LMAO Now Snead and McVay aren't geniuses anymore according to some....especially here. Wow the season is over according to some. Geeez dudes, get a grip. We have seen what this team is capable of in terms of ripping off wins. This team lost this game because of mistakes. Mistakes I said they couldn't make if they wanted to win. Huge penalties in terms of when they were made. Huge turnover that swung the gate wide open. It's a one score game without that turnover.
1. Clean up their own mistakes. Clean up their play.
2. McVay was primarily the reason for this loss. He didn't learn from their first missed 4 & 1 so he did the exact same thing again with the same results. He should have spread them out then run Brown up the middle. His play calling was really strange. He stopped playing to his team's strength and tried to beat the opponent at their game. That is a losing strategy. He isn't adjusting well during the game. He's no longer dictating, but trying to respond to what is being dictated to him (again a losing approach.)
3. McVay needs to accept he need to make changes in personnel. He needs to move Havenstein inside to OG. With Boom out then move him to LG. Rob doesn't have the feet for OT and never has. But he's pretty decent at blocking if he doesn't have to slide to beat an outside rush. Also, Rob is a better run blocker than pass blocker...he always has been, another reason he should be at OG.
4. Time to go to a 12 personnel base with both TE's giving chips. They have 2 good pass catching TE's so Goff is still going to have at least 3 receivers. TE short, Woods intermediate, Cooks deep w/ RB dumpoff.
5. Kromer has to see that he has the guys for a good gap blocking o-line and the perfect RB's in that type run scheme...make the change.
6. They could also go to a 21 personnel base look. On passing downs Brown stays in to block (he's a good pass blocker) with Henderson as a receiver. If they run Brown can provide a lead blocker, or they can run mis-direction...let the defense read who is getting the ball or if it's play action.
This team has the talent and the ability to turn this around. But it starts now. Peters must be forced to play the scheme or bench him. With Talib out their only true man coverage CB is now gone. This is going to be primarily a zone based secondary. It could get ugly if they don't play it right. Their base needs to be a nickel here on out playing 3 safeties.
This was a bad loss. But there is plenty of time to turn it around. Let me remind my fellow fans of all the times the Patriots were left for dead, only to get up off the mat and kick ass. There is no reason to think this team can't do likewise. They have enough talent.