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Why Mike McCarthy is the worst coach in the NFL and why that matters to the Redskins


Lombardi's_kid_brother

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Hello, dum dums.

 

I watched six minutes of the Packers game last night because the Pirates and Cardinals were playing what was essentially a playoff game and I'm old and like baseball. Because I watched those six minutes, I'm an expert on what happened and I have thoughts to share. I don't post new threads as much as I used to post new threads and you are all the poorer for it. So, try to live on my thoughts for a while.

 

Thought One: Mike McCarthy has to be the worst coach in football. Why do I say this? Because I don't understand how he ever loses a game. I really don't. I don't watch a ton of Packer games, but I've watched a few over the last few years. And I've never seen Aaron Rodgers throw an incomplete pass. I've seen his stats so apparently he does occasionally, but I've honestly never witnessed it. The fact that he never throws incomplete passes makes me wonder why they don't score on every drive. And since I think they should score on every drive, I don't understand how they have ever lost a game.

 

And that brings me to Mike McCarthy. In the modern NFL, if you have an unstoppable passing game, you cannot lose. And he has a QB who - by my math - has never thrown an incompletion. And yet, he's only won a measly single Super Bowl. In fact, he's only gone to one. I don't get it. This can only be caused by over-coaching, because a smart coach would just stand on the sidelines while Aaron Rodgers never throws an incompletion and then take all the credit.

 

Thought #2. If Mike McCarthy is the worst coach in the NFL, that means that Gruden is not. And I'm not not sure that really matters.

 

Gruden got his job here for two reasons.

 

1. He's Jon Gruden's fatter brother.

2. He did a pretty good job as Cincy's offensive coordinator.

 

Jay Gruden was smart enough to get hired as Cincy's offensive coordinator during AJ Green's rookie year. And he was smart enough to tell his young QB, throw the ball to AJ Green all the time. AJ Green cannot be covered by mortal humans. And as he got better, Cincy's offense got better. And Gruden was smart enough to stand on the sidelines and take credit for AJ Green not being coverable.

 

(Honestly, if AJ Green and Aaron Rodgers ever team up, the universe would implode).

 

The NFL rules and human evolution have created the modern NFL. Which is kind of amazing and also somewhat unwatchable.

 

All the rules in the NFL are designed to keep QBs and WRs alive and that makes their jobs very easy in some ways. At the same time, a few QBs and WRs have become complete freaks of nature, the likes of which we - frankly - have never seen. It would have been extremely difficult to cover Gronkowski, AJ Green, Julio Jones, Dez Bryant, and Antonio Brown under the NFL rules of the 70s when defensive backs were allowed to sodomize receivers. (Michael Haynes would be serving life in prison if he played today). There's about five QBs who have mastered the game to the point where it's shocking when they throw an incompletion (Rodgers, Brady.....um that actually may be it right now. Manning and Brees getting old is sad, ain't it?)

 

The Redskins have don't have a freak QB or a freak WR so I'm not sure what Gruden can really do at this point.

 

There seem to be only two paths to victory right now in the NFL:

 

1. Get an otherworldly QB or receiver or maybe both (the Patriots Way)

2. Accept your limitations at QB or WR and stack the team in one specific area and then pray you stay healthy while you can still afford everyone (Seahawks, Niners, Giants approach).

 

The Skins are certainly not in category 1. It's too early to see if they are in category 2 but this is Scotty Mac's historical approach.

 

Gruden - and frankly all coaches - are sort of a bystander right now.

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I'd say we already have other-worldly QB and WR talent on this team.  

 

That's an interesting point actually. I thought about how RGIII changed the calculus by being unstoppable in a unique way his first way, but this was already far too long a post.

 

Jackson is just outside the group I was thinking of. He may be the best pure deep threat in the league, but you can:

 

1. Sort of game plan to stop him and

2. Hope that the QB can't connect on the deep ball.

 

What makes the guys I listed terrifying is the fact that you can run the same fifteen yard in route to them over and over and over again and know that the only way it fails is if the QB misfires somehow.

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The having an QB/WR thing is the cold hard truth.

 

Problem is that they are like unicorns. Skins are better off going the Niners/Hawks route imo. There are like 2, maybe 3 elite QBs right now and the rest are either slightly above average or just average. 

 

 

Also, this thread was amazing. Thanks LKB. You should be a mod. 

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20 years of rule changes has made a league that is unfairly handicapped towards the teams lucky enough to get their guy.  You can't touch a receiver or its pass interference.  You have to turn your head or its pass interference.  You can't touch the QB or its roughing the passer.  And if you do touch the QB, it has to be in the waist, otherwise it's a blow to the head (roughing) or going low (roughing).  You can't hit a receiver once he stretches out for the ball (defenseless receiver)

 

What this has led to, in addition to the 4 hours of commercials they squeeze into a 3 hour game, is an unwatchable product.  I do not watch football anymore, I'm completely done.  I do watch the Redskins, but I'm teetering there.  It's just a crappy game anymore.

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1. Get an otherworldly QB or receiver or maybe both (the Patriots Way)

This implies that just having a great receiver is a "path to victory". Of the current consensus elite WRs in the game (Johnson, Bryant, Brown, Jones, Green), though, the only one who even made a Super Bowl was Brown, and that was when he was a rookie and certainly not elite yet. Just to clarify.

