All pretty valid to an extent.
1. Yeah had a reputation for coming in and creating a top 5 defense just about everywhere he went. So expectations were high however the reality was they still finished 22nd overall. Epic meltdown in Tennessee, players getting hurt in garbage time (we can add this to the McDaniel sucks as well but I’d like to believe both have some say about who’s in the game at certain times on defense), the constant refusal to switch it up especially with guys like Kader and Apple getting burnt like a drum and the overall refusal to blitz sometimes (see titans game). Suck is extreme however to say he was anything other than a disappointment is just wrong.
2. Which oline are we talking about here? We had 13 different combinations to choose from. They played one time together and the results were pretty good ( give you a hint which game all 5 scored, the first number in the two digit amount of what they scored is 7). Other than that it was a constant patchwork job that wasn’t very good. They finished 31st in pass block win rate. Probably qualifies for the term sucking if there is any team that qualifies for it. With that said once you’re down to olinemen 8-10 on your depth chart this are expected to get rough. What the oline coach did with them was fantastic as at many times they were serviceable for who they were able to field. Here’s a table of what games what starter played and you can come up with your own theory however what sticks out to me is Connor Williams was the most important part of that line and when he wasn’t there, they line suffered the most.
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3. McDaniel doesn’t suck however you are absolutely nuts if you are not looking at him as one of the most at fault people for the collapse. Whether weak minded team, , not being prepared for certain games,offensive playcalling issues or constant bad decisions all things that fall on the head coach. I will say I’d like him to give up playcalling. He’s great at scheming even pre planning drives. Even the toughest games we came out and offense looked solid first 2-3 drives then defenses start to adapt and he doesn’t. Maybe he’s not experienced enough or maybe it’s that he doesn’t have the time to adapt as he can’t really sit down inbetween series and say okay this didn’t work because of this let’s try this and I’m going to run these certain plays in these certain situations on this upcoming drive. Instead it’s the same originally planned stuff either spammed until it works or it’s a disaster. This also leads to him winging it with play calls which leads to the worst delay of games. This doesn’t help the offense and the constant motion combined with the late play calls doesn’t let Tua read the defense and adjust protection. The abandoning the run is an issue along with the constant decision making the 2nd and inches and the called backwards pass 4 yards or hind the LoS then an illegal formation on 3rd leading to 3rd and 5 which lead to a int vs the chiefs is maybe the most frustrating. To top it off if you saw warners review, the int play itself is incredibly dumb as Tua does have waddle wide open however smythe is running a route that stops in the direct path of where the ball was supposed to go leading Tua needing to throw it just over the defender on smythe 7 yards down field but just in between the safety 20 yards down field. This is a throw Tua has made all year however in -25 degree weather and swirling winds it’s just not a position we should of been in. The constant short yardage issues and trying to pass is super annoying as well. Think I read Mostert was 7/8 on 3rd and 4th and 1’s yet we had so many more chances that we tried to pass unsuccessfully with stupid **** like fades. Again fantastic job of scheming up a system however as a playcaller I’m just not seeing it. I didn’t see much improvement heel might of even been a step back from year 1 to year 2 in playcalling and not sure I want to see a year 3. With that said as a coach overall back to back playoff appearances for the first time in 22 years is great and while the season ended the way it did, Rome wasn’t built in a day and he deserves a few more years.
4. Suck? No. Overhyped. Yes. Mostert/waddle/achane/Hill without a doubt some of the best weapons in the league the issue is again same as the oline. When did this group actually play together? Waddle banged up beginning of the season then he got healthy but achane went out for 8 games then Hill got hurt followed by waddle getting hurt followed by Mostert getting hurt. They all played in the playoffs but we are talking about high ankle sprains for speedsters. Vs the chiefs I’m not sure we had enough healthy parts between the 4 of them to make one weapon. When you have an offense built on speed and that speed either isn’t lined up on the field or is playing at 60% combined with a patchwork oline and you can see how it’s an issue. We probably don’t have the luxury with not having a lot of picks but I’d love an athletic tight end for Tua to fall back on. Another issue with McDaniel playcalling was nothing in the 4-10 yard range and I think a good tight end can fix this. Smythe was serviceable but seeing all these young athletic tight ends like buffalo has, could really help the offense when the medium to long game just isn’t there.
