Wetzel:Belichick the intimidator

[SVN]

Bill Belichick has intimidated rivals into bad decisions, wild accusations

 

[patfanken]

Generally a pretty good story, but overly melodramatic. In one sense it is good because stories like these tend to enhance the legend. The fact is that Bill isn't that much smarter than the rest of these guys. Believe me, at THAT level, all these guys are smart. What Bill DOES have is an slightly greater degree of attention to detail. For a type A alpha male he has a remarkably small ego and little need for public attention, For Bill the reward is in the TEAM accomplishment. For a guy who has been in the league for 40 years, he is remarkably open to new ideas and concepts. There are certain core concepts that Bill is wedded to, but nothing that he isn't open to learn and experiment with.

All that wisdom, openness, and experience is combined with an iron discipline, sharp focus, and the ability to teach/coach athletes. He builds groups of athletes that are better as a unit than they are as individuals. Some groups have been better than others, but almost all of them have been better than most of the units they were competing against, and in 4 seasons.....all of them.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The fact is that Bill isn't that much smarter than the rest of these guys. Believe me, at THAT level, all these guys are smart.

No and no.

Some coaches are very smart; other coaches really are mostly former players who have just been around the game a long time and understand the concepts but truly aren't great football minds.

Belichick is much smarter than the #2 coach, whoever that is. When it comes to applied football knowledge and strategy, no one is in his league. How many times have you seen the Patriots get blown out or be unable to figure out a what the opponent is doing on either side of the ball? Bill understands concepts and makes adjustments much faster than anyone else.

The Colts scored a TD on a 90 yard drive to begin the game, but you KNEW that would be their easiest drive, which is often the case. No other team has a weapon like Bill Belichick's brain.

 

[nabwong]

BB has many talents but what is most impressive to me is his ability to simplify information and then transfer that to his players and coaches in the most accessible way. He is a great teacher first and foremost. Trust me, there are many bad teachers, even though they are smart.

 

[pheenix11]

There will always be the chicken and the egg debate of who has been more important, Belichick or Brady. Considering that Belichick is the one who drafted Brady, I think that about sums up my feelings right there.

It will be a dark day in Patriots and NFL history when (hopefully in 20 years) he ever retires. The man is an absolute genius. I pray he writes a book someday because I would walk across crushed glass to get 5 minutes of inside information from his perspective.

 

[NashuaPats]

No and no.

Some coaches are very smart; other coaches really are mostly former players who have just been around the game a long time and understand the concepts but truly aren't great football minds.

Belichick is much smarter than the #2 coach, whoever that is. When it comes to applied football knowledge and strategy, no one is in his league. How many times have you seen the Patriots get blown out or be unable to figure out a what the opponent is doing on either side of the ball? Bill understands concepts and makes adjustments much faster than anyone else.

The Colts scored a TD on a 90 yard drive to begin the game, but you KNEW that would be their easiest drive, which is often the case. No other team has a weapon like Bill Belichick's brain.

I agree. Let's not forget that Belichick was studying and analyzing football at age 9 with the guy who wrote the "bible" on football scouting.

"According to Halberstam’s book, a 9-year-old Belichick made a deal with his father: If he finished his homework early, the old scout would give his son a preview of that week’s report, allowing the youngster to gorge himself on play diagrams and digressions on the popular tactics of the era, like the single wing and straight T-formation offenses and the wide-tackle six and gap 8 defenses. Halberstam noted that Belichick quickly became conversant in football arcana, eloquently explaining to one old coach at 10 years old that he should switch to an Oklahoma 5-2 (a predecessor to today’s 3-4 defenses) to better match up against an upcoming opponent. Around that time, meanwhile, Steve cemented his legacy as one of the greatest scouts of his era by publishing Football Scouting Methods, a treatise on the art of scouting.". The Great Defender

 

[AzorianPats]

No and no.

Some coaches are very smart; other coaches really are mostly former players who have just been around the game a long time and understand the concepts but truly aren't great football minds.

Belichick is much smarter than the #2 coach, whoever that is. When it comes to applied football knowledge and strategy, no one is in his league. How many times have you seen the Patriots get blown out or be unable to figure out a what the opponent is doing on either side of the ball? Bill understands concepts and makes adjustments much faster than anyone else.

