Inside the most dysfunctional Pats season under BB

[Rob0729]

Anyone who says another QB had a worse offensive coaching situation than Mac Jones after reading this story is insane. People have tried to argue that there were QBs with worse offensive coaching situations this year than Jones, but I am beginning to wonder if there is a QB with a worse offensive coaching situation ever in the history of football.

 

[Thelonious]

Do you think Zappe has what it takes to pose a serious challenge for the starting job? I don't, but if he does I'll be pleasantly surprised. He has value as backup regardless.

I think Zappe has earned, by his play on the field last year as compared to Mac's play, a genuine opportunity to win the job. It's only fair, and it is consistent with the long espoused - if not always actually followed - principle that the best player plays, irrespective of draft status, etc. I strongly suspect Mac will win that competition, but fair is fair, and like an individual, a team ought to adhere to its stated principles.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

I've said that Mac isn't great, but is not as bad as he looked last year. I think Mac is ultimately mid, but that he still technically deserves a shot.

Eh, Herbert and Allen are tall as **** and they get passes batted down. Let's not act like Mac was good in that game, nor should we ignore that Zappe led 2 straight touchdowns before

But it is weird how the team called more play action for Zappe than Mac. Did they want to test Mac and not protect him, i assume thats it.

Coaching matters but players are still more important. Marcus Jones, Judon, Stevenson, etc. Made huge plays and kept us in games. If Mac was better in that Raiders we would have technically gotten in at 9-8 inspite of the horrid coaching.

As bad as our coaching was, this season honestly wasn't going to look that different with better coaching. We would have blown out bad teams, but still lose close to good teams because Mac and our receiving corps still have a talent ceiling, even if they're not bad

agree esp on the last part
Just look at the fins being very competitive against buffalo in a playoff game with 7th rd rookie under center while we got blown out in the same situation with our first rd qb rookie

 

[DaBruinz]

Just on this, I think you’re spot-on, and it fits Belichick’s comment in the summer about how good coaches can coach anywhere. Belichick really liked Patricia’s performance as DC even though I myself thought it was too conservative in general (he did win 2 SB rings as DC with great 4th quarter / OT performances in those, so what do I know?). Obviously Belichick was wrong on him.

In regards to other players - Trent Brown was under Kyle Shanahan in SF, and the article noted how the OL adjustments were the biggest issue of all. Hunter Henry played under Anthony Lynn with the Chargers - a member of Mike Shanahan’s 1997 and 1998 Super Bowl winning Broncos, and currently assistant HC with the 49ers.

Thanks for that insight.

You'd think that someone in a Coordinator's position like Patricia was, would reach out to those players ahead of time to LEARN what they know about the concepts you're looking to use. It almost sounds like when they tried, Patricia got upset. Could Patricia really have been that petty that he'd black-ball Bourne and Henry in his play-calling?

The lack of play-calling for the TEs was f'in ridiculous. As was the usage of Bourne.

 

[Rob0729]

Just heard Cowherd on the radio at the gas station. He's picked up the Herald story so it's now national. BB's penance has now begun. The press he loathes will be all over him on this to the exclusion of all else.

Cowherd has done an 180 on Mac Jones. He thought Mac Jones would never be good and he was the problem with the offense this year to he didn’t really appreciate what Jones did last year and was impressed enough with him down the stretch this season despite the offensive coaching disaster that he believes Jones could be a franchise QB with the right coaching.

 

[Rob0729]

That doesn't make any sense. Zappe ran a ton of play action. Even when Mac came back he still didn't run any PA, at least not until the last few games. I dont buy this article, if they are saying that when we clearly saw the Pats running very successful PA with Zappe

I am pretty sure Mac Jones was last or among the last in the league in play action passes and clearly the last in true play action when he lined up under center and runs it.

 

[crawhammer]

Anyone who says another QB had a worse offensive coaching situation than Mac Jones after reading this story is insane. People have tried to argue that there were QBs with worse offensive coaching situations this year than Jones, but I am beginning to wonder if there is a QB with a worse offensive coaching situation ever in the history of football.

"Ultimately, it's my responsibility, like it always is. So if it doesn't go well, blame me." ~ Bill Belichick, a.k.a. the Genius

 

[farn]

Really sad state of affairs in Foxborough. After the smooth operation that has benefitted players for two decades, it stings / stinks to have an entire year of frustration and mistakes.

Hope the new season offers fans better viewing. BOB should help, but I dunno if he’s a quick fix, as it seems the team has lots to sort out.

I guess we could take Jax as an example : Pederson cleans a mess, gets his team a playoff win soon after replacing a train wreck.

 

[RobertWeathers]

"Ultimately, it's my responsibility, like it always is. So if it doesn't go well, blame me." ~ Bill Belichick, a.k.a. the Genius

He is a genius. The problem with geniuses is they are human and **** up now and then

 

[Rob0729]

I sincerely doubt that BB is going to change the scheme again.

