Is there anything more entertaining than watching Mike Martz self-destruct on the sidelines? The noted Civil War buff who masquerades as a football coach looked like he had just been hurled back off of Little Round Top by the 20th Maine when the St. Louis Rams were abused by the New England Patriots on November 9. It doesn’t take a Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, or a Joey Lawrence for that matter, to confuse Martz. Bill Belichick’s utter dominance over Martz in that game was an illustration of why Belichick is the best at what he does: he thinks outside the box.
The notion that Adam Vinatieri would take the snap and fire a pass to Troy Brown never crossed Martz’s mind. If the head coach isn’t thinking about these possibilities is it reasonable to expect that his players are? It’s the attention to detail and the appreciation for the excruciating minutia that separates Belichick from the faceless retreads that NFL owners continue to rehire and fire.
Belichick has no problem putting his best players on the special teams. He has no problem lining up the franchise’s #3 all-time pass catcher in the slot…defensively. He put Mike Vrabel at tight end in the Super Bowl. The result? Touchdown. Linemen Richard Seymour and Dan Klecko routinely play fullback in goal-to-go situations. Belichick has the ability to see the game in its totality. He’s not a “defensive specialist” like Buddy Ryan or an offensive guru like Dick Vermeil. He’s just a football lifer who understands the importance of a complete team playing a complete game.
“The Boston Globe’s” Bob Ryan popularized the phrase “Red’s playing chess, everyone else is playing checkers,” a reference to Red Auerbach’s ability to outthink and outwit the opposition on the court and for his savvy with personnel decisions. He did, after all, trade the Ice Capades for Bill Russell. But if Belichick is playing chess, what is everyone else playing? Hungry Hungry Hippos?
From a personnel standpoint, Belichick is a coldhearted Mafioso with an accountant’s understanding of salary cap issues. Lawyer Milloy’s production fell way off the table in 2002. He had no picks, no sacks and no forced or recovered fumbles. In a year when the Patriots gave up more rushing yards than all but one team in the league, when their front seven couldn’t get any pressure on the opposing quarterback, Milloy’s tackle numbers actually went down. If you’re giving up over 2100 rushing yards, your opponents running game is going to be getting deep into your secondary on a semi-regular basis and your safeties tackle numbers should be up. Many fans and teammates saw Milloy as the “spiritual leader” and the “heart” of the defense, when in reality, he was overpaid. He refused to restructure so Belichick showed him the door.
At the end of each season Belichick and vice-president of player personnel Scott Pioli go through each player on the roster and decide whether or not the level at which they think that player will perform in the coming year is commensurate with the money he is scheduled to make. If they are unwilling to take less money, they are free to play at some other NFL outpost.
Much of the credit for the Patriot’s success has to go to Pioli’s “grocery shopping.” After the disaster that was the Bobby Grier era, the good value that Pioli and Belichick are able to get out of players drafted in the late rounds is astounding. David Givens was a seventh rounder. Tom Brady was taken 199th overall. Not only do they get good players late in the draft, almost all of the players they take on day one step in and contribute immediately. Last year, Bethel Johnson, Dan Koppen, Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Dan Klecko and Asante Samuel, all first year players, contributed during the season. Things like this are not supposed to happen in the NFL. There is a learning curve. It seems that on-the-job training with Belichick and his staff accelerates the adjustment period that all college players go through
The importance of the entire coaching staff cannot be overstated. From coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel on down, the Patriots staff buys into the Belichick mantra. There is no self-promotion in the coaching ranks. Everything goes through The Coach. Assistants do not speak to the media unless Belichick gives them permission and when they are allowed to speak they stay on message. The depth of the coaching staff is remarkable. Linebackers coach Rob Ryan left after the Super Bowl to become defensive coordinator for the Raiders. Pepper Johnson steps in. Before the Raiders agreed to terms with Ryan, they brought in Eric Mangini, the defensive backs coach of, you guessed it, the New England Patriots.
Belichick has a brain that can recall specific plays from meaningless pre-season games 20 years ago. This also allows him to never forget a slight: real or imagined. After he cut Milloy, ESPN’s Tom Jackson told viewers that “They hate their coach right now.” Jackson never offered any evidence to support this and never rescinded the comment publicly. Belichick refused to grant interviews to the NFL Countdown crew after these comments were made. At the conclusion of the Super Bowl, Chris Berman finally convinced Belichick to come on the air with them. Jackson walked over to Belichick on the set and extended his hand. Belichick put his hand in his pocket and encouraged Jackson to engage in self-coital activity. Don Vito Belichick, at his finest.
Note: When you’ve won 25 of 26, it’s difficult to cry about anything. Next week I promise I’ll put the pom-poms down and find something, anything, to complain about.