Geordie
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I wrote in a post before the season begun that one of the reasons why I was so excited for the start of September was that eventually we had a coach we all believed in. I don’t think I was wrong at the time to state that but 6 games into this season already and we are all I’m sure questioning the person in charge. Brian Flores may already be living on borrowed time, another defeat to another poor team, Atlanta, this weekend and the seat gets very hot indeed.
I don’t claim to be an ITK or have any connection within the organisation. These are just my feelings for what is at the core of the problems. I’ll go through the general areas and hopefully be able to suggest a few things that may help improve what is being served up here either in the short or long term but I don’t claim to have the answers. This is most certainly a TL;DR post, so I understand if folks give it a wide berth.
Conservatism
Starting off with perhaps the biggest single issue I see right now in Coach Flores’s approach. Throughout his tenure, he seems to have coached the team to not lose rather than try to win. Whether that’s not pressing home the advantage after getting off to a decent start in games or game day decisions or play calling on both D and O that have you scratching your head. The mantra of the man is to stay in touch, be careful with the ball, well in the modern NFL that’s not cutting it. Look towards teams like the Chargers or Chiefs, Bucs or Bills for example of why Arians’s “No risk it, no biscuit” philosophy is the one that’s dominating the playoffs positions right now.
Game planning
Every opponent is described by Flores as a “tough opponent”, to him it appears every team is the same. There is little evidence this season that he has a game plan in place that will attack the weaknesses of the team he’s coming up against. The biggest evidence for this is the Bills, Flores and we have been schooled by Allen and that team from upstate NY, in every game we’ve played them it’s been embarrassingly one sided. He’s not learned a thing about how to attack Allen’s weaknesses. Last night the Titans, who don’t play the Bills twice a season, implemented a game plan to force Allen to have to escape pressure to his left because he was less effective. They also were able, with of course the help of the best RB in the game, attack that Bills D, something we humiliatingly failed to do early in the season, to the tune of 34 points. Where is our game planning ?
Preparing the team
Kind of related to the above, the team appears week in and week out to be totally unprepared. He talks about execution every week but if you don’t put your players into a positions to be successful how do you expect them to execute with consistency ? Asking players to do things they are not capable of doing, like Baker in coverage or Smythe running deep routes. Where is the team and game prep here ?
Indecisiveness
This related primarily to the 2 OC decision, or lack of it. In the off season it was clear we needed to get an offensive mind in that could help develop our young QB. But Flores couldn’t decide who that person should be, so he ended up promoting from within 2 of his coaching staff, neither of whom seem fit for the purpose.
Delegation
His mantra has been to delegate work to his assistants. Delegation is a sound theory but only if you delegate to people worthy of taking on that responsibility and you empower them to do so. There are serious question marks on the quality of Flo’s assistants and how can the OC’s feel empowered if there is no clear line of command there ? How does Bowyer feel empowered with Flores over his shoulder. Flores is clearly a D guy and his lack of attention to the O has made this delegation strategy vitally important but his hiring decisions have left it impotent.
My way or the high way
This authoritarian style he seems to have adopted with the players works well when things are going well but in situations like we are in now, it’s not always effective. You tend to feel that some of the longer tenured players are not entirely buying into the message here.
Lack of leadership
In the summer he along with Grier, decided to jettison a fair portion of the team’s leadership, I’ve said this before that although Van Noy, Karras, Lawson and McCain were not individually world beaters talent wise, they offered this young team a leadership element, we’ve simply not replaced.
Captains
The team captains thing is just weird to me, Mack Hollins, predominantly ST player’s out there for coin tosses, while there is still no C on Tua’s Jersey. If you are trying to develop a leadership role for your young QB, this largely symbolic simple move is an easy win.
Game day decisions
They have become more baffling as the weeks move on. From inactive top draft picks, players being given reps that do little to help the team and nothing to develop those players that we really need to, to silly challenges, punting from FG positions and calling behind the sticks plays when eventually you have the balls to go for it on 4th down. Whoever is advising him, if anyone, needs to stand back.
How does he fix it ?
I don’t claim to be an ITK or have any connection within the organisation. These are just my feelings for what is at the core of the problems. I’ll go through the general areas and hopefully be able to suggest a few things that may help improve what is being served up here either in the short or long term but I don’t claim to have the answers. This is most certainly a TL;DR post, so I understand if folks give it a wide berth.
