PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

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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/

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Bill Belichick is a genius. He knows what he’s doing,” Bodden told the Boston Herald. “Me going down this past year. Then [Jonathan] Wilhite went down. I remember those guys telling me, in some of those games, we dressed only three corners. That’s something you just can’t have. You need depth at that position. Bill knows what he’s doing with his draft picks. He knows what he wants. You never can have too many cornerbacks in this league. Teams have three, four legit wide receivers, so you have to be prepared for that. Having an extra cornerback is not wrong in my opinion.

Leigh Bodden

https://www.patspropaganda.com/bill-belichick-is-a-genius-he-knows-what-hes/

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“We were going to play mostly coverage,’’ Ryan wrote. “We were going to mix in a few more blitzes, but it was really going to be a lot of loaded zones. We were going to make Tom Brady work his ass off. We were going to make him have to be perfect. And we were going to make him make mistakes.

“Without Randy Moss, the Patriots didn’t have the same vertical threat to their offense, and we planned to show them how much that hurt their offense by constantly challenging the short stuff.’’

Rexy on the Jets playoff strategery…

Regardless of the Jets grand design of how to expose the lack of a deep threat I still think if Crumple-stiltskin hangs onto that TD it’s a different game. 

https://www.patspropaganda.com/we-were-going-to-play-mostly-coverage-ryan/

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The Belichick “Hybrid”

There’s no simple diagram or playbook quirk that defines Belichick’s scheme. Rather, it’s the complete lack of one. Belichick, in a very short span of time early in his career, was introduced to many different defensive schemes at the professional level. Belichick was exposed to Maxie Baughan, who ran George Allen’s complex 4-3 scheme that was full of pre-snap adjustments. He briefly coached with Fritz Shurmur, who would follow Allen (and others) who used a lot of nickel schemes as a base defense. He worked with Joe Collier, who turned a troublesome set of injuries to his front seven into Denver’s vaunted Orange Crush – maybe the original multiple-front scheme. All of that before gaining fame and respect under Bill Parcells and the true 3-4 in New England and New York.

The key to the success of Belichick’s style of play is flexibility of personnel. To be able to effectively switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 to a dime defense and all points in-between requires versatility at nearly every position. Players have to be able to run and cover and hit. Linemen have to be strong enough to hold the point in the 3-4, but get upfield in a 4-3. Defensive backs have to be very good in zone coverage but competent in man coverage when needed. It requires a special skill set, but also an above-average football IQ. Compared to the base Dungy-Kiffin scheme, which likely started with as little as three or four fronts and a couple of zone coverages, Belichick’s hybrid is a maze meant to confuse and confound.

Another important difference in Belichick’s defense is philosophical rather than playbook. Most coordinators identify the weaknesses of an upcoming opponent and gameplan to take advantage. Belichick specifically seeks to take away the strength of an offense, forcing them to operate out of their comfort zone. In a league where you may face a power offense one week and a spread offense the next, the versatility of the multiple front playbook is the only way to pull off such a philosophy.

Three paragraphs and nary a playbook diagram may not seem like we’re shorting one of the most successful playbooks of all time. But consider that nearly everything we’ve discussed and will discuss before we’re through just scratches the surface of Belichick’s playbook. In reality, there’s not a revolutionary innovation to highlight. It’s the versatility and philosophy and depth in gameplanning and having the players to execute that vision that makes the scheme work.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/the-belichick-hybrid-theres-no-simple-diagram/