to be free of his Alabama obligations.

I have no doubt the Kraft’s have spoken to Bill about a succession plan. Obie was probably Krafty’s hand picked successor… why? Because it’s a smart hire.

If Patricia was a short term solution and Belichick let Patricia completely change the offense, that is even more reason why Belichick should be fired. He literally was following the blueprint of how bad coaches in bad organizations ruin young QBs. If that was the plan, Belichick is purposely ruining Jones’ career rather than just doing it just as a by-product of his arrogance.

But I seriously doubt Kraft promised O’Brien the keys to the castle and I know for a fact that Belichick wouldn’t spend last season and this upcoming season to set it up so Kraft could force him out and replace him with O’Brien. Belichick would want to leave on his own terms. Not Kraft’s.

Besides, from the sound of it, Mayo is more likely to be Belichick’s successor than O’Brien.

But because of last season, Belichick is firmly on the hot seat. If he doesn’t make the playoffs, he will most likely be fired or forced to resign. He may have to win a playoff game to survive.

And there was no way that Kraft was on board to tank last season just to get O’Brien on board. He publicly stated his opposition of making Patricia in charge of the offense prior to last season, but said Belichick earned the right to make that decision. O’Brien’s hire seemed more a direct response to Belichick screwing up so badly than a grand plan.

 

[Kasmir]

If Patricia was a short term solution and Belichick let Patricia completely change the offense, that is even more reason why Belichick should be fired. He literally was following the blueprint of how bad coaches in bad organizations ruin young QBs. If that was the plan, Belichick is purposely ruining Jones’ career rather than just doing it just as a by-product of his arrogance.

But I seriously doubt Kraft promised O’Brien the keys to the castle and I know for a fact that Belichick wouldn’t spend last season and this upcoming season to set it up so Kraft could force him out and replace him with O’Brien. Belichick would want to leave on his own terms. Not Kraft’s.

Besides, from the sound of it, Mayo is more likely to be Belichick’s successor than O’Brien.

But because of last season, Belichick is firmly on the hot seat. If he doesn’t make the playoffs, he will most likely be fired or forced to resign. He may have to win a playoff game to survive.

And there was no way that Kraft was on board to tank last season just to get O’Brien on board. He publicly stated his opposition of making Patricia in charge of the offense prior to last season, but said Belichick earned the right to make that decision. O’Brien’s hire seemed more a direct response to Belichick screwing up so badly than a grand plan.

Perhaps, although my guess is that the insane attempt at reworking the offense last year was Patricia trying to prove he deserved the job permanently by outperforming McDaniels' offense. Failed spectacularly, and it was reckless of BB to even allow Patricia to try.

 

[TheRainMaker]

But because of last season, Belichick is firmly on the hot seat. If he doesn’t make the playoffs, he will most likely be fired or forced to resign. He may have to win a playoff game to survive.

He will not get fired and here’s why - Who would want to work for Bob Kraft after he fired a guy making the Pats one of the biggest brands in football and help tie the most Super Bowls won in NFL history?
That would be an extremely bad look if he fired a guy like Bill after a few bad years.

The only way this happens is if he completely loses the locker room.

 

[Rob0729]

He will not get fired and here’s why - Who would want to work for Bob Kraft after he fired a guy making the Pats one of the biggest brands in football and help tie the most Super Bowls won in NFL history?
That would be an extremely bad look if he fired a guy like Bill after a few bad years.

The only way this happens is if he completely loses the locker room.

A few bad years? The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since 2018. It is five years now of average or mediocre. If they don’t makes it to the playoffs in 2023, that will be five seasons without a playoff win and only two playoff appearance.

And any other head coach in the NFL would have been fired after last year. Belichick used up his Super Bowl cache after last season. That was the only reason he wasn’t fired after last year.

 

[Rob0729]

Perhaps, although my guess is that the insane attempt at reworking the offense last year was Patricia trying to prove he deserved the job permanently by outperforming McDaniels' offense. Failed spectacularly, and it was reckless of BB to even allow Patricia to try.

Belichick has reportedly always wanted to implement the Shanahan system like they tried last year. And making matters worse was that Patricia and Judge couldn’t grasp the offense and they had to dumb it down for them.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Belichick has reportedly always wanted to implement the Shanahan system like they tried last year.

Interesting if true. Can you give a source?

 

[Rob0729]

Interesting if true. Can you give a source?

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Belichick has reportedly always wanted to implement the Shanahan system like they tried last year. And making matters worse was that Patricia and Judge couldn’t grasp the offense and they had to dumb it down for them.

