How Belichick wins with spare parts (1 Viewer)

[JamesTheScot]

Here's another good one. The current Pats roster has 21 players that went undrafted.

The Patriots and the Packers have a knack for finding diamonds in the rough.

Belichick prefers the rough. He thinks the rough makes the rough rougher. And, perhaps more importantly, Belichick knows that he can use that past rough to motivate those players. He reminds them that they're the perennial underdog -- undrafted & undersized. As a result, he gets most of his players to play at a level higher than even they expected.

I think this may be an element that plays into it. I read in an article where Brady said he has only very recently gotten over the fact he was a 6th round pick and passed on by the whole league 5 times over - he said it was very motivating and made him work his ### off to prove everyone else wrong.

That's interesting. Did Brady really think his resume up that point in his football career justified being taken in the first or second round? Obviously, in retrospect, his pro production would be worthy of a first or second round pick. But you don't have the benefit of hindsight at the NFL draft. Does he not recognize this? Is this some rewriting of history, so to speak, in his own mind since he's become the darling of the NFL? I always wonder about this sort of thinking. I can understand a player being confident in himself and believing he has the ability to pay first round dividends for the team that takes him. But it strikes me as a bit short-sighted and egocentric to carry a grudge (or some emotional wound) because no one else is as confident in you as you are.

Seriously. He can't see that draft value is not based upon what the player being drafted thinks he's worth, but rather instead what he has done up to that point?

 

[switz]

I disagree that NE has a specific system. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they are the least attached to a system as any team in the NFL. Their "system", especially on offense, is to utilize personnel groupings & formations to create favorable matchups. Over the past few years, they've been, at times, a short pass, west-coast style attack, a power running attack, a vertical passing attack. It often changes week to week. This season was remarkable in the shift in offensive philosophy from the 1st 4 weeks ( with Moss ) and the rest of the season.

I'd disagree that they don't have a system... in fact what you describe IS a system. Their system is PRIMARILY a short pass attack WITH a power running game. Rarely are they a vertical attack passing system, and when they do, it's out of the short passing game setup that they do it. It's a very high percentage passing system.When you actually look at the numbers, the system didn't change much when Moss was there and when Branch replaced him.

When you look at the numbers, you see that TE's accounted for 1150+ yards and 18 TD's this year playing two rookies and a great role model, but physically limited Crumpler. They played 2 and 3 TE's regularly, with Brady often under center. Compare that 07, when Brady threw for 50 TD's and 4800 yards. THe TE position got got 475 yards and 10 td's. Still the same system/philosophy?

2007 is the abberation, with Randy Moss getting a lot of long ball looks. They could go deep more frequently then, since Moss was able to catch anything within a few yards of him and greatly adjusted to the ball as needed. Moss saw about 40 more targets in 2007 than any other "deep" receiver the Pats have played in the Tom Brady era.However, the Patriots prior and post have been a short passing team, whether it's a slot WR (Troy Brow, Wes Welker, Tim Dwight for a season) or TEs (Watson, Fauria, Graham, Hernandez, Gronkowski) or RBs (Woodhead, Faulk, Edwards, Centers) or the occasional LB in Mike Vrabel

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

I didn't know where esle to put this and really it's too good to check:

The CBS Rams/Pats broadcast just reported that the Pats drafted this guy...

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/7640/nate-ebner

...Nate Ebner, in teh 6th round - a rugby player who apparently was a walk-on (non-scholarship?) special teamer from Ohio State.

He was a participant for OSU's pro day tryouts.

I just saw him on the field making a play on defense at DB, safety by the looks of it.

Remarkable. Who does this?

 

[LittlePhatty]

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/7640/nate-ebner

...Nate Ebner, in teh 6th round - a rugby player who apparently was a walk-on (non-scholarship?) special teamer from Ohio State.

Remarkable. Who does this?

