'94 Browns HC Belichick went 11-5 with two QB's, Testeverde (31) and Rypien (32) along with Nick Saban and they also beat the Patriots in their first match-up of the playoffs, but lost to the Steelers in the next round. The significance of the Steelers loss? It was the third time they had lost to Pittsburgh that season.
Steelers OC was the famed Ron Ernhardt, who along with Ray Perkins, developed the Ernhardt-Perkins (E&P) offense which is one of three offenses that essentially
all NFL offenses are based off of along with the WCO and Air Coryell. Steelers posed a threat offensively that year to all teams being that were balanced in their ability to run (#1) and throw especially from one back sets. Side note: the Steelers also had the #1 defense lead by DC Dom Capers, DAsst Bill Davis, LB coach Marvin Lewis, and DB coach Dick LeBeau.
Pittsburgh would run 4 streaks along with 2 streaks & 2 outs to defeat Cleveland's Cover 3. Because you can't play the Cover 3 vs those routes, later the Browns switched it up to a Cover 1. The problem then lied with the Steeler's offensive talent that exceeded that of Cleveland's by their ability to beat them one-on-one. Also the Cover 1 is ineffective vs the run when you can't play 8 in the box b/c of a legitimate passing game and your defenders are spread out vs single back sets.
Solution, to somehow play a blend of Cover 3 and Cover 1. Now comes the melding of two incredibly intelligent minds in Belichick and Saban and with a collaboration between the two, and the concept of pattern-match defense was born. Although this concept was not installed in Cleveland, as Saban left for Michigan St. and Belichick would soon be fired the following year before being hired in NE, it thrives to this day among the brighter defensive minds in football and is the defense that both, Belichick and Saban, have used on their multiple championship teams.
This pattern-matching adjustment, better known as Rip/Liz in the mid-90's, brought together the zone and man-to-man defense into one concept. Pattern-matching has zone defenders play man-to-man
after receivers have shown their pass patterns, which the defenders typically pick up 5-7 yards downfield.
The reasoning behind this is that when offenses - like the '94 Steelers - want to attack a 3-deep zone they'll run TE's or slot WR's down the seams and to defeat Cover 1 they'll run picks and crossing routes. To defend this, the S's and LB's read the movements of of the Slot and the TE. When they run vertical, the .05 defenders and LB's run vertical with them, but if those receivers break outside then the defenders react with a zone and drop into coverage. In addition, the defense can add an extra defender in the box for the run or to spy the QB, which has also become a crucial factor in defending today's mobile QB's, spread offense, and the read option.
This doesn't even touch on Belichick's genius in things such as playing a 3-4 on one side of the field and a 4-3 on the other (yes, at the same time), nor does it address the incredible things he is currently innovating. You see, Belichick not only employs a tactic known as BTF (blitz the formation) where the defense makes the call once the offense show it's formation, but he has expanded on this idea by having them trade assignments after the play begins. In short, Belichick frequently calls blitzes with potential rushers lined up to the offense’s left and right, with each reading the center’s movement. If the center slides toward the keyed defender, he drops into coverage, and if the center slides away from the keyed defender, he blitzes the quarterback. This tactic should be familiar to some as it resulted in a sack of Geno Smith in week 16 that knocked the Jets out of FG range, they missed a 52 yard FG and NE won 17-16.
And that's just the genius coaching of Belichick on one side of he ball. BB is also a master of the offense. I'll try and keep this short and sweet (at least for myself) by copy and pasting some of my posts from the "RT is #10 in PFF" thread", but I also don't want to take away from the knowledge and innovation here as it continues to prove that Belichick is an elite coach among the elites and IS the reason for NE's success.
Belichick also took the Ernhardt-Perkins offense and evolved it to be able to run a HUNH concept with the same personnel, same plays, but different formations and the ability to switch sides for the reads. Basically one side of the field is set up to attack zone and the other man. Sounds familiar to his defensive concepts, doesn't it?
Instead of a number system, Belichick (with the help of Weiss) revised the E&P to be run by concepts, instead of the Coryell route numbering or the lumbering language of the West Coast jargon that inhibits any ability for quick snaps. Instead, as previously mentioned, the concepts can be called from any formation or set, and more importantly it allows for more personnel flexibility that the Patriots see on a yearly basis.
Example: One side of the field will feature a vertical route, an intermediate outside breaking route, and a quick flat. The other will feature a double slant, each at different depths.
This way the play can be run repeatedly, from different formations and with different personnel, all while the QB reads stay effectively the same from 4-5 WR's sets or with 2 TE's and a RB's. The skill position players simply need to know the concept at which position they are lined up at.
That's just one example.
Belichick is in a class by himself and no one rivals his mastery and innovation in schemes, strategy and personnel. Brady wouldn't have a HOF career without Belichick and Manning is a 1st ballot regardless. The difference between the two QB's success is because of Belichick's genius. QB's don't win games, teams do. Teams with great coaches, that is.
You may now file this under:
**** you won't learn on BSPN.
/thread
*Credit to Chris B. Brown.