Belichick’s Genius, just mind boggling !

BobDigital · Nov 15, 2017

BB is a football genius for 2 reasons. One of them is he can see the entire big picture and the complexities of the game. The other is while doing that he is also able to see the obvious and not get caught up in his own head. A lot of people have trouble doing both.

He more than any coach before understood the value of a TE and RB mismatch in the pass catching game.

He understands the importance of pass rush but also the fact that any day a 1.5M tackle if disciplined and given a chip block to help can pretty much shut down a 19M dollar pass rusher.

He knows running is important but passing wins games.

He knows if you make a team face enough 3rd downs eventually they are likely to miss one.

Also he knows he has the GOAT at the QB position and that in the end players need to win games and he leverages the fact he has that guy to get a good bargaining position with other players.

qbno12 · Nov 15, 2017

nabwong said:
I defer to my wife all the time.

What's you win-loss record ?

j/k

nabwong · Nov 15, 2017

qbno12 said:
What's you win-loss record ? j/k

Wife 19-0, regular and post season. 0-4 preseason.

patfanken · Nov 15, 2017

luuked said:
To be fair a lot of this has to do that he has the results to back him up. This is partly the reason why Josh failed so miserably in Denver. He came in and tried to be BB without having the experience, street cred and resume to back it up.

No question that credibility and results play a big factor in getting players to buy in. Also I have no doubt that most of the time, at worst, the Pats game plan is at LEAST as good as their opponents. But some times it isn't and the Pats win anyway because of that "belief". Denver had a great offensive game plan to start the game.

But that brings us to another aspect of the Pats coaching advantage, which is in-game adjustments. During the first half, while Denver was marching up and down the field, almost at will, you could almost see the Pats defense slowly starting to tighten their grip on that offense stopping it in the red zone in the first half and allow only 7 points in the 2nd. Compare that to the Cowboy staff that allowed one guy to accumulate SIX sacks against the same guy. Compare that to how the Pats handled Von Miller (who is massively better than Claybourn). They had Waddle better prepared and then gave him help periodically as the game went on.

Look at the Superbowl - They made the adjustments to completely shut down the Atlanta run game, and similarly changed the entire focus of the pass offense to attack the outside of the hashes instead of continue to try and throw in the middle where the Falcons had done a great job clogging that up. They held the best offense in the league to just 7 points the entire 2nd half, while their offense scored 25 over the same time.

Hey, they don't always make the right decisions or adjustments. But more times than not, they do, and that is how the Pats CONTINUE to prosper long after their "due date" says they should.

Clonamery · Nov 15, 2017

patfanken said:
A key factor that has been missing in the conversation so far has less to do with how smart BB is (and he IS very smart), but it is his ability to make his PLAYERS believe that they can win any game IF they can execute the game plan. He makes them believe that whatever game plan he presents them every week is going to be a better plan than their opponents. It doesn't necessarily have to be true. It's just getting THEM to believe it's true.

Belief is a powerful weapon in any group endeavor, and creates another slight advantage each week. So when you add this advantage to all the other slight advantages, it will allow to win despite the fact that other teams may be more talented and the league has mandated uniformity by rule and the draft.

Totally agree, Ken. They should come up with some sorta mantra thing like "Just Do What Works Fellas!" or "Make Setting the Edge Great Again!" or "Bad Execution Reflects Poorly on All of Us Including Ernie Adams!" Whatever can fit on a T-shirt like "Belief in What You Do Will Make a Big Difference on The Scoreboard by The End of The Game!"

XLIX · Nov 15, 2017

Gwedd said:
Even the college teams are doing it.

Belichick is a genius, but let's not go overboard. He didn't create some sort of radical new coin toss strategy that no one ever thought of. College teams were more often than not deferring the opening game coin toss for years before it even became legal in the NFL.

Gwedd · Nov 15, 2017

XLIX said:
Belichick is a genius, but let's not go overboard. He didn't create some sort of radical new coin toss strategy that no one ever thought of. College teams were more often than not deferring the opening game coin toss for years before it even became legal in the NFL.

