Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
"The great ones always listen," NBA coach Hubie Brown told me and host of other coaches one day back in the early 1980s when we attended a Nike Coaches clinic.
Brown offered a salient example as proof. He said that in his first year as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, he was assigned to coach the big men, one of whom happened to be NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
"I mean here I was a relatively unknown coach barely over six feet tall who has been assigned to coach one of the game's great centers. Jabbar could have just taken one look at me and laughed. He never did. In fact, he chose to listen to what i had to say...and I learned right then and there that the great ones always listen---because they are always trying to get better...because they are always trying to come up with new ways to gain an edge on the competition."
Brown proceeded to give a clinic on the fundamentals of playing the center position that none of the coaches in the crowd had ever seen anywhere---it was so precise---every aspect of it, from the footwork to the body positioning, to the arm maneuverings.
When I brought this knowledge back to my high school basketball team---what Brown taught me enabled my smallish 6'2" center to average 17.5 ppg and 11.4 rpg and 5.6 apg---which garnered him All-League recognition. All because he had not only the fundamentals down pat, but the confidence that comes with having the competitive edge.
Fast forward to this past Sunday when the Patriots ran a no-huddle hurry-up offense versus the Broncos that was so fast and furious that they ran 89 plays, gained 35 first downs (a team record), gained over 200 yards on the ground and over 300 yards in the air which propelled them to a 31-7 lead---all this because Bill Belichick became fascinated with Chip Kelly's "Faster Show on Turf" offense at Oregon and decided to pick Kelly's brain on how he pulls his 52.5 ppg offense offense.
Kelly informed Belichick that the calls they make are single word calls---like "strike" or "whirl." Beliichick was thusly reminded of his first NFL coaching gig with the Colts in 1975 when the Colts actually made similar one word, one syllable calls.
The thing about the one word calls is that all 11 offensive players know exactly what the formation is, what the motions are, what the assignments, both blocking and routes, and they know the snap count. With one call, they are ready to go.
The other thing is---why has Oregon under Kelly been so successful at running the ball out of a spread formation and hurry-up tempo?
Here are the answers:
1. Running the hurry-up ensures that the defense can't switch personnel--- and because they are spreading the field, it makes it imperative that the opposing defense plays a nickel-type sub package.
Right there you have a competitive edge running the ball---because the traditional two down run stuffing defense is no longer on the field.
2. The defense has a much more difficult time running its blitz packages---because they have to adjust so quickly to formation that they don't know exactly where their personnel will be at the snap of the ball.
Again---competitive edge to the offense.
3. Then there is the fatigue factor---it's like turning a football game into a soccer game---all that running around---and having to keep the same players on the field much longer than any DC wishes.
Yes, once again---competitive edge to the offense.
So---you might be wondering what does this have to do with the Cardinals?
Actually you might be surprised by the two-fold answer.
1. When the Cardinals beat the Patriots in Foxboro---clearly Ray Horton---who had been targeting this game all summer---gained the competitive edge on defense in the game. When the Patiriots were having such a difficult time dealing with Horton's array of blitzes and pressures, Belichick had to think of a way to ensure that he wouldn't be outfoxed in this manner again---he at least had to come up with a counter, if not a total solution.
Now mind you---Horton was also smart enough to realize that he couldn't give his defense the competitive advantage in that game if he were to play the base 3-4 defense---instead he played a 4-2-5 virtually the entire game---and he had tendency blitz calls---off of formation and down & distance scenarios---and while Horton may not have been as accurate after the game in saying what he knew about the Patriots' tendencies, he sure was correct more often than not.
The great news for the Cardinals is that on that day Ray Horton was two to three games ahead of Bill Belichick---Bellichick now has the answer, but he didn't have it ready then---it took what he saw in that game to motivate the change.
2. This also, when you think about it, could very well be the direction the Cardinals' offense now needs to take. Reasons?
a). Both Kolb and Skelton play better in the hurry-up. Kolb is always talking about "tempo" and this is exactly what he means.
b). The Cardinals can't run the ball effectively out of a traditional offense this year anyway.
c). The Cardinals have a defense that can support a fast-paced offense because it's strong enough to generate 3s and out or turnovers to get the ball right back in the hands of the offense.
d). The best playmakers on offense are the receivers---now more than ever.
e). This can slow down the pass rush by tiring it out---AND by giving it reason to worry about the running options, such as the straight shotgun handoffs, or the draws or the reverses....added to the variety of short RB passes, the flat, the circle, the flare, the screen and the longer sideline wheel route.
