Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
I read an article in yesterday's Boston Globe about Bill Belichick's coaching regimen...and let me tell you...it was as impressive an article about coaching preparation as I have ever read.
You should see what Belichick and his staff accomplish each week...the gist of it is that he and his staff meet every morning at 6AM...game plans are set by Monday of each week...the game plans are communicated through film sessions with the players starting at 8AM, Monday mornings...and preparations for the opponent in two weeks are done every Thursday and Friday after the coaches have broken down the tapes of the opponents' last three games...so, in effect, the coaching staff is working on opponents two weeks in advance.
One has to wonder if this type of preparation is going on in Glendale under Dennis Green...what makes one wonder more than anything else is how seemingly unaware or unprepared the Cardinals are to address the other teams' tendencies on the field. For example, how could the Cardinals possibly give up contain to Mike Vick a number of times before they tried to adjust on the field. Green implied that the Cards' top priority versus Atlanta was to slow down Warrick Dunn...but, really, when one watches the Falcons on tape, is Warrick Dunn their most imposing offensive threat? One would think the priority versus the Falcons would be to keep Vick and Dunn confined to the tackle boxes, by establishing strong contain on the outside and funneling them into the middle.
When the Seahawks were playing press coverage...why did the Cardinal take forever to realize that the middle was wide open for BJ and the TEs?
Why weren't the Cardinals aware that teams would try to shadow and double Q and Fitz, especially after how prolific they were in game one versus the 49ers and how productive they both have been in recent years? Why wasn't there an anticipation of what the Seahawks and other more aggressive defenses would try to do?
It seems like, under Green, every week is all about doing the same things, regardless of the opponent...we hardly see any real wrinkles...the same old plays over and over...isn't there any effort to try to exploit teams where they are soft or weak?
When Mac was coach...same thing...it seemed as if the staff never really watched tape, and if they did, they never really broke the tape down or came up with a creative answer to the issues or an innovative game plan.
Clancy Pendergast may be the exception, because he seems well versed in the opponents' strengths and tries to adjust as the game goes along...why there was no contain on Mike Vick remains a real head scratcher...and why opposing WRs gets so much cushion from the CBs is another...but, at least, Pendergast tries to compensate for the defense's shortcoming during a game.
Some coaches believe that you do what you do well and other teams will have to try to beat you and your system.
In the NFL today, that thinking is anachronistic, because the coaching is so good that other teams will do what it takes to take away a team's strengths and tendencies.
Perfect example...yesterday...after going up 14-0, you just knew that KC was going to try to throw the kitchen sink at Leinart...they had to...so...what do the Cardinals do? They play right into KC's hand by making no adjustments...like running screen plays and draws, or simple hot routes to the TEs. As a result, Leinart is left with very little wiggle room...and the momentum clearly shifts over to the Chiefs.
When the Cardinals finally run a hot route, they run it too shallow and don't get a first down...which is really inexcusable. Bryant Johnson is capable of beating any nickel back (or in some case yesterday a linebacker) one on one in the middle...but not when he runs a two yard in pass right into the LBer.
When teams are running full scale blitzes at Leinart, the offense has to give them another little thing to think about...like, oh, we'd better cover the TE...in the Cardinals' case the TE doesn't even get looked at...and they have a 6'8" one in Leonard Pope and a 6'5" soft handed one in Adam Bergen...and when the TEs do get a look it's usually on a three yard out pass into the flat that any team can cover.
These are the reasons why the Cardinals can't compete with other teams...they are not prepared to. They just run their same old same old...while the other teams adjust and halt the Cardinals in their tracks.
Yesterday...I watched the Patriots/Dolphins game before the Cardinals' gamet...the Dolphins tried on numerous occasions to run the same screen pass that KC gouged the Cardinals with...and on every occasion Assante Samuel or some other Patriot DB was there to tackle the screen pass for a loss. The Pats knew how to read the Dolphins' screen because the coaches saw the Dolphins' screen tendencies on tape and had been versing their players in those tendencies in film rooms and on the field.
Today, that's the difference between winning and losing games in the NFL.
And, for those of you who are worried about a new coach and a new system...look at what Sean Payton is doing in New Orleans...what Scott Linehan is doing in St. Louis...these guys have their teams playing smart, opportunistic, well-prepared football...and both teams, despite their weaknesses are sitting there at 4-1 today.
