Winning a SB at the end of 2003 is, I think, a testimony to the effect of coaching on team building. Not as just combining physical skill sets. Combining players willing to play as units vs stellar individuals.
Then using some stars on special teams in a way that let special teams win games.
Do I have that right?
And, playing in any gray area of the rules you need to. Not every week, but when that would be a matchup nightmare against a specific vulnerability of another team.
Sentiments like the one you just said had a different meaning back when coaches used to actually build the teams themselves. These days, coaches just coach, but back in 2003, coaches also were the general managers, at least Bill Belichick was, and I think this helps in being able to get a sixth overall pick, Hall of Fame 3-4 Defensive End like Richard Seymour to be willing to play on special teams.
These days, there is absolutely no way a sixth overall pick DE is taking a single special teams snap in their entire career. There's just too much fighting against it. Some stars are willing to do it, but get overruled by people (not coaches) concerned about injuries. Some stars are not willing to play on special teams at all, but when the head coach is also the GM, there becomes nobody to overrule Bill putting his star DE out there on special teams, to wreak havoc on everybody trying to kick FGs.
This Patriot roster could not spread its talent very wide, but I do have to say Richard Seymour was completely unfair. To have such a force in the run game, pass game, and special teams game all rolled into one player is a luxury that any team would kill for. Other than him though, I think you're exactly correct. Coaches often struggle as team builders, because they think like coaches, and look too much at insignificant things, losing the bigger picture in the process, but Bill Belichick knew exactly what he was doing, and was the master at playing the coach card and the GM card simultaneously.
Messing with the rules in particular is a Bill Belichick special. People often get high and mighty about playing within the rules, but Bill understood exactly what this is. He understood that football isn't about breaking the rules. That's not far enough. It's about making such a mockery of the sport that you force the league to make new rules. He did this repeatedly throughout his career. The 2003 AFC Championship is just the most famous time. Another famous time is when the league barred eligible players reporting as ineligible, because of success Bill was having coming out with five receivers plus a back, lining up a WR as an offensive tackle, and having his slot receiver report as ineligible (i.e. he was taking the place of the fifth offensive lineman).
This is not the only formation Bill Belichick got banned.
He was the master at operating in places that were almost definitely illegal in terms of the spirit of the rules, but tenuously legal as far as how things were actually enforced, and it's immeasurable exactly how many wins this bought his teams over the years, but it's a lot of wins. I can assure you of that.
I always retain less (often no) memory of the guys that were big in college but not as successful in the pros, on account of my inability to watch American college football North of the border. For instance, Americans seem to have some big concept of who Reggie Bush is, but to me, he's just a guy who had rushing yards below expected for his NFL career. A perfect example of exactly why not to draft a RB second overall. From my understanding he was fantastic in college, but American college football is just not part of my culture.
I think I can understand why he would be OP in a Madden game though. It's possible that I even used him, without remembering the name. My go-to guy would always be Kevin Jones, as the Lions' stadium is not even four hours' drive away from my childhood house near Toronto, and I was big on trying to make them winners back then. He wasn't very good in real life either, but you could get him to 95+ (speed and OVR) if you played a Madden game 06 or earlier. He ruined the lives of so many AI opponents across my many Lions franchises back in the day.
Totally understandable. He topped out as a 3rd team All-American in 1999 (led Pac-10 in rushing) and didn't get any Heisman consideration. Arizona randomly went 12-1 with him leading in yards from scrimmage in 1998, so I think that -- plus the Madden angle, and his unique name -- is why I remember him. Btw, great job on this story! I am now well past that brief mention of a random early-00s RB, lol, but I had to comment when I came across it.
It's always nice to hear kind words, especially on a piece like this, featuring characters that are not always the most popular, and a lot of games that I've already gone through from other perspectives. There used to be a time when I was scared that people would tire of me going back to 2003 over and over and over again, but I think that time has passed LOL. If anybody is still a subscriber of mine, I think they understand this gimmick by now.
It also might be entirely possible that I'm going right back there next week...
I'm right there with you about 2003. I am not sure what made that such a standout year in NFL history, and how much I can disentangle that from my being 17 at the time and in my prime of young sports fandom, but it was a hell of a time to follow football.
Thanks. Enjoyed it a lot.
Winning a SB at the end of 2003 is, I think, a testimony to the effect of coaching on team building. Not as just combining physical skill sets. Combining players willing to play as units vs stellar individuals.
Then using some stars on special teams in a way that let special teams win games.
