Coaching Philiosophy

[csx]

Are you referring to the punt or the KO? The KO he returned for 73 was a good kick to the back of the endzone... the coverage just sucked.

The punt was a bad, low punt and a pitiful, no-tackle coverage...

that low punt was intentional, Rivera talked about it

[Mr. Scot]

Your explanation is accurate.

But it still doesn't mean his Philosophy was wrong.

Taking the (now) record holder of punt returns for TDs, and asking him to beat you when your Special Teams has been a question mark is bad, bad, bad idea.

Being stubborn about it in a PC just kinda makes you look silly too. Rivera gets a ding for this in my book.

I actually like the philosophy.

Unfortunately, the players sometimes can't do what you ask them to do.

[Darth Biscuit]

that low punt was intentional, Rivera talked about it

I thought he said it was supposed to be a high, short punt, not a low, short punt... to give the coverage guys time to get down and surround him... and Baker missed it and kicked a low, line drive? No?

[DaCityKats]

Are you referring to the punt or the KO? The KO he returned for 73 was a good kick to the back of the endzone... the coverage just sucked.

The punt was a bad, low punt and a pitiful, no-tackle coverage...

i was talking about the punt. it was low for a reason.

[Mr. Scot]

I thought he said it was supposed to be a high, short punt, not a low, short punt... to give the coverage guys time to get down and surround him... and Baker missed it and kicked a low, line drive? No?

Correct.

Baker didn't kick it quite like they wanted, and the coverage guys didn't get there fast enough and missed tackles when they did.

[RevJ]

What's the difference in kicking away to Hester and guarding Calvin Johnson with one man in order to challenge the DB to rise to the occasion? Why stack the box with 8 or play a nickel or dime defense - just play it all straight up to challenge your guys??

[Darth Biscuit]

Correct.

Baker didn't kick it quite like they wanted, and the coverage guys didn't get there fast enough and missed tackles when they did.

That's what I thought they said... it was supposed to be a higher, shorter punt to allow the cover guys to get to him and force a fair catch, and Baker screwed it up.

I would have preferred they kick it out of bounds over that... less room for error. Coaching decision though...

[Mr. Scot]

What's the difference in kicking away to Hester and guarding Calvin Johnson with one man in order to challenge the DB to rise to the occasion? Why stack the box with 8 or play a nickel or dime defense - just play it all straight up to challenge your guys??

Funny you should ask.

Prior to week one, Sean McDermott went to Chris Gamble and asked him if he wanted the challenge of covering Larry Fitzgerald one on one. Gamble said yes, and so they went with it.

The other stuff is situational. However, as Rivera is one who prefers to dictate the game rather than react to what the other side is doing, he's going to want players who have the brains and versatility to do whatever is asked of them (which is what the pats do as well).

[RevJ]

So, if we play Detroit and are on the goal lie, Gamble should take Calvin johnson one-on-one if he feels like he is up to it?

I see the basic philosophy, but wonder two things:

What defensive player in the NFL will ever beg off?

After the first long KO return, couldn't it be time to rethink the philosophy? (which they obviously did after the second return)

Not trying to be a pain, and love the take no prisoners mindset, but it obviously cost us this game.

[Mr. Scot]

So, if we play Detroit and are on the goal lie, Gamble should take Calvin johnson one-on-one if he feels like he is up to it?

I see the basic philosophy, but wonder two things:

What defensive player in the NFL will ever beg off?

After the first long KO return, couldn't it be time to rethink the philosophy? (which they obviously did after the second return)

Not trying to be a pain, and love the take no prisoners mindset, but it obviously cost us this game.

I agree with the philosophy, but yeah there are risks involved.

I think once we have a better overall roster, it'll make more sense.

[dimbee]

Some might call it "challenging their players" while others might call it stubbornly ignoring their own team's deficiencies. Others in Zod's school of thought would say, "He's just a special teams player. So what?"

[Mr. Scot]

There's also a fine line between challenging someone and telling them "do this or I'll dump you and get someone who can".

Fox never seemed to be a big proponent of that philosophy, but I think Rivera is.

With that said, Rivera must be seeing something different on the game film of Legedu Naanee than I am :(

[Darth Biscuit]

I think you should play to win, and if punting it out of bounds give your team the best chance (feelings be damned) then you do it.

[Mr. Scot]

I think you should play to win, and if punting it out of bounds give your team the best chance (feelings be damned) then you do it.

I think he did play to win. Just his idea of the best path to get there was different than ours.

(that'll probably be true a lot)