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When I watch Tom Brady play, I see a guy who has completely mastered the QB position.  He just cannot be stopped.  He sees exactly what the defense is doing and knows precisely where to go with the football.  It's just a matter of his receiver being open.  It's almost unfair that a guy can be that good at such an important position.  But when you look at the state of the league now and how that's been slowly rule-changed into happening, it's not that surprising.

 

I suppose that if Dan Marino were playing today, the Dolphins would have 20 Lombardi Trophies.  Well, maybe 10, Joe Montana would have the other 10, the outcome of the superbowl decided on the coin toss (whoever ends up with the ball last, wins).  Thankfully the league was more balanced and competitive in their day.  

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This implies that just having a great receiver is a "path to victory". Of the current consensus elite WRs in the game (Johnson, Bryant, Brown, Jones, Green), though, the only one who even made a Super Bowl was Brown, and that was when he was a rookie and certainly not elite yet. Just to clarify.

 

I think you need a QB first, then a receiver.  Let's be honest, if Calvin Johnson had Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball I think the NFL would forfeit their entire season.  I mean the entire league.  Thankfully, megatron has been paired with dopey mcdumbass.  

Well, at least you're not a moderator on a football message board or anything.  

 

You need a hug today or something?  The missus upset she found your porn stash?  Talk to me, I'm listening.

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I think you need a QB first, then a receiver.  Let's be honest, if Calvin Johnson had Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball I think the NFL would forfeit their entire season.  I mean the entire league.  Thankfully, megatron has been paired with dopey mcdumbass.  

 

You need a hug today or something?  The missus upset she found your porn stash?  Talk to me, I'm listening.

 

 

The QB is far more important obviously. But we are in an unprecedented era of receivers. The fact that I left Megatron off my list is telling.

 

But Gronk was hurt for, like, two years and the Pats looked like a team in decline. Then they upgraded his programming, and - boom - they look like the greatest offense ever.

 

Andy Dalton is decent. Pair him with AJ Green and the guy will make the playoffs every year.

 

SHF and I were talking about this on a thread a while back. Look at the best receviers in the late 90s. Look at the best receivers today. We've made a scary leap forward.

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The QB is far more important obviously. But we are in an unprecedented era of receivers. The fact that I left Megatron off my list is telling.

 

But Gronk was hurt for, like, two years and the Pats looked like a team in decline. Then they upgraded his programming, and - boom - they look like the greatest offense ever.

 

Andy Dalton is decent. Pair him with AJ Green and the guy will make the playoffs every year.

 

SHF and I were talking about this on a thread a while back. Look at the best receviers in the late 90s. Look at the best receivers today. We've made a scary leap forward.

 

 

The best athletes used to play other positions, or even other sports.  The best athletes are gravitating to WR nowadays I think.

 

 

Bill Parcells used to say, when asked about the changing dynamics of key positions, "we can only take what the college teams give us"

 

Seems obvious, but a lot of what the NFL is credited for developing simply comes down to who is available on draft day.

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20 years of rule changes has made a league that is unfairly handicapped towards the teams lucky enough to get their guy.  You can't touch a receiver or its pass interference.  You have to turn your head or its pass interference.  You can't touch the QB or its roughing the passer.  And if you do touch the QB, it has to be in the waist, otherwise it's a blow to the head (roughing) or going low (roughing).  You can't hit a receiver once he stretches out for the ball (defenseless receiver)

 

What this has led to, in addition to the 4 hours of commercials they squeeze into a 3 hour game, is an unwatchable product.  I do not watch football anymore, I'm completely done.  I do watch the Redskins, but I'm teetering there.  It's just a crappy game anymore.

There should be a penalty flag limit on the refs!!

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Bill Parcells used to say, when asked about the changing dynamics of key positions, "we can only take what the college teams give us"

 

Seems obvious, but a lot of what the NFL is credited for developing simply comes down to who is available on draft day.

 

It seems kind of insane that Parcells hasn't been involved in the definitive "Here is how football really works" book yet. He seems to have been ten years ahead of everyone at all times. My guess is no writer can work with him for more than a week.

 

But he's right, which again makes me wonder why Aaron Rodger isn't going to win the next ten Super Bowls.

 

The league is totally slanted in his favor....and there is not a young QB in the NFC anywhere close to him in terms of ability.

 

I mean, with Romo hurt, isn't Palmer currently the second best QB in the conference?

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The wife asked me last night why I changed the channel after 10 minutes into that game.  I told her because it was just too depressing.  Her response: "Why is it depressing?"  My answer: "Because it just reinforces how great Rodgers and really the entire Packers organizations is, and I'm a Redskins fan."  Man, sometimes a reality check is a real kick in the nuts.

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Jay "I'm not John" Gruden is the worst coach in the NFL.  Why even debate it?

 

 

I thought Gruden got the job here because he's old friends with Bruce?

 

Its not like Gruden has accomplished anything at the professional level

 

 

 

So I'll get this one in early here, since I've already spent most of this morning's ES visit reviewing how some folks are again turning several threads into mega-rehash central.

 

You two are done posting in this thread. These are dumb, even stupid, posts and that's what they bring to the conversation. They're not even decent "opinion." They're pointless blather. And that's often just fine and normal in such a place.

 

But sometimes it's not. Let's give this thread a chance to get going without an immediate self-indulgent dosage of "derp" posts, especially from guys who have already burped the same derp a million times previously.

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