Originally posted by WildBill:
Like I said, I would say 33 percent each, to be divided by the coach, wr and qb- okay maybe 25 if you toss in the linemen, if each cuts their mistakes in half, that is a big step to 40+ FG to maybe just 24 FG. Also, instead of 1-13 on third downs in the championship game to maybe 6 or 7-13. Not all the run plays are on the coach-remember, Alex checked down in and out of the plays called, there were times when they might have run, but he decided to pass and vice versa and was wrong. Other times he decided to let it roll and was wrong. Of course there are times when he was right, just need more of these.
When you have a short field 20 yards and less a lot of teams that pass have problems, because you have less field to thin out a defense. Still to win the SB, this is what you gotta do.
I agree that they have to do this and believe that with a full off-season they will be able to improve on Red Zone efficiency.
Judging from past performance, Smith did very well in the Red Zone under Raye so I would take him out of the equation or give him a small percentage of blame for not being totally comfortable in the new offense. Play calling would be my number one criticism as the WRs were not put into a position to get open and that comes from scheme and creative play calling. So, for me, it would break down to 10% Smith, 30% WRs and 60% coaching/lack of time to coach.
Smith demonstrated that he could make plays when they were there--Lions game to Walker, NO game to VD and with feet, Philadelphia, TB, and even the Giants game. If he can raise the consistency level he will be fine. The WRs aren't as bad as some believe but are not good enough. Without Edwards coming through to be a #1 or #2 guy, and with Morgan out for the seasons, it was a mess on offense--held together by Smith and Harbaugh's strong relationship and VD to the rescue. OLine a work in progress, WRs from off the street (no time in camp), Gore being dinged up, and a new system...did pretty well considering.
[ Edited by dtg_9er on Mar 8, 2012 at 7:06 AM ]