Belichick deserves Coach of the Year

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the most deserving candidate for the Coach of the Year award.

Until Sunday, I wouldn't have made that statement. I was fully on the Mike McCarthy bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, I think that McCarthy has done a masterful job with this team this year. Nobody, especially me, thought the Packers would be where they are right now. In almost any other year, he'd have to be the runaway candidate. And he was the leading candidate this year because nobody has done more with a less experienced group of guys. But in my mind, he lost the award on Sunday to Belichick.

I think the first Bears loss can be mostly pinned on the players. Their poor execution was largely to blame for that game. The Cowboy loss, that I think goes to McCarthy a little more. Yes, the players failed to execute in that game, but McCarthy got away from the base offense early. The base offense for this team softens up defenses nicely with the short passing game, which in turn opens up the big plays we've gotten used to. McCarthy admitted that in the Cowboy game, they tried to take advantage of some things deep right off the bat. With the pressure Dallas was able to get, that put the offense in the position to turn the ball over and give the Cowboys a chance to jump to the big lead. Once they went back to the their typical play calling with Rogers, they started moving the ball again. But that loss didn't lose him the award in my book.

Sunday against the Bears. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a Packer team play worse. Nobody, and I mean nobody, looked like they showed up to play. Ultimately, that's on the players, but it says something about the coaching staff as well. This team was in no way prepared to play. Mentally, they were out of it. The mental and physical mistakes rolled up like an avalanche. The coaching staff did not have those guys ready to go. Contrast that with the 15-0 Patriots. Even when they haven't played their best this year, they've still been ready to go on game day. When a team is running away with a division like the Patriots, a slight let down is expected, and it just hasn't been there for them. Belichick is the best in football right now at getting his team ready to go, and that is the difference maker for me. Mike McCarthy had him bested until his team left that steaming turd on the turf at Soldier Field. I just can't justify it for him any longer. A great season of coaching, yes. It just wasn't good enough for the award.