Sgt. Largent":1mgr5nov said:
mikeak":1mgr5nov said:
Fair enough, but I would also make the argument that when you are passing to Richard Lockette up the middle then you also don’t have the WR corps to pull off that move..
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we run that exact play to Lockette earlier in the year, and it worked?
He was the biggest bodied receiver we had, and the Patriot's were in man to man coverage.
Again, I'm with you, wasn't fond of the playcall if we were going pass. But this is a situation where it's never going to make sense, because it didn't work.
But if we're TRULY being objective, which I know is impossible because it crushed our souls to watch it happen................throwing from the one is not objectively a "bad" playcall.
You just inadvertently stated one of the main reasons why that play was doomed to fail. The Patriots stated it as well, it was the only play we ran in short yardage situations from that specific formation. The Patriots had been specifically practicing on defending this play in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. Browning also played a key role in coaching up Butler in this situation. The Patriots knew what was coming the moment we trotted out on the field in that formation. Browning, Butler, and the whole Patriots defense may as well have been in the huddle when that play was called.
What is even more damning is the personnel and the match-ups we chose. In order for that play to work, Kearse had to get a pick on Butler. If that pick is not made, the play is dead in the water. Unfortunately, Browner -- the most physical corner, and physically imposing corner back in the league was the guy that was matched up on Kearse. What happens? Kearse predictably gets held up at the LOS, and allows a free shot at Ricardo Lockette and the ball. The next issue was the receiver we called on to execute this play. It is a route that has zero room for error, going over the middle in a situation where the field is condensed. We called upon our worst route runner on the team to make a play that requires precision. The result here is standard fare, Lockette bungles his route. Lockette hesitates on his cut, and his route is rounded off. This is a timing throw that requires Wilson to put trust in his receiver being at the right place, and the right time. He throws a little too far to the outside. I think this specific misstep on Wilson's end occurred because his receiver screwed up his route. The placement would have been perfect Lockette wouldn't have hesitated, and rounded off his route.
The result, in retrospect was to be expected. On this play Bevell, and Carroll were not doing their job. Our players were not put into a position to succeed. The Patriots saw it coming due to our predictable play calling, the match-ups were very bad, and we relied on our weakest link to execute in a situation that required precision, and timing. Passing wasn't the worst thing we could have done at the goal line. It's the play we decided to run, under the conditions that we ran it that was the problem. If it was Baldwin, or even Kearse I don't think that ball is picked off. Why we chose Lockette as our go to receiver on that play is beyond me.
What Sherman, Bennett, and Avril have all said about Carroll is what some of us had noted for a little while now. It is a consistent theme with our departing players -- they had lost their faith in him as a head coach, and they all seemed to see him as a bit of a hypocrite. I think what Avril is saying is supported by the great purges that have happened this offseason. Bennett was shipped off for mere peanuts, we flat our cut Sherman, and we got rid of both our offensive and defensive coordinators. We replaced the mealy mouthed Bevell with an old school, no BS authoritarian style of offensive coordinator, and the inexperienced DC that let his players run all over him with an old linebacker that demands respect, and discipline. Carroll is trying to right this ship, and I think the age of "players coach" Carroll is over. I don't think I've ever seen the man look more pissed off than he did last year.