Buncha playcallin' experts on these boards. Interesting, seeing as no one here spends 80 hours a week designing and implementing game plans.
Honestly, the level of depth that goes into offensive and defensive schemes is ASTOUNDING.
And thus SIMPLY it is almost impossible to be legitimately critical of playcalling. One simply does not possess the requisite mastery of concepts, nor is one capable to confer the success or lack of success of a playcall because the of the multitude of variables.
I don't claim any brilliance, but conversations like the one Greg C started about this topic indicate that there's usually more to a play than what immediately catches the eye.
How can someone be critical of something they don't understand? Seriously? Riddle me that -- I'll bake you a cake, a cookie, whatever you prefer. I'll wash your car. I'll get a tramp stamp. I'll take a "Croc Shot" and send it to my employers.
Even if you were the star receiver on your high school team, or you played guard at the junior-college level, or if you play a lot of Madden (like I used to), or if you're just a MMQB or keyboard warrior -- you're probably not qualified to critique playcalling at the level appropriate to be considered legitimate.
"Greg C." wrote:
I mostly agree with you on this, but I do think there is some room for fans to be critical. The reason is that although coaches know a lot more about playcalling than any of us do, they are human and they are prone to making human mistakes--overanalyzing, being too cautious, getting into ruts, that sort of thing.
The problem is that it is usually difficult for fans to determine whether coaches are really making those mistakes or whether they are calling the right plays based on information that we are not aware of, and the plays just are not working for one reason or another.But there are patterns that emerge after awhile. For example, I have no faith in Marty Schottenheimer's playcalling in clutch situations, having watched his teams choke in the playoffs for years. Some people feel that way about Mike McCarthy. There have been times when I've wanted McCarthy to close out games more aggressively than he has, but I don't see it as a major concern. Most NFL coaches are more conservative than fans in those situations.
"evad04" wrote: