Saturday Thoughts: Mac's Last Stand?

[ASUCHRIS]

Excellent post Walter, your ability to coherently express your ideas, and back them up with well thought out evidence is quite impressive. I totally agree with you, that Mac is a fabulous motivatior: I believe that guys would run through walls for him. However, there have been many generals who were great motivators, but poor technicians, and ultimately, that matters. Maybe this is a problem that can be rectified by getting a really good staff around Mac, to provide the technical saavy, while Mac takes care of the motivational aspect. There are just too many obvious examples of poor decisions by Mac: not giving McCown a shot, poor play calling, the lack of a major impact by Freddie Jones, the debacle in Philly, with a sessile Donovan McNabb picking apart our defense, under absolutely no diress. I love Mac's fire, and would love to see him succeed, however, ultimately this is a league where you are judged by results, and I guess we'll see what happens after this year, if he makes it that far.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Originally posted by ASUCHRIS
Excellent post Walter, your ability to coherently express your ideas, and back them up with well thought out evidence is quite impressive. I totally agree with you, that Mac is a fabulous motivatior: I believe that guys would run through walls for him. However, there have been many generals who were great motivators, but poor technicians, and ultimately, that matters. Maybe this is a problem that can be rectified by getting a really good staff around Mac, to provide the technical saavy, while Mac takes care of the motivational aspect. There are just too many obvious examples of poor decisions by Mac: not giving McCown a shot, poor play calling, the lack of a major impact by Freddie Jones, the debacle in Philly, with a sessile Donovan McNabb picking apart our defense, under absolutely no diress. I love Mac's fire, and would love to see him succeed, however, ultimately this is a league where you are judged by results, and I guess we'll see what happens after this year, if he makes it that far.

Great points!

Mac is a coach that needs quality coordinators and quality assistants to succeed. If he had better coaches around him, he would be able to be a "team coordinator" and motivator.

 

[Chainthroer]

Walt - I think you have very well summed up the thoughts of most of us, who watched every game last year! Plummer should have been yanked so so many times. It just made you sick the times he threw a long floater off mark. Another good example was when he stuck with Thomas Jones as much as he did (i.e., after Pittman left). It gives me the impression that he (or someone) is going to play people based on what they're being paid and not on preformance. It's got to be based on preformance - otherwise those who have the potential to preform will stop preforming. Which, as you pointed out, is exactly what happened.
Hope Mac reads and reacts on your post. If he doesn't, we're in for a long Fall (or maybe better put - fall)!

 

[Crimson Warrior]

I too, am growing impatient with Mac. However, in his defense, I would like to point out that he got us to 4-2 last year. That was our best start in a long time. Then the injuries, and jake and blah blah blah.

I'm still not quite ready to give up on him.

I think we are a better team, talent wise, at this point than we were last year. I want to see what he can do with the new personnel. If he goes 5-11 again this year, then I say he should get his walking papers.

 

[Stout]

Originally posted by FJM
Walter, since you brought up Jake's behind the back pass and question why Mac didn't pull Jake on the next series here's an explanation. The pass was a forward pass not a latteral. The refs blew the call. This has been mentioned on this board a number of times yet you feel it necessary to point out that pass as a short coming of Mac. Why?

Here's a different slant on Mac's situation with the Cards. When Jerry Sullivan kept saying no regarding a 2 year contract as OC Mac leaned on him or the Cards, or both, to make it a 3 year deal. The feeling then was Mac would be getting an extension to match Sullivan's 3 year deal. Graves was put in charge and it wasn't long and the Cards let their two best players, as far as market value, walk without compensation. Couple that with the drafting a DE that had 6 sacks with our first pick and you can readily see the lights going out in Mac's desire to be with this club. I feel Mac stalled on doing an extension of his contract and will walk at the end of this year or next just as Boston and Plummer did.

