Bill Polian loves Marrone

[White Linen]

There was that year that Brady was hurt, and the Patriots went with Matt Cassell. IIRC, they had a very solid regular season record that year, and made it deep into the postseason before being eliminated.

 

Their Matt Cassell season, alone, does not prove whether Brady or Belichick is more valuable to that team. What it does prove is that Belichick has very significant value, and that the Patriots are not just a Brady injury away from being Dick Jauron's Buffalo Bills. Belichick has more intelligence in his right pinky than Jauron has in his entire brain; and that makes a real difference on Sundays.

 

My argument wasn't that Belichick isn't smart or great. He's an all time great.

 

So in context I was responding to this post "I've got real talent at reading people - and one of the BIGGEST factors for success in the NFL, especially now, is INTELLIGENCE. Why has N.E. beaten the snot out of Buffalo for so many years? Yes - they have Brady. But far more importantly, they have Bellicheck. The guy is so smart."

 

To say that Belichick is the "more important" cog in their time together to me is insane. You mention the one year with Cassel, but he averaged 7.2 wins and 8.8 losses with the Browns and then went 5-11 with the patriots. Very Dick Jauron like. Insert Tom Brady the next year and they win a championship and have had only one year below double digit wins (9-7 year after first super bowl).

 

You say the Patriots aren't a Brady injury away from being the Bills and that may be true. But are you willing to say Belichicks career would have been very similar without Brady? Look I'm not nieve to Belichicks importance and I've always said when you have a great QB, a good head coach, and their relationship is strong - that's how dynasties are built. But in my opinion it starts and ends with the QB.

[The Voice of Truth]

It's interesting to hear the negative comments about Bill Polian. I would imagine they are mostly from the younger crowd who at best were crapping in diapers when the Bills were going to four straight Super Bowls. They have no idea what they are talking about.

You're right I was not a fan of the Bills during their Super Bowl days. I was about 7-10 years old and didn't even live in Buffalo. However, when I was in middle school, my family moved to Buffalo and I became a big fan during the Wade Phillips, Flutie/Johnson Era. Imagine that. In my tenure as a die hard Bills fan I have not experienced one playoff win. Shortly after I became a fan I moved to Indianapolis, when the Colts were still in our division. I spent many days in high school debating things on football and defending the Bills who were still a decent team then. Wade was still there early on. This is right when the Colts drafted Peyton. Part of my identity became I was a big Bills fan in high school. So before you go strutting around that your an old school guy who got to experience the super bowl years, think about the die hardedness it takes to still be die hard as a fan of 14 years with zero playoff wins and 13 straight missed playoffs. Chew on that.

I live in Indy. Die hard Bills fan. Dungy built a defense predicated on speed. Once the Colts took a lead, he turned them loose. Peyton Manning credits Caldwell's coaching in making him a successful QB. While Caldwell was a quiet man, he was respected by the team. His sin was the team got old in key positions and Manning had to miss a season. Polian knows football. I like his endorsement of Marrone.

Dungy's defense was never good. I understand the ideology behind what they built. Peyton was so good they would likely be in leads a lot and the "Tampa 2" is a great scheme when you have a lead. However, it was still a mistake and they were always towrds the bottom of the league statistically. It's not how you win championships. If they had built a hard nosed Steeler type defense and had a head coach that was fiery and fierce, they would have won more titles than the Patriots. As a matter of fact, imagine if Peyton Manning played for the Steelers all those years. He'd probably have 4 rings. Instead, Polian hired guys who were soft and unenergetic. The Colts were always "soft" and that came from their head coaches and also their defense. Look what happened when Peyton went out. They were the laughing stock of the league, under Caldwell. Peyton was responsible for everything that team did. And I don't want to hear how Peyton credits Caldwell for the player he is. Peyton says whatever is politically correct and is right for the team.

Edited February 24, 2013 by The Voice of Truth

[Orton's Arm]

My argument wasn't that Belichick isn't smart or great. He's an all time great.

 

So in context I was responding to this post "I've got real talent at reading people - and one of the BIGGEST factors for success in the NFL, especially now, is INTELLIGENCE. Why has N.E. beaten the snot out of Buffalo for so many years? Yes - they have Brady. But far more importantly, they have Bellicheck. The guy is so smart."

 

To say that Belichick is the "more important" cog in their time together to me is insane. You mention the one year with Cassel, but he averaged 7.2 wins and 8.8 losses with the Browns and then went 5-11 with the patriots. Very Dick Jauron like. Insert Tom Brady the next year and they win a championship and have had only one year below double digit wins (9-7 year after first super bowl).

 

You say the Patriots aren't a Brady injury away from being the Bills and that may be true. But are you willing to say Belichicks career would have been very similar without Brady? Look I'm not nieve to Belichicks importance and I've always said when you have a great QB, a good head coach, and their relationship is strong - that's how dynasties are built. But in my opinion it starts and ends with the QB.

 

A few years back, I read the book Patriot Reign. That book made it clear that Belichick's impact on the Patriots went far beyond just Xs and Os on the field. (Although even with Xs and Os, Belichick is in a far different league than Jauron.) Belichick brought a disciplined approach to every aspect of the Patriots' organization.

 

One example of that discipline was Lawyer Milloy. In discussions about why the Patriots were paying him so much, some people in the organization mentioned his big plays. Belichick's response was, "What big plays?" It had been a year or two since Milloy had stopped making many big plays. Others in the Patriots organization got caught up in a certain habit of thought "Milloy makes big plays" and didn't adjust their thinking to changing circumstances. This incident may seem minor, because all that was in question here was whether the Patriots would overpay their SS by about $1 million a year. But minor issues add up.

 

Another, far more important aspect Belichick brought to New England was his approach to player evaluation. One of the mistakes which had been made back in Cleveland was that players were selected mostly for their physical traits. Belichick learned from that mistake, and in New England arranged a more disciplined approach. His new approach involved a greater emphasis on the player's passion for the game, discipline, intelligence, and other factors.

 

Belichick is a source from which discipline radiates. It's hard to quantify the effect that discipline has, except that it's very significant.

[BillsWatch]

Obviously they just won't address the QB position. i wish they would just wake up and listen to the fans and realize "Hey we need a great QB", and then go get one. I mean how damn hard is it to address this problem and go get a franchise Quarterback? It's like they just won't admit we need one. I'm just so sick of it. Every other team has a franchise Quarterback except us. Do they not see it's our number one need? I know they do it on purpose. They say they want one, but they won't do what it takes to do it.

 

Well Jets' Franchise QB is probably available for right deal, Browns too. Maybe if we give KC the same kind of picks they gave New England for their QB we can get theirs.