Jeff Howe: Is Bill Belichick revolutionizing the way teams view offensive line rotations?

One coach says yes....

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/.../2015/09/patriots_line_combos_make_foes_dizzy

In a league of 1 + 31 teams, BB is THE cat.

There may be a couple other cats out there, but the rest are all reviewing the successful teams in the off season and copying/incorporating what they can into their system. BB uses a large sphere of teams (probably mostly college) to draw from and can incorporate those things mid season (or even mid game) because he coaches versatility and seeks players with the ability/football IQ to be versatile.

Though, I'd be curious to know how many teams employ a similar concept.

Interesting.. thanks for linking.

This will make for some interesting discussion. Why the high degree of rotation? IMO, it makes it pretty hard for the DL to scheme against the line consistently as far as identifying weaknesses and exploiting them. By moving your weakest link all over or swapping it out, it makes it hard for the defense to identify and exploit.

If you are a 4 tech and come into the game knowing the tackle across from you has trouble keeping his pad level low and you are ready to exploit this because you did your homework and scouted him on video, you are confident... until he gets swapped out and replaced with someone who's way better suited to handle you because the other team has identified this mismatch and corrected it.

That's BB.. ahead of the curve as usual.

I've wondered about this myself. Having never played organized football, just schoolyard pickup, I can only speculate. I've found it interesting that DL are rotated to be kept fresh, but OL never was.

I've assumed the reasons are twofold. First, DL expend more energy than OL in general, since the OL only pushes on running plays while the DL generally pushes on most plays. Second, OL communications are key; while DL need to communicate, an error there only leads to a 30 yard play while an error on OL leads to your QB going on IR.

Still, OL get injured just like everyone else, and when that happens the backup becomes the weak link and needs a lot of reps to get comfortable. I've wonder if rotating like this will ultimately benefit them when, say, Vollmer gets hurt and Cannon needs to play more regularly on the outside.

So far it's working out well. Curious to see how it works as the season goes on.

PP2 said:

Interesting.. thanks for linking.

This will make for some interesting discussion. Why the high degree of rotation? IMO, it makes it pretty hard for the DL to scheme against the line consistently as far as identifying weaknesses and exploiting them. By moving your weakest link all over or swapping it out, it makes it hard for the defense to identify and exploit.

If you are a 4 tech and come into the game knowing the tackle across from you has trouble keeping his pad level low and you are ready to exploit this because you did your homework and scouted him on video, you are confident... until he gets swapped out and replaced with someone who's way better suited to handle you because the other team has identified this mismatch and corrected it.

That's BB.. ahead of the curve as usual.

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This is a great point I didn't even think of. DL are rotated all the time for this specific reason. Never generally crossed my mind that each OL has specific strengths and weaknesses too. This is a good way to try to exploit some match up mismatches.

Hammer of Thor said:

This is a great point I didn't even think of. DL are rotated all the time for this specific reason. Never generally crossed my mind that each OL has specific strengths and weaknesses too. This is a good way to try to exploit some match up mismatches.

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Not only that it can affect the way teams prepare for playing against the Patriots. They choose to attack the Patriots by being like Seattle (they do what they regardless of opponent...well very little change) or will require teams to commit more time trying to adjust to the matchups or move their players around (from one side or position to another).

This is also valuable information as it will give the offense another queue on what opposing defenses might be doing (until they become more game-plan and player specific like the Patriots...which few teams are prepared to handle).

I keep coming back to the point that BB has been the head coach of the team for a long period of time and has his "system" about as efficient and effective as it can be (though always improving). He now has the type of team that is coachable and smart enough so he can go full-mode mad scientist and I'm sure McDaniels and Patricia are there with him. Maybe it's just the homer in me, but this might be a statement year for BB and the Patriots.

I think one of the biggest keys is the coaching the guys receive on the series they're sitting out. It sounds like they give the players short stints, gather stills and information, then coach up the guys on what they're doing wrong. It seems odd that this is considered revolutionary for any position at this point. I wonder who came up with it.

RelocatedPatFan said:

Not only that it can affect the way teams prepare for playing against the Patriots. They choose to attack the Patriots by being like Seattle (they do what they regardless of opponent...well very little change) or will require teams to commit more time trying to adjust to the matchups or move their players around (from one side or position to another).

This is also valuable information as it will give the offense another queue on what opposing defenses might be doing (until they become more game-plan and player specific like the Patriots...which few teams are prepared to handle).

I keep coming back to the point that BB has been the head coach of the team for a long period of time and has his "system" about as efficient and effective as it can be (though always improving). He now has the type of team that is coachable and smart enough so he can go full-mode mad scientist and I'm sure McDaniels and Patricia are there with him. Maybe it's just the homer in me, but this might be a statement year for BB and the Patriots.

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Tom's not the only one hearing all the "cheaterz" chatter.

We'll also have a great rotation at C when Stork gets back.

BTW, The Herald's Lead Pats Guy is MILES better than the Globe's.

Jeff Howe is now in Reiss' or Currans' league. Great insight and he does his homework.

Good words also for Mark Daniels at ProJo, Chris Price at EEI and Rich Hill at PatsPulpit.

We are seeing an entire class of emerging Patriots beat writers who make it unneccessary for anyone to ever click on a rancid Volin.

When I first thought about this, I was picturing it as a more intensive version of the coaching QBs get between series. Taking a deeper look, that comparison starts to break down. Sure, a small number of stills can show formations, stunts and blitzes similar to how QBs are shown coverages, but what about technique and opponent tendencies, which is likely the lion's share of the coaching. Without access to video, this type of coaching would require much more effort than what the QB receives in-game, and has to be coached to 3 plus players.

