The obsession with who's play calling is getting out of hand
Oct 13, 2021 21:19:10 GMT -6
britishbearfan likes this
Post by paytonisgod on Oct 13, 2021 21:19:10 GMT -6
It seems some people have gotten so focused on who’s “play calling” that they can’t see the forest for the trees when evaluating the team. I’m not talking just here. Even among some supposed sports journalists. Not only is play calling a small part of the reasons for the last two wins but there also seems to be misunderstanding of what is actually involved in play calling.
First, the main reasons for the Bears’ success in last two games are as follows:
- Detroit sucks.
- Las Vegas probably sucks. At least their run defense does. Last I checked they were 25th. Their coach also might have been a little distracted since he (likely) knew his career was about to go down in flames.
- The Bears players just played better. The two above reasons contributed to this of course, but they executed their assignments much better. Not only has the OL been blocking better, but even the WRs seem to be blocking better. Overall there was greater level of execution. When you beat the man in front of you more often than not your much more likely to win the game.
- Fields has played better. In the Cleveland game he was awful. Slow on his reads, late on his throws, and holding the ball too long. He was probably responsible for half the sacks himself that game. The last two games he’s looked better, not great, but certainly better. He's still a rookie who is going to make rookie mistakes.
None of that has to do with “play calling.” When players do their jobs and execute their assignments it doesn’t really matter what play is called as it likely will be successful. Inversely if the players play badly no amount of brilliant play calling is going to make much difference. The players and their play are the biggest difference maker. As the old expression goes “It’s more about the Joes than the Xs and Os.”
Additionally, there seems to be some misunderstanding of what Lazor is actually doing. The plays that he is calling come from the planning done by the team before a game and then run through in practice. This planning is a collaborative effort by Nagy and the offensive coaching staff. Lazor isn’t by himself deciding what plays are going to be called. Once the group determines the game plan, they figure out what plays they want to have ready for the game. Those get put on a play sheet (that laminated sheet Nagy is always carrying around) that organize the plays into down and distances. For example, there may be a group of 2nd and short plays, a group of 2nd and long plays, a group of 3rd and short plays, and so on. So in each of those respective situations Lazor will go down the list to those plays and select one.
What this means is that only thing the team is doing differently is letting Lazor select the play on the play sheet instead of Nagy during the game. That’s it. The process that selected those plays and put them all together is the exact same process that they always use. The process and people that put the game plan together for Detroit and Las Vegas is the exact same one that put together the plan for Cleveland. So any talk of “Lazor’s scheme” or “Lazor’s gameplan” is misinformed. Nagy was intimately involved in the determination of what plays would be on that sheet and signed off on everyone of them, just like every game before. Lazor isn’t "running" the offence now. This is still very much Nagy's boat and he's as active in determining the direction as has always been.
First, the main reasons for the Bears’ success in last two games are as follows:
- Detroit sucks.
- Las Vegas probably sucks. At least their run defense does. Last I checked they were 25th. Their coach also might have been a little distracted since he (likely) knew his career was about to go down in flames.
- The Bears players just played better. The two above reasons contributed to this of course, but they executed their assignments much better. Not only has the OL been blocking better, but even the WRs seem to be blocking better. Overall there was greater level of execution. When you beat the man in front of you more often than not your much more likely to win the game.
- Fields has played better. In the Cleveland game he was awful. Slow on his reads, late on his throws, and holding the ball too long. He was probably responsible for half the sacks himself that game. The last two games he’s looked better, not great, but certainly better. He's still a rookie who is going to make rookie mistakes.
None of that has to do with “play calling.” When players do their jobs and execute their assignments it doesn’t really matter what play is called as it likely will be successful. Inversely if the players play badly no amount of brilliant play calling is going to make much difference. The players and their play are the biggest difference maker. As the old expression goes “It’s more about the Joes than the Xs and Os.”
Additionally, there seems to be some misunderstanding of what Lazor is actually doing. The plays that he is calling come from the planning done by the team before a game and then run through in practice. This planning is a collaborative effort by Nagy and the offensive coaching staff. Lazor isn’t by himself deciding what plays are going to be called. Once the group determines the game plan, they figure out what plays they want to have ready for the game. Those get put on a play sheet (that laminated sheet Nagy is always carrying around) that organize the plays into down and distances. For example, there may be a group of 2nd and short plays, a group of 2nd and long plays, a group of 3rd and short plays, and so on. So in each of those respective situations Lazor will go down the list to those plays and select one.
What this means is that only thing the team is doing differently is letting Lazor select the play on the play sheet instead of Nagy during the game. That’s it. The process that selected those plays and put them all together is the exact same process that they always use. The process and people that put the game plan together for Detroit and Las Vegas is the exact same one that put together the plan for Cleveland. So any talk of “Lazor’s scheme” or “Lazor’s gameplan” is misinformed. Nagy was intimately involved in the determination of what plays would be on that sheet and signed off on everyone of them, just like every game before. Lazor isn’t "running" the offence now. This is still very much Nagy's boat and he's as active in determining the direction as has always been.