Quick Hits with Reiss: Great insight to Pats culture by Vanderbilt coach EDIT: + HAGLER lesson

long distance · Jul 30, 2017

Great insight in Pats culture by Vanderbilt coach

In a great Reiss' Sunday column; recommend the whole read:
How Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason's visit to Pats camp changed his view

quotes:

The expectation is excellence every day. I'm talking about the finest details: from how you align, to where you put your eyes, to how to communicate, to how the offense adjusts based on how the defense adjusts. There was no detail missed. From a walk-through, to a player meeting, to a run-through, to how team drills are done, everything was about detail, communication, effort.

Any specific examples stand out?

Mason: Spending time with Dante [Scarnecchia]. The best O-line coach in the biz, just for him to make it as simple as it was, but then to put it back on you and ask, 'OK, what are you doing? What can I learn from you?' They asked us a lot of questions about how we do things at Vanderbilt, what it looks like, how we manage tackling. With all the knowledge they have, they were still trying to gain as much from us as we were gaining from them. That was impressive because they are at the pinnacle of their profession and they're still trying to gain knowledge to be better. It's unreal, man.

Attention to detail sounds like a big theme. Where else did you see it?

Mason: It was a morning special-teams meeting and Coach Belichick and their special-teams coach [Joe Judge] got up and they were going through a drill. Most of the time, you go through the clip and it's "good job" or "bad job -- we need to keep our eyes up." It was about three [film] clips in and it probably took him about 10 minutes, because he went through "step," "movement," "come to balance," "strike," "finish." And then he said, "This is the way we do it." Then he took another clip and showed a not-so-great way to do it. It wasn’t so much criticism as much as it was teaching, and that's what helped you understand "that's where the genius is." It's in doing the mundane things extremely well. They don't beat themselves, because they do the mundane things well: from tackling, to how they leverage the football, to how they run a route, to how they coordinate and communicate on special teams. To me, that's one example, but there were several.

How much do you think this will affect your coaching philosophy going forward?

Mason: It's changed me.
____

PS

And there's a great nugget from SBLI at the end:

The Patriots Hall of Fame has updated its Super Bowl exhibit to add Super Bowl LI, and when I checked it out last week, I learned more about how Belichick viewed the team's epic comeback. In a video in the exhibit, Belichick explained how the Falcons had just two running backs active for the game, and once their best pass-protector (Tevin Coleman) went out with injury, Patriots coaches wanted to make sure to challenge the only other running back in that area (Devonta Freeman). Hence the call by defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to send Dont'a Hightower off the edge on the play that produced a momentum-swinging strip sack of Matt Ryan, with Freeman missing the block.

PatsBoy12 · Jul 30, 2017

Quick Hits with Mike Reiss

I normally enjoy Quick Hits every Sunday. Seriously, it's one of the first things I check for on Sunday mornings, and Reiss will have a few that stand out from the rest. I think this Sunday's version is exactly that and full of useful information, interesting information and a few general things that are worth sort of remembering moving forward. I think you all should take a look if you haven't already . . .

How Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason's visit to Pats camp changed his view

10. The Patriots Hall of Fame has updated its Super Bowl exhibit to add Super Bowl LI, and when I checked it out last week, I learned more about how Belichick viewed the team's epic comeback. In a video in the exhibit, Belichick explained how the Falcons had just two running backs active for the game, and once their best pass-protector (Tevin Coleman) went out with injury, Patriots coaches wanted to make sure to challenge the only other running back in that area (Devonta Freeman). Hence the call by defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to send Dont'a Hightower off the edge on the play that produced a momentum-swinging strip sack of Matt Ryan, with Freeman missing the block.

Tony2046 · Jul 30, 2017

That was a good read. Thanks

jimnance · Jul 30, 2017

First thing I read every Sunday. I enjoyed the hell out of today's.One thing that struck me in that article is how much BB gives back to the game. Everyone in the world knows he pours his heart and soul into his job,but this has nothing to do with his job.
I can't recall another hof level NFL hc who gets as involved with college coaches as he does. Good stuff.

PatsBoy12 · Jul 30, 2017

jimnance said:
First thing I read every Sunday. I enjoyed the hell out of today's.One thing that struck me in that article is how much BB gives back to the game. Everyone in the world knows he pours his heart and soul into his job,but this has nothing to do with his job.
I can't recall another hof level NFL hc who gets as involved with college coaches as he does. Good stuff.

That's a very good observation, Nance. BB, for as private and protective as he is of his players, game plans, etc. with the media and of course opposition, is very open with people who genuinely want to learn. Teaching is the foundation of everything the man does. That is something that I think gets lost in everything else. He is a teacher first. If you want to learn, he will jump at the chance to be the one instructing you. That's yet another reason why his program has been so successful.

