Just My Opinion ...
Jim Wexell - Feb 6, 6:17 AM 63
Backup QB Nick Foles after embarrassing the Patriots. (Photo: Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports)
From the notebook of a sportswriter who has a few criticisms of the coaching in what's being called the latest greatest Super Bowl:
* Has Bill Belichick been fired yet? That was the battle cry in Boston on Monday morning.
* In Pittsburgh he would've been the first caller.
* After all, Belichick's team lacks discipline. His best cornerback reportedly missed curfew and some are reporting he had weed at the team hotel. So, Belichick benched him -- partly.
* Malcolm Butler still dressed and played one special teams snap. But when it came time to make the necessary adjustment, the great Belichick did not use Butler, his former Super Bowl hero. Belichick stuck with Eric Rowe, who was targeted a team-high nine times and gave up several key third downs and a touchdown.
* Most of the yardage was gained against Rowe early, when Belichick made the curious decision to put him on the Eagles' best receiver. Wasn't everybody in the fantasy football leagues expecting Stephon Gilmore to cover Alshon Jeffery? I mean, wasn't that a no-brainer?
* A former player for Belichick, Brandon Browner, ripped the decision to bench Butler on Instagram. Injured team leader Dont'a Hightower liked it. So, probably, did media sensation and know-it-all Colin Cowherd.
* I'm sure Cowherd's all over a coach who runs such a loose ship and makes curious decisions that no one else would make.
* Has Belichick at least fired his defensive staff yet? I mean, the unit allowed all 41 points, 374 yards passing and a 67-percent conversion rate on third and fourth downs -- to a BACKUP QUARTERBACK.
* There were people running wide open throughout the Patriots' secondary all night long. The miscommunications were rampant. Fifty-five yards on a wheel route? A poorly disciplined unit, no doubt.
* How bad was that coverage by the Patriots' free safety on the Zach Ertz game-winning touchdown catch? I have to admit, I've seen better safety play.
* P.S. Belichick used those words after eviscerating Anthony Smith in the "guarantee" game in 2007.
* P.S. Steelers fans used those words after any touchdown given up by Mike Mitchell.
* By the way, where was Trey Flowers? The guy had a sack and three QB hits against Tennessee, and nine tackles, four QB hits and a pass defense in the last Super Bowl. The team leader in sacks this season, as a rotational piece throughout the New England front, was given the job of plowhorse along the interior while a 39-year-old pick-up off the street was given all the snaps as the blind-side pass-rusher.
* The aforementioned backup quarterback dropped back 43 times and was never sacked.
* And what's with the Patriots' soft run defense? On top of the 374 yards passing, the Pats allowed 164 yards rushing at an eye-popping 6.1 yards per carry. That's not only undisciplined, that has to be poor scheming, and probably a lack of passion.
* The Patriots clearly were not prepared for this game. Perhaps they were looking ahead to the next decade.
* And if you're going to give up on a player, make sure he doesn't come back to haunt you in the playoffs. I mean, that's just common sense.
* It's little surprise that LeGarrette Blount, even in a rotational role, did come back to haunt Belichick with his 90 yards on 14 carries. The most damaging was the 21-yard touchdown run in the first half right through the soft edge on the right side of the defense.
* Where was Alan Branch? The 324-pound tackle was a force for the Patriots in 2016. The Steelers averaged only 3.5 per carry in two games against a front that Branch led in snaps. Belichick thought it best to de-activate him for this Super Bowl.
* The Eagles, by the way, dominated on the ground by using 11 personnel on all but one non-short-yardage carry. They ran out of a 3-WR set -- without a fullback -- all day and gored the Patriots.
* The poorly coached, undisciplined and unprepared Patriots.
* It's been how many years now since Belichick has had to replace Vince Wilfork, Willie McGinest, Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Ty Law and Rodney Harrison? You would think that even with an average draft position of 32 the Patriots could do a better job rebuilding a defense that used to dominate these kinds of games.
* What about that ridiculous end around on third-and-2 near the goal line? Running wide against that speed? Not even a JV middle school coach would've called that play.
* But the cherry on top was sending your 40-year-old MVP -- really, the only thing keeping the dynasty together -- out for a pass only two plays after an Eagles defender had gored him in the belly on a pass play.
* I don't want to hear the words "That wouldn't happen in New England" ever again.
* Of course, the Eagles allowed 613 yards and single-covered Rob Gronkowski with a cornerback in every red-zone situation, twice with 5-10 1/2 Ronald Darby. At times that Eagles defensive unit was gassed and on its heels by Tom Brady's no-huddle tempo. Maybe the Eagles were as undisciplined as the Patriots.
* My point, of course, is that no one's firing anyone today. Organizations understand that poor performances happen to the best of coaches and teams. It's sports.
https://scout.com/nfl/steelers/Arti...Path-After-Watching-This-Super-Bowl-114717392