The offense needed to be adjusted after JMD regardless. How much was adding more Shanahan vs streamlining the existing offense is up for debate. The real issue is that BB misjudged MP's ability to learn the offense quickly, develop the overarching strategy and teach the players. This turned out to be the fundamental flaw in the decision to make him OC. JJ being so insecure that he couldn't take input from players made it even worse. The good news is that BOB is in charge of the offense this year and everyone is starting with a clean slate.

 

[Wozzy]

If Patricia was a short term solution and Belichick let Patricia completely change the offense, that is even more reason why Belichick should be fired. He literally was following the blueprint of how bad coaches in bad organizations ruin young QBs. If that was the plan, Belichick is purposely ruining Jones’ career rather than just doing it just as a by-product of his arrogance.

They didn't completely change the offense, they changed terminology because they did that fairly often. They wanted to use more zone blocking schemes and run more no huddle, that's not changing the entire system... they've used zone blocking schemes going back to the earliest years under BB. They used them quite a bit with Maroney back in the early 2000's.

And why do you think Mac's career is ruined?

Either he improves this season under better conditions, or he wasn't the the guy all along.

But I seriously doubt Kraft promised O’Brien the keys to the castle and I know for a fact that Belichick wouldn’t spend last season and this upcoming season to set it up so Kraft could force him out and replace him with O’Brien. Belichick would want to leave on his own terms. Not Kraft’s.

Besides, from the sound of it, Mayo is more likely to be Belichick’s successor than O’Brien.

This was all speculation on my part and I said as much. BB is in his 70's, he's keenly aware of his age and no doubt wants to leave the franchise and his sons in an optimal situation. I don't think Mayo has been handed the head coaching job anymore than Obie has, we'll find that out later.

But because of last season, Belichick is firmly on the hot seat. If he doesn’t make the playoffs, he will most likely be fired or forced to resign. He may have to win a playoff game to survive.

And there was no way that Kraft was on board to tank last season just to get O’Brien on board. He publicly stated his opposition of making Patricia in charge of the offense prior to last season, but said Belichick earned the right to make that decision. O’Brien’s hire seemed more a direct response to Belichick screwing up so badly than a grand plan.

Absolutely nobody suggested they "tanked" last season. Don't be silly.

They thought they could get by with an assortment of experienced coaches and it blew up in their face. For all we know Kraft was willing to wait for Obie and signed off on "make it work" last season. If that's the case, then BB is probably not on the hot seat at all. And no, Kraft at no point stated his opposition to putting Patricia in charge of the offense, in fact after the season he said "we put Mac in a bad position" regarding last season. But if you have that quote by Kraft feel free to produce it? In hindsight they should have let Hoyer coach the offense, or Nick Calley... but we don't have the gift of hindsight until now.

 

[Rob0729]

They didn't completely change the offense, they changed terminology because they did that fairly often. They wanted to use more zone blocking schemes and run more no huddle, that's not changing the entire system... they've used zone blocking schemes going back to the earliest years under BB. They used them quite a bit with Maroney back in the early 2000's.

And why do you think Mac's career is ruined?

Either he improves this season under better conditions, or he wasn't the the guy all along.

This was all speculation on my part and I said as much. BB is in his 70's, he's keenly aware of his age and no doubt wants to leave the franchise and his sons in an optimal situation. I don't think Mayo has been handed the head coaching job anymore than Obie has, we'll find that out later.

Absolutely nobody suggested they "tanked" last season. Don't be silly.

They thought they could get by with an assortment of experienced coaches and it blew up in their face. For all we know Kraft was willing to wait for Obie and signed off on "make it work" last season. If that's the case, then BB is probably not on the hot seat at all. And no, Kraft at no point stated his opposition to putting Patricia in charge of the offense, in fact after the season he said "we put Mac in a bad position" regarding last season. But if you have that quote by Kraft feel free to produce it? In hindsight they should have let Hoyer coach the offense, or Nick Calley... but we don't have the gift of hindsight until now.

Of course they radically changed the offense. If you cannot admit that, there is no discussion to be had. They did everything to make it easier for Patricia and Judge and, by direct result, exploited the weaknesses and minimized the strengths of Jones and the rest of the players. They took away Jones' ability to call audibles. They took away Jones' and Andrews' ability to call line adjustments. They became a more vertical offense with more 50-50 jump balls. By their own admission, they took away the easy plays on first down to get short and manageable plays. Everyone who is an "expert" who studied the Patriots said they changed their offense from Kurt Warner to Evan Lazar.

