Thought I'd start a thread on this one. I enjoy watching these and this one was pretty useful since the Raiders game was the first game in a while where Mac wasn't getting hit constantly so there was better analysis to be done. My initial takeaway here is that the play design is honestly not that bad at times (it could be better). There are big plays waiting to happen, though, if the reads are actually made correctly and if the ball is thrown with accuracy...
The analysis on the bad INT he threw is so bad, especially because there were multiple guys open immediately after the snap, pick up the first down, in the red zone... There was just no reason to go running trying to "extend the play"... Brutal. It's damning for Mac IMO.
This video and the one he did against the Cowboys makes me think Bill actually did try to set Mac up to succeed despite all the fans saying otherwise.
Bill knew Mac was never a deep threat qb. I think from the moment he drafted him, he was going to take a Brady approach and start slow allowing Mac to develop through the years.
He basically decided to go heavy short pass, focus on running the ball, play action, and lean into the side of the field where 1 single player isn’t as critical as QB is and that’s on defense.
(Yes Judon and such are stars and game changers but you can still win when they’re out. Going from a Brady to Hoyer destroys an offense)
So, he went out and got a few receivers and two good TE while having Harris and Stevenson to pound the ball. Worked great at first, but Mac started to regress toward the end of his rookie season.
Why he decided to go with Matt for OC remains a mystery. Perhaps he thought his defensive focused mind could translate to a slug it out offense. But again, I don’t have a real excuses for Matt. I think Bill would even privately admit that was a bad move.
Anyway, Mac and Jonnu never click so he dumps him for Gesicki to keep the heavy TE formula. Why “trade” Meyers for Juju is a mystery as well we will likely never know the truth behind.
However, he brings in a former Alabama coach who was also good with 2 TE sets. The offensive line on paper was decent. Brown is typically solid, and Strange, Andrews, and Onwenu are a formidable inside line. RT was spotty and that’s on Bill.
Obviously injuries to the line made it impossible to play the ideal setup which has just cascaded into what we see on film right now. Mac “hears ghosts” any time defenders push his line back a bit and completely loses focus.
People compare what Buffalo and Miami did but Mac is just not those guys. He has certain strengths and the deep ball isn’t one of them. Going with Zeke over DHop makes more sense if his plan was the short attack.
And you know, what we saw in the final two drives against Vegas is what the offense was built to do. Long time consuming drives living off 4-5 yards a play. The problem in that game obvious was the final drive being a bit TOO long, but point is that was a preview of what I believe he envisioned when he built this roster.
So yea, I don’t believe Bill set Mac up to fail. I actually think he set him up to succeed but the combo of line injuries and Mac’s fear of being hit (and defensive injuries) sank the season.
Just my 2c