It took me until the middle of last year to get (mostly) on board with MM's coaching/play calling. Last night nailed it on offense. Look at the evidence:
1. He didn't panic and start calling for plays chucking the ball all over despite being down by 14.
2. He calmed ARod, who appeared jumpy after Cliffy went out and who appeared po'd at Finley (rightly so).
3. He adjusted in mid-game the protection for ARod until the kid tackles proved they could get up to speed and handle the rush.
4. He called plays to get the ball out of ARod's hand a bit quicker to help slow that rush and give the tackles some confidence.
5. His pass calls into the empty areas of the field were masterful, especially the Jennings TD. He sliced and diced the D and gave ARod the calls he needed to be successful. (And props to ARod for carrying them out to almost perfection, especially the run fakes.)
6. He kept the team on an even keel until Dom could right the tilting D in the early going. He stuck with the plan.
7. If you want more evidence, all you had to do was look across the field last night at Smith and see how lucky we are to have MM. Once Smith's scripted plays ran out, he was lost.
I'm sure there's more, including some negatives, but dang, that was a heck of a job by MM coaching and not just playcalling!
Original Post