Who cares if the call was blown? It was still a stupid, boneheaded play. A QB should not purposefully throw the ball behind his back in ANY situation. Mac should have yanked him. He didn't. That's the point here, not the actual ref's decision.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Originally posted by Stout
Who cares if the call was blown? It was still a stupid, boneheaded play. A QB should not purposefully throw the ball behind his back in ANY situation. Mac should have yanked him. He didn't. That's the point here, not the actual ref's decision.

Amen.

 

[Walter Mitchell]

Thanks for the great responses Chainthroer, Krang, Red Desert, ASUChris, Pinnacle, FJM, Cheesebeef, Bright Eyes, Renz, Nidan, Arthur Raccoon, et al.

Renz: I didn't say Mac didn't watch ANY tape...I said that I think that Mac doesn't watch enough tape, nor do I think that Rich Olsson or Larry Marmie watched enough tape either...the reason is it usually takes the Cardinals a whole half to figure out where the opponents' vulnerbilities are, when the coaches should have known the soft spots from the getgo. It's a conclusion based on the consistently poor preparation the coaching staff has turned in game after game throughout Mac's tenure as head coach. As I said...same boring script...same predictable, ultra conservative game plans...rarely a new wrinkle or clever strategy or even a single attempt to block a kick...and rarely the ability or propensity to adjust on the fly, like neglecting to send the kitchen sink after an injured Donovan McNabb...and McNabb was injured on the first series of the game.

Chainthroer: Perfect point about Mac sticking with TJ as the starter, even when it was clear for several weeks that Marcel Shipp was being far more productive.

FJM: No matter how you slice Jake's flip...it was totally inexcusable...and yet another glaring example (perhaps the most blatant one) of how little Jake valued the possession of the ball.

 

[Walter Mitchell]

Right on, Stout. I was writing my reply when you responded. You always get right to the point, man.

 

[conraddobler]

I don't think Mac or last year Olsen was much of a tape watcher on offense thats for sure we were so predictable that it hurt.

My best guess is that Olsen loved to counter punch more than punch and so he always loved to setup another team with endless plays in the first half only designed to make them buy fakes in the 4th.

This was I'm sure satisfying to his ego and all but it was a horrid way to call games in todays NFL.

I think Mac is a great motivational head coach that needs a couple of very smart very good assistants and he would win a Super Bowl.

Really some coaches are just better at assembling a staff than others, what makes you strong in one area can blind you in another.

I think also he is learning about the head as in decision maker part of his Position. It's on the job training for head coaches on most of that end whenever they are first promoted.

We'll see, last year like it or not was a mulligan. I don't think the team ever quit it was more like trying to stare down a bulldozer with a tricycle after all the injuries. People only have so much fight for a hopeless cause I don't care who the coach is.

New coordinator new coaches new players... Same result and Mac's a goner.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Sheesh

You know what the worst was last year?

Not having a true franchise QB. Watching Plummer screw up time and again....

Thank god we took the steps to improve this teams long term futu...re....errrr...errr....nevermind.

 

[AntSports Steve]

I also want Mac to succeed, but I think he's being setup to fail this year by Graves. I just don't see how Mac can succeed with a team that's $10M below cap ($16.5M right now). If Mac doesn't get at least 6 wins this year, I think the Bidwills will can him. Which would be a mistake. Why? It's not because I think Mac is all that great, it's because the Cards fail year in and year out to attract quality coaches. If Mac is replaced, the Cards won't be bringing in a Parcells type of coach, but some about the same as Mac, but with less experience. I would sign Mac to an extension now and keep him for at least another 3 or 4 years.

Now, about the behind the back toss by Jake. That ended my "Jake is a reasonable QB" thoughts. I was on the replace Jake bandwagon ever since.

You are also correct. This team needs to reward the young players who do good with more playing time.

The #1 thing Mac better figure out this year is if the teams needs to draft a new QB next year or not.