True enough. But Saban, a friend of Bill's, started it up again, and most of the SEC teams have started to follow suit. Not every game, mind you, but enough to notice it seems to be done more often than in the past.

p8ryts · Nov 15, 2017

brdmaverick said:
Agreed, this is EVERYTHING right here. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but the point is that I love having a coach with the guts to make an unconventional call if he feels it's right. Even if it doesn't work he's unapologetic b/c he knows it was the right decision based on the situation (it just didn't work). There are plenty of coaches that don't have the guts b/c they fear the fan/media/ownership backlash of a failed unconventional call.

Yes, just like the kickoff against Jets in overtime. Right call, bad result. I don't know why Bill can't be perfect. He's always disappointing the fans

luuked · Nov 15, 2017

p8ryts said:
Yes, just like the kickoff against Jets in overtime. Right call, bad result. I don't know why Bill can't be perfect. He's always disappointing the fans

Bingo. I still see the logic. The offense was not able to do anything the entire game and needed multiple fourth down conversions to get to OT while the defense shut the Jets down for the better part of the second half. It made more sense to think that it is more likely that we can continue shutting them down and then only need to generate half the distance on offense to get into FG range.

It didnt work out because of one individual mistake (bad angle on a block) that turned into a gigantic gain. Sometimes **** happens but I understand the fundamental logic why he chose to receive.

brdmaverick · Nov 15, 2017

p8ryts said:
Yes, just like the kickoff against Jets in overtime. Right call, bad result. I don't know why Bill can't be perfect. He's always disappointing the fans

Yup, agree 100% for the same reasons that @luuked stated above.

In fact, I was even thinking they would go for two at the end of regulation there (but obviously understand the argument for not).

brdmaverick · Nov 15, 2017

p8ryts said:
Yes, just like the kickoff against Jets in overtime. Right call, bad result. I don't know why Bill can't be perfect. He's always disappointing the fans

....and he was hailed as a genius and master strategist when he elected to kick off in OT against the Broncos in 2013. The wind was certainly a HUGE factor that night but you know without a doubt that had the Broncos mustered a game winning drive the national media narrative the next day would have been...........

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?! YOU DON'T GIVE THE BALL TO PEYTON MANNING!!!"

....and disregarded the wind.

TheBostonStraggler · Nov 15, 2017

patfanken said:
No question that credibility and results play a big factor in getting players to buy in. Also I have no doubt that most of the time, at worst, the Pats game plan is at LEAST as good as their opponents. But some times it isn't and the Pats win anyway because of that "belief". Denver had a great offensive game plan to start the game.

But that brings us to another aspect of the Pats coaching advantage, which is in-game adjustments. During the first half, while Denver was marching up and down the field, almost at will, you could almost see the Pats defense slowly starting to tighten their grip on that offense stopping it in the red zone in the first half and allow only 7 points in the 2nd. Compare that to the Cowboy staff that allowed one guy to accumulate SIX sacks against the same guy. Compare that to how the Pats handled Von Miller (who is massively better than Claybourn). They had Waddle better prepared and then gave him help periodically as the game went on.

Look at the Superbowl - They made the adjustments to completely shut down the Atlanta run game, and similarly changed the entire focus of the pass offense to attack the outside of the hashes instead of continue to try and throw in the middle where the Falcons had done a great job clogging that up. They held the best offense in the league to just 7 points the entire 2nd half, while their offense scored 25 over the same time.

Hey, they don't always make the right decisions or adjustments. But more times than not, they do, and that is how the Pats CONTINUE to prosper long after their "due date" says they should.

"Hey, they don't always make the right decisions or adjustments. But more times than not, they do, and that is how the Pats CONTINUE to prosper long after their "due date" says they should"

This is well said. People who are expecting perfection reveal themselves as silly. BB the coach will not always make the right decision. BB the GM will not always make the right decision. Just as Tom Brady will not always make the right decision/throw. Jules won't always make the catch. Hightower won't always make the tackle/fill the right gap etc etc etc.
The human element of being wrong is always in play. It's the totality of the work that makes one be tops, a superstar, 'da man'. BB the coach and GM as a totality of his work is superb (arguably BB the coach can overcome some of the issues of BB the GM). He is the GOAT coach and, IMHO, it isn't even close.

