I see a lot of complaints about the coaching on this team. I have very little negative to say about BB's coaching skills and consider him the best HC in the game today. But I have voiced concerns about the nobodys he chooses as coordinators rather than going out and hiring the very best talent the NFL has to offer.

But with so very many complaints all the time I wonder if his reputation as a genius coach is passe with many of you. Do you folks still think he is the best? Do you think he is just incapable of controlling or guiding poor coaches he has chosen for his staff? If so, how could he be the best? Is it as Rusty says, that he can't control Brady? If he can't, how can he be the best coach around?

I think he is the best coach in the league. Period.

I will say he has screwed up some chasing this value approach that consumed the team the last 5 years. The trading back and back and back...mortgaging today for tomorrow...and then ending up with another bust, but he knows when to cut bait (see Butler, Merriweather, Maroney, Haynesworth, Ocho, Brace, Bodden, Cunningham, Chung, Wheatly,). He also knows when something isn't working - and I think he showed that by trading up this last draft, rather than trading back and hoping one of the 15 guys you had rated the same will still be there (and when he isn't you end up reaching on some safety).

I do think he needs some stronger voices around him - guys that will speak up a bit - I just think guys are intimadated of him. The "A Football Life" documentry really shocked me - during the meetings there was not a lot of opinions by other coaches...silence. Just him asking questions and seemingly answering those/his very own questions. It was like he was just talking to himself and the others were just watching. Kind of weird.

He is the best coach we have ever had, and the best we ever will have. As far as being a GM? He's as good as most of them...it's a crap shoot. 

I think BB is a good GM and an excellent coach. But he does have his bad games and his blind spots. I have a REAL problem with both DB coaches and the special teams coach. I also am frustrated that he has undervalued (dollar wise and/or scheme wise) the absolute need in this league and especially this team to have a pass rush that can regularly put pressure on the QB. It is like reliving 2006 when he did not have an answer for having not come to terms with Branch. He learned his lesson there but not nearly so well on this other issue.

As for games, he is usually strong as far as game plan. But sometimes not. Against the Ravens they did nothing on O or D with the game plan that made the Ravens have to adjust. With no Gronk to create a mismatch they should have looked to create some other mismatch. My chpice would have been to put Vereen's speed and downfield pass catching ability up against LBs and if they took out a LB for a DB then running would have been easier. I expect there are other options they could have chosen but it looked to me like they chose nothing at all.... Defensively it looked to me like they did little there, especially once Talib left the game. Coverage over the middle was so soft as to be AWOL and there was no pass rush, no stunts or blitzes or just from talent on the line, to force Flacco's hand. When there was a hint of pressure Flacco overreacted and his throws were off. A real pass rush would have been worth dialing up on some occassions.

In any case BB did a truly poor job in a big game. And it is not the first time. Still, he is an excellent coach. Everyone has bad games. This team was not talented enough to overcome the injuries (especially to Talib, Jones and Gronk) nor the bad coaching (of the DBs, special teams and in this case BB).

Still, he is an exceptional coach.

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EVERYBODY  has good points and bad points. Or good qualities that are advantageous sometimes, but are a problem in certain situations.

This sums up Belichick. 

 #1Great pure coach who is dedicated and consistent.... (downside):  consistency breeds predictability.  

#2  BB is arrogant and tight lipped with the press breeding an insulated environment for his players to work on their jobs.  (downside): the press attacks him relentlessly for this arrogance building into motivational hate from media and opposing players.

#3 BB values players according to production and gets rid of players he deems overpriced.  ( downside): bye bye talent, since players that are really good are expensive.

#4  BBs genius is omnipotent and translates thru all levels of the team, producing excellent organization. (downside):  lack of strong minded underlings who would act as collaborators, end up being yes-men.

summary... Take good with the bad and you get a good team but hey other teams will kick your limited predictable as$ every so often.

In response to BabeParilli's comment:

Who were Crennel and Weis before Belichick?  How have they fared since? 

Is it the coaches or the players?

In response to HelloItsMeAgain1's comment:

Hello you're a dink troll again ...GFY.