Dennis Green is now 12-25.
You should see what Belichick and his staff accomplish each week...the gist of it is that he and his staff meet every morning at 6AM...game plans are set by Monday of each week...the game plans are communicated through film sessions with the players starting at 8AM, Monday mornings...and preparations for the opponent in two weeks are done every Thursday and Friday after the coaches have broken down the tapes of the opponents' last three games...so, in effect, the coaching staff is working on opponents two weeks in advance.
One has to wonder if this type of preparation is going on in Glendale under Dennis Green...what makes one wonder more than anything else is how seemingly unaware or unprepared the Cardinals are to address the other teams' tendencies on the field. For example, how could the Cardinals possibly give up contain to Mike Vick a number of times before they tried to adjust on the field. Green implied that the Cards' top priority versus Atlanta was to slow down Warrick Dunn...but, really, when one watches the Falcons on tape, is Warrick Dunn their most imposing offensive threat? One would think the priority versus the Falcons would be to keep Vick and Dunn confined to the tackle boxes, by establishing strong contain on the outside and funneling them into the middle.
When the Seahawks were playing press coverage...why did the Cardinal take forever to realize that the middle was wide open for BJ and the TEs?
Why weren't the Cardinals aware that teams would try to shadow and double Q and Fitz, especially after how prolific they were in game one versus the 49ers and how productive they both have been in recent years? Why wasn't there an anticipation of what the Seahawks and other more aggressive defenses would try to do?
It seems like, under Green, every week is all about doing the same things, regardless of the opponent...we hardly see any real wrinkles...the same old plays over and over...isn't there any effort to try to exploit teams where they are soft or weak?
When Mac was coach...same thing...it seemed as if the staff never really watched tape, and if they did, they never really broke the tape down or came up with a creative answer to the issues or an innovative game plan.
Clancy Pendergast may be the exception, because he seems well versed in the opponents' strengths and tries to adjust as the game goes along...why there was no contain on Mike Vick remains a real head scratcher...and why opposing WRs gets so much cushion from the CBs is another...but, at least, Pendergast tries to compensate for the defense's shortcoming during a game.
Some coaches believe that you do what you do well and other teams will have to try to beat you and your system.
In the NFL today, that thinking is anachronistic, because the coaching is so good that other teams will do what it takes to take away a team's strengths and tendencies.
Perfect example...yesterday...after going up 14-0, you just knew that KC was going to try to throw the kitchen sink at Leinart...they had to...so...what do the Cardinals do? They play right into KC's hand by making no adjustments...like running screen plays and draws, or simple hot routes to the TEs. As a result, Leinart is left with very little wiggle room...and the momentum clearly shifts over to the Chiefs.
When the Cardinals finally run a hot route, they run it too shallow and don't get a first down...which is really inexcusable. Bryant Johnson is capable of beating any nickel back (or in some case yesterday a linebacker) one on one in the middle...but not when he runs a two yard in pass right into the LBer.
When teams are running full scale blitzes at Leinart, the offense has to give them another little thing to think about...like, oh, we'd better cover the TE...in the Cardinals' case the TE doesn't even get looked at...and they have a 6'8" one in Leonard Pope and a 6'5" soft handed one in Adam Bergen...and when the TEs do get a look it's usually on a three yard out pass into the flat that any team can cover.
These are the reasons why the Cardinals can't compete with other teams...they are not prepared to. They just run their same old same old...while the other teams adjust and halt the Cardinals in their tracks.
Yesterday...I watched the Patriots/Dolphins game before the Cardinals' gamet...the Dolphins tried on numerous occasions to run the same screen pass that KC gouged the Cardinals with...and on every occasion Assante Samuel or some other Patriot DB was there to tackle the screen pass for a loss. The Pats knew how to read the Dolphins' screen because the coaches saw the Dolphins' screen tendencies on tape and had been versing their players in those tendencies in film rooms and on the field.
Today, that's the difference between winning and losing games in the NFL.
And, for those of you who are worried about a new coach and a new system...look at what Sean Payton is doing in New Orleans...what Scott Linehan is doing in St. Louis...these guys have their teams playing smart, opportunistic, well-prepared football...and both teams, despite their weaknesses are sitting there at 4-1 today.
Dennis Green is now 12-25.
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