 

[Northern Card]

Originally posted by Walter Mitchell
Northern Card: We all saw how the players quit. We all saw how even Mac himself stood stiff as a statue on the sidelines for what, the better part of five or six games? Management saw the same things we did. But, Mr. B, for all his flaws, has a heart. Mr. B is as loyal an owner as there is, if you think about it, because he almost ALWAYS honors his contracts, unless he feel absolutely compelled to make a change.

I think Mr. B recognizes that last year's failure was not simply related to Mac's coaching flaws. As an organization, Mr. B. has set out to make wholesale changes. But, he needs Mac to win sometime soon, because team revenues continue to plunge. Mr. B likes Mac the same way he liked Joe Bugel...and for many of the same reasons. But, if the team shows one iota of quit in them this year, it's hard to fathom that Mac will be given another chance.

Walter... this all pure conjecture on your part - reading body language, seeing into the heart of Mr. B...etc. . please...

I'll repeat - when the players turn off the coach, and by extension quit on him - he's gone!!!

I spent 10 years of my life in professional sport and on this point, I feel certain..

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by AntSports Steve
I also want Mac to succeed, but I think he's being setup to fail this year by Graves. I just don't see how Mac can succeed with a team that's $10M below cap ($16.5M right now). If Mac doesn't get at least 6 wins this year, I think the Bidwills will can him. Which would be a mistake. Why? It's not because I think Mac is all that great, it's because the Cards fail year in and year out to attract quality coaches. If Mac is replaced, the Cards won't be bringing in a Parcells type of coach, but some about the same as Mac, but with less experience. I would sign Mac to an extension now and keep him for at least another 3 or 4 years.

Now, about the behind the back toss by Jake. That ended my "Jake is a reasonable QB" thoughts. I was on the replace Jake bandwagon ever since.

You are also correct. This team needs to reward the young players who do good with more playing time.

The #1 thing Mac better figure out this year is if the teams needs to draft a new QB next year or not.

It is pretty clear, to me anyway, that Graves and those giving him orders are attempting to set this team up for when the new stadium opens. I really do feel that they are more concerned with how this team will look a couple of years down the road (talent-wise and salary cap wise) than next season.

 

[JeffGollin]

I have conflicting thoughts with regard to Mac:

1. Sometimes I feel Mac is more talk than action.

2. I also feel Cardinal Management alternates between extremes - of either sticking with underperforming coaches and players too long or pulling the trigger too quickly.

3. In Mac's case, I'd be inclined to cut him a couple of years' more slack.

4. Different players and coaches respond differently to "Swords of Domocles" hanging over their heads. Case in point - Edgar Renteria who went into a deep batting funk in the final year of his contract when he was afraid of being traded. As soon as the StL Cards signed him to a long term deal, he's been playing at an All Star level ever since.

Operating under "The Sword", Mac may be pressing a little and pulling a few punches with regard to certain coaching moves (like on the D-Line for example).

5. I think a major part of the Cardinals' chronic problems are due to the Bidwills preferring to "do things their way" instead of being in the NFL mainstream.

If you're Al Davis with Super Bowl rings as part of your track record, you can afford to march to your own drumbeat. But when you're the Bidwills, with a track record of chronic "bad luck" and disappointment, you might want to ask yourselves whether your way is the best way.

6. Every facet of the organization (from those involved in weight training to equipment allowances to scouting to injury waiver policies) should be continually monitoring how their counterparts in other NFL franchises do business. And we should be applying the lessons learned from other NFL teams' successes and mistakes to make our own operation better and more competitive.

7. On the field, I'd like to see both the Cards' offense and defense do a better job of commanding their own destiny rather than being victims of what other teams are doing. This starts with controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage. It's not enough to try hard and "fly around." We have to win the one on one battles on a consistent basis because our guys are better than their guys.

8. Then - assuming #7 - I'd like to see us on both sides of the ball let it all hang out and play aggressive football with reckless abandon. Keep the opposition guessing: No scripted plays. No dialing up the "perfect play, scheme or coverage." On each down, just pull 'em out of a hat and run 'em - so that the other team might see you run a quick opener on 3rd and 20 or a flea-flicker on 3rd & inches.