The Jets did too.http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jets-sign-former-rugby-player-hayden-smith-active-163758221--nfl.html

 

[cstu]

Here's another good one. The current Pats roster has 21 players that went undrafted.

The Patriots and the Packers have a knack for finding diamonds in the rough.

Belichick prefers the rough. He thinks the rough makes the rough rougher. And, perhaps more importantly, Belichick knows that he can use that past rough to motivate those players. He reminds them that they're the perennial underdog -- undrafted & undersized. As a result, he gets most of his players to play at a level higher than even they expected.

I think this may be an element that plays into it. I read in an article where Brady said he has only very recently gotten over the fact he was a 6th round pick and passed on by the whole league 5 times over - he said it was very motivating and made him work his ### off to prove everyone else wrong.

That's interesting. Did Brady really think his resume up that point in his football career justified being taken in the first or second round? Obviously, in retrospect, his pro production would be worthy of a first or second round pick. But you don't have the benefit of hindsight at the NFL draft. Does he not recognize this? Is this some rewriting of history, so to speak, in his own mind since he's become the darling of the NFL? I always wonder about this sort of thinking. I can understand a player being confident in himself and believing he has the ability to pay first round dividends for the team that takes him. But it strikes me as a bit short-sighted and egocentric to carry a grudge (or some emotional wound) because no one else is as confident in you as you are.

Seriously. He can't see that draft value is not based upon what the player being drafted thinks he's worth, but rather instead what he has done up to that point?

Take a look at this combine stud.

 

[12punch]

I didn't know where esle to put this and really it's too good to check:

The CBS Rams/Pats broadcast just reported that the Pats drafted this guy...

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/7640/nate-ebner

...Nate Ebner, in teh 6th round - a rugby player who apparently was a walk-on (non-scholarship?) special teamer from Ohio State.

He was a participant for OSU's pro day tryouts.

I just saw him on the field making a play on defense at DB, safety by the looks of it.

Remarkable. Who does this?

he actually got burnt for a td in that seattle game, I believe.he'd be a special teamer, but we have our 2 starting safeties and 2 corners out.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

I was curious to see how New England’s offensive skill position players stacked up against the 44 Super Bowl champions with respect to draft pedigree.

The least-acclaimed offenses belong to the ’03 and ’04 Patriots.

The Patriots, for the first time in the past few seasons, have regained a level of organizational clarity that few teams can match. When Scott Pioli and Belichick built the championship Patriots teams at the beginning of the decade, New England consistently added “their guys,” players who fit the Patriot profile. With the drafting of Hernandez and Gronkowski, and the re-acquisition of Branch, to go along with Welker and Brady, the Patriots are back to finding players who, first and foremost, fit their system. Green-Ellis, Woodhead and Branch wouldn’t succeed on a lot of teams, but Belichick knows exactly what he wants out of every roster spot and only looks for players who possess those traits. And that’s a big secret of his success.

Woodhead - didn't he finish with something like the most yards rushing in college history when done, or something like that, albeit in Div II or I-AA or whatever?

Ninkovich - drafted by the Saints, I remember him long snapping at one point for the Phins or Pats or someone, now he starts at LB

Ebner

Moss (uncoachable, done, etc.)

Welker

Brady - ok, fine, still a 6th round pick and mostly backup QB in college

Now.... you know who

 

[voiceofunreason]

1-HoF qb, won of the best qbs in any era

2-He's a great coach

3-He drafts atrociously

 

[JohnnyU]

I have a lot of respecct for Belichick, especially with his comments about Bert Jones, but the man couldn't draft a WR if he had every pick in the 1st rd. He would just trade all of them and select Joe Slow from Drano Tech.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

I have a lot of respecct for Belichick, especially with his comments about Bert Jones, but the man couldn't draft a WR if he had every pick in the 1st rd. He would just trade all of them and select Joe Slow from Drano Tech.

Yes, and then win with him, the guy from Chadron, the backup Big Ten QB, the WR playing DB and the longsnapper turned defensive end. Repeatedly and often.