Toppy Vann wrote:Honestly a complete house cleaning of coaches is not a good idea.
The interview process and review of prior performance should determine if the assistants still here are on the same page or not. If Jones for example was stopped from running a more creative offense than he intended that should be taken into account IMO. But the Dorazio as OL coach and Bates as RB coach need a fix. Bates is a good coach and a keeper but gimme a freaking break. I don't care how many pro games an OLinemen has played and championships, there is not a OLineman who is capable in instilling a running game nor coaching a RB as to how to hit a hole or break to the out or inside in the secondary.
I will accept that an offensive lineman can help teach a RB how to key off the blocking but the RB once he breaks the LOS must be looking for holes not obstacles!!! It is just like being on an on ramp waiting to break into to bumper to bumper freeway traffic. You teach the novice driver to focus on the gaps to enter.
You raise a good point, Toppy. To follow that up, can a man coach offensive linemen, if that person has never played O Line? I think so, but it is tricky. Easier, it seems to me, if the coach has played that position.
Coaching, as we all know, is not cut and dried. No one knows more about O Line play than Howard Mudd. But Mudd admits he failed miserably in trying to teach Danny Watkins how to play O Line. Watkins was better in college, where it was kept simpler, and he could dominate with his amazing athletic gifts. I think one could say Howard Mudd over-coached Watkins, and killed his confidence.
I don't think Kelly Bates can teach a running back how to make a would-be tackler miss. No one can teach that. To me, that is an instinctive gift. But Bates drills them, motivates them, keeps them focused, teaches them the plays. He does coach them, and well, IMO.
Former O Lineman Vince Lombardi coached up a pretty good running game. Run to Daylight. And Lombardi was a quarterback coach (as with Bart Starr and Sonny Jurgensen) before that even became a specialty.
Just some observations ... and they are just in my opinion.
New York Giants. In 1954, Lombardi, age 41, began his NFL career with the New York Giants. He accepted a job that would later become known as the offensive coordinator position under new head coach Jim Lee Howell.[61] The Giants had finished the previous season under 23-year coach Steve Owen with a 3–9 record. By the third season, Lombardi, along with the defensive coordinator, former All-Pro cornerback turned coach Tom Landry, turned the squad into a championship team, defeating the Chicago Bears 47–7 for the league title in 1956. "Howell readily acknowledged the talents of Lombardi and Landry, and joked self-deprecatingly, that his main function was to make sure the footballs had air in them."[62] ... In New York, Lombardi introduced the strategy of rule blocking to the NFL.[citation needed] In rule blocking, the offensive lineman would block an area, and not necessarily a particular defensive player, as was the norm up to that time.[66] The running back then was expected to run toward any hole that was created. Lombardi referred to this as running to daylight. -- Wikipedia
As I noted on here at one time, I recall reading an article many years ago about those Giants teams. A sports reporter was in the Giants' offices. He walked by Howell's office. He had his feet up on the desk, reading the sports page in the local paper. He went by Lombardi's office. Lombardi, who ran the offence, was studying film, making notes. He went by Landry's office. Landry, who ran the defence, was studying film, making notes.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.
Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.
Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
