Your Thoughts Exactly

During the Pats-Colts Game, John Madden made this comment: “The Patriots on both offense and defense, have the philosophy that they are going to try and do the opposite of what you think they are going to do.” I admit,our offense played pretty well: 27 points, 335 passing yards for Brady, 86 rushing yards for Dillon. However, I believe we wasted some opportunities to score even more points. For example, the first drive down the field, we spent the entire possession in a 5 wide no-huddle set. This works very well for moving down the field in large chunks; however the effectiveness of this offense drops off once you get inside the red zone. With no one in the backfield, there is no threat of the run. With a limited field, there is no need to guard the deep pass. Thus on a basic level, the options of the offense are restricted. Of course, Weis didn’t change the offense, it’s as if he had decided “the whole first drive we are going to stay in this formation, no matter the circumstances.” Sure we got a field goal, but we had Indy on the ropes and failed to capitalize.
I read an interview with Bill Walsh before the season started, and he commented that his main complaint about trends in offensive design in the league was general negligence of the traditional Pro Form offense: one RB, one FB, one TE, and 2 WRs. He noted how quick coaches were to bring in their third and fourth wide receivers, even on first down, and how they neglected how powerful a weapon a Tight End could be. He also bemoaned the loss of the traditional Tom Rathman style fullback; a player who could run in short yardage, block, and catch 40-50 passes out of the backfield.
Certainly the Patriots have constructed their offense in this multi-wide/deception mode. But I believe this becomes an Achilles Heel for us in certain situations that demand a traditional offense: specifically goaline situations and end-of-the-game situations. Why, with two minutes left in the game, did we have Brady rolling out on third down, after nearly fumbling the ball on an elaborate play action exchange on second down? Because our offensive mentality in these situations is to spread the field, and hope we can complete a 15 yard pass for the first down. Even last year, when we had no running game, this irked me. This year, with Corey Dillon on the team, there are no excuses. We got away with poor clock management this game, but our luck can’t last forever.
So Charlie Weis, if you read this blog, I urge you to follow Bill Walsh’ advice. Simplify. Who cares if the defense knows what’s coming? Give the offense a chance to prove that even if they know what’s coming, they can’t be stopped.