Belichick’s Genius, just mind boggling !

[scott99]

Belichick, to this day, still amazes me on a game by game basis. He truly is a football god, a football genius. His moves leave me scratching my head sometimes, and yet those moves almost ALWAYS seem to work. Some examples from the last game.

1) Bench Gillislee, our leading rusher for Pete’s sake. He benches him, gives Burkhead more touches (after Gillislee’s benching, I predicted 10+ touches by Burkhead, for once I was right). Burkhead also played special teams and blocks a punt, a true BB type of player. Also, benching Gillislee gives him room to play 4 TE’s.

2) Ok, in my puny football brain (compared to BB), I’m thinking, ok maybe Hollister will play the Hogan role, with Chris Hogan hurt. So 3 TE’s and a big WR type TE. Nope, Hollister ONLY plays special teams, no offensive input whatsoever as far as receptions, BUT, a HUGE fumble recovery on a muffed punt.

3) Who plays the Hogan role, why none other than White and Burkhead, 2 RBs with great hands and route running abilities.

I remember a game a few years ago, watching the highlights, might’ve been the Texan’s game where Brissett played and won. Special teams coach comes up to BB, says should we the kickoff deep ? BB says, “No, make em return it.” On the return Pats cause a fumble and get a short field (scored a TD). These types of things are just downright amazing. Pure genius.

 

[oldrover]

Additionally, you can see Belichick's influence in every NFL game... because everyone who wins the coin toss now defers.

 

[Gwedd]

Additionally, you can see Belichick's influence in every NFL game... because everyone who wins the coin toss now defers.

Even the college teams are doing it. For the most part, success with the "deferment" strategy requires an above-average special teams unit, as well as a competent defense. Both of those can give you that short field, which means a less-than-steller offense has a shorter field to work with, and a great offense (think Patriots, Alabama, etc) has a great advantage.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Additionally, you can see Belichick's influence in every NFL game... because everyone who wins the coin toss now defers.

Even high school wrestlers do it.

 

[nabwong]

Additionally, you can see Belichick's influence in every NFL game... because everyone who wins the coin toss now defers.

I defer to my wife all the time.

 

[luuked]

Belichick, to this day, still amazes me on a game by game basis. He truly is a football god, a football genius. His moves leave me scratching my head sometimes, and yet those moves almost ALWAYS seem to work. Some examples from the last game.

1) Bench Gillislee, our leading rusher for Pete’s sake. He benches him, gives Burkhead more touches (after Gillislee’s benching, I predicted 10+ touches by Burkhead, for once I was right). Burkhead also played special teams and blocks a punt, a true BB type of player. Also, benching Gillislee gives him room to play 4 TE’s.

2) Ok, in my puny football brain (compared to BB), I’m thinking, ok maybe Hollister will play the Hogan role, with Chris Hogan hurt. So 3 TE’s and a big WR type TE. Nope, Hollister ONLY plays special teams, no offensive input whatsoever as far as receptions, BUT, a HUGE fumble recovery on a muffed punt.

3) Who plays the Hogan role, why none other than White and Burkhead, 2 RBs with great hands and route running abilities.

I remember a game a few years ago, watching the highlights, might’ve been the Texan’s game where Brissett played and won. Special teams coach comes up to BB, says should we the kickoff deep ? BB says, “No, make em return it.” On the return Pats cause a fumble and get a short field (scored a TD). These types of things are just downright amazing. Pure genius.

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.

 

[dustcover]

Seen it, covered it! He knows a thing or two, because he’s seen a thing or two.

 

[brdmaverick]

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.

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.

 

[NE-VT]

Additionally, you can see Belichick's influence in every NFL game... because everyone who wins the coin toss now defers.

Even the college teams are doing it. For the most part, success with the "deferment" strategy requires an above-average special teams unit, as well as a competent defense. Both of those can give you that short field, which means a less-than-steller offense has a shorter field to work with, and a great offense (think Patriots, Alabama, etc) has a great advantage.

