HoboRocket Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 On 12/29/2022 at 4:09 PM, SmittyBacall said: Let me also pose this question to the class… Why as fans do we allow a grace period for rookies to develop before casting concrete opinions, yet first time coaches get raked over the coals almost immediately? I ask because, in a lot of ways, Zac has improved exponentially since his first year. Yes, we’ve obviously added a lot of talent since then, but his game-managing, play design, even play-calling has improved over the years. All this comes with experience. Perhaps we (and even organizations) cast stones too quickly sometimes? I'd like to bring up another interesting case study: Kliff Kingsbury. Everyone already knew they hated him coming into the league. He wasn't a winning college head coach. He lucked into having Mahomes and couldn't even consistently win with him, etc. He was the moron who benched Baker who won a Heisman and became the #1 overall pick. Completely inexperienced. Did the Rams dirty. Yada Yada. Anyways, the Cardinals' offense immediately had one of the greatest performance turnarounds in NFL history. The team went from worst in the league to bad but promising with some young talent. Another year, and suddenly the Cardinals are sitting at .500. They're a competitive football team. Both sides of the football have made significant progress but there are still a few major holes on either side keeping the team from being great (RB, TE, RG, C, IDL, CB). Year three, and the Cardinals are EVEN BETTER. The GM is finally aggressive in the off-season, and they add 5 Pro Bowlers to the roster. They look like a legitimate playoff contender for most of the season, starting 7-0. They lose a game in a heartbreaking fashion before pulling together some scrappy wins with a backup QB and a bunch of injured players. They manage to sit at like 10-2. Luck turns against them. They lose 4 of their next 5, ultimately finishing 11-6. 3 of those losses are decided by one score. The team is beaten up. Angry. Dejected. They were world beaters but suffered a lot of close losses at the end. Easily could have had a couple more wins. Doesn't matter. They're morally defeated. The defense falls off with injuries to their few good players are major positions of weakness (CB, IDL). They get destroyed in the playoffs. Kliff got better every year. The roster got better every year. Was Kingsbury responsible for ANY of the team's success? I mean, "You lost to Kliff Kingsbury" was a major meme for 3 years. Was the winning due to Steve Keim? Someone who was widely regarded as one of the worst GMs in the NFL, with an awful hit rate in both the draft and FA? The team imploded this year. Absolutely REAVED with injuries. 4 of the 5 starting OL have spent most if the year on IR. No depth to this roster. Keim let a lot of talented players leave in FA, and failed to replace them with impact guys. Just the usual "Keim Time" dart throws. Dudes like Cody Ford and Trayvon Mullen who did not contribute positively to the success of this team. Markus Golden, who was re-signed, fell off a cliff. The top draft pick was spent on TE Trey McBride when we just gave Zach Ertz a major extension this off-season. Kyler was extended, but few moves were made to help this team NOW. How much is on Kliff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboRocket Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 On 12/30/2022 at 1:39 PM, candyman93 said: It felt like he didn’t have a game plan for the Super Bowl. He was just going to run the same plays he did all year up to that point. He got away with it against Tennessee, but the Rams punished him for it. I feel like AARON DONALD most punished the Cincy OL. I mean, of course the Rams D overall had a solid performance. But Donald won that game. He disrupted timing so consistently and absolutely iced it at the end in what felt like was a winning drive for Cincinnati. I actually commend Taylor for the playoff run. They got hot and he kept them hot until the very last play of the Super Bowl. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmittyBacall Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 (edited) EDIT. Edited January 4, 2023 by SmittyBacall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentwannabe Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 He is A1 when it comes to character, I can now tell you that much. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tugboat Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 I don't think he's young enough to be successful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A W Niloc Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 12/29/2022 at 4:09 PM, SmittyBacall said: Let me also pose this question to the class… Why as fans do we allow a grace period for rookies to develop before casting concrete opinions, yet first time coaches get raked over the coals almost immediately? That could be as simple as the difference between a student and a professor. Rookies are in their early 20s and, by definition, unfamiliar with NFL speed and standards. Coaches may be two or three times that age, often hired after and because of long experience at the pro level, and are reasonably expected to hit the ground running. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slappy Mc Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 On 12/29/2022 at 12:02 PM, Kiwibrown said: I think he is a B level head coach. Maybe a B- maybe a B+. Just kind of good enough I think a lot of fans would love for their team to have a B level coach... Good enough would be a C or C+ IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwibrown Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 1 hour ago, Slappy Mc said: I think a lot of fans would love for their team to have a B level coach... Good enough would be a C or C+ IMO. B means good in terms of grades. C means passable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayRaider Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 Propped up by his crazy offense, he’s ok, nothing special what so ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Bristow Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 He's decent looking. Probably a 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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