Bill Belichick: How Game of Football Has Evolved
Analysis 6/14/23
This is the second of a multi-part series from Bill Belichick’s sit-down interview with The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum, who worked in the front office of the New York Jets while the iconic New England Patriots’ coach was a member of the Jets’ coaching staff.
Others in the series: Coaching Beginnings | His Best Players
Bill Belichick has been around football long enough to have seen how rule changes have greatly influenced the game’s evolution.
It’s fair to say his defensive-oriented background might color his opinions. But that isn’t why Belichick believes no aspect of football received greater favoritism from those changes than the forward pass.
The New England Patriots’ coach is merely speaking the truth.
“Back in the ’60s, you look at those great quarterbacks, Bart Starr, (Johnny) Unitas and those guys were throwing the ball 20-25 times a game,” Belichick told The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum. “I mean, now, that’d be reeling it in in the first half. So, the game’s changed quite a bit in terms of how the rules are beneficial to the passing game and, obviously, coaches and players have been able to take advantage of that.”
Passing Revolution
One significant way he has seen teams take advantage of the pass is to incorporate it into the running game.
The West Coast offense was the earliest scheme that helped advance that concept. High-percentage short and intermediate throws replaced run plays and the shorter throws were known as “long handoffs.”
The run-pass option (RPO), which became popular at the collegiate level, gradually found its way to the next level. Now, it is a staple of many NFL offenses.
“You get so many passes that don’t even cross the line of scrimmage, not just screen passes, but, you know, RPOs, the sweeps out of the shotgun where the quarterback pitches the ball forward; it’s really a handoff play, but it counts as a pass,” Belichick said. “So, when you look at all the passing plays that come from those plays behind the line of scrimmage, I think then when you add those into the running game, you see a much more balanced offense, but it actually statistically looks like more of a passing game.
“So, I think what you’re seeing is a little bit less, call it intermediate-type passing that the West Coast teams like Coach (Bill) Walsh and Coach (Joe) Gibbs, people like that, used in favor of more of the quicker throws are kind of more like handoffs.”
How Defenses Respond
What does that mean for defenses? How does it impact the way teams design schemes? Is it a factor in putting together a roster when it comes to defensive players?
“To a degree, I feel like you’ve got to match up with that,” Belichick said of the quicker passes being utilized. “Maybe not go all the way, maybe not put as many as they have out there. But it’s hard to just stay in base defense against, let’s call it, four good receivers, including the tight end.”
A method the Patriots employ is to use three safeties. The frequency, of course, depends on which players the offense puts on the field.
“You know, that’s always a key point,” Belichick said. “Then, when you get to dime defense, for us, it’s usually three safeties and three corners. So, it’s some combination of three safeties, but also it’s three corners, depending on how you look at it. And you have a little more flexibility there.
“But a lot of our defensive backs really are interchangeable between the safety and corner position in terms of their responsibilities, especially the inside corner spot, that nickel spot. But it usually gives you a little bigger, more physical player that you can play in the box. You might lose a little bit in man-to-man coverage, but if you can play good zone defense with those safeties, then it just gives you a little more physical presence on the field.”
Special Teams Shake Up
As for the most recent dramatic rules change, allowing kick returners to signal for a fair catch anywhere inside their 25-yard line, and the result would be placing the ball at the 25 even if the fair catch were to occur at the 1, Belichick is well aware that joining other coaches in public pushback is fruitless.
Still, his background in coaching special teams makes it difficult to accept the trend toward reducing the presence of the kicking game because of its link to head injuries.
“Whatever the rules are, we’ll just, you know, play with them,” Belichick said. “But football is a great game, and it really started out very much as a kicking game where, back when the game started, if you were inside your 10, you punted on first down; if you were inside your 20, you punted on second down; if you were inside your 30, you punted on third down. You didn’t punt on fourth down until you had good field position and got the ball out a little bit further.
“Obviously, all that’s changed. But, you know, the foot, the football, the kicking part of the game has always been an integral part of football and has for over a hundred years. You know, so, and I don’t know if we want to change the game and take it out of that.”
Vic Carucci has been a national editor for NFL.com and a contributor to NFL Network, a senior editor for the Cleveland Browns and an NFL writer and columnist for the Buffalo News. Follow him on Twitter at @viccarucci.