Mac's career isn't ruined yet, but since last offseason Belichick has been doing everything he can to ruin it. I don't think it is on purpose. I think it is his arrogance and an apparent lack of wanting to step outside of his own comfort zone for the best of Jones and the rest of the team.

And we do know Kraft was against the move. He said as much last offseason at the owner's meetings. He basically said that he didn't understand/agree with the move, but Belichick earned the right to make the decision and he doesn't stand in the way of his coach. But he must be held accountable for the move because Kraft is "results oriented".


And this year, he threw Belichick under the bus for the regression of Mac Jones. When he says "we" here, it is clearly Belichick and Patricia.



And they did tank last season. Maybe not on purpose. But it is hard to argue that Belichick did what was best for this team to succeed and it is clear he did what he thought was best for him personally.

 

[PatsFan2]

The Shanahan system works well with pass catching RB's we already have that in Rham and Strong.

 

[Rob0729]

The Shanahan system works well with pass catching RB's we already have that in Rham and Strong.

The Patriots system that they ran for two decades with tweaks works well with pass catching RBs. See Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead, James White, Shane Vereen, and others.

 

[Sicilian]

The Patriots system that they ran for two decades with tweaks works well with pass catching RBs. See Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead, James White, Shane Vereen, and others.

That and shifty slot receivers are basically the two consistent components of the Patriots offense since 2000. Throw in a Randy Moss for a few years, a Gronk/Hernandez combo for a few, etc, those take it to another level. But having a Brown/Welker/Edelman and a Faulk/Vereen/White are what make the skill position engine chug in this offense.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

A few bad years? The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since 2018. It is five years now of average or mediocre. If they don’t makes it to the playoffs in 2023, that will be five seasons without a playoff win and only two playoff appearance.

And any other head coach in the NFL would have been fired after last year. Belichick used up his Super Bowl cache after last season. That was the only reason he wasn’t fired after last year.

Geez that's harsh. By that logic he should been fired somewhere in between the two super bowl runs ... 2004-2104.

 

[Sicilian]

Geez that's harsh. By that logic he should been fired somewhere in between the two super bowl runs ... 2004-2104.

2104? If BB is still coaching then, I can see the talk radio points now:

"He refuses to draft guys that can move the ball telekinetically with their mind! And when's the last time he had a wide receiver with genetically grafted wings? The game has passed him by Mike Jr!"

 

[All3Phases]

Geez that's harsh. By that logic he should been fired somewhere in between the two super bowl runs ... 2004-2104.

You do know the difference between not winning playoff games/barely making it and still dominating for a decade, but not winning the super bowl...Right?

 

[Rob0729]

Geez that's harsh. By that logic he should been fired somewhere in between the two super bowl runs ... 2004-2104.

Huh? During the time between 2004 and 2014, the Pats went to five conference championship games, went to two Super Bowls, had an undefeated regular season in 2007, and won the AFC East every year except for 2008 when Brady tore his ACL. By my logic, there was never a point until recently where Belichick should have been fired.

 

[captain stone]

LOL Bill is not going to make a draft pick just to f*ck with the media.

Of course he would...and has.

 

[captain stone]

He will not get fired and here’s why - Who would want to work for Bob Kraft after he fired a guy making the Pats one of the biggest brands in football and help tie the most Super Bowls won in NFL history?
That would be an extremely bad look if he fired a guy like Bill after a few bad years.

The only way this happens is if he completely loses the locker room.

I don't think any of this makes a dime's bit of difference to prospective, qualified HC candidates... Some might even think (to themselves of course) that Billy should've been fired at the end of the season anyway.

 

[TheRainMaker]

A few bad years? The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since 2018. It is five years now of average or mediocre. If they don’t makes it to the playoffs in 2023, that will be five seasons without a playoff win and only two playoff appearance.

And any other head coach in the NFL would have been fired after last year. Belichick used up his Super Bowl cache after last season. That was the only reason he wasn’t fired after last year.

I don't think any of this makes a dime's bit of difference to prospective, qualified HC candidates... Some might even think (to themselves of course) that Billy should've been fired at the end of the season anyway.

Unless Kraft himself steps down and gives control to his son, you know that Kraft wants to make this work and see the Pats competitive with Belichick. At his age, he's not going to want to clean house, have a new front office and coaching staff and not know what to expect. There's a lot of turnover with Coaches these days.

I'm not saying his leash lasts forever, but I think Kraft would have to see a decline for a couple more years to finally have to consider pulling the plug.