PP2 · Jul 31, 2017

Vanderbilt HC Mason shares observations about the Patriot Way

Apologies if previously posted elsewhere. I just thought this deserved its own thread as it's an unusually frank disclosure of just how hard the Patriots work.

From Reiss's weekly Sunday quick hits and thoughts:

1. Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason says his June visit to the Patriots' facility for minicamp with his staff changed the way he looks at football and building a team. I caught up with him last week to learn why.

How would you describe the experience?

Mason: The championship feel that was felt by me and my staff was ridiculous. It wasn't just the one-on-one time spent by Coach [Bill] Belichick and his staff -- and believe me, he gave us a lot of access and time. But you really get a chance to see not only how good the players are -- it’s the NFL, you know there are good players -- but how it's all about the teaching. It's about being in the classroom and seeing how detailed, how relational these coaches are. But also how demanding they are.
The expectation is excellence every day. I'm talking about the finest details: from how you align, to where you put your eyes, to how to communicate, to how the offense adjusts based on how the defense adjusts. There was no detail missed. From a walk-through, to a player meeting, to a run-through, to how team drills are done, everything was about detail, communication, effort. There was no moving to the right or left.

You were just in awe of how forward-moving these practices were. I was trying to take in every moment, whether it was with a scout, the director of player personnel or Coach Belichick. There was so much information about culture, details, about the game itself and how they play it -- winning situational football -- it sort of just overwhelms you.

Any specific examples stand out?

Mason: Spending time with Dante [Scarnecchia]. The best O-line coach in the biz, just for him to make it as simple as it was, but then to put it back on you and ask, 'OK, what are you doing? What can I learn from you?' They asked us a lot of questions about how we do things at Vanderbilt, what it looks like, how we manage tackling. With all the knowledge they have, they were still trying to gain as much from us as we were gaining from them. That was impressive because they are at the pinnacle of their profession and they're still trying to gain knowledge to be better. It's unreal, man.

It's a special place. The culture that is in that building starts with ownership, and then it goes all the way down. It's about winning. It's about a culture of pride and discipline and understanding that you can't move forward looking in the rearview mirror.

Attention to detail sounds like a big theme. Where else did you see it?

Mason: It was a morning special-teams meeting and Coach Belichick and their special-teams coach [Joe Judge] got up and they were going through a drill. Most of the time, you go through the clip and it's "good job" or "bad job -- we need to keep our eyes up." It was about three [film] clips in and it probably took him about 10 minutes, because he went through "step," "movement," "come to balance," "strike," "finish." And then he said, "This is the way we do it." Then he took another clip and showed a not-so-great way to do it. It wasn’t so much criticism as much as it was teaching, and that's what helped you understand "that's where the genius is." It's in doing the mundane things extremely well. They don't beat themselves, because they do the mundane things well: from tackling, to how they leverage the football, to how they run a route, to how they coordinate and communicate on special teams. To me, that's one example, but there were several.

Tom Brady talking to his receivers about the detail of a route, stopping practice and making sure that it was done correctly. The guys teaching the young receivers how to get it right, what the expectation is. It wasn't just Tom. It was [Jimmy] Garoppolo, as well. You just saw a lot of leadership. The veteran leadership showed itself to me: Everybody takes ownership in this deal.

The bottom line is if it looks like you're having to do your job and their job, they're moving on to the next dude. That's pretty cool to me, because a lot of times nowadays, people think professional athletes are coddled and put on a pedestal. Not at this place. The biggest guy in the organization is working as hard as the free agent. That sets the tone for what this game is, and what their culture is, which is championship all the way.

How much do you think this will affect your coaching philosophy going forward?

Mason: It's changed me. I thought we were doing a pretty good job of moving it along, but you know what? You need to be more myopic about what you do. Does it work? Why are you doing it? Taking the feedback from the guys, and knowing and understanding it's about the players. There are a lot of great coaches and schemes, but does it benefit your players? Does it put them in the best position to be successful? And do they see themselves getting better? The proof is in the winning and the maintenance of the culture, and how the culture can actually sustain itself over time.

I truly believe, looking at their personnel and how they turn over personnel and what it looks like, it's very similar to the college game. So for me, being able to understand that every year you need to recalibrate it, it starts over, you put it away, you build it up, you build it around what you have and then you move it forward. Then you keep tinkering and adapting and adjusting it until you really get it dialed in to where that team doesn't beat itself and they do it so well that they can't get it wrong -- that's where it's at.

long distance · Jul 31, 2017

let us add here another Reiss' nugget about Pats “extracurricular“ activities.

I love how BB gets creative and thorough in inspirational team building and character building specials like this one: screening one of the greatest boxing fights one night and then top it off with actually bringing the legend in person to the practice field.