The Colts scored a TD on a 90 yard drive to begin the game, but you KNEW that would be their easiest drive, which is often the case. No other team has a weapon like Bill Belichick's brain.

This, and its not only his football IQ, but his leadership. Just think about it, he's been the HC of this team for 15+ years already, and hes not even remotely close to losing his locker room. Players buy into his system/philosophy and no one in that locker room questions him.

 

[DarrylS]

Belichick is intelligence smart, but along his road he became a football genius.. there a lot of football coaches/players who are smart but not this kind of smart... Instinct??

Every week he turns into a monk, who never throws a player under the bus, instead he takes responsibility for what happens on the field.. on Sunday nite, sure those guys never saw that play before, however they were prepared to do their job and they did it, if they did not I would have been surprised.

Behind the scenes he has assembled Ernie Adams, a misfit for most organizations. When you look at the pedigree of McDaniels, Patricia, Caserio and Daboll etc. they are all small college guys who played some football, but were all very intelligent.. the key is transferring that knowledge into football smarts.. and they all seemed to have handled that well. No Big Ten or SEC guys here, but a hard working small college guys. A whole different pedigree than most other NFL teams..

Then throw in some outstanding leadership skills and his ability to transfer knowledge to his players makes him the GOAT of NFL coaches..

 

[RobertWeathers]

Belichick is intelligence smart, but along his road he became a football genius.. there a lot of football coaches/players who are smart but not this kind of smart... Instinct??

Every week he turns into a monk, who never throws a player under the bus, instead he takes responsibility for what happens on the field.. on Sunday nite, sure those guys never saw that play before, however they were prepared to do their job and they did it, if they did not I would have been surprised.

Behind the scenes he has assembled Ernie Adams, a misfit for most organizations. When you look at the pedigree of McDaniels, Patricia, Caserio and Daboll etc. they are all small college guys who played some football, but were all very intelligent.. the key is transferring that knowledge into football smarts.. and they all seemed to have handled that well. No Big Ten or SEC guys here, but a hard working small college guys. A whole different pedigree than most other NFL teams..

Then throw in some outstanding leadership skills and his ability to transfer knowledge to his players makes him the GOAT of NFL coaches..

Jimmy Johnson said it best. You can't coach a dumb player to be smarter but you can coach a smart player to play better.

Its a classic hiring strategy. Give me someone smart, a great work ethic but who is inexperienced over someone who is not as intelligent, average worker but with a ton of experience.

Having employees with the ability to grow and evolve is the lifeblood of ANY organization. If you have people who are incapable of doing that with their careers, then your organization will also remain stagnant.

 

[Sicilian]

Sometimes I think we ascribe general "intelligence" to someone who's simply a lot more passionate about something than everyone else. BB eats, sleeps, and breathes football, and so devotes a lot more conscious energy to it. As a result, his decision making is much more instinctual, as there's very little he hasn't immersed himself in. It's the same reason a player who works hard and loves football often wins out over another player who has more natural athletic ability. Belichick is a football master because he spends more time mastering football than anything else.

 

[shmessy]

Yeah, Dan reads this forum and got it from my "BDS: Belichick Derangement Syndrome" post yesterday.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Brady already answered what is different about BB (ironically it is something that BB values in his players): "he is the most consistent man I have ever met". The ability to think/conclude X then apply X with little to no exception is a remarkable trait that very very few of us have. Some may think they have it but in reality there is a tacit subconscious process going on of 'well small detail Z is not really important. It isn't worth the trouble and effort'. For BB he seems to lack that common trait of creeping adaption. To him it appears it is always worth the trouble and effort, with rare to no exception. In that regard he is almost inhuman in his ability. Due to this I believe BB would rise to the top in almost anything he puts his mind to.

As far as football smarts and the like, actually there are lots of guys in the NFL who have that. Maybe the numbers of Xs and Os guys get smaller but there are guys who eat, drink, sleep Xs and Os. But what most of them don't have is that almost inhuman level to be frustratingly, almost unfathomably consistent. The day BB retires will be the day an NFL species becomes extinct. The day he passes this life will be the day one extreme outlier to the human race is gone.

