Feelings on Bill O'Brien so far?

[Vindicate]

A lot of OL blame in this thread. Not unwarranted but the oline was a mess last year too yet somehow BoB looks worse than Matty P so far.

How does BoB specifically look worse?

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

My feeling from Myles away is that I can understand the theory behind these screens regarding the o line but do you guys think the defense does not know that they are using screens due to the lack of good o line play ? That’s why they are prepared for the screens and they usually don’t work. And please use douglad and not schuster for it
Besides that I think sometimes the run game needs more variations , we run too much between the OT with little success

 

[1960Pats]

It's still pretty early but BOB's been nothing to write home about.

 

[rkarp1]

I think he has been outstanding
he is getting the ball out of Mac's hands quickly, and trying to make life easy on the OL.
it is working
the playmakers need to find a way to make some plays.
the offense completed what, 27 of 29 passes less than 10 yards, in order for some one to break loose and make some plays. they never did.
I do think things will get better, and Mac will continue to get better. the team most likely will be out of the playoff picture by the time things jell, but maybe they do have their QB of the future, and they start to get him some playmakers.
you put a T like Sewell on this team, and a WR like Waddle on this team, and it would make a world of difference.

 

[archstanton543]

A lot of OL blame in this thread. Not unwarranted but the oline was a mess last year too yet somehow BoB looks worse than Matty P so far.

The OL was mostly healthy last year. This year you have rookies and guy's signed at the last minute out of training camp starting.

 

[archstanton543]

How does BoB specifically look worse?

He's got that weird cleft chin thing that I have no idea how he shaves.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

A lot of OL blame in this thread. Not unwarranted but the oline was a mess last year too yet somehow BoB looks worse than Matty P so far.

How does BoB specifically look worse?

I agree that the OL was a mess last year, and we still ran the ball. This year we have Strange in his second year with Andrews, Onwenu, and hopefully Brown this coming week, plus a better RT, so hopefully we are running the ball better soon so play-action starts as well. BOB was forcing inside runs and WR screens against the Dolphins who were guessing and run blitzing on those plays. Not a lot of imagination out side of the initial play setups. Mac looks much better, but the offense is still less than 20 points a game. We will not win many games with 3 points at halftime. BOB has been average without excuses.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I noticed that so far in the first two weeks, people have varying opinions on Mac, Belichick, and the team as a whole.

Some blame Mac for not being able to actually be clutch and win the Pats a game (instead of just not being the reason the lost). Others are pointing more blame to Belichick for the roster construction (WR), some the o-line, and others, like me, will blame all three.

But I noticed that Bill O'Brien isn't getting much discussion. My opinion? O'Brien has been a little disappointing.

I don't have the data on me, but he's been calling a lot of screen passes, and at times theyve been blown up quickly. Although the O-line plays a role in the amount of screens being called. But beyond that, there's not much creative playcalling. It feels like that have 1 or 2 good Scripted drives to start the game, but beyond that, there's no other creative playcalls that can elevate the talent or squeeze enough out of them.

what do you guys think?

The offense has absolutely looked more synchronized and "professional" than last year.

The line, lack of playmakers on the outside and the turnovers are not helping matters.

However the offense is scoring 18.5ppg - not good and results are results.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I’m kind of surprised Mac is doing so well considering the oline. He’s not an mvp or anything but his numbers in the first 2 games are top 10 in most categories. I’m sure they’ll even out as weeks go on but I’m happy with the 68% completion rate so far.

No doubt Bob is having effect on him and he’s hanging in there trying to lead the team despite a couple of tight losses.

 

[Vindicate]

The irony is that when Mac was making plays after being flushed out the pocket, throwing on the run, those were some of the best plays he made last week. Could you scheme more of that to account for a weak O-Line? Definitely not a long term answer but I dunno.

 

[billdog3484]

Offensive play calling is limited because of how horrible our line is and how slow our receivers are. Only so much a coordinator can do

 

[TheRainMaker]

He is what he is. He was pedestrian in Houston with more talent. He throws a couple haymakers moving the ball, but then has no answer after getting punched back in the mouth by the defense. This has been the offense the last few years folding like a lawn chair once the defense catches on.

