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Checkers vs. Chess

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by JackAttack 5958, Jan 23, 2017.

  1. JackAttack 5958

    JackAttack 5958 Well-Known Member

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    First of all, this is NOT a FMTI thread. But I would like to express some concern over what I see with his coaching style and why he may be a liability when it comes to this team's chances to win another Super Bowl. Tomlin is a good coach. Some would say very good and some would say average. You could make an argument for all of those. What you can't make a valid argument for is that he's a great coach and that he's a bad coach. He falls somewhere between slightly above average to slightly above good IMHO. When I look around the league and some of the other hires the last few seasons, I really don't see anyone that impresses me to the point that I would say I would take him over Tomlin.

    My concern, however, is this. Tomlin is a darn good checker player. He can even play an advanced form of checkers called "jump your own man" from time to time. The problem is he's insufficient when it comes to playing coaches who are proficient at chess. He's overmatched at that point. Last night, Belichick was playing chess and Tomlin was playing checkers. He was simply outsmarted. You might argue that our entire team was outsmarted and that's absolutely true. The team takes on the persona and the intellect of the HEAD coach. Belichick vs. Tomlin is no contest in that regard. Belichick takes a college lacross player and puts him in a position to soundly outplay arguably the best receiver in football.

    Tomlin famously quipped when he was hired that he's a "fundamentalist as opposed to scheme". But why can't you be BOTH?! Belichick's team is certainly well-versed in the fundamentals of the game but he's also an excellent schemer which is why they are once again going to the Super Bowl!

    Some teams are head coach controlled teams and other teams are coordinator controlled teams. The Patriots are most certainly controlled by the head coach. He has his hand in every aspect of the game. He could take Larry from accounting and make him an exceptional offensive coordinator. He could take Frank from the grounds crew, put him at defensive coordinator and in three years he'd be a hot head coaching candidate. I believe the last several Super Bowl winning head coaches were in complete control of their teams' game planning, both offensively and defensively. Belichick, Carroll, Kubiak, McCarthy, Coughlin, Payton. I truly believe Tomlin has less control over scheming and game planning than any of these guys. When he won the Super Bowl a few years ago Arian and LeBeau were firmly in control. Now Haley and Butler are firmly in control. Tomlin may make a few suggestions, but he doesn't contribute anything significant to the strategic and schematic aspects of the gameplan.

    Tomlin does okay against other coaches playing checkers. He's masterful on the checkerboard. But when he's confronted with the chess players of the league, he's wondering why their checkers look funny. Again, JMHO.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2017
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  2. Clive From PIT

    Clive From PIT I don't often drink...but I'm starting to. Site Admin

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    Belichick:

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Spock

    Spock Well-Known Member

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    I made the same analogy with chess. Belichick plays the game like chess. He develops the board. By games end, many little things are in the favor of his team. He takes 3 points to start the game. They have the lead. His players tackle on defense. His offense doesn't turn the ball over. And yes he pulls out a 'cheat' card at very opportune times. None of these things are individually enough to win, but the collective impact so favors his team's chances for winning.
     
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  4. blountforcetrauma

    blountforcetrauma Well-Known Member

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    Let's put the shoe on the other foot. Say that we lose our best receiver, trade a pretty dang good linebacker, have some guys that have barely played football, and go to the AFC Championship game. Would ANYbody be picking us to win? No. But Bill does all those things and pretty much stays an odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl. He never tries to put a square peg in to a round hole. That's his not so secret secret. I don't know that it's even fair to compare any coach to him. He's hands down the best and it's not even close. I personally think the best way to try and beat his team is to go in there and play as absolutely physical as you possibly can. I remember in the Manning years people would say "you can't blitz him because he's too fast!" and they say the same about Brady. Well I remember an 05 playoff game where Manning could probably still tell you what Peezy had for breakfast that day because we went in there and brought the heat. And won. I remember a 2011 game where we went in there and got after Brady. And won. It's not easy but it's possible. Cowher put it in the most sublime of terms. "Rush the quarterback. Rush the quarterback. Do you understand? Rush the quarterback."
     
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  5. Spock

    Spock Well-Known Member

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    I agree with this tactic for winning. However, Belichick's strategy is similar to chess. He sets up many little things in his favor. Cheating is one example. Cheating is not the only thing the Patriots do (they also play solid and fundamentally sound football), however they also tilt the odds in their favor by skirting the rules. It's not the ONLY thing they do, it's just ONE of the things they do to help the odds.
     