 

[Off The Grid]

Bill Belichick has intimidated rivals into bad decisions, wild accusations

Tremendous Article!! Great Find, Brother Seven!!

 

[Off The Grid]

What an awesome Thread. Tremendous Analysis in many a Post!! Prost!!

 

[rookBoston]

There will always be the chicken and the egg debate of who has been more important, Belichick or Brady. Considering that Belichick is the one who drafted Brady, I think that about sums up my feelings right there.

Belichick would have made a star out of a mediocre quarterback. Luckily, he found (and recognized what he had in) Tom Brady.

On the flipside, if Brady had been drafted by the Jaguars, his career would have been very different. Dan Marino didn't win any SBs, which goes to prove that a star QB is not enough to carry a franchise on his own.

 

[Off The Grid]

There will always be the chicken and the egg debate of who has been more important, Belichick or Brady. Considering that Belichick is the one who drafted Brady, I think that about sums up my feelings right there.

Belichick would have made a star out of a mediocre quarterback. Luckily, he found (and recognized what he had in) Tom Brady.

On the flipside, if Brady had been drafted by the Jaguars, his career would have been very different. Dan Marino didn't win any SBs, which goes to prove that a star QB is not enough to carry a franchise on his own.

The Chicken or Egg debate regarding Mad Bill and Tom Brady is of course exactly the same debate that once raged and now simmers about Bill Walsh and Joe Montana...and it's a fascinating one.

To me, it's an easy Answer in both cases: The Coach.

I don't take an ounce of Credit away from either Brady or Montana, mind you: I consider it crystal clear that that they reside in the very highest Echelon of QuarterBacks in History: The Greatest of them all. Either Montana or Brady would've been successful in any setting, at least to some degree.

But Coaches Belichick and Walsh revolutionized the Game. This Patriot Empire, like the Miner Empire before it, is driven first and foremost by the Tactical Ingenuity and above all the Coaching of its Head Coach.

As Vince Lombardi once took Command of an horrible Packers Team and built an Empire with, to a very great extent, the same Players he inherited from that erstwhile awful Team, so did Bill Walsh 20 Years later and thence Bill Belichick 20 Years later yet transform struggling, rudderless Teams into Empires.

One gets the impression that Bill The Mad (Genius) could start utterly from Scratch, with no Roster at all, hold Open TryOuts, put together a viable Team, go 1-15 in'is first Year, 7-9 his second, 11-5 and a PlayOff Appearance in'is third Year...and then just start cranking out Championships.

His Tactical Genius is amazing...But what I find most impressive about'm is his astonishing capacity to Train virtually every man on his Team to a Sky High and Razor Sharp level of Acuity.

His unrelenting Focus on seeking out, recognizing, and training Warriors with the mental Processing Speed, the Work Ethic, and the genuine Team Spirit that so many lack, and his incredibly persistent ability to Coach'm up to the point where one gets the idea that any of them could wake up in the middle of the night, jump on the Field, and execute any Play in any Formation ~ and at an high level ~ is astonishing.

Nothing illustrates that better, of course, than Malcolm Butler's running out at the end of the Super Bowl into a Formation that we hadn't deployed the entire Year...and making The Greatest Play In History.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Generally a pretty good story, but overly melodramatic. In one sense it is good because stories like these tend to enhance the legend. The fact is that Bill isn't that much smarter than the rest of these guys. Believe me, at THAT level, all these guys are smart. What Bill DOES have is an slightly greater degree of attention to detail. For a type A alpha male he has a remarkably small ego and little need for public attention, For Bill the reward is in the TEAM accomplishment. For a guy who has been in the league for 40 years, he is remarkably open to new ideas and concepts. There are certain core concepts that Bill is wedded to, but nothing that he isn't open to learn and experiment with.

All that wisdom, openness, and experience is combined with an iron discipline, sharp focus, and the ability to teach/coach athletes. He builds groups of athletes that are better as a unit than they are as individuals. Some groups have been better than others, but almost all of them have been better than most of the units they were competing against, and in 4 seasons.....all of them.

Like your essay EXCEPT that BB really IS smarter than those other HCs. I don't think most NFL HCs in this era are that smart. Football smart or otherwise.