9. I'd also like to see coverages which enable our CB's to gamble more because they know they have one of the safeties "covering their six."

 

[Tangodnzr]

After reading your latest post Walter......the first word that comes to mind is DISAPPOINTING!!!.

Your prior 2-3 main posts I have enjoyed reading very much. You had finally seemed to emerge up from the negative quagmire you so often seem to reside in.

Then this.......One of your "fans" made the comment:
"Well thought out post and most of it has good merit."......
I could not disagree more. There seems to me more holes in some of your reasoning than in Swiss cheese.

You once again seem to pontificate back into your old style of being more concerned about posting a literary masterpiece and winning the acclaim of other posters rather than the posting of factual content. This post reminded me of some of the old days 3-4 years ago when we sometimes would go tete a tete on the old Republic board. (long before I ever started using the Tangodnzr screen name). I mean c'mon......what's this.....I'd like to thank Jimmmy, and Johnny, and Clara, and autie Sophie, and JZM1982, and Joe, and finklebrain and Louise, and RedCard, and CardRed, and Jakeazz, and the neighbor's dog, and cat, for reading my wonderful post. Thank you..Thank you, Thank you.


As I said, there seems to be a lot of holes in your "theory".
I will try to enumarate some of them and address them individually from MY perspective....which sure seems to differ in soooo many places.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Originally posted by Tangodnzr
After reading your latest post Walter......the first word that comes to mind is DISAPPOINTING!!!.

Your prior 2-3 main posts I have enjoyed reading very much. You had finally seemed to emerge up the negative quagmire you so often seem to reside in.

Then this.......One of your "fans" made the comment:
"Well thought out post and most of it has good merit."......
I could not disagree more. There seems to me more holes in some of your reasoning than in Swiss cheese.

You once again seem to ponificate back into your old style of being more concerned about posting a literary masterpiece and winning the acclaim of other posters rather than the posting of factual content. This post reminded me of some of the old days 3-4 years ago when we sometimes would go tete a tete on the old Republic board. (long before I ever started using the Tangodnzr screen name). I mean c'mon......what's this.....I'd like to thank Jimmmy, and Johnny, and Clara, and autie Sophie, and JZM1982, and Joe, and finklebrain and Louise, and RedCard, and CardRed, and Jakeazz, and the neighbor's dog, and cat, for reading my wonderful post. Thank you..Thank you, Thank you.


As I said, there seems to be a lot of holes in your "theory".
I will try to enumarate some of them and address them individually from MY perspective....which sure seems to differ in soooo many places.

Jerk.

You know Tango.....people would react much better to you if you toned it down a little. For someone your age to be so socially inept, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how far you can stick your foot in your mouth.

You are allowed to disagree, no question, but to act like this is disgraceful.

 

[Tangodnzr]

Originally posted by Walter Mitchell

But this year Mac probably will have to change some of his spots in order to preserve his job, because Mac can no longer afford to be naive or ill-prepared. Bill Bidwill needs to fill the seats and if this season is another lemon, Bidwill will be out looking for another savior.

How is Mac naive? Mac believes that loyalty works both ways in the NFL. Last year, Mac should have learned conclusively that loyalties between the players and a coach, as strong and solid as they may seem on the outside, are as transient as tumbleweed. Mac has put a lot of stock and faith in certain players on his football team, but many of those players have not returned the favor. Mac's team quit on him last season. And it appeared by Mac's suddenly stoic "Beige-like" demeanor on the sidelines that Mac quit on the team in return. In my opinion, Mac lost his team because he lost his credibility with the players. Mac's credibilty was shattered by the contradictory way Mac remained loyal to certain veterans like Jake Plummer.

