My theory is multifaceted. As a disclaimer this is all my opinion.
First, Dorsey is bad at his job. Period. Playcalling is an art, not a science, and he’s not an artist. He doesn’t know how to set up a game flow, his adjustments are scattershot, and the offense lacks any sort of identity as a result. People who know more than me are saying we need more play action and motion, which sounds right. Dorsey is just bad.
Second, McDermott has absolutely meddled in the offense. We all know how much he would run a fullback dive 15 fucking times per game if he could. We know how much he loathes an explosive passing attack (just ask Brian Daboll). In my view, he strong armed Dorsey into running 12 personnel and the “bland” offense we’ve seen. He’s scared Allen shitless about running and has undermined a crucial part of our offense.
Third, as a result of the above, morale has dipped and play has suffered. Josh doesn’t trust his progressions, doesn’t work through them, and instead plays hero ball like 2018 Josh. Players DO NOT trust the coaching and it shows. Throw in the crap like benching Cook but not Gabe (last night) and any remaining trust is gone. And this is all against the backdrop of 13 seconds. The players have no faith in the coaches and it’s boiling over. It started mid last season and culminated in the Diggs sideline fiasco against Cincy.
That’s my theory, what’s yours?
It’s certainly layered but it really is a top down issue IMO.
The defense is holding its own given the circumstances but it has exposed the flaws of coaching and personnel. Our A-team was full of ball hawks; and because of that the issues we had last year are now what is the standard this year. Vets slowing down, poor technique (mainly tackling), with bad coverage calls.
The offense lost its identity. Again, last year the coaching short comings were mitigated by Josh hero balling; it’s been established we can and should run more. We need to run more than the same predictable 10 plays. It’s painful how predictable our offense is, and that’s coming from someone not football educated.This season they’ve crushed Josh to not be Josh and his decision making and confidence is clearly in the shits. He’s not the same Josh, not just playing wise, but you can see in his body language, emotions, and statements. So now we have the same offensive plan as last year sans Josh being able to do Josh things. Yes he needed to improve but it’s hard to improve when you’re trying to completely change who you are.
Special teams is pretty simple. If your A-team can’t tackle, your reserves probably can’t tackle either.
There are certainly positives from a personnel standpoint that weren’t expected or have even exceeded expectations; our o-line, Kincaid, depth play. But it’s also clear Knox was overpaid, Ed was overpaid, and Gabe shouldn’t be paid. I don’t know how much to blame coaches for players just not being able to do what they’re supposed to do; like tackle, catch, or hold on to the ball. There’s obviously hope to develop players into the NFL but at some point maybe the front office needs to stop gambling so much on coaching abilities and realize the tape on a player may just be what the player is.