I don't think that was a 'very good look at play calling' and I'm glad it isn't. McCarthy just admitted he had a bad game play-calling but the dumbest thing he could do is explain why for future opponents. I do think it had something to do with the pressure Detroit was able to apply, still I too think he should have attacked the middle of the field more. For example, last year they had great success throwing deep on a play in which they fake a run to the left and Rodgers takes a very deep drop right. Usually Kuhn is in front of him for protection. Jordy caught a few of those deep routes. It's just one play but after running the ball as often as they did against the Lions, I'd like to see them use it a couple of times across the middle to get the ball - 15 or so - yards downfield to Cobb, Nelson, or Finley on the run.
Week after week we see teams using cover 2 to shut down the deep zones and/or press coverage to bust up timing. You don't even have to study film to know this offense has migrated over the past few years toward setting up the deep ball pitch-and-catch.
Take away what the a team is working toward and you've won half the battle. Opponents are having fairly good success protecting the deep zones...our yards per catch are way down and points are down this year, albeit from a very high level. Teams adjust.
McCarthy stays with the run to try to get the opponent to make some commitment to stopping it...get some running going, get that SS cheating into the box in run situations, then hit them with play action. We've run reasonably well between the tackles with Benson and now Starks, just not quite well enough to suck up the safety with any regularity. It just so happens Rodgers is good enough with the **** and dunk, money on intermediate throws, and big money in the red zone, to keep the train rolling.
The vulnerability in cover 2 is the short or intermediate middle based on the ILB's drop depth...the ILB is charged with covering a lot of ground in cover 2. Those throws also happen to be higher risk...from both an interception and injury standpoint. Comparing to a team like NO, they take shots down the field to set up attacking a soft middle; Brees is happy to slice and dice you underneath all day. It's a different offensive philosophy.
That said, it does not appear that we plan to exploit the middle as effectively as we could, when the opportunity presents itself. As noted previously, even the Finley TD this week was basically "broken play, on 2".
My observation of MM is that he's very good at making halftime adjustments. I don't have the stats ready to hand, but it seems to me our third quarter scoring has been pretty strong in recent years, and MM is confident enough in their adjustment process to defer on the opening kickoff. However, he does seem to stick with the call sheet through the first half, even if it's working poorly. It's hard to be too critical of that, because you don't know what specifically he's trying set up, which can come down to setting up a particular player. It is frustrating at times when you see the same thing tried 4 or 5 times with no success, without a plan B in evidence before halftime. Discipline, and sticking with the plan, can be a double-edged sword.
and guess what the fun part is?? we either play or will have to play each one of these three at least one more time on the road to New Orleans i guarantee you that....oh and Detroit one more time to.