The other big reason to do it in away games: the crowd is often still buying hotdogs and beer after at the start of the second half. It gives our offense a chance with quiet communication. IIRC, I recall Belichick discussing that as well.

I wonder if we would ever receive at home for the same reason.

 

[DarrylS]

Common knowledge that after a west coast game, BB will stay all night at Gillette and watch film and begin to prepare for next weeks game.. have never heard another coach doing this.

BB is better than any coach in the NFL, occasionally he and his staff poop the bed, but for the most part they are better prepared than any other team in the NFL.. last week it was obvious as it paid off in ST preparation and the overall game plan..

Watch how #12 and the Pats in general manage the clock, then watch any other team in the NFL and see how they flounder with clock management..

BB is not just great because he has won so much, but because he is "football smarter" than everyone else and knows how to get his team prepared for the next game.. the greatest testimony is by players who acknowledge his skill set and want to play for him.

 

[PittPatriot]

I defer to my wife all the time.

Trust me, I know. Because then she drives across the river to Marlton to get a real man’s input.

I’m kidding...I moved to Columbus a few years ago so she flies over.

 

[nabwong]

Trust me, I know. Because then she drives across the river to Marlton to get a real man’s input.

I’m kidding...I moved to Columbus a few years ago so she flies over.

I know she’s not going to Marlton anymore. Your mum keeps reminding me.

 

[Triumph]

When BB dons the hoodie with cut off sleeves he is invincible.

 

[IllegalContact]

I wouldn't read too much into the Gillislee benching.......it could be nothing more than giving the bigger guy an additional week off along with something situational with the roster (such as having an extra TE seeing as Cannon was out and some help on that side necessitating more mutli TE sets

I think Gillislee is the exact kind of back to have a big day against a team like the raiders

 

[BelichickFan]

I wouldn't read too much into the Gillislee benching.......it could be nothing more than giving the bigger guy an additional week off along with something situational with the roster (such as having an extra TE seeing as Cannon was out and some help on that side necessitating more mutli TE sets

Gillislee will definitely be playing again but it wasn't about giving him another week off. He only has 98 touches on the season and he hasn't had more than 12 in any week since Week 2.

Matchups, special teams, etc, as opposed to ability ? Sure ? But not a week off.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

His work ethic is second to none. I wonder this stems from his days at Andover.

 

[luuked]

Gillislee will definitely be playing again but it wasn't about giving him another week off. He only has 98 touches on the season and he hasn't had more than 12 in any week since Week 2.

Matchups, special teams, etc, as opposed to ability ? Sure ? But not a week off.

He most probably would have been active and in the game in the third/fourth quarter if Bennett wouldnt have been claimed. I guess Gillislee had the least involved, most isolated role in the gameplan so he was the easiest to remove on short notice. In games where we plan to actually pound the ball this will obviously not be the case.

 

[IllegalContact]

Gillislee will definitely be playing again but it wasn't about giving him another week off. He only has 98 touches on the season and he hasn't had more than 12 in any week since Week 2.

Matchups, special teams, etc, as opposed to ability ? Sure ? But not a week off.

I disagree....it was clear since this summer that production would vary greatly between RB's depending on situation

you're suggestion goes along the same lines that since Lewis had zero targets in the passing game, that he has little value as a pass catcher.

Lewis ypc the last few weeks is no better than Gillislee, so there's that, too

I am reading nothing into it because there's nothing to read into it

 

[patfanken]

Common knowledge that after a west coast game, BB will stay all night at Gillette and watch film and begin to prepare for next weeks game.. have never heard another coach doing this.

BB is better than any coach in the NFL, occasionally he and his staff poop the bed, but for the most part they are better prepared than any other team in the NFL.. last week it was obvious as it paid off in ST preparation and the overall game plan..

Watch how #12 and the Pats in general manage the clock, then watch any other team in the NFL and see how they flounder with clock management..

BB is not just great because he has won so much, but because he is "football smarter" than everyone else and knows how to get his team prepared for the next game.. the greatest testimony is by players who acknowledge his skill set and want to play for him.

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.

 

[luuked]

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.

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.