Tough one to answer, He's not doinghimself any justice by his draft picks and FA approach

Just my opinion,

BB is a visionist a strategist and an egotist.  Most great leaders are and he is a great leader.

Through trial and error and experience, he has a plan.  I believe he is very adaptable but will always choose what he feels is the best option. 

There are several people he trust and will pick their brain for solutions and will adapt if he feels it necessary.  Saban is one, Myers and a few other of his peers.  Parcells.  Not necessarily his coaches, I think he prefers to develope them.

With his vision at the forefront, he looks for players and coaches that can adapt to that vision.

Are they smart enough?  Talented enough?   Adaptable?  Will coaching and guidance improve their talent? 

Problem is, there are very few guys out there that fit the bill.  (pun intended)!

How many guys have brains, bronze, talent and adaptability?  How many will put the system over their own ego's.   Not many and if there are some, they're long gone before he gets to pick.  It's no coincidence he picks the players and coaches, that he does.

While we are sitting here saying, "who"?  He is saying, he got his man.  Might not have been his first choice but a high choice none-the-less.

It's the reason he doesn't go for the Mike Wallaces or Dez Bryants of the world, given the choice.  Talent alone is not enough in his eyes.

On the occasions he does go for say; bronze over brains and talent over adaptability, they never seem to work out.  Fat Albert, ocho, meriweather to name a few.

It's also, the reason why some less talented players  thrive and become very good to excellent players.  It's the reason  that CFL and Wrestlers and Rugby players and players that have endured a lot of adversity in their lives, make the team.

They all fit the bill, or they should!

Unfortunately, no plan is fool proof and the best of them fail.

That's just life.  You adjust and adapt and live to fight another day.  Or not!

 

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Does bring up the point that years ago it was said Parcells could not win without Belichick - true....Now belichick cant win without Crennel and Weis

In response to HelloItsMeAgain1's comment:

Somebody take out the trash.

In response to UD6's comment:

None of them were anybody before Brady.

In response to ccsjl's comment:

What have Crennel and Weis won without BB?

In response to BabeParilli's comment:

So then why did you start the thread?  Agenda, me thinks. 

In response to UD6's comment:

I answered your question troll.

 

My agenda was to get opinions about why so many complain about BB's coaching.

People will always become critical of the coach when teams lose but despite some of the frustration here after the loss I'd bet that 99% here wouldn't want anyone else coaching the Patriots. His record speaks for itself. He's not perfect, nobody is and as fans it can be frustrating when we see something wrong and end up being right. I agree that there may be a problem with the coordinators and coaching he has under him but can't say for sure. 

Some of us see the offense in the playoffs as the main problem , some see it as a defensive problem while others may point the finger at talent and drafting . Whatever it may be the playoff losses over the past several years look similar. Belichick is a smart coach and its surprising that the problems haven't been corrected. 

In response to coolade2's comment:

That sums it up pretty well I'd say.

I think BB is the greatest coach of all time!  Now keep in mind I never seen Lombardi coach or his teams play.  But Walsh was a good coach, had a great run.  Shula was another good one, Laundry, Noll, Parcells all have the reputation of being good coaches too.  I mean, their teams all had great runs under them so they must have been good, right? 

When I use the term good I may mean great but during the days those coaches I mentioned I was young and mostly never really paid attention to coaching, it was the players I focused on.  Now as I am older I focus on both coaching and players and I say Belichick was the greatest I have seen since paying attention to coaching.  BTW, I think Coughlin is and old school very good coach to.

However, football is always changing, new fads are coming and going, new offenses are being developed and new philosophies are being implemented.  With all of this a coach has to be willing to make the changes with the times and that's one of the areas that I think the "old school" coaches have problems with change.  It seems like they think their systems, philosophies will always remain true when in fact they are out dated.  Some try and roll with the times, Shanahan is trying it, Fox tried it with Tebow and they seem to have some success.  The "old School" coaches, Belichick and Coughlin are stubborn and stay with what they have always done and I think them being the good coaches they are carries them to be good no matter what.  BTW, Belicheck is a greater coach then Coughlin but I feel Caughlin is very good.  We see the younger coaches are more willing to make changes and several are able to do very well.   

