N/S Article - what makes a good offensive coordinator? (1 Viewer)

[Rouxble]

I saw this the other day and thought it was good, definitely had a couple of laughs because I saw the same comments in the article that I see here everyday:

What Actually Makes a Good NFL Offensive Coordinator? And Are There Fewer of Them in 2023?

Three OCs have already been fired this season, and offense is down across the board. But being good at this job requires a lot more than just play-calling and what fans see on the field on Sundays.

www.theringer.com

Some excerpts:

If the quarterback stinks? It’s on you for not calling the right plays to allow him to play better. If the offensive line can’t block? It’s your job to figure out how to protect the quarterback. And if a receiver drops a wide-open pass? It’s your fault for drawing up a play for the wrong guy.

Juggling the egos of players and coaches while also trying to keep the head coach happy can be hard on its own, Tice said. And “then you have to answer to the media when it doesn’t go right. When your game plan looks like kindergarten kids drew it up. And that happens. … It’s a very, very, very tough job.”

Also liked this tweet:

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Very much disagree with the premise
Coordinators are way down the list when blame comes around mostly bc we don’t see them
We see QB first and foremost- then HC - then either higher profile RB or WR
Beat reporters might get some answers from them, but they’re as high profile as linemen

Speaking of linemen, more and more I think that’s the beginning and end of the offensive answers- your O goes how your line goes
And very few linemen in college and doing what they’ll need to do in the pros, so fielding a good line is getting harder and harder

 

[efil4stnias]

The latter part of that article is what many have been talking about here now since Oct.
There is a distinct rhythm for good OCs. We don't seem to have it week in and week out.
We saw glimpse Sunday, first drive.

One of the most memorable aspects of SP play calling was getting out the huddle, to the line with 15 to 17 sec. Play after play. Mechanical almost. But it creates a rhythm for offense and stress for defenses. The other was his ability to "see" moves ahead. If I do this, the defense will react with this look. Then, I adjust x or y route during week, and if that look comes, we run this way.

Sigh. Miss those days.

I think the marriage between OC and QB is paramount. OC has to adjust to what his QB can/cannot do well. Early on, it felt as if PC was trying to mold Carr into what he wanted. And it wasn't working.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

The latter part of that article is what many have been talking about here now since Oct.
There is a distinct rhythm for good OCs. We don't seem to have it week in and week out.
We saw glimpse Sunday, first drive.

One of the most memorable aspects of SP play calling was getting out the huddle, to the line with 15 to 17 sec. Play after play. Mechanical almost. But it creates a rhythm for offense and stress for defenses. The other was his ability to "see" moves ahead. If I do this, the defense will react with this look. Then, I adjust x or y route during week, and if that look comes, we run this way.

Sigh. Miss those days.

I think the marriage between OC and QB is paramount. OC has to adjust to what his QB can/cannot do well. Early on, it felt as if PC was trying to mold Carr into what he wanted. And it wasn't working.

I will say that i really enjoyed the aggressive play calling at end of game - they played to win and seal victory
Marked difference from beginning of year

 

[Rouxble]

Very much disagree with the premise
Coordinators are way down the list when blame comes around mostly bc we don’t see them
We see QB first and foremost- then HC - then either higher profile RB or WR
Beat reporters might get some answers from them, but they’re as high profile as linemen

Speaking of linemen, more and more I think that’s the beginning and end of the offensive answers- your O goes how your line goes
And very few linemen in college and doing what they’ll need to do in the pros, so fielding a good line is getting harder and harder

I agree on OL, our offense is heavily dependent on how well we block up front. Williams went from a TD machine to a 3 yard per carry bum on our team, and it’s not because he forgot how to run. Carr looks like the QB of the future one week and a replacement level player the next depending on pressure.

To your first point, I think the average fan probably bashes the QB before the OC, but here PC gets the blame poured on him for every misstep of the offense. Also, it’s easier and cheaper to fire your OC than it is to move on from your QB/OL depending on contracts, so a team can fire an OC to make it look like they are trying something even when OL play and QB decision making are the smoking guns.

