Well, Mr. Belichick, in order for an operation in any organization to work from the top to the bottom, people need to know their roles in order to perform thier duties they are responsible for. And what defines their responsibilities? A title of some kind that is given to them. C’mon, hire an offensive coordinator, so you can focus on defense and the Pats can get back to consistency.

chris – were you saying this when the Patriots didn’t have an official offensive coordinator in 2005? The assumption that Bill O’Brien won’t grow into the job appears universal, yet the complaints (“the offense is too predictable!”) are the same as in 2005.

I had an issue with the offensive side of the ball all season. I do believe that some of the issues had to do with brady comming off a huge injury. I also think it had to do with the reciever position either being injured (moss) (welker) or just not able to play (take your pick) gallaway aiken etc .. the tight end issue is also wierd its not like belichick to be so one dimesional or even brady. they didnt spread out the ball. lb’s were able to tee off on every catch welker made because why cover a TE when you know he isnt going to get the ball. it was a really wierd season for the offense. Maroney didnt help matters. they could never get that big confidence wave to ride for a few games. so i think this seasons issues had more to do with personel than anything.. draft and free agent signings have to improve or we will continue to decline… how many more seasons do we have with brady at the helm ?

No wonder why the offense had so many delay of game calls & was out of sync in critical times during games. The plays were waiting for approval. President Johnson once bragged “that his Army could not blow up an out-house without his approval” Shame on coach Belichick he is a history buff. Hire some coaches & let them do their jobs.
PS Pretty stupid Bill, not to emphasize the run all season with a QB coming off a major injury.

My 7 year old watches the games with me. Most of the time he knew what the play was going to be. When your play calling is so predictable that a little kid knows what’s coming, it’s no wonder that opposing defenses could shut them down. The fact is that if it wasn’t for Welker finding seams even when opponents knew what was coming that this team would have been closer to 6-10 than 10-6.

And just in case O’Brien ses this: Tight Ends ARE eligible receivers.

I think the lack of creativity and the inability to score in the second half pretty much sum up why we need a dedicated play caller in this area.

First of all Coach BB is thick headed. He wants everything in his lap. That provide the downfall of the Pat’s. One important thing that I want to mention is after the Pat’s won there 3rd super bowls….Weis, Crennel and Mangino left the team. There is your downfall.

Sam Alex – where has Belichick ever wanted everything in his lap? “Weis, Crennel, and Mangino left the team.” Mangini was promoted to defensive coordinator for 2005 while Josh McDaniels was O-coordinator-in-training. Mangini failed and his play-calling was taken away after the Colts loss; Mangini left and Dean Pees took over in 2006 while McDaniels was promoted to full O-coordinator. Weis proved he can’t coach anymore at Notre Dame; Crennel proved he can’t coach anymore in Cleveland; Mangini proved he can’t coach in New York and Cleveland. There is no reason to have them back in New England; there is every reason to train new people to take over those jobs.

will – where are the Patriots not training someone for that? People forget that as the season wore on the play-calling got more confident – heck, before the Houston game the buzzwords were changing to “the offense is getting more creative,” etc. That angle will fix itself with time and patience.

Changeling – The Patriots were closer to 12-4 than 6-10; Welker was huge but not the only reason. When you complain about the “predictability” of the offense, were you saying this in 2005? I know a lot of people were. “Tight ends are eligible receivers.” Were they getting open? No – Moss and Welker were. This whole “they need to spread the ball around” argument doesn’t work when Moss and Welker were the ones always getting open.

steve, “draft and free-agent signings have to improve.” This past draft has been touted by a lot of media people as their best in a few years.

The bottom line is this – the Ravens were much stronger than people thought they were; the loss was not about coaching or the system, it was about the Ravens blowing the Patriots off the ball. That this was a team in transition and yet finished 10-6 and won the AFC East is a sign that it is getting back to the level to win Superbowls. What fans need to do is calm the heck down, step back, and consider that most of the problems seen this season were the inevitable dip in performance that the Patriots last saw in 2002 and 2005.

Mr Obrien, how many times were you going to run that play where Faulk lines up beside Brady, and do a delayed hand-off to him? The Ravens were aware of that play the 1ST TIME YOU RAN IT, AND YOU KEPT RUNNING IT!!??? How many yards did it get you-not many. The Pats need an OC that has creativity, such as Shottenheimer in NY. He gets it. Look what he’s doing for Sanchez-he’s making him look like an all-pro, because the defense has no idea what’s coming. Come on Pats- get with it!

Jimbo – Schottsy Junior is not as good as you’re proclaiming him to be – the J-E-S-T won in Cincy because Cincy is not a playoff-caliber team and they have yet to reach 10 wins with Schottsy Junior.

What was O’Brien supposed to run when the Ravens were blowing the Patriots off the ball on all three sides (ST, O, and D)?

Bill O’Brien improved as the season went on and is on the same path as Josh McDaniels.

Let the best player on the field call the plays…Yes Tom Brady