  6. STEELWARRIOR

    STEELWARRIOR Well-Known Member

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    IMOA Tomlin is stubborn!!! and can't admit when he's wrong case in point going for 2 points. If it doesn't work twice then let it go take the extra point and live to fight another down, but no he has to stroke his ego and keep going for it. The team lacks decipline why would AB and other players not be listen to Coach after the Chiefs game? If I would have done that my high school coach would have made me do grass drills or run laps to get my attention.
     
  7. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Are you going to let Cowherd use this, Jack? :lolol:

    I think someone else summed it up succinctly, theres Belichick, and then everyone else.

    Other coaches win the SB, Belichick doesn't win it every year, no reason Tomlin cant win another SB.

    BUT, he'll most likely have to go through Belichick and he needs to get that monkey off his back.
     
  8. JackAttack 5958

    JackAttack 5958 Well-Known Member

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    Notice I didn't say anything about being "buttoned up". :lolol:

    Other coaches do win the Super Bowl, but those coaches seem to be more tactical and strategic minded than Tomlin. I listed the last several coaches to win other than Belichick and it seems to me that most of them are more involved in strategy and gameplanning. That may just be my perception, but it IS my perception. Tomlin appears (again my perception) to cede all control to his coordinators. Like I said, this isn't a call to FMTI, but I do think this may continue to plague Tomlin when he faces the upper echelon of NFL coaches in post season play.
     
  9. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Carrol??? He's the biggest cheerleader there is! Tomlin is a lot more involved then you think, in fact, there was just an article on this, I think the same one I got my Sig from. He's very hands on, you dont become a HC in this league unless you are an A-Type personality and those types like control.
     
  10. JackAttack 5958

    JackAttack 5958 Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure he's involved. No question about that. I just think the coordinators are more involved in devising overall game strategy with maybe a minor tweak or two from Tomlin. I don't believe he's the most capable coach when it comes to an Xs and Os development of game strategy, making (demanding) in-game adjustments, recognition of other teams' tendencies and deficiencies and exploitation of those. He's a good motivator. He makes his players want to go out there and block and tackle. There's value in that, but Tomlin ALWAYS seems to have trouble coaching against the more strategic tacticians in the league. His teams live and die on emotion which only takes you so far.
     
  11. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    I hate to say it because it doesn't bode well for our future but I happen to think your spot on. If their D was getting shredded like that Bellicheat would of thrown a fit and probably broke 3 or 4 surface pros and been all up in the D and the coaches ass...Tomlin is a motivator and players do like to play for him but I think we win on talent and not on preparation ,which is why we have more than a few head scratchers of a loss every year. Sometimes our mistakes get in the way of our talent. When you are prepared and even over prepared in their case nothing in the game surprises you and you are always ready for the moment. Bellicheat molds and grooms his coaches and players to fit HIS system and has full control over everything.
     
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  12. Steel Acorn

    Steel Acorn Well-Known Member

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    If what you say is true, and i think it might be, our coordinators are quite poor. The score 30 on offense rarely happened, even with the talent we had, red zone offense was dreadful, and then there's the defensive game planning. Tomlin's style would work if coordinators were geniuses like Belichick, but ours haven't been smart or able to utilize the talent they have since Lebeau's scheme was figured out. He was the last genius coordinator we had.
     
  13. vlad582

    vlad582 Well-Known Member

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    The other thing with the super bowl Era teams when Tomlin started was the personnel was great which makes coaching less necessary. You had Harrison, Troy, Hampton, the beard, etc. that just went or and made plays, that could adjust the play to what they saw. Troy didn't need Tomlin to tell him anything, he just did his thing. These guys aren't that team, they need direction.

    It's like coaching the Yankees in the day, everyone acts like it was such a big deal. What the heck did you have to do? Every guy was making like 50 million a year and a monster, they didn't need the coach to tell them anything. Half of those Yankee world series teams would have won with a freaking empty beer can coaching.

    Tomlin lost his leaders he had that propped him up in his early career, now it's falling on him and he needs to either step up or find someone else to lead.
     
  14. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    It all falls at the feet of the HC....if you don't like something...change it.
     

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