big game coming up...is McCarthy a big-game coach?

[pbmax]

Re: big game coming up...is McCarthy a big-game coach?

This narrative needs to die now. The Packers had begun to throw deep as teams adjusted to the slant, slant and more slant offense of September. The Redskins adjusted to it and less successfully, the Bears.

Remember the deep throws in Denver and Kansas City? Nobody was whining that the gameplan was being thrown out the window when it was a win.

Calling a few deep routes in the first half is not completely abandoning your offense. They thought they saw a weakness, one that other teams had exposed (deep secondary play of the safeties is the weakness of the Cowboys defense) and attempted to attack it. This is what I want my offense to do.

The Cowboys had people back deep, to my eyes, more than previous. So McCarthy and the O would need to adjust the plan. But when you have too much pressure up the middle to wait for the route to develop and throw it anyway even though its double covered, then you run the risk of an INT.

Not panic, not abandoning anything, not a young coach mistake. Cowboys adjusted to the threat of the deep ball. Pass protection is miserable. Interceptions happen. We didn't adjust until down by a couple of scores. You need to shore up two of these areas and you are fine. Better pass pro and better read wipe this from your memory.

More worrisome is that the D couldn't stop Romo or pressure him. ARodg showed you could move and score against the Boys D.

... fast forward to november and the big showdown between the 10-1 Pack and the 10-1 cowboys. with a game plan in hand, written as if the Packers were already down by 21, he abandoned what had worked all season and came out wide-open-throttle...

[pbmax]

So is it your contention that if any piece of a gameplan doesn't work, that the entire plan is flawed? Or do you believe that McCarthy wanted to go deep off play action every time?

Is any gameplan that needs to be adjusted at halftime irreparably flawed as well?

It's a myth that MM went wide open, attempting to just bomb it up.

It is not a myth, JH. McCarthy came out and publically said that he EMPHASIZED going deep that week in practice. Trying to hit a big play off play action was McCarthy's game plan going in, and it was a flawed game plan.

[pbmax]

Have you ever seen Donald Driver play?

And do you think the play was "Jump Ball 80 on TWO"?

Our offense doesn't have capable deep threats in terms of tossing up the ball and letting them go up and make a catch in traffic.

[Carolina_Packer]

There's nothing wrong with being agressive with the personnel you have, but there's smart agression and careless agression. Careless agression would be when there is a smaller chance for success on a play that you should read and take what is being given to you defensively, but you try and force the issue. The difference between smart agression and careless agression is how well the QB is able to read/react to a play while thinking ball security. Obviously the ability to be agressive is predicated on protections and getting open. The games I loved the best this year were the ones where they surgically took a defense apart, and picked their spots to go for the throat.

[The Leaper]

So is it your contention that if any piece of a gameplan doesn't work, that the entire plan is flawed? Or do you believe that McCarthy wanted to go deep off play action every time?

Does it matter?

FACT: McCarthy admitted he EMPHASIZED attacking the Cowboys deep.

The notion that we should drastically change our offense in the Cowboys game WAS flawed. Our offense gets big plays primarily from letting our receivers obtain yardage after the catch. Yes, we've hit on a few bombs during the season. However, those bombs usually came after our offense played considerable short ball before-hand...and caused the defense to start cheating up before tossing it over their head.

However, never did I see a half dozen play-action calls in the first 15 plays in a game. Never. We came out in Dallas looking for a knockout punch. It was the wrong plan. It was compounded when Dallas never respected play-action, yet we kept running it.

I don't think you'll see that from McCarthy ever again.

[Freak Out]

So is it your contention that if any piece of a gameplan doesn't work, that the entire plan is flawed? Or do you believe that McCarthy wanted to go deep off play action every time?

Does it matter?

FACT: McCarthy admitted he EMPHASIZED attacking the Cowboys deep.

The notion that we should drastically change our offense in the Cowboys game WAS flawed. Our offense gets big plays primarily from letting our receivers obtain yardage after the catch. Yes, we've hit on a few bombs during the season. However, those bombs usually came after our offense played considerable short ball before-hand...and caused the defense to start cheating up before tossing it over their head.

However, never did I see a half dozen play-action calls in the first 15 plays in a game. Never. We came out in Dallas looking for a knockout punch. It was the wrong plan. It was compounded when Dallas never respected play-action, yet we kept running it.

I don't think you'll see that from McCarthy ever again.