I can see why Bill brought him back as an outside hire would have a different philosophy on what players to pick on offense. O'Brien will do what Bill wants.

 

[jdlboot14]

It's true - there has been ZERO blame or talk about BOB related to the bad start.
This is the furthest any fan base has gone into a 0-2 season without scapegoating the OC.

I think it's because we actually appreciate BB making a good staff hire, and how much better BOB is than MP.
Sure, Billy hasn't been perfect. But, the look of the offense, and the variety and rhythm of playcalling is immediately noticed to be miles ahead of Patricia. And, I think it can work. As long as the benching of Pop wasn't his call - and I'm pretty 100% that it was BB that does that.

 

[Ian]

I’m kind of surprised Mac is doing so well considering the oline. He’s not an mvp or anything but his numbers in the first 2 games are top 10 in most categories. I’m sure they’ll even out as weeks go on but I’m happy with the 68% completion rate so far.

No doubt Bob is having effect on him and he’s hanging in there trying to lead the team despite a couple of tight losses.

The biggest thing I've noticed is the ball is definitely coming out faster, and more importantly, when Jones has been under pressure, he's had somewhere to go with the football. There are a lot of last-second moments where he's hanging in there and delivering it right before he's getting drilled, and we've already seen that several times over these first two weeks. But his outlets have at least been there.

One problem has obviously been drops, along with the fact there have been a lot of tight windows because guys just aren't getting much separation. But overall, the operation as a whole has been better, and I think it will improve as we get further into the season - albeit, hopefully, sooner than later.

 

[neuronet]

if he keeps eeking out moral victories, not so good

 

[Tunescribe]

I noticed that so far in the first two weeks, people have varying opinions on Mac, Belichick, and the team as a whole.

Some blame Mac for not being able to actually be clutch and win the Pats a game (instead of just not being the reason the lost). Others are pointing more blame to Belichick for the roster construction (WR), some the o-line, and others, like me, will blame all three.

But I noticed that Bill O'Brien isn't getting much discussion. My opinion? O'Brien has been a little disappointing.

I don't have the data on me, but he's been calling a lot of screen passes, and at times theyve been blown up quickly. Although the O-line plays a role in the amount of screens being called. But beyond that, there's not much creative playcalling. It feels like that have 1 or 2 good Scripted drives to start the game, but beyond that, there's no other creative playcalls that can elevate the talent or squeeze enough out of them.

what do you guys think?

O'Brien is fine, his play calling is constricted/limited by what he has to work with. If the OL can't hold blocks and receivers can't quickly get downfield, it's difficult to get "creative" in the way you suggest.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I think he has been outstanding
he is getting the ball out of Mac's hands quickly, and trying to make life easy on the OL.
it is working
the playmakers need to find a way to make some plays.
the offense completed what, 27 of 29 passes less than 10 yards, in order for some one to break loose and make some plays. they never did.
I do think things will get better, and Mac will continue to get better. the team most likely will be out of the playoff picture by the time things jell, but maybe they do have their QB of the future, and they start to get him some playmakers.
you put a T like Sewell on this team, and a WR like Waddle on this team, and it would make a world of difference.

I agree, they've been moving the ball well, dumb mistakes have cost them points which is the difference between winning these close games and losing.

 

[venecol]

Too early to tell. Things I'm waiting for:

1. How many games before Mac yells at BoB;
2. How long before Judge lobbies to be QB coach again.

If things don't improve, wouldn't mind some of these repeats of last season. At least that was hilarious.

 

[Scotty]

It's a bit early , so would it be fair to think he will need 1 or 2 years to establish his offence etc. Mind you in my general experience if you don't change or improve things quickly you tend to get sucked into the existing way of working ?

 

[BritPat]

If you want to see how BoB is doing, look at the Quarterback. We're not out of the woods yet, so to speak, but Mac looks like an NFL QB again, and a decent one at that.