There was an interesting exchange between Mike Stone and Jon Jansen this morning. Jansen agreed that going for it on 4th and 1 was a terrible decision for all of the reasons we discussed.
Stoney asked But Jon, as an offensive lineman, didn’t you always want to go for it in those spots?
Yes! But I wasn’t the Head Coach!. It’s the head coach’s job to make those decisions!
~
DC seems like he coaches like an offensive lineman.
I like Dan but I was critical of him last season. Some even called me a hater for it.
But I like Dan. I really want him to succeed but…. His in game decision making is horrendous. I can excuse it to an extent and chalk it up as rookie coaching mistakes but he’s not learning from them.
His personality is to smash his head into the wall until it breaks but the truth is you’re not breaking down a brick wall with your head. You have to be smart about it. You can‘t just take the Hulk Smash attitude all the time.
I personally think he’s lacking in game planning and management.
I mentioned it in the game thread but I will say it again:
The coaching staff panicked, and that made the players seen that way as the game went on. There was no plan, or their plan was destroyed early on. Everything they did reeked of desperation, and it was ALWAYS the wrong decision. I’ve honestly never seen a Lions game like that.
That is what is so troubling. Making same mistakes over and over again.
I won’t argue or challenge that he can motivate because it’s clear he can but I also think the motivation becomes more difficult if the players keep seeing you make the same mistakes costing them games.
I’m typically not going to criticize 4th down attempts. The data is pretty overwhelming that it’s more effective to go for it in far more situations than NFL traditionalists do.
As I said then, he coaches like a guy that lost a big chunk in a casino and desperaterly keeps going to the ATM to get more cash to get even…then makes bigger and worse bets in that attempt to get back to even.
Well I believe that offenses have become more potent since 20015. The point remains the statistics do suggest that the 4th and 9 decision was fine. Ultimately we need a kicker that is 70% from 51 and then it’s an easy decision.
The kicker situation is one of my biggest Holmes gripes for the time being.
What is the 4th and 9 conversion rate against Bellicheck on the road with your top 3 skill players out or hobbled? What is the score and time in the game? What is the momentum like?
Or in the context of the game, you could use one of the best punters in the league to pin a rookie QB starting his first game deep inside of his own end of the field if you don’t trust the kicker you just signed to make a NFL length field goal.