Socci: Cornerstone Of Patriots Defense Is One Of Football's Most Fundamental Skills
BOSTON (CBS) --For three months in the spring and summer of 2014, every Wednesday visit to TheMMQB.com was an introduction to the latest of what the website described as, "95 artifacts that tell the history of the NFL, as the league prepares to enter its 95th season."
Among the early items featured in this fascinating series was the blueprint for one of the greatest defensive performances in postseason history: the game plan the New York Giants executed en route to their 20-19 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. Its architect was Bill Belichick, then in the 16th of his 41 seasons in professional football.
As New York's defensive coordinator, Belichick's vision fully reached fruition when Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood missed his 47-yard, game-winning field-goal try to the right. Beating the Bills by the narrowest of margins earned Belichick the first of his VI Rings as an NFL assistant and head coach, and earned the physical plan he devised -- from play sheets to Polaroids -- a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Twenty-four years later, Belichick recalled a play from Super Bowl XXV that helped spell the difference between strokes of coaching genius preserved in Canton and a well-crafted strategy stored only as the memory of a near-miss. His reference was related to one of the sport's most fundamental skills.
"Probably one of the biggest tackles that I've ever been a part of was by a guy who had a reputation of not being a great tackler, and that was (cornerback) Everson Walls," Belichick said of the stop that set up Norwood's last gasp from long range. "But he brought down Thurman Thomas in the open field to keep (Buffalo) from getting closer in Super Bowl XXV.
"That was a huge, huge play that if you would have said Everson Walls tackled Thurman Thomas, I don't know which one of those you would have bet on. It depends on maybe who you were pulling for. But that was a great tackle."
And the epitome of sage words Belichick heard from his first head coach in life, as well as the head coach he assisted in New York.
"I learned a long time ago – my dad told me this and Coach [Bill] Parcells told me this – that the most important thing on defense is to get 11 guys out there that can tackle," Belichick said on this latest Wednesday when asked about an often-overlooked aspect of cornerback play. "I mean look, defensively, your job is to get the guy with the ball on the ground. In the end, that's your job. All the other stuff is great, but if you can't do that, then what do you really have?"
Yet, it's mostly that other stuff, for obvious reasons, that seems to get almost all the attention in evaluating the position Walls played. It includes a cornerback's pre-draft measurables (i.e., his 40-yard-dash time), scheme-specificity (is he suited for press-man or zone or both?) and ability to cause turnovers (his so-called ball skills).
But having a nose for the ball, and a willingness to stick that nose where it belongs when defending against the running game -- and the running-after-the-catch game! -- is also of utmost importance for cornerbacks. Always under Belichick. And especially in the present-day NFL.
As modern offenses have transitioned from deeper, outside-oriented passing attacks to shorter throws from spread formations, it's become even more essential for corners to come up with stops in space. From slip screens to rub routes, shallow crossers to stretch runs, the tackling of secondaries is continually tested.
Central to the success of an offense, as the Patriots themselves show on a weekly basis, are yards after catch. Hence, limiting those yards, as demanded by Belichick and his staff, is vital on defense.
"To be a Patriot defender you have to be able to tackle," says third-year cornerback Logan Ryan, who has both the hands to secure nine career interceptions and the willingness to stick a ballcarrier. "It's something that they tell you when they bring you in here, whether they draft you or bring you in (as a free agent)."
Ryan's position might be considered an island, but he's not alone among Patriot corners in the art of tackling. He's certainly had company thus far this season in Malcolm Butler and recently-injured Tarell Brown. Someone who definitely notices is safety Devin McCourty.
"I think it's something that not just myself, but our whole secondary prides ourself on, being able to go up there and make tackles at a position where sometimes it's known that guys don't really want to make tackles," McCourty, said. "All these guys take pride in tackling."
"It's something we work extremely hard at," defensive coordinator Matt Patricia says. "It's a huge point of emphasis for us, and it's a skill that I think needs to be worked and developed all the time. I don't think that you can just kind of look at it and say, 'I'm a good tackler,' and that's it."
Nor does Belichick look at a prospective cornerback and think, 'if he can cover and catch, that's it.'
"Now, that's not to minimize coverage skills. There is certainly a place for that, don't get me wrong," he explained. "But in the end, somebody has got to get the guy on the ground. I think that is a critical component for me, for us, for any player on the defensive side of the ball, regardless of what position they play, but particularly in the secondary.
"You can be higher on coverage skills, but if you're willing to give up poor tackling for coverage skills, eventually there is going to be a problem there. You might be able to live with it, but eventually it's going to be a problem. I put a high priority on it. We put a high priority on it in the organization."
In scouting and, as noted, in practice.
"I don't think there has been a day we haven't worked on tackling this year or any other year," Belichick continued. "It's the most fundamental, important thing for a defensive player to do well."
Bob Socci is the radio play-by-play voice of the New England Patriots. You can follow him on Twitter @BobSocci.