Do I have that right?
And, playing in any gray area of the rules you need to. Not every week, but when that would be a matchup nightmare against a specific vulnerability of another team.
Mahalo.
Thank you my friend! I'm happy to have you here.
Sentiments like the one you just said had a different meaning back when coaches used to actually build the teams themselves. These days, coaches just coach, but back in 2003, coaches also were the general managers, at least Bill Belichick was, and I think this helps in being able to get a sixth overall pick, Hall of Fame 3-4 Defensive End like Richard Seymour to be willing to play on special teams.
These days, there is absolutely no way a sixth overall pick DE is taking a single special teams snap in their entire career. There's just too much fighting against it. Some stars are willing to do it, but get overruled by people (not coaches) concerned about injuries. Some stars are not willing to play on special teams at all, but when the head coach is also the GM, there becomes nobody to overrule Bill putting his star DE out there on special teams, to wreak havoc on everybody trying to kick FGs.
This Patriot roster could not spread its talent very wide, but I do have to say Richard Seymour was completely unfair. To have such a force in the run game, pass game, and special teams game all rolled into one player is a luxury that any team would kill for. Other than him though, I think you're exactly correct. Coaches often struggle as team builders, because they think like coaches, and look too much at insignificant things, losing the bigger picture in the process, but Bill Belichick knew exactly what he was doing, and was the master at playing the coach card and the GM card simultaneously.
Messing with the rules in particular is a Bill Belichick special. People often get high and mighty about playing within the rules, but Bill understood exactly what this is. He understood that football isn't about breaking the rules. That's not far enough. It's about making such a mockery of the sport that you force the league to make new rules. He did this repeatedly throughout his career. The 2003 AFC Championship is just the most famous time. Another famous time is when the league barred eligible players reporting as ineligible, because of success Bill was having coming out with five receivers plus a back, lining up a WR as an offensive tackle, and having his slot receiver report as ineligible (i.e. he was taking the place of the fifth offensive lineman).
This is not the only formation Bill Belichick got banned.
He was the master at operating in places that were almost definitely illegal in terms of the spirit of the rules, but tenuously legal as far as how things were actually enforced, and it's immeasurable exactly how many wins this bought his teams over the years, but it's a lot of wins. I can assure you of that.
Trung Canidate! I just remember he went to Arizona and was VERY fast, which meant I sought him out in Madden because that game is broken in favor of speed (especially back then). Looks like I was not alone in that, according to a cursory Google search: https://www.reddit.com/r/Madden/comments/1r9nfk/trung_canidate_is_the_best_hb_in_the_history_of/
Was this guy a college star?
I always retain less (often no) memory of the guys that were big in college but not as successful in the pros, on account of my inability to watch American college football North of the border. For instance, Americans seem to have some big concept of who Reggie Bush is, but to me, he's just a guy who had rushing yards below expected for his NFL career. A perfect example of exactly why not to draft a RB second overall. From my understanding he was fantastic in college, but American college football is just not part of my culture.
I think I can understand why he would be OP in a Madden game though. It's possible that I even used him, without remembering the name. My go-to guy would always be Kevin Jones, as the Lions' stadium is not even four hours' drive away from my childhood house near Toronto, and I was big on trying to make them winners back then. He wasn't very good in real life either, but you could get him to 95+ (speed and OVR) if you played a Madden game 06 or earlier. He ruined the lives of so many AI opponents across my many Lions franchises back in the day.
Totally understandable. He topped out as a 3rd team All-American in 1999 (led Pac-10 in rushing) and didn't get any Heisman consideration. Arizona randomly went 12-1 with him leading in yards from scrimmage in 1998, so I think that -- plus the Madden angle, and his unique name -- is why I remember him. Btw, great job on this story! I am now well past that brief mention of a random early-00s RB, lol, but I had to comment when I came across it.
Thank you very much Neil!
It's always nice to hear kind words, especially on a piece like this, featuring characters that are not always the most popular, and a lot of games that I've already gone through from other perspectives. There used to be a time when I was scared that people would tire of me going back to 2003 over and over and over again, but I think that time has passed LOL. If anybody is still a subscriber of mine, I think they understand this gimmick by now.
It also might be entirely possible that I'm going right back there next week...
I'm right there with you about 2003. I am not sure what made that such a standout year in NFL history, and how much I can disentangle that from my being 17 at the time and in my prime of young sports fandom, but it was a hell of a time to follow football.