May 2011
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Patriots offensive snag concept →
Interesting playbook breakdown of the “snag” concept.
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“While no team exclusively runs the Erhardt-Perkins offensive, many teams use its...”
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“Weis states in his autobiography “No Excuses” that the first play...”
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It's Erhardt-Perkins Offense Week!
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,...
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“Bill Belichick is a genius. He knows what he’s doing,” Bodden told the Boston...”
– Leigh Bodden
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““We were going to play mostly coverage,’’ Ryan wrote. “We were going to mix in a...”
– 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.
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Let the three-day weekend begin!
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“The Belichick “Hybrid”
There’s no simple diagram or playbook...”
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New England Patriots 2004 Playbook (pdf) →
Here’s something that should get you through the entire lockout! I found this PDF of the 2004 Patriots playbook on a coaching website that had hundreds of them. I cannot guarantee that it is 100% without-a-doubt the actual playbook the Patriots won their 3rd Super Bowl in 4 years with, but it’s a pretty interesting thing to flip through regardless.
It gets slowly more and more...
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Profiles in Courage: A Patriots Blogger on the...
During a recent visit to my Mom’s house on Cape Cod I came across the only photographic proof that yours truly, the Patriots uber-blogger himself, once fought the good fight on the gridiron.
In high school I transferred to a prep school in Vermont for a second junior year to improve my prospects of playing college hockey. I had played freshman football at my public school, but had given it...
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Frenz: An Overview of Specialization in the... →
Frenz and I have discussed specialization in the Patriots defense ad nauseaum on our podcast, but he really does a great job here of breaking it down into it’s simplest terms.
Ultimately you can live with a specialized defense if the players are talented enough to play run and pass. As was often the case early in the 2010 season teams had success running on the Patriots sub-defenses....
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NFLN: Patriots Draft Recap →
The NFL Network is certainly drawing everything out as long as they possibly can, hence the Patriots draft recap a month later. Baldy’s the only one who mentions the lack of a pass rush but am I wrong is saying he kinda contradicts himself when he names off all these mid-round pass rushers who didn’t come in to high acclaim but worked hard and developed, then he mentions Markell Carter...
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NFLN: Who will win the AFCE? →
I know I’m as biased as they come but let’s make a quick bullet point argument of why I think the Patriots will win the AFCE.
Bodden/Ty Warren return from injury
If Matt Light re-signs there will be no major free agency departures
Entire defense returns with another year of experience
TFB
BB
The Jets are clearly the only other contender but most of their wide receivers and...
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ESPN/Reiss: Fletcher surprise contributor in 2010 →
No one can break it down like Reiss, and here is joining a quickly-filling bandwagon for Dane Fletcher. Here’s an interesting nugget:
Fletcher thinks the work with Mayo and about 10-15 other teammates, coupled with more knowledge he’s gained on nutrition through his first year in the NFL, has paid dividends.
“Once I got out of college and got around professional football...
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““I have spoken to Nate,” Mankins said at the Joe Andruzzi Golf Tournament today...”
– Logan Mankins trying to help out rookie Nate Solder.
What’s it gonna take to get Mankins back long term with the Patriots? Is there anything at all that I can do to make this happen?
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BB introduces Jerod Mayo on NFLN's Top 100...
Excited to hear BB talk Mayo, and what kind of a player the Pats are willing to spend a high first round pick on.
Mike Reiss:
Bill Belichick presents Jerod Mayo on NFL Network’s “Top 100” series tonight (8 p.m.). I expect to hear Belichick talk about Mayo’s professionalism, maturity beyond his years, and passion for the game. When Mayo was looking for a place to live after getting drafted, he...
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“Despite the fact that Welker ended the 2010 season with 86 catches for 848...”
– Chris Price - WEEI
A nice reminder since it seems like everyone looks at WW’s ‘10 and sees “decline”. Expect WW to return to uncoverable status in ‘11.
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“Patriots players Brian Hoyer and Wes Welker confirmed what I thought when it...”
– Mike Reiss - ESPNBoston.com
Boston Herald: Belichick using lockout to study... →
Great stuff here, and reassuring that the Pats should still be at the top of their game once the NFL is back, no matter what the circumstances. Definite must read.
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“It’s been great. I’ve actually been able to train instead of...”
– Welker
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“‘You have to understand, coach Belichick is a mastermind at football and...”
– Eric Moore
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New England Patriots Fairbanks-Bullough 3-4...
It was a fun, and hopefully insightful, 3-4 Defense Extravaganza Week and we wanted to close it out with just some select nuggets from all the posts that best illustrate what you need to know about the base defense the Patriots run.
Below is a mashup of everything from this past week, so if you missed any of them, read what follows for the essentials, which I tried to meld into one coherent...
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ESPN: Belichick re-defining the linebacker... →
This article is a definite must-read, but it’s back from September 2005 when the Patriots were coming off their 3rd Super Bowl in four years and everything was just rainbows and roses.
This is the best section…
Belichick’s 3-4 scheme is the next step in this evolution. The Steelers’ 3-4 zone blitz was defensive-line oriented and redefined what defensive linemen could do....
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Football University: The 3-4 Defense →
We’re finishing off our week of the 3-4 defense strong with this great article with pretty pictures!
“You build it from the inside out,” Collier said. “The nose tackle and the inside linebackers, those are three guys that are very important. But when you go through it, the nose tackle is probably the single-most important guy.”
What do you want from your nose...
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WatchMarcus Cannon on ESPN First Take explaining the cancer sitch. Sounds promising. And holy hoodie the guy’s head must have it’s own weather system.
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The Adventure of Nink: Rob Ninkovich a building...
When the Patriots signed an unknown long snapper/reserve 4-3 defensive end who had spent time with the Dolphins and Saints named Rob Ninkovich a week into 2009’s training camp no one thought much of it. The Patriots are always signing guys like this, and usually they don’t last very long.
Some were probably surprised when Ninkovich made the 2009 squad, I know I was, and it appeared...
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Frenz: Where does Fletcher fit into Patriots... →
By now everyone is well aware of my man crush on Dane Fletcher and our buddy Frenz put together a nice overview of where we stand with Fletch, or as I might like to call him from here on out “Mr Poon”.
The thing with Mr. Poon is that it’s pretty rare for a rookie linebacker to even see the field, much less play… in order of frequency… nickel linebacker, inside...