Week after week, loss after loss, there'd be the same ol' exasperated Mac in front of the microphones and all the media singing the same ol' sad song..."I really feel bad for the fans"..."losing like this makes me want to puke"..."we don't tolerate turnovers around here"..."you just can't turn the ball over in this league and expect to win"...There'd be Mac talking the talk...but by Monday nothing ever changed. Mac became a broken record...and the players had heard the same ol' sad song too many times. And the players were tired of hearing that certain things wouldn't be tolerated...and then seeing for themselves that certain things were being tolerated...when, ultimately, nothing was being done about them.

Mac said after the game something to the effect that he thought the Cardinals had a better chance of winning the game with 24 seconds and three timeouts, than wasting the timouts earlier. This is further evidence of how a coach loses credibility with his players. Mac's players played their ever-livin' hearts out that night. And even Mac was finally looking like his old animated self on the sidelines that night. However, Mac let his players down because Mac didn't manage the game to give them the best chance to win...a game his players should have won...and in my opinion, would have won...which would have a done wonders for restoring team pride..........................L(edit out a few paragraphs on different subject matter)

What spots does Mac need to change this year?

(1) Loyalty has to be to the players who are playing the best. Even if Marcel Shipp is outplaying Emmitt Smith, Mac has to start Shipp. The players all know who is playing the best. If Mac wants to restore his credibility with the players, he has to start the players who are most deserving.

first of all, I have to totally disagree with the Mac being "Naive" comments. You say "Mac believes that loyalty works both ways in the NFL."
HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT"S WHAT HE THINKS????
Russ used to have a tendancy to do the same thing with some of his comments, but thankfully I haven't seen him do it in a long time.....the making statements about what other people "think" as if you have some divine knowledge of it.
You seem to make him out to be some simple little fool that just jumped off the watermelon wagon.
C'mon Walter, literary free license can only carry you so far.
Naive??? I find it amazing that you would even consider attaching such an adjective to Mac. Whatever faults he may have, and being human he does have some, I wouldn't suspect being naive is anywhere near one of them.

I also disagree in regard to the comments that the team "quit" on him, he "quit" on them, and that he lost credibility with his players.

I don't see it. Especially the comment about Mac losing credibility.
That may be YOUR interpretation, but mine would heartily disagree.

In going back over last year, and ...like you...also having the luxury of hindsight.....This is what I saw:

A team totally decimated by injuries. 13 players going down with season ending injuries.
Here is the starting offensive line-up for the final game against Denver:
McAddley, Shelton, Wragge, Starkey, Dishman, Roundtree, F. Jones, Bush, Kasper, Plummer, Shipp.
The lowpoint, to me, was certainly the Chiefs game. By then, however the team was a total mash unit. Even KC players were commenting on how injury riddled the Cards were.
If there was ever a time that anyone, (besides Lassiter) quit, it could have been during that game. There was nothing good about that game at all.....nothing. No one played well.
I would agree that those were indeed tough days at that period of time.
After week 10 the Cards were 4-5, They had lost to the 49'ers 38-28 after giving up 24 points early in the game. Jake was 24 for 36 with 4 tds. and the game ended up closer than the final score might indicate, and losing Gilmore with a broken leg. Next came a 27-14 loss to the Rams, with Marshall Faulk running wild, and, Jenkins, Boston, and Grutts going down. Then after 3 late turnovers deep in Seattle territory, (2 by Shipp, and 1 by Jake) basically cost them the game in a 27-6 loss at home....and a tough one, injuries REALLY now starting to show their effects.
Then what I call the toughies.....getting hammered by the Eagles, then pounded by Oakland, and finally on to KC. The biggest overall problem at that point....the defense just wasn't very effetive.
Up until the Oakland game TJ and Shipp had basically been sharing time, until TJ's "broken hand" incident before the Raider's game. Shipp was the only bright spot that game. 16 carries for 135 yds. But neither him nor TJ had been performing very well since the San Diego game when both came up gimpy. TJ with the high ankle sprain, and Marcel injuring his left knee. In fact neither even suited up for the Giants game. Damian Anderson started and played that one.
After the Chiefs game the Cards beat Detroit, lost close games to both the 49's and Ram's and then finally the stinker the last game against Denver, but again I have already posted the lineup for that game.
So to say this team quit on Mac, or he quit on them, or that he lost credibility because of his choice of whom he was playing and when, just doesn't hold up under actual scrutiny.
The worst 3 games was the Philly-Oakland-KC trio. After that the team was competitive in spite of all the injuries. There was no quit there on ANYONE'S behalf.

