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Yeah, maybe it's a stretch, but maybe not. I was watching ESPN's Super Bowl preview and they were saying that the Patriots were practicing with noise, which is somewhat unusual for a Super Bowl considering that the crowd noise probably shouldn't be a factor like it would be visiting another team in a domed stadium. He was speculating that Belichick might be preparing Brady to go no huddle for nearly the entire game.
If so, that could possibly signal a new era in pro football, an era in which teams try to use fast-break offenses similar to the way many basketball teams like to use up-tempo offenses. There have been teams that have gone no-huddle before but usually in short bursts before slowing the game down. This could be something different, though, whereby the Patriots go full throttle and keep running a series of plays that are designed to be run with this faster tempo.
It's really fascinating because we're seeing major football evolution here taking place over the past few years. We've gone from watching West Coast, a mix of run and pass (mainly running and short passing to set up vertical passing)...to a game that is more and more pass-first and mixing in the run. It's fundamentally changing the game. The offenses, particularly over the last five years, in both college and pro, have become more adept at using space on the field -- every inch and foot of it.
It's to the point where football offenses are becoming so incredibly successful at spreading the ball to different points on the field that it's like watching a basketball game with a quarterback and five or six receivers. The defenses have become good at pass coverage, so the goal is to keep five or six guys moving and spotting the mismatch and getting it to him just in enough time to complete the pass and move the ball to the next point on the field. It's incredibly intricate and sophisticated.
But what Belichick and the Pats are doing is taking it to the next level. They're increasing the speed of the game, the pace at which play moves. It will be interesting to see how this change, if it is successfully implemented, changes the type of personnel that are recruited on defense. It could be that the focus will be not only on players who can bring the muscle, but also players who are built for endurance. You don't think of football as a game of endurance because it's a game of substitutions and possession changes, but that could change.
Here is an interesting thought. Laurence Maroney is the reason the NFL is so pass happy today.
Why you ask? The Patriots were unable to get effective running out of him in 2007 so had to throw it constantly. Their short, underneath routes became their running game in a sense. It worked very well, so now teams like the Packers and Saints have started to duplicate it. That's right, Laurence Maroney reshaped the NFL!
But yes, an up-tempo offense is the Pats best chance of slowing down the Giants pass rush, keep them on their heels so they can't sub and they will wear down...assuming you pick up yards of course.
Its not like teams don't run a no huddle offense today. I don't think there would be anything groundbreaking by using it more. I'm also not sure an offense would have the endurance to run it all game.
Its not like teams don't run a no huddle offense today. I don't think there would be anything groundbreaking by using it more. I'm also not sure an offense would have the endurance to run it all game.
But what if they start to develop that endurance? What if they're trained for it in camp and in weekly practice? What if they insert key substitutions quickly and just plug 'n play offensive packages?
But what if they start to develop that endurance? What if they're trained for it in camp and in weekly practice? What if they insert key substitutions quickly and just plug 'n play offensive packages?
I think at some point you max out endurance. Like in hockey why are they only on the ice for very short periods of time and then switch lines? I'm sure they would prefer the stars be on the ice all the time, but it just isn't possible. But I'm sure they could improve, just not sure by how much. Especially when you are talking about big fat lineman.
And key substitutions don't work. I believe the rule is as soon as the offense makes a sub they have to give the defense time to make a sub as well.
Belichick was playing loud music though, a far cry from the chanting of a live frantic cheering crowd.
It's also an indoor fast track, advantage Giants pass rush, Pats haven't played in a dome this season, Giants played in three.
Giants practiced today in balmy weather conditions, we'll see how all these elements affects the game, if at all, Sunday can't come soon enough.
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