Why do Patriots keep winning? Hall of Fame coaches explain Bill Belichick's success
Bill Parcells won two Super Bowls as New York Giants coach with a young Bill Belichick as his defensive coordinator. Tony Dungy might’ve won multiple Super Bowls as Indianapolis Colts coach if Belichick’s New England Patriots hadn't been in his way.
Two of the seven living coaches enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame got to know Belichick from opposite perspectives, yet their initial response is almost identical when asked about the Patriots starting 3-0 this season with two young quarterbacks in place of suspended star Tom Brady.
“It certainly doesn’t surprise me,” Parcells told USA TODAY Sports. “I think one of Bill’s great strengths is to take what he has momentarily, figure out who he’s playing against, and then devise something that gives his team the best chance to be successful against the opponent — that week, in that moment.”
Said Dungy: “They do a great job of getting the players to adapt and understand that they can do different things. Those kind of situations, they don’t bother them. He’s the best adjustment coach in football, in adjusting to the strength of his players and masking the weaknesses of their team. It didn’t surprise me at all.”
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There has been a lot of talk since last Thursday’s 27-0 rout of the Houston Texans — with rookie third-round draft pick Jacoby Brissett making his first NFL start on a short week in place of injured Jimmy Garoppolo — that Belichick, 64, has proven his greatness in the absence of Brady, who’s eligible to return after Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.
But that plays into the willful ignorance of those who want asterisks next to everything because of Spygate, Deflategate, etc. Belichick has proven this over and over for more than 16 seasons, a span in which the Patriots have been to the playoffs 13 times, reached six Super Bowls and won four. They’ve finished 12-4 or better every year since 2010.
“You’ve got to give him credit. He’s had a remarkable record,” said another Hall of Fame coach, Marv Levy, whose Bills lost Super Bowl XXV to the Parcells-Belichick Giants.
“I never did get to know Bill very well. I don’t know that anybody did, to tell you the truth. But it is something, to (keep winning) without Brady.”
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No matter who’s at quarterback — even Matt Cassel, with whom the Patriots finished 11-5 in 2008 after Brady blew out a knee in Week 1 — certain traits carry over with Belichick teams.
— They’ll try to take away what you do best: “If you’re a blitzing team, he’s going to come up with things to take away the blitz,” said Dungy, who’s now an analyst for NBC’s Football Night in America. “If we’re playing them, he’s not going to let Marvin Harrison have a 200-yard day. You know that — but you don’t know how.”
— They’ll surprise you schematically: “We always told our team, the big thing is survive in the first quarter,” Dungy said. “You don’t know what you’re going to get. You can’t practice for what you may get. You have to just be able to adapt. But you could count on not having things be exactly the same as last time you played them, even if they had success with it.”
— They’ll play whatever type of game Belichick thinks can win: “His system is flexible,” Parcells said. “It can be complementary if it needs to be, as you saw last week. And you’re not talking about someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience in these endeavors. So there’s a good chance, as he approaches these things, he has points of reference of games gone past.”
—They’ll make you beat them: “That’s what I admire about the Patriots more than anything else,” Dungy said. “I see seven or eight teams beat themselves every week. And then you watch (the Patriots), and they’ll lose a couple games, but it’s never because they self-destruct or they don’t know what they’re doing or they don’t play situations right.”
Asked on a conference call this week about people saying he’s the NFL’s best coach, Belichick gave a typically blasé answer: “Again, we don’t really care about the last three weeks or the last three years or whatever else it is. None of that really matters this week.”
Parcells says that’s the real Belichick — an OOU (one of us) who loves thinking about how to win football games, not his place in history. Which continues to work out well, as the greatness Belichick proved long ago is merely reiterated.
“The statement that I agree with the most is: sustained excellence is not something that’s easily acquired,” Parcells said. “He’s done a remarkable job with that — as good as anyone’s ever done it. The facts speak for themselves.”
Tom’s Top 10
(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)
1. (1) New England Patriots: Remember, Rob Gronkowski doesn’t even have a catch yet.
2. (3) Denver Broncos: No defense allowing fewer yards per pass play. What else is new?
3. (5) Seattle Seahawks: After Jets, Week 5 bye will give Russell Wilson a chance to heal.
4. (2) Pittsburgh Steelers: They’re better than they showed in Philly. And Le’Veon Bell is back.
5. (7) Minnesota Vikings: Biggest concern is NFL’s least-efficient run game (2.1-yard average).
6. (NR) Philadelphia Eagles: It’s more than Wentz. Jim Schwartz’s D has allowed 27 points total.
7. (4) Carolina Panthers: Underrated area where they miss Jonathan Stewart: pass protection.
8. (8) Green Bay Packers: R-E-L-A-X-E-D. Aaron Rodgers, offense head into bye on a high.
9. (6) Arizona Cardinals: Don’t write off any Bruce Arians team. But loss to Bills was brutal.
10. (9) Cincinnati Bengals: Vontaze Burfict’s return from suspension restores attitude on D.
Dropped out: Houston Texans (10).
Note: Does not factor in the result of Thursday’s game.
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Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero
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