It was funny. I expected them to pummel the Bears and Cutler. My only wtf moment all game was the toss sweep to Benny in the first series. In his presser BB was talking about the effect of weather on game plans and how the warmups become a little more significant as you determine what you can and can't do, as you do in the first series or so. Basically he said that play turned out to be the only one they really needed to ixnay...
.
Yeah, I remember that. I think he was talking about when they look at the conditions. plays they add and subtract from their play book....and then he deadpans that remark on how that toss sweep should have been one of those they deleted. It was just so typical BB.
Troy Brown on the Big Show and David Givens filling in for Holley yesterday were tremendously insightful as well on the inner workings of a BB team in transition and why once he gets the right kind of mindset in place across the board it all comes together. That is the expectation and they all hold each other accountable for achieving goals. Givens talked about how he and Branch grew up in that atmosphere. After being criticized for his hands as a rookie and being advised to catch 100 balls a day in the off season, he did just that. He credits the assistant trainer who operated the jugs machine for him endlessly, and noted that after a few weeks he wasn't alone...the whole receiving unit was out there working on their hands too. As I recall it led to some spectacular results. He said that was because no one was concerned with catching the ball any more, it had become second nature. They don't sweat the details like weather because coaching has that covered via preparation and they are never asked to do something he doesn't know (because he's proven it to them or they to him in practice) they can do. Ergo...do your job. That's all each game is. Doing your job. And once guys embrace that, all adversity (be it weather or matchup or significance) results in is elevated focus.
.
Great story, I wonder if there is some way we can find out just who in this version of the Patriot Way is over dosing on the Jugs machine. Don't you wish Troy could sneak back there some thursday and let us know
The key for Bill is finding enough/the right blend of reasonably talented guys who can check their ego at the door. From 2006 thru 2009 ego became an issue on this team. Led to some departures by choice and eventually to some departures of necessity. This group is largely young, talented, sprinkled with selfless veteran leaders driven to win and at this moment all in. For that reason it is the SB favorite down the stretch. With any luck Bill can lead them to Dallas in February and they once again will do their job and become champions. He has certainly once again done his job which is to put them together as a group in position to be that. That in a nutshell is the system. Individuals fail it from time to time, usually when ego gets in the way, but it never fails to give them every possible opportunity to succeed. That's why so many previously unheralded guys make it here.
I'm still not ready to anoint this team as the clear superbowl favorite. On of several maybe, but not alone. There are still too many flaws in this team to be shocked if someone during the playoffs knocks them out. I don't see us playing 6 more game without a turnover. Still it looks a lot better than it did after the Cleveland game.
What it is really frightening for the rest of the league is what this team has in front of it beyond this season. There is a tremendous amount of depth being developed this season. The talent is going to increase with next year's drafts and FA pick ups, and the Existing young talent is going to grow exponentially.
Brady has at least 4 more years of being able to play at a high level. The team around him in those 4 years is going to be much better than the one he's playing with now.
So every Pat fan might not see 5 superbowl wins in the next 5 years, but they will see teams that will be among the elite competitors for those Lombardis
.Embracing that doesn't make you a blind faith homer, just an enlightened realist
I love this quote. I hope I can steal it from you.
.No system or team is perfect, and failing to embrace that just makes you miserable and unable to grasp what is always a work in progress here. Bill is a teacher, the son of teachers, and he is in his element again teaching a young and eager team how to win. That's why it's not a grind for him, or for Brady this season for that matter. Grappling with disfunctional egos...that's the only thing that grinds them. Which is why not every mega talent is a fit for this system.
.
That's one of the things I LOVE about BB. He DOESN'T get it right all the time. He is human just like the rest of us. I love the fact that he isn't afraid to make mistakes, takes ownership of them, and then deals with them. Mistakes are part of the process with him, they are NOT to be feared or unexpected.
And I love the fact you point out that BB is a teacher. That is the best one word description of who he is. He isn't a Head Coach....he's a COACH. I doubt there are any HC's in the league who do more individual coaching than BB does during training camp. And I believe he's the happiest when he is doing it.
Another point is that BB is not just a teacher of players. He's a teacher of coaches as well. And while none have made high marks as HC's they ALL have proven to be good coaches in their areas. And you might want to add GMs to that mix. Just look at what Pioli and the guy in Atlanta have done in a short time bringing the Patriot Way to their respective franchizes
.Criticizing drafts or FA non moves or their disciplined approach to teambuilding is fools play. Not that fans aren't free to be foolish...that's the lifesblood of fantasy football... I just find it better to sit back and marvel at the process knowing that at it's core lies the courage of Bill's convictions based on a lifetime of experience and no small measure of success...in reality football. Players ultimately win games. Bill will always be the first to acknowledge that. Systems put them in position to, and the smart ones who are a fit here because what they want most is to win figure that out.
Yup, that pretty much sums it up.
