In 2005, we had the first pick in the draft, and boy did we need a quarterback. Mike Nolan brought in both Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith separately, and went with Alex. The reason was that Alex was more tractable, which is a term that I associate with hunting trainability in a dog. If you can show the dog you are the boss, that might not be the best choice. Rodgers was more aggressive and headstrong. I did like Alex, but he was not aggressive on the field. The reason Nolan would not attempt to handle Rodgers was because he was not confident he could control him. Why is that? Because deep down, he knew he couldn't command respect from him long term. Nolan was a small person.
Kyle Shanahan can never admit he was wrong. My first exposure to that was in the ATL SB, when while he should have just been running the ball to protect his lead, he called a pass play. The Only chance NE had at that point was to get a sack, and he gave them that opportunity. What did he say? I had that blocked up. The RB just missed him. No Kyle, you shouldn't have given them that opportunity, and if you do, you've got to anticipate that effort in their desperate situation.
Kyle does the same with us. He always blames the players. Many of these games shouldn't even be close if he'd done his job.
I've always been a Kyle fan, as I've admired how he can design plays to get receivers so wide open. But we've got 8 years experience with him now, and he is 0 for 45 in games where he's been 8 points behind in the 4th quarter. His record in protecting leads is equally dismal, expecially in big games and, need I say it, Super Bowls. This is not acceptable.
Here's where he lost me. Kyle did not do his job in learning the OT rules in the playoffs, and he gave Patrick Frick'in Mahomes and Andy Reid the first opportunity to win the Super Bowl, when HE won the toss. They Did, and he Never had a posession to do so. Additionally, he gave them Four Downs to do it. What did he say? I checked with my Analytics Department, and That's what they told me to do. Nobody has ever heard of his Analytics Department, and if he had one, Nobody with an IQ over 80 would tell him to do that. Kyle, Do You?
Here's the problem. You've got a bunch of aggressive Dogs out on that field, and if you want them to let you be their leader, they Must respect you. They don't respect you if you lie to them. They don't respect you if you don't man up and take responsibility for your mistakes, as they must do every day. And here's the human nature hook. If you look for ways to blame them, they will look for ways to Blame You. And there's a million of them, from not letting your intelligent quarterback change plays at the line of scrimmage, to getting outcoached with halftime adjustments Every Week, resulting in losing point differential in the second half all season long, to, I know, playing your backup quarterback that is most tractable.
What do you think about the season Kyle? I don't know how to answer that. I'm trying as hard as I can.
You're a small man Kyle. If Eddie was within a thousand miles of this team, you'd be gone.
[ Edited by BOI49er on Jan 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM ]