Bottom line is, as I said Belichick is the greatest, certainly of my time, he does a lot of amazing things and sometimes I just sit back in amazement at some of the things he does.  Watching him just brings so much fun into watching football and be a Patriots fan.  BUT unless he starts to realize he needs to make some changes in his philosophies, not be so stuborn, then we just might not see this team win another SB.  But everytime I doubt something he does he turns around and does 5 mind blowing great things to make up for it.

Every coach has his flaws, and BB is no different. BB has been outcoached in a few of his last playoff games, but every great coach has been outcoached.

I do think BB the GM may be hurting his legacy as a coach though.

If I'm not mistaken, no cb has started the season as a starting cb and ended the season as a starting cb in back to back seasons since Asante left. Closest would be McCourty, but he switched to safety by the end of 2011.

Same thing with the main pass rusher on the team. Whether it's the 4-3 or 3-4.

Having a rotating door with your pass rusher and your cbs in the passing league is setting anyone up with disaster. Between 09-11, there were major roster changes between every season. Don't care how good a coach he is, it's almost impossible to win a Super Bowl when there's little continuity with the team. Especially when these aren't exactly the best players in the world.

 

I do I have hopes for 2013 though. I think at least 1 cb (Dennard) and Jones will end the trends that I listed above. As long he can keep McCourty just at safety, I think the defense can learn to play better together. As soon as that happens, I think we will begin to see the BB that used to create game plans to confuse opposing offenses, and not the one that calls bland zone coverages because he doesn't trust his players to do their jobs.

The NFL is a coach's league, more than any of the others.  When things don't work out, the coaches get a bigger share of the blame

In response to coolade2's comment:

Great Assesment. Pretty spot on and I would agree. I was over the top a bit yesterday but I do realize he is pretty good but he needs those players who are coaches on the field. The biggest thing missing to me are players like law where he would say "go lock up this guy" and that was it. Or tell Willie to do something. Remember when BB used to always take away something in a game and now its like he gives up everything? I dont think he has the players necessary to carry out those plans anymore and its hurting the team cuz they arent that talented but the front 7 is ready. I truly believe we are a REAL SS  away from it all. Sure there are other things but Saftey is the missing link

In response to pezz4pats's comment:

 

This is a pretty spot on assesment and one I agree with

In response to BabeParilli's comment:

Its interesting that you characterized everybody else's thoughts as complaints but yours euphamismically as a concern. 

And it was not lost on me that while praising in one paragraph you laid out YOUR questions but attempted to attach them to others. 

Yes, your agenda is obviously about Brady.  You mention that none of them were anything before Brady.  Truth be told, Brady's actually better today than he was during his superbowl run.  So what changed? 

Coaches?  Well yes some coaches changed, but the successful coaches who left have been disasters everywhere else.  GM's?  Everyone thought Pioli was a major ingredient in the secret sauce, but he was also a total failure outside of NE.  So, no I don't think it is the coaches. 

So if Brady is better today, and the coaches that were around during the superbowl run have not demonstrated any aptitude on their own, surely Pees or Patricia or McDaniels or O'Brien can fail just as effectively as Weis and Crennel, then what is different? 

Its the defense. 

At the time of the Superbowl run, the pats enjoyed a uniquely talented core of defensive players that were the catalyst for their victories.  In this year's superbowl, does anyone really believe that the QB's are catalyst for their teams?  Maybe, but I think it is the play of their defenses. 

In fact, I think a look back would tell you that in most years, even with great QB's, it was the defenses ability to stop the opposition that were key's to superbowl runs. 

I'll agree that Belichick is probably the best coach.  I believe his schemes likely do the best to take advantage of his talent or lack thereof on the field. 

In response to UD6's comment:

Maybe the opponents were worse...  Maybe BB has schooled the entire league how to run a team and guys like harbaugh are smart enough to apply it with some better players at key positions (safety, wr, CB,rb). 

The opponents are better now partly because of the lessons taught by belichick.  No coach has been studied and dissected more than him.  he's now getting beaten at his own game.