Hey Joe! How many plays per game?

I remember a statement Joe Philbin made during the offseason. It was about tempo. It was about how many offensive plays this team wanted to run per game. I believe it was upwards of 80 plays. Yet I don't see that in the game plan. I see a team (on offense) slow to get the ball off. I see a team scared to send the defense back on the field.

From my observation, the early success of this team was due in part to two key contributions: This defense line was batting down balls. Something I do not see now. This team was forcing turnovers. Something I do not see now. This team has yet to defense the run successfully and from my distant observation that is due in large part to having two inside linebackers who are there to defense PASS. They are fast but they cannot get off a block and they do not attack the run downhill. That's a defense predicated on playing with a lead. This defense is subject to rope a dope (play action) because they are getting run on like a *****. The other contribution? This team scored fast. They didn't always score early but they scored fast. Look back to the first four games. Hell, they scored two TD's in the first quarter versus Indianapolis.

The coach stated a goal for this team. If that was the goal, it was practiced and is possibly still part of the practice plan. So if you practice fast to play fast why in the hell do you line up and play slow? It seems like every time I see this offense go no huddle, they have had some sort of success. In contrast, every time I see this offense line up to play offensive coordinator call versus defensive coordinator call - they fail miserably.

I am not condemning the plan. It seems to be a .500 team with a .500 roster. And there are a lot of issues that could be the reasons stopping the staff from just playing fast. But I see a team not prepared to play the slow grinding game. They can't run the ball and they can't stop the run. I see an offensive team that CAN play fast. So my question is "Why haven't we lined up one game (just one freaking game) to play fast?"

This team has no major strength. This team has one major weakness. Why in the hell would you play to your weakness? By that I mean why would you let your opponents defensive coordinator play his plan? Get a group on the field, call a series of plays at the line, and just go. Just go! It's no guaranteed success but I'd like to see it as THE PLAN just once. Is that too much to ask? I don't care if the defense is tired going back on the field. It's not like they are a stalwart when they're fresh.