NFL Draft: Matt Stafford, Avoid The Detroit Lions

 

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A Message to Georgia QB Matt Stafford regarding the NFL Draft. 

Matt, one week from today you're going to be in New York for the NFL Draft as player and I as media .  Many people expect The Detroit Lions, holding the first pick in the player selection event, to make you the number one pick. I've got some advice for you:

Don't let 'em.

Matt Stafford (photo from Google Images)

Matt, the Detroit Lions are an organization of rich tradition, but a history of failure. The Lions have never reached the Super Bowl and playoff appearances have been few and far between.  And the ownership has focused more on hiring personalities than building a winning organization. You won't win there. 

Why? 

Take a look at the NFL coaches who have won.  All have one thing in common: they're known for systems.

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers was known for one play, the Power Sweep, which the Packers ran to perfection winning Super Bowl's I and II. 

Chuck Noll was the four-time Super Bowl winning coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers who's system consisted of a trap-based running game and aggressive pass-blocking on offense and on defense the "4-3 Stack Overset" alignment. That was the basis for the Tampa Defense that was created by Coach Tony Dungy, who was a Steelers assistant.

Coach Dungy took that Tampa Defense to the Indianapolis Colts where he was reunited with his old college coach and now offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who installed a unique spread offense, and that team set NFL records for wins and playoff appearances, and won a Super Bowl. 

I could go on, and on.  Tom Landry was the father of the 4-3 Defense and "zone" pass coverage with the New York Giants in the 50s, then refined the concept, creating the "Flex Defense" as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys where he won two Super Bowls.

Coach Bill Walsh is the father of the West Coast Offense and won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers (and indirectly two more, as his system was still used after he left), and for good measure A Pac 10-Championship at Stanford. 

You getting the picture, Matt? 

Jim Schwartz as Lions' head coach and Scott Linehan as its offensive coordinator are not known for a system that works.  Name an NFL Quarterback that Linehan developed into a Super Bowl winner? 

None.

While Linehan is known as a coach who's pass-patterns Urban Meyer used for his spread offenses at Utah and Florida, it's Meyer who won with a new total offense he created, and not Linehan. 

Coach Linehan recently said they find the players and then make the plays for them, which means he's got no idea what he's going to do. 

Don't go to Detroit, Matt.  You won't win there.

So where should you go? 

Denver, where Head Coach Josh McDaniels has a proven, modern offensive system. And New England, where Bill Belichick has the best situational offense in the NFL.  You can learn of Tom Brady.  But if you go to Detroit, don't say I didn't warn you.  But if Linehan reveals his system as a result of this little attack of mine, maybe things will change. 

We'll see.

Good luck.

Something To Share About Coach Bill Walsh - Zennie Abraham

I only met Coach Walsh three times, and on every occasion he always referred to me as "Lenny" rather than "Zennie" but he never refused to take time to talk to me about his system, and I was into the details of it, like the "hitch step" for example, which is simply the extra step a QB takes just before throwing, and the concept of throwing without a hitch step, which is hard as hell to do -- try it yourself.

The point is that he would always share.

But what really rankled me -- and still does today -- is how many people, reporters, incorrectly describe "The Walsh System." It's always "short, ball control" and left at that.

That's so wrong.

Yes, that was a part of it. But man, that wasn't even the difference. It was the way of thinking.

To illustrate how different Coach Walsh's system was, let me compare it to the Dallas Cowboys passing game concept under Coach Tom Landry.

The Cowboys were known for passing plays that essentially "pulled" a defense into a particular direction and then took advantage of how the defense deployed itself as a result.

For example, one of the most successful plays the Cowboys ran in the 70s -- when Walsh was developing his ideas -- came out of split backs or "Red or Green Formation." The Flanker went in half motion toward the tight-end, and then
released at the snap of the ball.

The play started as a "sweep" running play, with both guards pulling, the fullback lead blocking and the halfback running. Then the QB would fake a handoff to the halfback, and then look down field.