All the play-action stuff was not effective at that point of the game but #4 had more options than just going with the deep route on some of those plays. He has to make the right read. Like he has done on many of the deep TDs he has thrown this year.

[fan4life]

Speaking of Rex Grossman.... you might find it interesting to watch the 'hawks in the divisional round last year:

Bears vs Seahawks 1-14-07

[The Leaper]

All the play-action stuff was not effective at that point of the game but #4 had more options than just going with the deep route on some of those plays. He has to make the right read. Like he has done on many of the deep TDs he has thrown this year.

I'm not, nor have I ever, claiming Favre is clear of any fault. He made some bad decisions too.

However, after the first 2 or 3 play-action plays are failures...and the Cowboys CLEARLY aren't respecting the run...why stick with it? That decision is completely on McCarthy.

[gbgary]

We came out in Dallas looking for a knockout punch. It was the wrong plan. It was compounded when Dallas never respected play-action, yet we kept running it.

not only that but during a post-game interview, with one of the dallas dbs, the guy confessed that they were told "pay NO attention to Favre's pump-fakes." he said they were told to stay in their lanes or with their man.

not that radio guys are experts or anything but one dallas radio guy said that it was so shocking that "if this coach (MM) and this quarterback (Brett) come back to dallas in the play-offs that dallas would win by 50."

[MJZiggy]

We came out in Dallas looking for a knockout punch. It was the wrong plan. It was compounded when Dallas never respected play-action, yet we kept running it.

not only that but during a post-game interview, with one of the dallas dbs, the guy confessed that they were told "pay NO attention to Favre's pump-fakes." he said they were told to stay in their lanes or with their man.

Well, that could be handy if we play them again...

[Carolina_Packer]

I for one could live without the re-match if NY is able to pull off the upset next weekend. Dallas is much better than Tampa, but it could happen in the ream of possibility, especially if Dallas somehow lays an egg. That would be too cool. If Green Bay were to re-capture homefield by beating Seattle and NY beating Dallas, that would be incredible.

[Freak Out]

I for one could live without the re-match if NY is able to pull of the upset next weekend. Dallas is much better than Tampa, but it could happen in the ream of possibility, especially if Dallas somehow lays an egg. That would be too cool. If Green Bay were to re-capture homefield by beating Seattle and NY beating Dallas, that would be incredible.

If TO does not play I think NY wins. If TO is healthy then the Cowboys win by double digits.

[Carolina_Packer]

I don't think we have enough information on McCarthy to say whether he is a big game coach or not. Sherman had some nice regular season records, only to choke come playoff time (except for Seattle in '03). I'm happy with M3's progress to date, but to use our GM's line, the proof's in the pudding. If he wins in the playoffs, then he's a big game coach. I think he has the stuff to be for sure. No reason to think his approach would stop working.

[pbmax]

I'm sure this seemed like news at the time, but can you think of when a coach would advise "React to ALL his pump fakes?"

We came out in Dallas looking for a knockout punch. It was the wrong plan. It was compounded when Dallas never respected play-action, yet we kept running it.

not only that but during a post-game interview, with one of the dallas dbs, the guy confessed that they were told "pay NO attention to Favre's pump-fakes." he said they were told to stay in their lanes or with their man.

not that radio guys are experts or anything but one dallas radio guy said that it was so shocking that "if this coach (MM) and this quarterback (Brett) come back to dallas in the play-offs that dallas would win by 50."

[pbmax]

OK, that point of EMPHASIS wasn't working. They adjusted and scored 27 points with a backup QB after an ineffective quarter and a half.

But this wasn't some foolhardy experiment. You claim you haven't seen five or six play actions in the first fifteen plays from McCarthy, this claim is absurd. Play action has been his bread and butter for the two years he has been here. In September with no running game, he went empty backfield and shotgun much more, but THAT adjustment was the unusual one. He wanted the ZBS BECAUSE he wanted to play action pass.

But teams began to adjust to the short stuff. Think Washington, Chicago and Denver. The Packers had to adjust as well. They started going deeper in Kansas City and Denver.

The Cowboys kept another safety deep. This doesn't mean play action won't work, it means the deep option is problematic. An offense that junks it plan after two or three tries as you suggest should find a new coach if he has that little faith in his players and plan.

Much more important was the collapse of the protection and the defense's inability to stop Romo/Owens.

FACT: McCarthy admitted he EMPHASIZED attacking the Cowboys deep.