John Fox is the NFL's Bobby Cox

[pstall]

He over coaches and out thinks himself at the worst moments.

From the Gamble lateral in Minn a few years ago to the Cardinals playoff gameplan to last night.

3rd and 1. Forget about our guy avg 9yds a carry. Lets throw deep to our ONLY deep threat. There is NO way they are going to triple cover him.

The times for Fox to be truly conservative and stick to his football philosophy he gambles. When it's time to gamble he goes monk.

[natty]

I honestly thought that 3rd and 1 call was good. Smitty had his guy beat but the throw was just off.

[Scrumtrilescent]

Which makes it a horrid call knowing the tendencies of Jake this year.

[pstall]

I honestly thought that 3rd and 1 call was good. Smitty had his guy beat but the throw was just off.

And that's what kills this team. They are not built to absorb any margin of errors.

I can't believe I'm going to use a Dean Smith analogy but here goes. To give some context I grew up a Duke fan and still am but I can't deny that Dean was an uber great hoops coach.

His motion offense created the easy baskets. Easy = high %. That = more chances at winning and just flat winning.

When I coach kids in any sport one phrase I use a lot is "make the game easy, or get an easy look".

Don't complicate what you have that is working.

[guyinchesapeake]

Fox compared to Cox? At least Cox won bunches of division titles, and did so over many consecutive years. He DID win a world championship. I'd rather get into the playoffs and lose than not get there at all. I'd gladly trade for Cox's success if that could be applied to this team!

The 3rd and 1 pass is not what lost this game. It was a good call, everything worked perfectly except the pass wasn't completed. It was a good call precisely because it was unexpected, and the defense bit. Now, I can't figure out why we're trying to pass 3 times in a row on our first possession in the red zone, not when the running game is working so well, but the running game working so well is what set up the 3rd and 1 pass. We shouldn't abandon that because of one failure. If anything, it gives the other team(s) something to think about if and when that situation comes up again, they cannot, or at least should not, be able to automatically assume that we will run it.

Our poor kick coverages, poor run defense, and bad red zone play calling is what beat us last night, not that one play. It was a good call, and I'd like to see more chances taken like that. It was the perfect situation to try it! I'd REALLY like to see some 'special plays' tried by our so-called 'special teams'! We don't even TRY to apply pressure to the punter, ever!

[pstall]

Missing the point hero. But it's Friday and I'm jamming at the casa de la pstall so...

[Davidson Deac II]

Marty Shottenheimer is the Bobby Cox of NFL coaches.

[PantherDude]

I would only compare Fox to Cox if Fox started arguing more with the refs like Cox does with umpires.

Maybe that'll help erase Fox's conservative coaching if he let off some steams like Cox does often. More fingers pointing in their face, Fox!!

[Davidson Deac II]

I honestly thought that 3rd and 1 call was good. Smitty had his guy beat but the throw was just off.

I didn't. Long passes like that have a low completion percentage even with guys like Brady and Manning throwing them. I don't think Jake has completed more than 5 20 plus yard passes this year, and most of them he has missed badly on. When you have a top flight rushing offense, a poor passing offense, and its early in the game, and you are trying wear down the other team, you run it and pick up the first down. Add in that we passed three times on a first and goal on the first series, and its a series of "wtf" calls?

Now there was a series just before that when we had a second and short. Thats when you throw a long pass if you really want to do such a thing. That way, you still can come back and have a decent shot at the third down. But on this play, we threw it three yards.

At some point in time, the coaches are going to have to understand that we can't pass the ball more than 10 yards without a great degree of risk. Unfortunately, its probably to late to make a difference this year.

I agree with Pstall, sometimes Fox, or Davidson, or both, overthink. I think they are doing this so that Jake will get his groove back. If we truly are knocked out of the playoffs, I think we will see a lot of that.

[guyinchesapeake]

Well, if we can't throw the ball more than 10 yards because it's 'too much risk', then we're not a playoff caliber team, period! The Saints eventually stopped our almost exclusive use of the run when we played them, without the abilty to threaten downfield, running on third and long, no matter how well the run game is going, will eventually fail. If taking such a shot is an attempt to help Jake, I'm all for it. Again, that ONE PLAY had nothing to do with losing the game. Nothing. It was the kind of risk this team SHOULD be taking more often, not less. I hope to see more such calls...Of course, I want them to succeed, but I like the risk!

[Kevin Greene]

Which makes it a horrid call knowing the tendencies of Jake this year.

Thank you.

[pstall]

2nd and 1 is when you throw the bomb. If it doesn't work, guess what you do next?

If you have to google for the answer please take up hang gliding

[guyinchesapeake]

If that pass had been completed, many of the same ones who are decrying it so much on these boards would be the very same ones asking why haven't we done that more often? Everyone knows that! Also, on a second and long, the defense knows that that is a perfect opportunity to take a shot, and are much more likely to be on the lookout for that than on 3rd and 1. I don't adovcate doing that a lot on 3rd and short, but the fact that we have NEVER done it this year is reason to try it in the first place. If we complete it, it may end up as a different result for the game. If nothing else, it gives defenses the rest of the way this season to be wary of such a call, and not 'assume' a run is guaranteed, which will actually help the run if and when that is called. The incomplete pass had nothing to to do with the final result. Nothing. It was a good call, and I do ask why haven't we tried that before?

[pstall]

If that pass had been completed, many of the same ones who are decrying it so much on these boards would be the very same ones asking why haven't we done that more often? Everyone knows that! Also, on a second and long, the defense knows that that is a perfect opportunity to take a shot, and are much more likely to be on the lookout for that than on 3rd and 1. I don't adovcate doing that a lot on 3rd and short, but the fact that we have NEVER done it this year is reason to try it in the first place. If we complete it, it may end up as a different result for the game. If nothing else, it gives defenses the rest of the way this season to be wary of such a call, and not 'assume' a run is guaranteed, which will actually help the run if and when that is called. The incomplete pass had nothing to to do with the final result. Nothing. It was a good call, and I do ask why haven't we tried that before?

Here's the deal. I have no problem going deep from time to time. Sure it makes sense. But notice WHO was going deep? SS. In the past we railed on Moose going deep then sitting on the sidelines the next two plays.

You have to compartmentalize THIS game in all it's context.

If DWill was not having any success running the ball, sure, take your shots dowfield. But he was running well.

Because SS is the only deep threat this team again continues to be easy to gameplan for.

If is a big word. If Dwill doesn't get tackled etc.

3rd and 1 by and large is a running down. But when you got a guy avg almost a 1st down everytime he touches the ball you deserve to be called jackass the day after.

My whole thing on this is they played the wrong odds. The D was proving they couldn't stop your run so do it until they puke.