Patriots get history lesson watching arguably greatest boxing match ever

quotes:

"Generally when that happens, the guys learn how to get mean real quick," Hagler said with a smile. "That's what I understand, and they seem to be very appreciative of it. It picks up their morale and it's a nice honor that they look at me like that."

As for what he talked about with Brady, Hagler said, "It's unbelievable, just watching the Super Bowl last year, and now he's getting up there in age a little bit, so he wanted to know how it feels to get out of the game because he's going to be 40 pretty soon. He doesn't look it. It looks like he can still do it again this year, which I'm going to be watching, all the way to Europe."

patfanken · Jul 31, 2017

This truly was a great read. As you know I'm always trying to figure out the WHY behind the Pats continued success. This article added to my understanding.

One key point worth mentioning is when Mason describes the ST's meeting. He mentions how when BB showed the clip of how NOT to do it, it wasn't about criticizing the players, but rather "how to do it better".

That doesn't seem like a big distinction but it really is. It could be one of the reasons why the players in the Pats systemseem to get better over time. How ordinary players seem to contribute beyond their athletic gifts. People learn better when told "how to do it right", than when you criticize them and expect to figure it out on their own.

Granted if AFTER it is explained to you "how to do it right", and you f*ck up again, you can expect to have your ass handed to you,

But that's really not the point. The point is the methodology of how they teach. So beyond the "attention to detail" meme which is now a common term used by every team these days. It is HOW the Pats teach which might be one of the reasons that set them apart.

Again thanks for the links. Reiss is clearly the only reason to visit BSPN. There is something to learn every Sunday from him. I look forward to the day when he is free from his links to that cesspool of an organization.

PP2 · Aug 1, 2017

patfanken said:
This truly was a great read. As you know I'm always trying to figure out the WHY behind the Pats continued success. This article added to my understanding.

One key point worth mentioning is when Mason describes the ST's meeting. He mentions how when BB showed the clip of how NOT to do it, it wasn't about criticizing the players, but rather "how to do it better".

That doesn't seem like a big distinction but it really is. It could be one of the reasons why the players in the Pats systemseem to get better over time. How ordinary players seem to contribute beyond their athletic gifts. People learn better when told "how to do it right", than when you criticize them and expect to figure it out on their own.

Granted if AFTER it is explained to you "how to do it right", and you f*ck up again, you can expect to have your ass handed to you, But that's really not the point. The point is the methodology of how they teach. So beyond the "attention to detail" meme which is now a common term used by every team these days. It is HOW the Pats teach which might be one of the reasons that set them apart.

Again thanks for the links. Reiss is clearly the only reason to visit BSPN. There is something to learn every Sunday from him. I look forward to the day when he is free from his links to that cesspool of an organization.

The biggest thing I came away with was that they truly put football first and foremost. There is no ego- only a zeal to continually learn, to improve, to find that extra edge. Mason describes being stunned when he was grilled for HIS knowledge.

As long as that culture exists, the Patriots will always be at the top. There are so many HC's and owners who, when they reach their "pinnacle" begin to dismiss feedback and suggestions, or cease to improve altogether which is why a good bit of the NFL is a cesspool.

A lot to learn from this- I suspect this is true for any other profession.

sean10mm · Aug 1, 2017

"There are a lot of great coaches and schemes, but does it benefit your players?"

"This isn't right," Pauli is supposed to have said of a student's physics paper. "It's not even wrong."

Schemes exist to get the most out of players, but for most coaches it seems as though the almighty scheme is put ahead of the players. This is such a bad way to look at it that it's not even wrong - it shows a basic inability to understand what coaching itself even is in the first place.

BaconGrundleCandy · Aug 1, 2017

sean10mm said:
"There are a lot of great coaches and schemes, but does it benefit your players?"

"This isn't right," Pauli is supposed to have said of a student's physics paper. "It's not even wrong."

Schemes exist to get the most out of players, but for most coaches it seems as though the almighty scheme is put ahead of the players. This is such a bad way to look at it that it's not even wrong - it shows a basic inability to understand what coaching itself even is in the first place.

Players/Talent > Scheme

Quick Hits with Reiss: Great insight to Pats culture by Vanderbilt coach EDIT: + HAGLER lesson

long distance

Pro Bowl Player

PatsBoy12

Pro Bowl Player

Tony2046

PatsFans.com Supporter

jimnance

PatsFans.com Supporter

PatsBoy12

Pro Bowl Player

PP2

Hall of Fame Poster

long distance

Pro Bowl Player

patfanken

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PP2

Hall of Fame Poster

sean10mm

Rotational Player and Threatening Starter's Job

BaconGrundleCandy

Not the kind of guy to say I told you so ...

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