 

[Tangodnzr]

also, I think it is worthy of note that the 2 losses against Philly and Oakland, even though not what any real Card fan would be happy to see, it must be remembered that they were injury ridden and playing the teams that were having top years and ended up being the final 2 teams beaten by Tampa on its way to the Super Bowl.

 

[Shane]

Originally posted by Stout
Who cares if the call was blown? It was still a stupid, boneheaded play. A QB should not purposefully throw the ball behind his back in ANY situation. Mac should have yanked him. He didn't. That's the point here, not the actual ref's decision.

See this is the thing that makes me mad and I am by no means a Jake supporter in any sense of the word!

I give Jake credit for not quiting and wanting to make a play. That shows heart and wanting to win! Im sorry but you can never fault a guy for that regardless of the result. That play was not going to change our season of the game for that matter.

If Brett Favre or John Elway both of whom were known for pulling plays like that out of there collective asses were to attempt that exact same thing everyone would say that it shows there passion and desire to win and that while it didnt work it was a solid showing in effort and desire!

Yes I know they both have won superbowls and such and that will be many of your replies but the bottom line is that at the heat of the moment at that point in time in the game a player was trying to make a play and thats all I can ask or hope for!

I am more willing to except that type of "effort" mistake than the bone headed throwing it to a clearly covered WR in the open field. Thats just stupididty not effort! (that what pissed me off about jake)

 

[Tangodnzr]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
Jerk.

You know Tango.....people would react much better to you if you toned it down a little. For someone your age to be so socially inept, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how far you can stick your foot in your mouth.

You are allowed to disagree, no question, but to act like this is disgraceful.

Unlike some posters here, my main concern is not popularity, but in stating my thoughts and opinions, and supporting the Cards as much as I can..... So you don't like my style.
Don't read it then.
I'm not here to win your or anyone else's approval.
If my calling a spade a spade, as I see it, bothers you....that's YOUR problem.

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by Tangodnzr
After reading your latest post Walter......the first word that comes to mind is DISAPPOINTING!!!.

Your prior 2-3 main posts I have enjoyed reading very much. You had finally seemed to emerge up from the negative quagmire you so often seem to reside in.

Then this.......One of your "fans" made the comment:
"Well thought out post and most of it has good merit."......
I could not disagree more. There seems to me more holes in some of your reasoning than in Swiss cheese.

You once again seem to pontificate back into your old style of being more concerned about posting a literary masterpiece and winning the acclaim of other posters rather than the posting of factual content. This post reminded me of some of the old days 3-4 years ago when we sometimes would go tete a tete on the old Republic board. (long before I ever started using the Tangodnzr screen name). I mean c'mon......what's this.....I'd like to thank Jimmmy, and Johnny, and Clara, and autie Sophie, and JZM1982, and Joe, and finklebrain and Louise, and RedCard, and CardRed, and Jakeazz, and the neighbor's dog, and cat, for reading my wonderful post. Thank you..Thank you, Thank you.


As I said, there seems to be a lot of holes in your "theory".
I will try to enumarate some of them and address them individually from MY perspective....which sure seems to differ in soooo many places.

Thing is, nobody really cares about your perspective. Not me, anyway.

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by Shane H
See this is the thing that makes me mad and I am by no means a Jake supporter in any sense of the word!

I give Jake credit for not quiting and wanting to make a play. That shows heart and wanting to win! Im sorry but you can never fault a guy for that regardless of the result. That play was not going to change our season of the game for that matter.

If Brett Favre or John Elway both of whom were known for pulling plays like that out of there collective asses were to attempt that exact same thing everyone would say that it shows there passion and desire to win and that while it didnt work it was a solid showing in effort and desire!