 

[Rouxble]

The latter part of that article is what many have been talking about here now since Oct.
There is a distinct rhythm for good OCs. We don't seem to have it week in and week out.
We saw glimpse Sunday, first drive.

One of the most memorable aspects of SP play calling was getting out the huddle, to the line with 15 to 17 sec. Play after play. Mechanical almost. But it creates a rhythm for offense and stress for defenses. The other was his ability to "see" moves ahead. If I do this, the defense will react with this look. Then, I adjust x or y route during week, and if that look comes, we run this way.

Sigh. Miss those days.

I think the marriage between OC and QB is paramount. OC has to adjust to what his QB can/cannot do well. Early on, it felt as if PC was trying to mold Carr into what he wanted. And it wasn't working.

I agree on rhythm, but how well the offense is executing early in the game will dictate rhythm for the rest of the game. It’s hard for one play to set up the next when the first couple of series are failures, the defense isn’t adjusting to what you’re doing well (because you’re doing nothing well) and the opportunities you gameplanned for aren’t there as a result.

Even Payton and Brees had games that started off ugly and stayed ugly, but more often than not that elite pairing of HC/QB with good blocking up front opened the door to some excellent sequential play calling.

 

[Elvis]

Interesting article. I'd say that it's a pretty clear indictment of Pete Carmichael. The term "consistently inconsistent" has been thrown around a lot this season and I think that has a lot to do with the preparation the team is getting during the week. The scouting of opponents and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. Some weeks we come out as though it's a preseason game with everything looking completely unprepared. Other weeks we look like an actual functional team that knows how to navigate the other teams defense. Then you look at play calling and get confused why they can't make any adjustments. They didn't identify the right things and can't go back to Wednesday at halftime. They didn't anticipate and prepare for the right coverages and pressures and the offense goes completely out of sync.

You see the same thing on defense. Some weeks they look like they knew exactly what the other team was going to do and others they look like they are seeing it for the first time and guys are running free through our defense.

Our problems, while certainly partly execution related, are obviously coaching. We're not seeing simple bone headed plays by the occasional player when one guy misses an assignment. We see them all completely out of sync or with absolutely no clue what the other team is doing. I believe this is what AK was referring to in his interview a while back when he was asking "How are we going to be better?" when the coaches continually said "We have to be better".

 

[efil4stnias]

I agree on rhythm, but how well the offense is executing early in the game will dictate rhythm for the rest of the game. It’s hard for one play to set up the next when the first couple of series are failures, the defense isn’t adjusting to what you’re doing well (because you’re doing nothing well) and the opportunities you gameplanned for aren’t there as a result.

Even Payton and Brees had games that started off ugly and stayed ugly, but more often than not that elite pairing of HC/QB with good blocking up front opened the door to some excellent sequential play calling.

Oh I agree the OL is a big part of equation. But a good OC with an average OL should be schememing up to lessen that impact.

Not all drives will look pretty. But we should at least look competent on 50% of them. Too often we looked totally out coached this season.

Attention to detail doesn't seem to be PCs calling card.

I also think it was gonna take time for Carr to assimilate to our offense. But we did very little in game to help him along the way.

I go back to PC not wanting the job. He coached like it early on

 

[tinman]

OL play across the league has been an issue. The type of play in the NCAA is allowing less seasoned/prepared OLinemen into the draft. Cutting back on the amount of practice days has also slowed down development. Much of the success of the Saints came because Brees was an athletic mutant w/incredible analytical skills! He covered up a multitude of faults.

PC still needs to go. I understand not wanting to be a head coach(can you imagine what we'd have looked like over the last few years w/him as Head Coach!?), but vacillating, on continuing the job you had for over a decade, doesn't bode well. He came over w/Brees, so he had a cheat code for years. If he had retired after Peyton left, we would hold him up as great OC.

 

[SWJJ]

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