THUMPER
Papa
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LaTunaNostra said:I think more than injuries, breaks, Bledsoe's resurrection, the older players' staying healthy, etc, whether we make the playoff or not will come down to the coaching.
Until Bill has proven he has amassed anything like the quality staffs he put together in the past, I think the answer is 'no'.
Just read today's Jen Floyd piece in which she accurately tags the oline as, on the whole, underachieving. Anytime the 'under' word is relevant, it's as much an indictment of the coaches as the players, probably more so.
Some of what I want to see in order to have faith in the coaching staff:
Todd Haley (whom I admittedly never cared for) has got to do more than tread water with two vet receivers who could teach him a few things about the position. He's got to DEVELOP Quincy, improve his reception technique, make a consistent performer out of Crayton, and yes, really prove himself thru Crowder, who is reported to have worked very hard this offseason. When there is that much will (I think Randal Williams lacked it) and that much speed/athleticism, it's on the wideout coach to make it happen. Glenn and Johnson are finished products..Haley needs to earn his keep.
Sparano has got to naysay that underachiever critque. Something has to be done to get Flo more consistent, and tho many have given up on Gurode, he's a player that could turn things around with the right coach, as could Tucker. There is way too much talent on hand for the inability to develop a RT to sabatoge it all. Technique, and cohesion..with as many vets on hand the should be no excuse for young players not knowing what to do. Making the oline and run game coordinator the same coach makes sense ...but Sparano has to be up to the task of coordinating both units to max performance. He also has to keep those blitzes off Bledsoe. His backs have to be blitz read savvy to the extreme. It's going to take very smart play to make it work. Johnny Lynn has to teach technique well.
Witten has nowhere near reached his peak, and Pasqualoni has got to find a way to maintain, or even up the rate of progress. David Lee has an opportunity to make a real name for himself with Henson.
If Bill is going to remain the de facto OC, fine, his playcalling could be much worse, but let's see Payton find the right balance for Bledsoe, do better at correcting his bad habits, and in general, prevent Drew from doing to Sean's career what he did to Gilbride's and Zampese's. With Bledsoe's OCs, it's self-preservation that has to kick in...it isn't just Tuna that is going to be taken down by DB if he fails...Sean is only going to survive if he is TOUGH and stands up to both Bill and Bledsoe, who is notoriously resistant to instruction . That might mean recommending Henson or Romo down the line, and working as closely with Lee as possible to get them ready.
Of course the defensive coaches have the greatest task, especially Gibbs and Rogers. It won't be easy under a DC who himself is learning a new scheme. But the key to a successful first year implemention of the 3-4, is I think, having the balls to play with abandon, not being overly rigid, perfectionist, and anal. Mistakes are going to be made, and a lot of them..players out of position, not understanding assignments, rookies messing up, not getting calls right... the only thing that I have noticed keeps a team in a new scheme competitive is maximizing speed and athletic ability coupled with sound tackling technique, knowing there will be over running on plays, and assorted goofs, but compensating for them with exuberance and killer instinct.
I have seen this work..two examples last year in NY under rookie Donnie Henderson when he played several rookies while introducing a 3-4, and a few years back in Baltimore when the cap cost so many good players to the Ravens after their SB year. Billick and Lewis had a free for all kamikaze preseason in which they threw out young players like Will Demps and told them to earn their spots. There was no holding back and they were able to evaluate both individual skills and decide who could be integrated successfully that season, and how fast.
Intangibles like momentum and "excitement" certainly play a large role, tho. You can tell when hesitancy is destroying a defense's opportunity....one player doubting another and all trying to do too much...it takes just the half second to give the O the edge. When you're not sure of what you're doing, (and that is part of the process) I've witnessed it's better to gamble that you will lose less on head strong play than on looking at each other in puzzlement.
I frankly doubt Zim has the temperament to allow young talent and speed to maximize itself, and will be so in fear of losing, that he won't gamble enough to compensate for the mistakes that will come anyway when implementing a new scheme. Even Tuna himself always featured a careful, slower implementation process. "Bend don't break" is the antithesis of what it takes to succeed early on... that's for later, when everyone is secure with his assignments. "I may break as I break on that ball but I will break your head off as I do" might be more in order.
I think we can win, and win quickly in the early season (it will be later season we will have to regroup when DCs have watched film and seen the growing pains and how to combat them) if as the coaches teach, they give the Wares, Spears, Davis's and hopefully Canty's some headway. If the basic tackling skill is there, the vet smarts, and the rookie/young player exuberance can compensate for the mistakes...but I really think allowing the young ones a looser rein than Bill and Zim might fancy will not be a mistake, but the only way to stay competitive early on.
But if our coaches have the sand to play it that way, I do not know.
The coaches need to be worthy teachers, and also have brass ones for us to win, imho.
GREAT post, I totally agree! My biggest concern is, and has been, Zimmer. He does NOT have that killer instainct and works from the incorrect standpoint of trying not to lose rather than playing to win. He does not take chances and is too fixated on not making mistakes than on making big plays. To me that is a guaranteed way to lose.
I have stated numerous times that the way to measure a defense's effectiveness is not simply by yardage allowed or even points allowed but by turnovers and mistakes forced as well as points scored by the defense.
Stopping a team after 3 downs and forcing them to punt is nice but forcing a turnover where we get the ball in their territory is 1000 times better. We have been near the bottom in turnovers and sacks since Campo took over as the DC and it has continued with Zimmer. Both play that pansified bend-but-don't-break style of defense that tries to limit what an offense can do rather than an attacking style that dictates the game to the offense and forces turnovers and mistakes.
Worrying about making mistakes is not the way to win games. Taking chances and making plays is what wins games in the NFL. That is not to say that mistakes don't matter but that can't be the main focus.
