In particular, defense against HOF QB's in the final 2:30 of the 4th quarter where they (the HOF QB ) are down by 7 or less points.
So...having coached a HOF'er himself, I'm assuming that Mike McCarthy
KNEW that, when Greg Zuerlein booted the Cowboys to a 1-point lead last night with 90 seconds left to go in the game, he'd left Tom Brady way too much time to author a comeback.
And this isn't a knock on McCarthy. I'm sure every other coach in the NFL would've thought the same thing. And this isn't necessarily all about Tom Brady either. I'm sure most coaches would've thought the same thing facing Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, and (the recently retired) Drew Brees in a similar situation. And I suppose there are more QB's that could, potentially fall into this category.
But my question is this:
What is the current NFL philosophy in terms of defending these types of QB's in the final 2:30 of a close game?
Is it to keep things in front of them
AND HOPE someone else on the offense (i.e. WR, RB, or OL) makes critical, repeated errors stalling out the drive? Or maybe that star defender on the team (who may have already made plays earlier in the game) will make a play(s) at this critical juncture? I don't see either happening very often. Or maybe the best defense is to have your offense maintain the ball?
Again, what is the philosophy here? Has anyone seen a lot of innovation in this respect? Literally,
THE LAST TIME I saw a coach throw the proverbial kitchen sink at this type of situation was the 2006 Rose Bowl when Texas beat USC. Pete Carroll did absolutely everything to stop Vince Young, ranging from having his offense go for it on 4th downs in an effort to play keep-away to calling a variety of NFL-sophisticated blitzes. None of that worked as Young was simply that much better than anyone USC had on its defense. But it wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of the USC coaches or players.
Today? IDK...I see a lot of "hope" in these defensive schemes.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2021 06:29AM by ramBRO.