Yes I know they both have won superbowls and such and that will be many of your replies but the bottom line is that at the heat of the moment at that point in time in the game a player was trying to make a play and thats all I can ask or hope for!

I am more willing to except that type of "effort" mistake than the bone headed throwing it to a clearly covered WR in the open field. Thats just stupididty not effort! (that what pissed me off about jake)

Your point is well taken.

 

[football24/7]

Great article Walter. I always enjoy your reads. I totally agree on the team losing confidence with Mac, especially when dealing with the "stars" of the team. Jake should have been benched last year, especially after the behind the head flip that will forever be in the nfl films follies collection. I truly think that Jerry will prove to be a much better OC than last years. Our offense came out in a funk every 1st quarter for it seems like 2 years. We all want creativity, and aggressive play calling. Now the defense must be better in the fundamentals of the game. Reduce the blown tackles missed assignments. If not, Mac and Marmie might be history.

 

[Stout]

Originally posted by Shane H
See this is the thing that makes me mad and I am by no means a Jake supporter in any sense of the word!

I give Jake credit for not quiting and wanting to make a play. That shows heart and wanting to win! Im sorry but you can never fault a guy for that regardless of the result. That play was not going to change our season of the game for that matter.

If Brett Favre or John Elway both of whom were known for pulling plays like that out of there collective asses were to attempt that exact same thing everyone would say that it shows there passion and desire to win and that while it didnt work it was a solid showing in effort and desire!

Yes I know they both have won superbowls and such and that will be many of your replies but the bottom line is that at the heat of the moment at that point in time in the game a player was trying to make a play and thats all I can ask or hope for!

I am more willing to except that type of "effort" mistake than the bone headed throwing it to a clearly covered WR in the open field. Thats just stupididty not effort! (that what pissed me off about jake)

Okay, how is that any different from him throwing a lame duck int when he's in the process of getting flattened? It shows his 'heart' and 'passion' by him trying to make a play out of nothing, right? Wrong. Both situations are stupid and he should, and has been, faulted for both. Stupid is stupid, period. If I saw Brett Favre pull the same crap as that behind the back mistake, I'd still say it was stupid. Why? Because it was stupid. I think the point I'm trying to make is IT WAS A STUPID PLAY!!! No ifs, ands or buts. He has heart, desire, passion, et al. Great. He damn well better. Now use it in a good way instead of being stupid. There is simply no way to defend that play. None. Zero, zip, zilch, nix, nein, nada.

By the by, heroes are most often people that make stupid mistakes that somehow come out unscathed. Yes, we praise Favre when he makes a flick throw for a TD. It makes him a hero. The same throw becoming an interception makes him a goat.

 

[Snakester]

A very thought out post Walter. First let me start by saying that this is Mac's first NFL head coaching job and I think it takes time to learn the ropes. I agree that good coaches have good schemes week in and week out. Just look at what Jim Fassel did with our offense his first year after Buddy ball had totally crippled our offense during his tenure. Coaching does make a difference. I also have not seen one single year that our defense has been dominating under coach Mac. I like coach Mac and I want him to succeed but he has to step up to the plate and show that he has a better grasp on how to make this team a winner this year. Like Joe Bugel, Mac I think is well liked by his players and if you remember Bugel had his team playing their butts off for him but they still finished 7-9 and Bugel got the ax for not producing a winning team after four years. I think you are right that Mac will have to make this team play alot better this year and go at least 8-8 if he want's to keep his job.
If there is one coach on this team that might be able to make a difference it's Jerry Sullivan. If Graves goes out and get's a Musin Muhammed or two after June 1st our offence could be very good. I think our defensive line will play better this year because of a healthy KVB and W. Bryant improving. I think alot will depend on how Sullivan coaches this year as far as whether we win or not. A bad first year for Sullivan I think would be a disaster for this team. If we are gonna have a good year he has got to be the one to carry this team.