Let's first consider the overall plan and dynamic of the first two games. The Bears are a running team with a mediocre passing attack. The Colts aren't much better at the skill positions with TY Hilton out. Those offenses scored 14 and 17 respectively. Staley's defense ended with just over a 17pt average. The Colts OLine is formidable and yet pressure was still generated in spots. Given the success off the offense, I'd say the plan, while aesthetically unenjoyable as a fan, 2-0 is the goal.
This is the third year that McVay's focus has been to become more multiple and flexible in scheme on both sides of the ball. He experienced that need in the SB when the man heavy Patriots adopted a matchup zone like Fangio's approach. Furthermore, a mixture of soft zone looks that occasionally morph into partial man coverage in some areas of the field is a way to keep QB's guessing. It's like an offense not abandoning the run (even if it's not effective) in order to set up the play action pass. Sometimes they appear predictable, until they're not.
With that said. I'm fascinated by the approach this week. If we gamble for turnovers, Brady will likely exploit it. If we play it safe, they will dominate the TOP. Being multiple and unpredictable is paramount because they do have the weapons that can target some of our lesser LB's and DB's. We can only hope some of the drops and fumbles they've had this year continue tomorrow. If we see a significantly different approach this week, I will be impressed IF IT'S EFFECTIVE. The gamble here is that when you take the Novocain approach and do the same things repeatedly and well, you will be more consistent while changing rules from game to game leads to inevitable errors. And yet, that's the necessary gamble in this particular game. I mean, do we really want to press corner these receivers with anyone other than Ramsey? I'm not so sure.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2021 05:30AM by Leoram.