Brown offered a salient example as proof. He said that in his first year as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, he was assigned to coach the big men, one of whom happened to be NBA All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
"I mean here I was a relatively unknown coach barely over six feet tall who has been assigned to coach one of the game's great centers. Jabbar could have just taken one look at me and laughed. He never did. In fact, he chose to listen to what i had to say...and I learned right then and there that the great ones always listen---because they are always trying to get better...because they are always trying to come up with new ways to gain an edge on the competition."
Brown proceeded to give a clinic on the fundamentals of playing the center position that none of the coaches in the crowd had ever seen anywhere---it was so precise---every aspect of it, from the footwork to the body positioning, to the arm maneuverings.
When I brought this knowledge back to my high school basketball team---what Brown taught me enabled my smallish 6'2" center to average 17.5 ppg and 11.4 rpg and 5.6 apg---which garnered him All-League recognition. All because he had not only the fundamentals down pat, but the confidence that comes with having the competitive edge.
Fast forward to this past Sunday when the Patriots ran a no-huddle hurry-up offense versus the Broncos that was so fast and furious that they ran 89 plays, gained 35 first downs (a team record), gained over 200 yards on the ground and over 300 yards in the air which propelled them to a 31-7 lead---all this because Bill Belichick became fascinated with Chip Kelly's "Faster Show on Turf" offense at Oregon and decided to pick Kelly's brain on how he pulls his 52.5 ppg offense offense.
Kelly informed Belichick that the calls they make are single word calls---like "strike" or "whirl." Beliichick was thusly reminded of his first NFL coaching gig with the Colts in 1975 when the Colts actually made similar one word, one syllable calls.
The thing about the one word calls is that all 11 offensive players know exactly what the formation is, what the motions are, what the assignments, both blocking and routes, and they know the snap count. With one call, they are ready to go.
The other thing is---why has Oregon under Kelly been so successful at running the ball out of a spread formation and hurry-up tempo?
Here are the answers:
1. Running the hurry-up ensures that the defense can't switch personnel--- and because they are spreading the field, it makes it imperative that the opposing defense plays a nickel-type sub package.
Right there you have a competitive edge running the ball---because the traditional two down run stuffing defense is no longer on the field.
2. The defense has a much more difficult time running its blitz packages---because they have to adjust so quickly to formation that they don't know exactly where their personnel will be at the snap of the ball.
Again---competitive edge to the offense.
3. Then there is the fatigue factor---it's like turning a football game into a soccer game---all that running around---and having to keep the same players on the field much longer than any DC wishes.
Yes, once again---competitive edge to the offense.
So---you might be wondering what does this have to do with the Cardinals?
Actually you might be surprised by the two-fold answer.
1. When the Cardinals beat the Patriots in Foxboro---clearly Ray Horton---who had been targeting this game all summer---gained the competitive edge on defense in the game. When the Patiriots were having such a difficult time dealing with Horton's array of blitzes and pressures, Belichick had to think of a way to ensure that he wouldn't be outfoxed in this manner again---he at least had to come up with a counter, if not a total solution.
Now mind you---Horton was also smart enough to realize that he couldn't give his defense the competitive advantage in that game if he were to play the base 3-4 defense---instead he played a 4-2-5 virtually the entire game---and he had tendency blitz calls---off of formation and down & distance scenarios---and while Horton may not have been as accurate after the game in saying what he knew about the Patriots' tendencies, he sure was correct more often than not.
The great news for the Cardinals is that on that day Ray Horton was two to three games ahead of Bill Belichick---Bellichick now has the answer, but he didn't have it ready then---it took what he saw in that game to motivate the change.
2. This also, when you think about it, could very well be the direction the Cardinals' offense now needs to take. Reasons?
a). Both Kolb and Skelton play better in the hurry-up. Kolb is always talking about "tempo" and this is exactly what he means.
b). The Cardinals can't run the ball effectively out of a traditional offense this year anyway.
c). The Cardinals have a defense that can support a fast-paced offense because it's strong enough to generate 3s and out or turnovers to get the ball right back in the hands of the offense.
d). The best playmakers on offense are the receivers---now more than ever.
e). This can slow down the pass rush by tiring it out---AND by giving it reason to worry about the running options, such as the straight shotgun handoffs, or the draws or the reverses....added to the variety of short RB passes, the flat, the circle, the flare, the screen and the longer sideline wheel route.
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