🏈 Why Bill Belichick may need Nick Saban's help to stop the Eagles

[musso]

A great read with some instructive details about RPOs. The embedded SI article on the history and mutual respect between Belichick and Saban is fascinating too!

LINK

 

[rick4bama]

So would he take any from Saban.

 

[musso]

So would he take any from Saban.

I assuming you're asking? I'd say yes, based on the aforementioned SI article which explains their relationship. If I can crudely summarize the picture it portrays, what Belichick took from Saban was in scheme, and what Saban took from Belichick was organizational accountability.

 

[musso]

Admittedly the title is more eye candy than realistic. Just because Saban has faced RPOs more than Belichick doesn't mean Belichick is in need of help, much less help from Saban in particular. The article is piggy-backing on the previous SI piece which highlights the history and remarkable successes of both coaches.

 

[TUSKtimes]

It's been fun watching the Eagles run the RPO. Without a doubt, it's the best job I've seen in the NFL and frankly, probably the only reason Foles is being effective at the QB position. Whatever Chip Kelly couldn't get done with these Birds, Peterson has even good defenses on their heels. And the Vikings were the best of the best.

 

[musso]

Heck, I keep referring to the SI article, so I may as well link to it because it's so good: Belichick and Saban: The Stories Behind Football’s Most Powerful Friendship

 

[musso]

It's been fun watching the Eagles run the RPO. Without a doubt, it's the best job I've seen in the NFL and frankly, probably the only reason Foles is being effective at the QB position.

A relevant excerpt from the article:

The Eagles offense presents different challenges, however. For one, they have the best offensive line in football, so not having that extra run defender in the box could prove costly. Two, Jacksonville’s RPO’s — at least the RPO’s it used in the AFC title game — did not attack the Patriots downfield like Philly’s will. The Jags used the kind of RPO’s Kelly was using back in 2013, which are based on a pre-snap count of defenders in the box — the kind of RPO’s NFL coaches figured out how to defend a few years ago.

The Eagles will offer a fresher challenge — one, as Ertz noted, at least partly orchestrated by Stoutland, a Kelly-era holdover who jumped to the NFL from college … where he coached for Nick Saban at Alabama. The Patriots haven’t seen anything quite like the Eagles’ attack this season, and Stoutland surely will come into the game with a few thoughts on how to keep it fresh — and Saban-proof.

Whatever Chip Kelly couldn't get done with these Birds, Peterson has even good defenses on their heels.

Also from the article:

Kelly was never able to evolve his scheme, however, and defenses eventually caught on and sent him back to the Pac-12.

But Kelly’s impact on today’s NFL (and these Eagles, indirectly) should not be discounted. Andy Reid used those concepts to build a souped-up version of his West Coast offense, and his offensive coordinator in Kansas City, Pederson, brought them back to Philadelphia.

“I think Chip kind of introduced it to the NFL,” said Eagles TE Zach Ertz, who played for Kelly. “Not just our team but to the NFL as a whole, and I think our team has evolved it from there. It’s definitely a lot more advanced than what it was from three years ago.”​

Guys like Reid and Pederson gave Kelly’s concepts a pro-style makeover. They did a better job of disguising formations and making weekly changes to their playbook that allowed them to remain a step ahead of defensive coordinators.

 

[TUSKtimes]

A relevant excerpt from the article:



Also from the article:

And lastly, I'm hoping that coach Saban is way too busy with recruiting to lend much of a hand to his buddy.

 

[musso]

I don't remember, did many of you "insiders" regard Stoutland highly when he was here? I don't recall if he was one of our "better" OL coaches or not.

And didn't he precede Cristobol?

 

[planomateo]