The New England Patriots are the team that are beloved in their home market and hated pretty much everywhere else. That’s what winning sometimes does. However, even the Patriot haters need to admit that there is something special about a sports franchise that has won six Super Bowls in the past 18 years.
Their amazing run under Coach Bill Belichick is worthy of study. In fact, it is important to study the Patriots’ success.
What can TV and radio broadcasters learn from him? Plenty. Here are five takeaways for starters:
1. Work harder and smarter than your opponent.
Belichick never stops. He may enjoy a victory for a few minutes but is continually looking toward and preparing for the next opponent. In 2014, after the Pats were blown out 41-14 to the Chiefs, Belichick uttered his famous quote, “We’re on to Cincinnati,” five times during the post-game press conference. He knew nothing would change that game and they had to get right back to work to prepare for the next game.
He is a master at making in-game adjustments. In his 2017 AFC Championship victory against Pittsburgh, he made continual adjustments defensively to frustrate the Steeler offense, yet the defense wasn’t able to adapt to what Tom Brady was doing on the other side of the ball.
Ask yourself if you study your competitors enough and sketch out ways to combat what the other guys are doing.
We include strategic monitoring of opponents as a typical part of every piece of market research we conduct. The reason is because it helps to see research within a broader context and not just in a vacuum.
2. Small details add up to big differences.
Attention to detail has been a hallmark of Belichick’s reign. In New England’s AFC Championship victory over Pittsburgh, the Patriots started out slowly on their first two possessions, working at a deliberate pace, but had to punt the ball both times. On their third possession, Tom Brady picked up the pace on offense and the faster tempo caught the Steelers off guard and tired out the Pittsburgh offensive line.
I can vividly remember working through a strategic plan with one of our television clients in which winning “local” was centrally important. We had pages of tactics focused on winning the “local” image. In total,
3. Know your opponent better than they know themselves.
It is widely known that LA Rams coach Sean McVay uses coach-to-quarterback communications to talk to his quarterback, Jared Goff more than any other team. While the Rams used that technology to their advantage, it exposed a possible weakness in the Ram’s quarterback.
The Patriots’ scheme was to disrupt and confuse Goff once that communication with McVay ceases. The Pats forced Goff into making in-play adjustments, and the young QB couldn’t cope.
4. Don’t trap yourself into one scheme. Be open to adapting.
The Patriots have won with an amazing offense in some years. This was different. This year’s team was built on a stingy defense and a good running game for a more balanced attack. The team plays zone on defense sometimes and man-to-man other teams.
One of the reasons why it is difficult for opponents to prepare for a game against the Patriots is because they don’t have tendencies. In fact, they run schemes to actively avoid tendencies.
In the Patriots’ Super Bowl comeback over the Atlanta Falcons, it was Tom Brady and offense that won the game. This year’s team is a lot like the 2001 team that also had a good defense. The defense was the real Super Bowl MVP.
The Patriots did not have a set group of guys who blitz, so the Rams had a harder time figuring out how to defend against blitzes.
5. Hold yourself as accountable as you hold others.
You may notice in Belichick’s press conferences, he usually doesn’t just talk about the players needing to perform better. He places victory and defeat in the hands of players and coaches. He never makes excuses – he is pragmatic and judges the performance on the field.
After the Patriots defeated the Jets to clinch the division, the coach commented: “We need to play our best game [and] coach our best game. That’s what we’ll all try to do.”
His famous quote, “Do Your Job” applies to coaches and players alike.
Former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest explains to Boston.com what that means: “We knew that there was a standard that we had to abide by. For us as players, we didn’t want to let each other down. We didn’t want to be the weak link.”
It is an important exercise for you and your team to consider adopting the traits that make the Patriots consistently superior. After all, Belichick would do the same thing, and what if there is a Belichick type across the street from you?
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