Why do we believe in Mike Macdonald ?

[NjRavensFan]

To be fair, it took a shit ton of time to write my novel. That post wasn't there when I started.

Lolol fair enough

[GOTA]

Pulling in a discussion from the Landry-to-Saints thread. Why are fans excited about Mike Macdonald? What is it they think they've seen from him as a coordinator, that is exciting?

Harbs has been talking up Macdonald as a whiz-kid next-great-coach for many years, so clearly this has been coming for a while. Harbs sent Macdonald on a semester abroad to Michigan, to get a little play-calling experience before bringing him back to assume the throne in Baltimore. So Harbs thinks he's on to something.

But why do fans think they know something? What has he shown?

I will say this in Macdonalds favor. They beat Ohio State for the first time under Harbaugh because of the defense. The 1st half was even and the 2nd half was classic bend but not break on defense. It was all Hassan Haskins and then the defense repeated the whole half. That’s not so easy when everyone knows what’s coming.

[jonboy79]

Because he won’t run cover zero

I thought cover 0 was some code impossible for offenses to crack?


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[WrongBaldy]

I think our D will look Look really good just because everyone is healthy. Going to be hard to dissect the improvement if it’s due to new DC or just health.

[moose10101]

I think our D will look Look really good just because everyone is healthy. Going to be hard to dissect the improvement if it’s due to new DC or just health.

Last year’s D was a clusterfark even before the injuries got out of hand. Communication breakdowns everywhere.

[WrongBaldy]

Last year’s D was a clusterfark even before the injuries got out of hand. Communication breakdowns everywhere.

True. Something was off in 2021 they were fine in 19 and 20.

[Rygar64]

True. Something was off in 2021 they were fine in 19 and 20.

I thought from jump that it was the absence of Peters. Wink's defense is heavily dependent on the dbacks. Losing Marcus before the season kicked off and then the shuffling that had to take place due to injuries to Deshon and others periodically had them looking out of sorts all year.

[rhapsody]

I think our D will look Look really good just because everyone is healthy. Going to be hard to dissect the improvement if it’s due to new DC or just health.

Absolutely. How good a D coordinator was Pagano or Ryan - how good would any D coordinator be with Reed, Lewis, Suggs and Ngata in their prime?

I admire Jim for his tone and candor but, I am afraid his novel looks like a preface to "A Closer Look at Mike McDonald".

If so, color me gone. At least till Cap'n kicks in with his great gif(t)s.

[GreatWhiteNorthRaven]

Macdaddy showed a ton of pressures that mimicked Wink, but he was dropping far more guys than Wink would. It was more like the Dolphins game where they kept running the rain check coverage from the middle of the LOS.

If you look at the numbers the Dolphins barely ran C0, despite the repeated narrative. They kept showing 7 man lines, but they would drop 2 defenders in the middle of the LOS. Who drops was determined by which way the C slid. It's called a rain check.

Mac got creative with his DL, but blitzed less because of the sim pressure.

I dont know - experience aside, he grew up in this scheme, he's definitely a more aggressive (than say a Pees) DC, but not to the extent of Wink. IMO they found a middle ground.

[Mark]

Macdaddy showed a ton of pressures that mimicked Wink, but he was dropping far more guys than Wink would. It was more like the Dolphins game where they kept running the rain check coverage from the middle of the LOS.

If you look at the numbers the Dolphins barely ran C0, despite the repeated narrative. They kept showing 7 man lines, but they would drop 2 defenders in the middle of the LOS. Who drops was determined by which way the C slid. It's called a rain check.

Mac got creative with his DL, but blitzed less because of the sim pressure.

I dont know - experience aside, he grew up in this scheme, he's definitely a more aggressive (than say a Pees) DC, but not to the extent of Wink. IMO they found a middle ground.

I think MacDonald is intelligent with a more flexible approach to defensive scheme than Wink. Using versatile players in a variety of roles at Michigan and familiarity with the team and our young players also helps. I look for earlier in-game adjustments when things aren't going well. His resume prior to being named DC is more impressive than Brandon Staley's when McVay gave him his shot with the Rams. I'm glad Harbs is giving MacDonald a shot and look forward to seeing how he does.

[BcRaven]

I think MacDonald is intelligent with a more flexible approach to defensive scheme than Wink. Using versatile players in a variety of roles at Michigan and familiarity with the team and our young players also helps. I look for earlier in-game adjustments when things aren't going well. His resume prior to being named DC is more impressive than Brandon Staley's when McVay gave him his shot with the Rams. I'm glad Harbs is giving MacDonald a shot and look forward to seeing how he does.

Yes Mark, I agree and it makes Kyle Hamilton a perfect fit. Hamilton is chameleon-like and needs a DC who can use him in several different ways to confuse opposing offenses... Bc

[DeltaRaven]

It's what we've wanted in a coordinator for a while now. I think he's the first OC/DC in the Harbaugh era that wasn't a retread who's been in the league for 15+ years.

He's an unknown to us at this point so many are looking at things through a best case scenario type of lens. That'll change as the season unfolds of course where the fan base will divide into "huggers" and haters", as is tradition.