Conservatism
Starting off with perhaps the biggest single issue I see right now in Coach Flores’s approach. Throughout his tenure, he seems to have coached the team to not lose rather than try to win. Whether that’s not pressing home the advantage after getting off to a decent start in games or game day decisions or play calling on both D and O that have you scratching your head. The mantra of the man is to stay in touch, be careful with the ball, well in the modern NFL that’s not cutting it. Look towards teams like the Chargers or Chiefs, Bucs or Bills for example of why Arians’s “No risk it, no biscuit” philosophy is the one that’s dominating the playoffs positions right now.
Game planning
Every opponent is described by Flores as a “tough opponent”, to him it appears every team is the same. There is little evidence this season that he has a game plan in place that will attack the weaknesses of the team he’s coming up against. The biggest evidence for this is the Bills, Flores and we have been schooled by Allen and that team from upstate NY, in every game we’ve played them it’s been embarrassingly one sided. He’s not learned a thing about how to attack Allen’s weaknesses. Last night the Titans, who don’t play the Bills twice a season, implemented a game plan to force Allen to have to escape pressure to his left because he was less effective. They also were able, with of course the help of the best RB in the game, attack that Bills D, something we humiliatingly failed to do early in the season, to the tune of 34 points. Where is our game planning ?
Preparing the team
Kind of related to the above, the team appears week in and week out to be totally unprepared. He talks about execution every week but if you don’t put your players into a positions to be successful how do you expect them to execute with consistency ? Asking players to do things they are not capable of doing, like Baker in coverage or Smythe running deep routes. Where is the team and game prep here ?
Indecisiveness
This related primarily to the 2 OC decision, or lack of it. In the off season it was clear we needed to get an offensive mind in that could help develop our young QB. But Flores couldn’t decide who that person should be, so he ended up promoting from within 2 of his coaching staff, neither of whom seem fit for the purpose.
Delegation
His mantra has been to delegate work to his assistants. Delegation is a sound theory but only if you delegate to people worthy of taking on that responsibility and you empower them to do so. There are serious question marks on the quality of Flo’s assistants and how can the OC’s feel empowered if there is no clear line of command there ? How does Bowyer feel empowered with Flores over his shoulder. Flores is clearly a D guy and his lack of attention to the O has made this delegation strategy vitally important but his hiring decisions have left it impotent.
My way or the high way
This authoritarian style he seems to have adopted with the players works well when things are going well but in situations like we are in now, it’s not always effective. You tend to feel that some of the longer tenured players are not entirely buying into the message here.
Lack of leadership
In the summer he along with Grier, decided to jettison a fair portion of the team’s leadership, I’ve said this before that although Van Noy, Karras, Lawson and McCain were not individually world beaters talent wise, they offered this young team a leadership element, we’ve simply not replaced.
Captains
The team captains thing is just weird to me, Mack Hollins, predominantly ST player’s out there for coin tosses, while there is still no C on Tua’s Jersey. If you are trying to develop a leadership role for your young QB, this largely symbolic simple move is an easy win.
Game day decisions
They have become more baffling as the weeks move on. From inactive top draft picks, players being given reps that do little to help the team and nothing to develop those players that we really need to, to silly challenges, punting from FG positions and calling behind the sticks plays when eventually you have the balls to go for it on 4th down. Whoever is advising him, if anyone, needs to stand back.
How does he fix it ?
- This season is toast, we are not making the playoffs after starting 1-5. Accept that and pivot to a “let’s see what we have and how can we best develop the talent on the roster.”
- Have a hiring plan in place to replace the OL and OC positions, with someone who is innovative, modern, that can win in the modern NFL. Seriously consider the DC position, it's not working right now.
- In the short term streamline the OC position, we just need one of these guys.
- Ensure the GM and Owner overhaul the scouting dept that drafted two developmental type players with first round draft picks in 2020.
- Trust in Tua, take the shackles off this O, if one thing came out of the London game it was that Tua can be the man if you let him be.
- Get Waddle running some deep routes, it’s a criminal waste of his talent being thrown at in the flat constantly.
- Get Gesicki and Gaskin more involved they are your play makers, they are not being used nearly enough.
- Quit calling the same failing 4th down plays. Over and over we’ve failed to convert, did the key one in the London game really have any chance of working ?
- Is Bowyer doing a good enough job with the D, if not take ownership and get it better.
- And finally stop coaching scared, this is a passing league now where 20 points rarely gets you a W!
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