Here's a newsflash.
Those of us who think Linehan should go are well aware of the injuries. We are well aware that the team's fortunes have been impacted greatly by injuries. To put it bluntly, we are not morons. We know that injuries have hurt the team.
But that's not the point.
As I've shouted from the rooftops, figuratively speaking, the problems go beyond injuries.
Scott Linehan has demonstrated time and again that he does not adjust in game situations. The numbers bear this out, and you can't gloss over it with "we're not deep, so the team gets tired" or "we've had key injuries during games." Its just too much of a trend now to overcome with those suggestions.
You know what the problem is here? There is simply no system.
People use the term "system QB" or "sytem player" as a negative. Its a way of saying that a player is not really that good, but can succeed in a particular system.
We used to have a "system" like that under Mike Martz. Its what made a former Arena League QB in to an MVP, and a sixth round draft choice into a Pro Bowl QB (or did you really think that was just our luck to find two gems in the rockpile?). Its what is making guys like Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald into fantasy-geek favorites in Detroit. Sure, the league probably caught up with the Martz method to an extent (and its hardly perfect), but for a while, we had Camelot.
And its not just on offense. Remember when the Patriots defense continued to succeed even when the team was down to a WR (Troy Brown) starting at CB? That's a system.
Its an approach that allows a team to have success even when it lacks all its best players.
Its what we're missing today.
What is Linehan's system. Forget defense for the moment. Just focus on the offense. Is Linehan a running coach? West Coast offense? Modified Pro-Set with an Al Davis twist? What are we?
When we hired Linehan, he was described as the man with a plan.
What's the plan?
The injuries are the harsh reality of this year. I can deal with the fact that the injuries are doing us in.
What I can't deal with is the thought that we'll be healthy some day and Linehan still won't have a plan. Still won't have a system. Still won't have the ability to keep us ahead of the competition.
That I can't deal with.