something that needed to be done for a while. I think they got spoiled and didn't realize how much of the offensive success was a result of talent and not play design. When you have Rodgers/Farve along with Jennings, Driver, Jones, Nelson, Finley and later Cobb. It makes play calling easier. Over the years the talent level for receiving options has gradually declined and as it did we have seen the offense struggle more. McCarthy needs to get back to designing plays to help get players open rather than just depending on a matchup and our guys beating theirs.
Originally Posted by: PackFanWithTwins
This is just more of a seemingly unhinged McCarthy trying to outrun his shadow. Or this is cover for dumbing it down for a new TE acquisition.
Playbooks don’t design players open. Their function is to teach the dynamics of the offense and provide a mechanism for communicating large amounts to 11 guys in a few words.
When the PB is written, each defensive player is marked with a generic nondescript symbol. You don’t know if the “RCB” is Revis or Herb Waters. If Revis, you cant design a play that gets the one he’s covering open. You don’t know if the DL is strong or weak or how much they blitz, etc. You don’t even know the identity of your guys; EG, is the “QB” Rodgers or Hundley?
Also, a PB play as written has each defender lined up at one spot on the “paper” [plus perhaps a few notes about anticipated D reactions]. The reality is that if this play is run 20x per year, it’ll be defended 15 different ways.
Also, when a play is called, no one knows if the D is in press, zone, man, 9 men in box, 2 deep, 3 deep, etc.
A team cant scheme mismatches until they’ve scouted the team they know they’re playing and view both injury reports. This has NOTHING to do with the playbook, per se. And even then, the play caller cant truly scheme a guy open, because he doesn’t know how they’ll line up.
The only one that can truly scheme guys open is the QB, after he’s see the D’s alignment and knows whether the play called will work. If guys aren't open [Though this is not the case in reality] the problem is the QB.