FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Fire Brian Schottenheimer!!!!!!!!!!!! Just kidding.  But seriously, if your protecting a lead in the NFL in the 2nd half, don't you even consider running the football, and eating the clock?  Maybe just a stray thought crosses your mind...."Hey, we're up 11 points, maybe we should run the ball"    As I watched the first and second quarters I was pleased. Not because of the score, but because of the style of play. The Jets played physical, and they ran the ball the same amount as they threw it. They also incorporated play action with a ton of completions in the seam routes. 

Then comes the second half. Thomas Jones who had 50 yards rushing in the first half, and coming off a 3 touchdown performance the week before gets 3 carries until the last 4 minutes of the game.  The offensive coordinator goes back to 2 horrible habits. He calls multiple passing attempts in a row ( 2 of which were sacks on Favre).  Second, he completely abandons the run which was a big reason the team was able to get 24 in the first half.  Gone is play action, because they decide to put Favre in shotgun, nearly the entire second half, completely eliminating the POSSIBILITY of a run even.  The result? A few three and outs and the Patriots even the score.  

The defense after coming out strong, goes to a prevent that almost loses the game.  They blitz from the edges occasionally and leave the center of the field open for a guy who likes to scramble? Wheres the gameplanning? Then they decide to rush 3 guys, and put 8 guys in the secondary on multiple plays. The result? Matt Cassel throws for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. Matt Cassel?  I'm not knocking the guy, but he's not that good. This is horrible gameplanning. You can drop 8 into coverage against a pocket QB, he's not going to move, and he's going to look to throw no matter what. But when you have a mobile QB that can move around, don't you think he'll move in the pocket for the 10 minutes your giving him to throw the ball? And if he doesn't see anything he likes, maybe he'll take his mobile QB legs, and run down the middle of the field. 

This is bad gameplanning by the offensive and defensive coordinators to try to manage a team by playing laid back risk free football. Where is the killer instinct to put your foot on the throat of the enemy? Where is the passion to come out and run the ball down the throat of a banged up Pats team? Where is the desire to knock Cassel around, hit sack, and hurry him into submission? After you played prevent defense in week 2 and lost, why do it again in the second half? Just idiotic.

These coordinators do a terrible job at scouting tendencies and weaknesses.  I'll try to help you guys out for the Titans game.  Kerry Collins can't move in the pocket the way Cassel does, pressure him often.  There is only 1 real playmaker on the Titans, and his name is Chris Johnson. Play Nickel defense and blitz the extra DB often.  Last but not least. RUN THE DAMN BALL!!!!!!!!!! When you win, I'd like my payment in CNNSI Kudos.