PatsPropaganda

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Air Erhardt Offense born with 1990 Giants

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Air Erhardt Offense born with 1990 Giants

Good read here, and a real benchmark kind of a moment not only for the Erhardt-Perkins offense but surely for Bill Belichick who was on the Giants when this evolution happened.

With tough run defenses like the Bears and 49ers the Giants were forced to alter their smash mouth approach by opening up the passing game enough to keep the defenses spread out and on their toes. This was really one of the major steps toward the modern Patriots offense which will employ spread looks but is unafraid to run out of them, or utilize a horizontal attack.

Ultimately one of the core values of the offense always remains “maximizing the time of possession”. That takes greater value than necessarily just being “smash mouth”.

“Any offensive coach would like to throw the ball,” Erhardt said. “But as you change people, you do different things to win. Bill keeps saying we’re not in the entertainment business; we’re here to win.” Robinson said it was a Catch-22 situation. “I think any of us is capable,” said the sixth-year receiver. “But are we a big-play offense? We haven’t opened up because we haven’t anyone to open up to. But can we have someone like that if we don’t open up?

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While no team exclusively runs the Erhardt-Perkins offensive, many teams use its philosophy as the basis for creating the playbook. Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Charlie Weis, Jeff Davidson, Bill Cowher, Marty Schottenheimer, and Chan Gailey-led teams typically base their attacks on ball control and/or running the ball.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/while-no-team-exclusively-runs-the-erhardt-perkins/

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Weis states in his autobiography “No Excuses” that the first play that he called in Super Bowl XXXVI was: Zero Flood Slot Hat, Seventy-eight Shout Tosser. Zero is the base formation. Flood Slot Hat further modifies this formation to a set with one back in motion, two tight ends and two wide receivers (which is to say five potential receivers in total). Seventy-eight is the base play number, a three step drop play. Shout tells the three potential receivers on one side of the quarterback what routes they should run, while Tosser tells the other two potential receivers their patterns. During the actual game, Tom Brady threw the ball to Troy Brown for a twenty-one yard gain, seventeen of it after the catch.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/weis-states-in-his-autobiography-no-excuses-that/

It’s Erhardt-Perkins Offense Week!

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Last month we had a lot of fun doing a week of morning posts about the Fairbanks-Bullough defensive system that the Patriots run. So it only seems fair that this week we’re looking at the other side of the ball and the Erhardt-Perkins offense.

The most interesting thing about the two systems  (Erhardt-Perkins offense, Fairbanks-Bullough defense) that the Patriots run derivatives of today, both have their roots back to the Patriots teams of the 70s.

If you look back at the 1976 Patriots, the first really good Patriots team in franchise history at least as far as the regular season goes, you’ll find the following on the coaching staff:

  • Chuck Fairbanks – Head Coach
  • Ron Erhardt – Offensive Backfield
  • Ray Perkins – Receivers
  • Hank Bullough – Defensive Line

So let’s start with the basics on the Erhardt-Perkins Offense (via Wikipedia):

This Erhardt – Perkins system is noted for its multiple formation and personnel grouping variations on a core number of base plays. Under this system, each formation and each play are separately numbered. Additional word descriptions further modify each play.

The  system has at times had a reputation (whether or not earned) of being a traditional smash mouth offense that maximizes a team’s time of possession and does not as frequently call upon its running backs to serve as receivers. Erhardt was famous for his adage, “throw to score, run to win.” This system is thought to be particularly well suited for teams playing in harsh outdoor weather conditions of the northeast of the United States.

This offense often uses “the run to set up the pass” via play-action passing, faking the run in order to throw deep downfield when the defense is least expecting it. Despite its reputation, this system is not always a run first offense. Erhardt commonly ran the system in his later years spread wide open with multiple receivers (earning the moniker “Air Erhardt”), as NFL rules evolved to benefit the passing game. As a result of this influence, the Patriots will frequently run this offense with five potential receivers and an empty backfield should a favorable matchup present itself or as a function of available personnel.

Throughout the rest of the week we’ll have more articles and linkage about the Fairbanks-Perkins offense. With tidbits on it’s evolution as well as the touches that Josh McDaniels and Charlie Weis had on the system.

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Coming this week it’s an Erhardt-Perkins offense spectacular! We’ll dive in head first to break down this offensive system that was the grandaddy of what the Pats run today.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/coming-this-week-its-an-erhardt-perkins-offense/