If this is true then he's just screwed at this point. Offense not working. Defense not working. No coaching philosophy apparent. That's 0 for 3 alongside 3-9 in the standings and a near record defensive failure.
A professional football player should not have to be reminded how to tackle. I just don't believe it's coaching. Some things are on the players & tackling is one of them. When you get in your car does your wife have to remind you to use the brake to stop the car. You either got it or you don't & at this level of football you should be able to tackle if you made it this far.....that's on the player. It's not like they're not tackling because the DC told them not to. A lot can be put on the DC, but tackling isn't one of them.
According to this forum, any mistake a player makes is coaching. There was a play last game where the offense couldn't get into into proper formation, Moore and the RB were all over the place. If that happened every game/every other game, or it was a play they have never practiced, yes thats coaching. But that's one of the few times I've seen all season they couldn't line up. To me, that's on the players forgetting the play. And what does holding them accountable mean here? Are they supposed to rip the player or pull him for a series so the fans can see the punishment? The offense, with Zach in, has several times not lined up fast enough and they got a delay of game.. they were lined up, it just took too long to get the play into the huddle and Zach didn't snap it fast enough. that's an example of where they need to coach better, or manage time outs better.
Listen, our defense under Gase/Williams was 15th overall. Middle of the pack. And get this, our D was #1 at stopping short yardage run attempts. At one point I think we had like 9 stops in a row on 3rd or 4th and short. Gave up zero TDs on 3rd or 4th and short (running attempts). Now add a FA period, and a draft. I get we didn't start drafting D until the 5th round, but JD focused on converted Safetys and DBs. So at least our D should have gotten a bit better in the passing game to go along with our already good run defense. Plus we got CJ Mosely and Hall back. Plus we got a new HC from the D side of the ball. And somehow our D went from middle of the pack under Gregg Williams to dead last. Even our strength, stopping the run, seems to have disappeared. Very frustrating.
Yes, professionals should certainly have the fundamentals down pat, but too often we see where some don't. And yes, that falls on the player. That said, it's a function of coaching to hold players responsible when they don't perform. That's where this becomes a coaching issue. If it was one or tow or three players, maybe it's just on those players, but they still need the coaches to deliver some consequences to provide incentive to fix things. But when lots of players are showing the same problem, there's a breakdown in coaching that ties that all together. But whatever the solution is, they'd better come up with it quick!
Agree with this. One thing that has set the Patriots apart over the last 20 years is that Belichick and his coaching staff are super picky about their players having strong fundamentals. Tackling, blocking etc. Patriots players almost always do the little stuff at a very high level and it makes a huge difference in team performance when all of your players have the little stuff down pat.
Belichik does a better job of putting professional fear in his players than any HC since Parcells. Potential means nothing if you're screwing up - you are outta there. Contract demands are an exit ticket and he punches it in a hurry.
That wide 9 kinda takes away the strength of the interior line, especially when there's no big time edge rusher coming from the outside. Lawson and to a lesser extent, Huff, were to be the ones to fix that issue. But when Lawson went down and then Huff did, you move JFM to the outside at times. These guys like JFM, and the others they've lined up on the outside aren't the EDGE types. Even missing someone like Huff is huge because at least when he was there, the pass rush was good. The defense also plays exclusively nickel, so that's only 2 LB's for the bulk of the game, they really don't bring a 3rd LB in except for like goal line situations. They expect more run fits and positioning and expect their LB's to play downhill. Mosely can do it to a certain extent, Quincy is solid at it. But still, when your Nickel back and your young safeties who aren't really guys who play near the line are expected to be major parts of stopping the run, that's not what they do.
That is a very fair point. First year the defense was actually #6 overall in yards per game. I wouldn't mention this as under Gase, since Gase had nothing to do with it, but Gregg Williams was a solid DC. We have definitely downgraded from last year's play with similar level talent. I mean we are the worst defense in NFL. With all the failures we experienced, when was the last time this happened?
A public flogging for all who make mistakes is the least we should expect as fans. Broadcast live each week after practice.
I agree with this. Being in position to make the tackle is largely a function of coaching. After that, it mostly comes down to physical strength, toughness and desire. Even if your technique isn’t textbook, those things can usually get a guy on the ground. Unfortunately a lot of players on this defense seem be a little short on all of those traits. I see our players constantly being in position to make a stop, and then getting run over. The abysmal tackling on this defense is the one thing I can’t pin on the coaches.