The Pats will stay with the SF type offense.

I’ll bet you on that. The Pats are clearly going back to a more traditional Patriots offense. Why would they hire Bill O’Brien, who has never ran the SF offense to pair with a bunch of offensive players’ whose strengths are more suited for the Ehhardt/Perkins offense. They will go back to what everyone knows and are comfortable with.

If they stick with the SF offense, it will be like a third offensive system anyway. What was implemented last year didn’t remotely resemble the SF offense by the end of October and just became a hodgepodge of plays.

 

[turkeyneck]

Not a mistake, and the Herald has issued an update to the story that this thread is based on:



Time to send that guy packing, IMO.

Well, this is the worst news of the day ...

 

[DaBruinz]

I still don't get the "cheap" angle. Josh was said to be the highest paid OC in the league after he blew off the Dolts, and quite high even before then. Krafty Bob was one of the first owners to go for a stand-alone practice facility. I've never heard the Pats being referred to as being "cheap" until the last year or so. I don't see why cheapness keeps being brought into it. It feels like an anti-Semetic dog whistle to me. MP and JG were being paid by their former teams, but NESN said they were being paid "commensurate" salaries by the Pats with the Giants/Lions paying the rest of the money the coaches were contractually entitled to. It seems in the absence of other evidence we should just say it was circumstantial, but it seems some feel it sexes up the story so they won't let it drop. The Herald isn't saying anything about the cheapness angle AFAIK.

I do think BB made a major miscalculation. I think he felt MP/JG would be "good enough" and that he himself would be able to jump in and get things back on track if they didn't go well. The Herald saying he was yelling a lot at Judge says to me it was more than a little bit of course correcting going on. It seems that whatever he thought he'd get from JG he simply didn't get. That's not letting MP off the hook, but it's interesting the article pointed out BB's anger was directed at JG and didn't say anything about MP.

I don't think anyone saw the Joe Judge EGO explosion coming. I mean. He was a part of the "Do Your Job" coaching staff. Yet, he did everything but that and then had fights with Bill about it.

If Judge was expected to be able to get Jones ready to use those concepts and didn't, that would have a major cascade affect with Patricia. Not to mention that one of Brown, Henry, or Bourne questioning the implementations and bringing up questions that Patricia/Judge didn't know the answer to, would definitely make things FUBAR.

 

[venecol]

WTF is wrong with Belichick? This is unacceptable. How can Kraft put up w/ this after this story came out.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Hmm, this doesn't sound like a pre-planned "bridge year" to me....

What do you think the plan was?

 

[PatsfanTN]

wow! Worst case scenario came true. If half of that is true about Judge, why the hell hasnt he been let go yet?? What a total disaster.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

So a planned "tank" season from BB. Only explanation. If that's not the case, BB has lost it and needs to retire.

Why is a tank season the only explanation? You do not think there could have been a plan that went horribly wrong?

 

[DaBruinz]

So maddening!
We ALL knew it, we ALL knew it before the season began.
So, why on earth is BB so stubborn and prideful that he didn't at least can Judge during the season when it was clear he was useless and causing issues all over the place? MP was bad enough, but it sounds like Judge was actively ruining things. BB says he doesn't like to make changes mid-season... well so what! Your owner is losing millions because you don't want to embarrass some leach. Really causes legitimate concerns of BB's priorities.
Not to mention, would let them (JJ & MP) keep Bourne in the doghouse most of the year to support a lame duck asst. coach???

Where the hell do you get that Kraft lost millions? Seriously? You're throwing BS out there

 

[RobertWeathers]

I’ll bet you on that. The Pats are clearly going back to a more traditional Patriots offense. Why would they hire Bill O’Brien, who has never ran the SF offense to pair with a bunch of offensive players’ whose strengths are more suited for the Ehhardt/Perkins offense. They will go back to what everyone knows and are comfortable with.

If they stick with the SF offense, it will be like a third offensive system anyway. What was implemented last year didn’t remotely resemble the SF offense by the end of October and just became a hodgepodge of plays.

The system will be whatever BOB and Mac are comfortable running.

 

[DaBruinz]

Orlando Brown or McGlinchey would give us nice book ends to pair with Mount Brown. We have Three Fourth Rounders to fill some Needs. We have done historically well with Fourth Rounders. I don't mind a Offensive Tackle early one but I want one of those young TE's also.

Interesting Note: Orlando Brown, Sr played for Belichick in Cleveland.

If Brown doesn't get tagged, then I think he'd be a great addition to the team.

 

[upstater1]

agree esp on the last part
Just look at the fins being very competitive against buffalo in a playoff game with 7th rd rookie under center while we got blown out in the same situation with our first rd qb rookie

You're citing games from two entirely different seasons.