If not, it’s by far the worst example.
Where do we even begin to organize our thoughts on this?
Just one horrific decision after another.
–Let’s go with the most egregious call of them all.
One they’d game-planned all week.
And that was to misuse Christian Gonzalez by not putting him on Puka NacuaorCooper Kupp.
To make him a non-factor by assigning him to the boundary-X, Demarcus Robinson.
Stephon Gilmore would follow their WR1 all across the formation on his way to a DPOTY.
Yet Mayo had him covering a man who’s never sniffed 500 receiving yards in his 9-year career.
–Warning: This paragraph contains a lot of mixed metaphors and is not suitable for all audiences.
Viewer discretion is advised.
It’s having Marcus Smart guard a Laker Girl.
It’s a waste of your most precious resource.
Gonzalez on Robinson was Mayo’s story, and he stuck to it.
Even as Matthew Stafford statistically pitched a near perfect game (142.7 passer rating) against them.
–The terrible in-game decisions just piled on from there.
Like settling for a field goal to make it 21-13 instead of punching it in from LA’s 2.
But to me the worst came at the beginning of the final drive.
Meaning he thought having the Rams rekick it would result in a worse outcome.
The science is pretty settled on that.
–Here’s the thing about Mayo.
All the stuff we heard about him before and after he was named head coach is demonstrably true.
He does have the intangibles.
His players do play hard for him.
They do respect him.
I mean, it’s not like they’re in mutiny or he’s in danger of getting fragged.
He’s one of those generals who can inspire his troops, but loses battles through poor tactics.
He’s Paulus against Hannibal at Cannae.
McClellan in the Peninsular Campaign.
Haig at the First Battle of the Somme.
Grady Little in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium.
All guilty of being outmanuevered by better, more seasoned strategists on the other side.
He stressed the Patriots zone coverages with a lot of presnap motion.
It was a mental error by Jonathan Jones.
With no safety help he should’ve played the man, not the ball.
“Deeper than the deepest” and all that.
But LA had done their homework.
The number of unforced errors, these inexcusable brainsharts, is alarming.
I mentioned Polk’s, and he’s a repeat offender.
As is Vederian Lowe.
And from there, it’sWalker and Texas Ranger-style anarchy.
So you’re free to’t blame anyone but the one who ignored the warnings.
–But far be for me to pick this day of all days to harp on Lowe.
Not when he gave us the rarest and most precious of NFL gifts.
But they both stayed into block.
That, along with Kayshon Boutte motioning across the formation left Lowe’s side unguarded for the easy score.
–This might be the longest I’ve gone in 2024 without talking extensively about Drake Maye.
Talking to family and friends.
Casual encounters with strangers.
Romantic dinners with my ravishing Irish Rose.
But it’s not because he wasn’t impressive.
If anything, it might be because watching him play well as quickly become the norm.
Unfortunately, so has watching him have to do everything practically by himself.
Making off schedule plays.
Escaping the pocket and throwing on the run.
Which is also unfortunate and something we’ve grown accustomed to, from all his targets.
Too many blitzers are still coming in unaccounted for.
Poor communication among O-linemen makes stunts more dangerous for Maye thanthey were for Super Dave Osborne.
And yet Maye is still improvising ways to throw guys open.
Bourne crossing the defender’s face.
The ball was in the air before he made his cut, anticipating he’d have upfield leverage.
It looked like an option route, with LA playing 2-deep.
And for them, it’s already developing.
(Don’t make me look up the names.
Those movies are just a fish tank you look at for three hours, not actual stories.)
But that’s what the best leaders do.
They shoulder the blame and spread out the credit.
This guy is already good, but he’s going to be special very soon.
And I’ll concede he’s made some big plays.
But as long as Douglas is drawing a breath, he’s the most consistent, dependable target.
The 2024 equivalent of 2019 Julian Edelman.
But with Hunter Henry around as the 1B to Pop’s 1A.
Bourne had a outstanding game as well.
Bourne is that well-intentioned but high-maintenance guy on the roster.
But it requires a lot of things to go right.
Which it seldom does.
The biggest questions going into all this were quarterback, coaching, and offensive line.
The first is an unqualified success.
The other two, not so much.
Unlike the last several attempts to replace Tom Brady, Maye is capable of doing a lot by himself.
But not enough to actually carry a team for four quarters.
That’s gonna have to do for now.