The Flanker who went in motion toward the tight end then ran a crossing pattern 15 - 20 yards. Meanwhile the Split End ran a kind of "mirror" crossing pattern. The offensive play caused both safeties in a standard Cover Two -- which is what the Pittsburgh Steelers played at the time -- to essentially go deep and move wider apart, leaving the Flanker all alone on the crossing route.

That play worked in Super Bowl X, where Drew Pearson caught a 47-yard touchdown pass. But it failed to work later in the same game because Steelers safety Mike Wagner didn't move deep. When Split End Doug Donley ran his crossing pattern, Wagner stayed home rather than move deep or follow him.

The result was an interception, which surprised Dallas QB Roger Staubach -- "It was the first time it didn't work" Staubach remarked later.

Well, let's think about it. That play was designed to throw to one -- and only one -- receiver, the Flanker. The Split End was a decoy and the tight end wasn't even a factor in the play -- the running backs were strictly used for run fakes and then forgotten about.

Coach Walsh's offense didn't have so many decoys. And in his offense, there was always another receiver to go to. It was flexible, which was new at the time. It was so new that Paul Hackett, who was Coach Walsh's QB coach and passing game student, was hired as Offensive Coordinator by the Cowboys under Landry in '83 I believe. It didn't work out because Hackett's learned idea of flexibility conflicted with the "fixed" philosophy Landry held. So Landry was an example of many
coaches who didn't "get" what Bill was doing at the time.

How would Coach Walsh have changed that play? Ha. The fullback that is the lead blocker would have ran an "up" pattern off the run block fake. The Halfback would have ran a swing pattern after the sweep fake.

The Flanker's crossing pattern would remain. The Split End would have ran a fly pattern. So the order of recever progression would have been 1) Split End, 2) Flanker, 3) Fullback, 4) Halfback (hot receiver). The key read would have been the weak (free) safety. The Split End was essentially clearing out for the Flanker, who was clearing out for the fullback.

See?

That's not just an example of how Coach Walsh would have done it, it's an example of how his way is so basic and logical that it can be shown to a guy like me, and I can repeat it with confidence.

That's a pure tribute to the man.

But what I will most miss, Ray, is Coach Walsh as a member of the Bay Area sports community -- don't forget the impact he had on the Big Game rivalry.

You know, we're blessed to be around so many great people in one area of America. What a sad day. I was at JFK Airport in New York when I got the news Monday. The plane ride home -- from CNN -- was hard, so very hard. Reading Coach Dungy's book "Quiet Strength" helped some -- a good book by a great man who -- as one might expect -- was touched
by Coach Walsh.

Mark Cuban's Wrong - Potential UFL Team Owner Says No Based On Zennie's Blog Post

I just received a call from a friend of mine back east, who -- I can't use real names, corporate or otherwise, to protect the persons involved -- told me that a family member who works for a major comunications and media organization with significant monies in sports, happened to be talking about my blog post called "Why Bill Hambrecht and Mark Cuban's UFL - United Football League - Will Fail" while her bosses were overlooking the article on her computer.

"Wow," one of them was reported to have said, "Maybe this guy ( referring to me) -- knows what he's talking about. After all he's made this XFL Simworld and had the Oakland (Alameda County) Sports Commission. He must know something."

Fully on the basis of my post, this organization that owns a large and famous arena decided to avoid making overtures to establish a UFL team.

It proves that, unlike Mark Cuban in the case of the UFL (I don't know the man), there are people out there who listen to the voices of reasons and analysis. "Competing With The NFL", as Cuban puts it, is purely silly.

Field Position Podcast Featuring Bill Chachkes, Zennie Abraham, Wil Mara, and Walter Anaruk

Bill Chachkes leads a round-robin discussion with Field Position’s Walter Anaruk, NFL Business Blog and Sports Business Simulations CEO Zennie Abraham, and noted author Wil Mara who’s most recent novel The Draft is on shelves now.

The group discusses the ever changing NFL coaching carousel and the hype surrounding the Super Bowl. They delve into why the issue of Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy’s and Bears Head Coach Marvin Lewis’ race is not only newsworthy but very relevant to our every day lives. Then they delve into the Super Bowl, breaking down player match-ups, offensive and defensive philosophies, and coaching styles.

You can hear this MP3 download with a click on this sentence.