Belichick Pressers and the Ice Pick Method

[Amnorix]

So everyone outside of New England hates Bill Belichick. I get it. He's a really sore loser and can be a complete dick to reporters sometimes, particularly after losing a game. Spygate, charismatic as a rock, blah, blah, blah.

But nobody can argue that the guy doesn't know more about football, and NFL history, than darn near anybody walking and talking today. He's the longest tenured coach in the NFL (this year marks his 40th consecutive year coaching). And lately his press conferences have been very "chatty". Lots of information about changes in the game and coaching over the years. So remember, the next time you see him act like a dick to some idiotic reporter's question after he loses a game, that it isn't always like that.

And with that, here's a summary of a very interesting presser he had today.


http://www.csnne.com/blog/patriots-t...ing-technology

Particularly interesting was how teams used to analyze what opponents did, before the advent of modern technology.

Originally Posted by Bill Belichick

"I'm overwhelmed," he admitted. "I'm totally overwhelmed by it. There's no way I could, without somebody holding my hand and helping me through it, there's no way I'd get a fraction of what I would get. When we were with the Colts...What I did with the Colts, I wrote every play on a card. I drew the card, drew the play, and then every category that the play fit into, I checked off on the outside edge of the card. So if it was first-and-10, plus-territory, gain of over four yards, screen pass, half back was the receiver, the defense ran a blitz, whatever categories that those fit into, then I would check those off. I'd take the hole puncher. There was like 200 holes around the edge of the card and I would punch out the holes that I'd checked off. Then you'd have a whole stack of cards here, slide the ice pick in there for third down and boom, all the third down cards drop out. Then you take all those cards, look at them and then you put them all back and put the whole deck of cards back together, stick the ice pick in there and all the screens fall out. Here's 15 screens. You look at them, how many were strong, hoe many were weak, how many were to the half back, how many were play action, how many were third down, how many were second down? Figure all that out. OK stuck 'em back in there again. I would do like, you know, 200 of those. Screens, third down, red area, goal line, short yardage, what they ran against blitzes, what they ran from slot, what they ran from motion. All of that.

"That's, I mean, about as archaic as you can get: the ice-pick method. But it worked."

[Amnorix]

urk, I'll stop now. I didn't mean to turn this into a debate about Belichick. He's obviously going into the HoF in the first year of his eligibility. Haters gonna hate, but whatever.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

Why an ice pick? There was an actual tool for card sorts...

He was with the Colts in 1975. My guess is that he needed something to protect himself against Mike "Mad Dog" Curtis.

[Jimmya]

Its not about hate....i don't like Pete Carroll but facts are he wins with different teams and at different levels....Belichick and Brady are tied at the hip...Just like Chuck Knoll & Terry Bradshaw

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

Why an ice pick? There was an actual tool for card sorts...

Bill is in Mafia- they always use ice picks-they are problem solvers.