BB and TB are the GOATs of their respective positions. The two coming together was able to bring out the greater of each others success totalities. It's an amazing rarity (Walsh-Montana comes to mind) that we Patriot fans have been astoundingly lucky to be part of. And it's crazy when you think about how all the right dominoes had to fall (No HC of the NYJ, Kraft giving up the #1, Brady being selected close to the 'mr irrelevant' spot, Bledsoe getting hurt. BB disregarding tradition and leaving Bledsoe on the bench, the tiny difference between a tuck and a fumble etc. Wow did the stars aligned for us Patriot fans.
Now if those same damn stars could just align for my powerball numbers....

QuantumMechanic · Nov 15, 2017

BobDigital said:
He knows if you make a team face enough 3rd downs eventually they are likely to miss one.

I've always found it interesting/amusing that (moreso before this year) NE plays the offense that the NE defense tries to force other teams to play -- shorter plays, have to execute lots of them correctly in a row.

JarOfMayo51 · Nov 15, 2017

luuked said:
Not to poop on a BB parade but your post is to me the other side of the spectrum of those threads about how he (and the coaching staff) cost them the Eagles game in 2015 or how coaching was so abysmal in the final stretch of the regular season in 2015.

Sometimes things work out and he looks like a genius (e.g. not calling a TO against Seattle in the SB, ineligible plays against the Ravens, taking the wind against Denver in 2013) and sometimes things backfire (e.g. 4th down against Indy, Nate Ebner drop kick against the Eagles, going for it in Denver twice in the AFCCG) but all those things come from the same place: Making an informed decision based on reasonable assumptions. None of this is panic, some knee-jerk reaction or weird arrogance.

And in the end this is the genius of him. That he is able to make reasonable decisions in high pressure situations with only seconds to decide. Whether they work out or not doesnt matter so much in individual cases because if you make sound decisions the odds over a period of time will work in your favor.

There is so much chance involved in football because it can be affected by 22 players, a bunch of refs and the ball bouncing a certain way on each individual play. You can have the best call in the world that should result in TDs in 99% of the cases and it can be screwed up while a 5% absolutely stupid decision somehow succeeds. That doesnt mean the latter call was better than the one that failed and yet many just see the bottom line.

People trivializing the amount of prep our coaching staff does every week because a play looked bad or didnt work out is one of my pet peeves especially because play selection has so much context in terms of game planning and scheme against tendencies.

Great post!

DarrylS · Nov 16, 2017

patfanken said:
A key factor that has been missing in the conversation so far has less to do with how smart BB is (and he IS very smart), but it is his ability to make his PLAYERS believe that they can win any game IF they can execute the game plan. He makes them believe that whatever game plan he presents them every week is going to be a better plan than their opponents. It doesn't necessarily have to be true. It's just getting THEM to believe it's true.

Belief is a powerful weapon in any group endeavor, and creates another slight advantage each week. So when you add this advantage to all the other slight advantages, it will allow to win despite the fact that other teams may be more talented and the league has mandated uniformity by rule and the draft.

How many times have we heard about how BB prepared this team for a specific scenario.. the Malcolm Butler interception in the SB, he said they practiced that play and the Defense almost knew what was coming..

BB can be intimidating because he is smarter than anyone else, but also football smarter than anyone else.. he used to, after every season, venture down to Fla and spend a couple of days with Jimmy Johnson picking his brain about the just finished season. He surrounds himself with smart people who know how to work with professional athletes.. Tony LaRussa for example... then there is Ernie Adams in the box who provides input.

Despite his detractors how many times do we hear about him talking to another college team about how to win, Navy recently?? He invites college coaches to practices.. there are so many layers and dimensions of BB that he is not given credit for.

When a team member acknowledges that BB prepared us for that play it only reinforces, "Belief is a powerful weapon in any group endeavor" and develops confidence in future games..

Belichick’s Genius, just mind boggling !

BobDigital

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qbno12

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nabwong

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patfanken

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Clonamery

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XLIX

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Gwedd

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p8ryts

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luuked

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brdmaverick

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TheBostonStraggler

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QuantumMechanic

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