The amount of preparation, organization and effort to coach 3+ players in this way is no easy task, and likely something that most teams would struggle to pull off. They likely use a boatload of stills and have coaches focusing on each linemen with binoculars up in the booth. I'd be curious whether the coaches with binoculars are the ones coaching up the individual linemen in their off-series, or if they are breaking down the information to Googs, or some other means.

This is fascinating stuff, I hope the media asks a ton of good questions about it. Likely they'll ask dumb questions instead and roast BB for not giving good answers. It really is too bad. I have learned more about football watching BB pressers than any other individual source. It sucks that he is so rarely asked good questions.

My read:

1) The Patriots have lots of good O linemen.
Seven players worthy of snaps plus two starting caliber linemen still healing. We know how BB operates. If he doesn't have faith in a player, they don't get on the field. Use Mankins as an example. How many games did that guy play with broken parts to his body? A patched together Mankins was still better than the alternative. Today, BB has a surplus of talent. His words..."this group of linemen is more talented than last year." (I paraphrase)

2) Consider the current offense.
Pass heavy and 80% of passes are out of Brady's hand in 2.5 seconds.
With lots of newbies on the line, the Pats have kept it simple so far...PASS BLOCK and hold your block for TWO POINT FIVE SECONDS. Of course I'm not going to say under these two conditions, being a lineman is easy....but.......not a lot is being asked of these guys ....YET..... This will change. We know BB adds layers to his scheming as the season evolves and the team gets more practice opportunities. Like past years, expect the running game to expand....and more will be asked of each lineman going forward. Which brings me to my next point...

3) We are seeing an extended audition
I don't buy for a second that BB is revolutionizing O line play. I do buy the fact that NE has successfully used middle rounds of recent drafts to target hidden gems and create depth. Season after season we have seen NE gain strength at the end of each regular season because NE's bottom half of the roster is deeper than most. BB began the o line rebuild two years ago, continued this past draft....and this grouping is set for years.
That being said, I fully expect NE to settle in with a more defined starting five that can pass protect/ run block/process the mental game....and not make mistakes during high pressure situations

4) Conditioning/ preservation of assets
Shortened practice opportunities / long haul season. If you have confidence that the rotation can succeed, this will only make the team deeper and stronger...but...I still believe BB will be deploying his "A" team as games take on more meaning

5) Trade bait. Nine solid (still debatable) linemen is a bounty of riches. Could BB dangle a lineman out there to fetch a competent CB?

I thought it was fascinating that DeGuglielmo specifically cited Vollmer's health. At most other positions, old guys with ailing bodies can be given some snaps off and nobody makes a big deal out of it. Good to see that same strategy being applied to the OL as well.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

One coach says yes....

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/.../2015/09/patriots_line_combos_make_foes_dizzy

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In a game where the league is really about money & entertainment, change is an important ingredient. And when it directly affects the content, it can be quite a boon all the way around. Personally, I'm a bit surprised our friends in Indy and Baltimore haven't filed petitions against these innovations. Isn't it a curiosity that as BB's innovations bring something to the game for all, there are some so filled with ENVY (i.e. where one desires to take away from another to have for one's self) that they cannot spot it. What a wasted opportunity. In the end, they'll be showing movies of BB and what he brought to the table, and his detractors will be presented as the envious/crazy ones who couldn't reach that high.

RelocatedPatFan said:

In a league of 1 + 31 teams, BB is THE cat.

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In the same way that BB King was (and still is) The Cat of the Blues, the other BB- headquarters in Foxborough, MA -is The Cat of of gridiron.

Marqui said:

We'll also have a great rotation at C when Stork gets back.

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The better the rotation, the better the team looks in December/January. And this begins to show in the last third of the season when (more) injuries- around the league -start being reported.

borg said:

I don't buy for a second that BB is revolutionizing O line play. ..I fully expect NE to settle in with a more defined starting five that can pass protect/ run block/process the mental game....and not make mistakes during high pressure situations

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By most accounts, he is revolutionizing O line play though, regardless if we buy it or not. It doesn't seem that anything near this level of rotation has ever been done before. That's revolutionary. Particularly considering the longtime conventional wisdom that offensive lines function so much as a unit that this COULDN'T work. Obviously it can.

Having said that, I do agree that the team will over the course of the season see who the top 5 guys are, and you'll see them get the lion's share of playing time, certainly in the playoffs. But this is incredible.

Thinking about the OL breakdowns in the two SB losses to the Giants, I am a fan of this.

They can rotate guys this year because they have quality depth.

Last year they were rotating guys a lot in the beginning of the year because the depth sucked and they were trying to figure out a combination that actually worked.

aluminum seats said:

By most accounts, he is revolutionizing O line play though, regardless if we buy it or not. It doesn't seem that anything near this level of rotation has ever been done before. That's revolutionary. Particularly considering the longtime conventional wisdom that offensive lines function so much as a unit that this COULDN'T work. Obviously it can.

Having said that, I do agree that the team will over the course of the season see who the top 5 guys are, and you'll see them get the lion's share of playing time, certainly in the playoffs. But this is incredible.

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I just don't get how rotating a deep pool of talent gets elevated to....REVOLUTIONIZING.
I love Howe's article and the stats he brings into support his argument....but lets not go overboard here. Substitution is not revolutionary.............its substitution. Factor in two consecutive blowouts (Buffalo was a blow out until it wasn't) and see what's going on for what it really is......opportunities to get game tape on players at different positions in low stress situations.
Teams with deep RB rosters rotate their RBs........revolutionizing? No...just teams utilizing their best assets.....and right now NE is very deep at OL.....which is very unusual....but not revolutionizing.