Thankyou, Bill Belichick!

[kaffeen]

I've had time to digest the last preseason game against the Pats. Preseason and all, you've got to hand it to Spurrier. Even though he and the offense failed miserably, it was still a spectacle and entertaining in a dramatically bad way.

Never a dull moment with the ol' Spur Dog around. Wherever he goes, controversy follows and it is almost always a spectacle when he takes the field. Thankfully for Skin fans, the spectacle is usually in the form of a high octane offense that demolishes the other team and results in lopsided wins.

Bill Belichick, Mr. "No Fun League" himself, Mr. "I've Got The Personality of a Wet Towel", Mr. "I'm Going to Show Steve Spurrier A Thing or Two", came ready to play (preseason be damned) and play he did.

Just as he showed Mike Martz and the Rams in the Superbowl last year, he showed Spurrier and the Skins that he too was a great coach and that despite all the media love of a charismatic coach and a high flying offense, "Defense does win championships". Nothing that Marvin Lewis doesn't know, but this game was not with Lewis. This was, in Belichick's mind, Spurrier vs. him.

Like a jealous co-worker, he had to show up the "Wonder Boy" and put him in his place. If Belichick is the owner of the greatest poker face in the No Fun League, he couldn't hide the glee in his voice when he sarcastically said "We're not going to revolutionize the game" as he left the field. You wouldn't know it by his demeanor, but that man had almost as much fun in the first half of the Pats game as he did in the Superbowl. Ok, maybe not that much fun, but for Belichick there is only so much fun he can have.

So, as the 'Mooch, Cowher, Gruden, and Belicheck get together on a conference call and chuckle at the latest "Wonder Boy", his bargain basement QB's, and swiss chees offensive line, they should be concerned as well.

In 1996, with one of Spurrier's greatest Florida teams, FSU's Mickey Andrews played his poker hand and layed down a full house to Spurriers three of a kind.....that full house came down directly on Danny Wuerffel. And much like the Skins on Thursday night, the mighty Gators fell hard.

In the aftermath of failure, the football Gods showed their love for Spurrier and provided a rematch with FSU in the Nokia Sugar. This game proves Spurrier is the offensive genius that he has been branded. If Andrews came again with the full house, Spurrier had the straight flush this time. He had the checkmate for every move. It was complete and total domination by Spurrier and the Gators. Spurrier is not a fool. He learns, he adapts, he innovates, and he wins in the end.

If it is not evident, I do concur with many who belive Belichick layed down the blueprint of defensive strategy against a Spurrier coached team. There may not be another defensive coordinator capable of "checking" Spurrier's moves as well as Belichick. No doubt, Bill Belichick gave Spurrier a checkmate, but I wonder if it was worth it? You see, the problem is, there is always another game. And right now, as the good ol' boys in the No Fun League laugh, Spurrier is looking at film. The old mastermind has been tweaked more than he has in a loooong time........and he loves it. He's got the competitive juices flowing. He is a champion, and champions always respond to adversity.

So, Thankyou, Bill Belichick! You just did us a great favor. We got post-season play in the pre-season. You caught us off guard. What you may not realize is that........

Spurrier will learn, he will adapt, he will innovate, he will win, and he will have the last laugh in the end.

GO SKINS!

[BCS:BraveCaringSoul]

Gawd damn that post's got me juiced!! Good stuff bro.

Yeah I think our HBC'll learn from this even useit to make the team play a little scared-- not too much now-- just enough to give 'em that edge.

[Die Hard]

Great post Kaffeen. Looks like that technical Geo forum thread has really got you to open up Now we'll be expecting these kinds of posts from you ALL the time

[Art]

I do think the Pats game planned a bit for us and had better defenses called than we were adapting to and this is, as Spurrier said, partly on him and his play calling. I suspect we'll see games where Spurrier never gets his groove and we struggle and get beaten. What I really want to see is when Spurrier gets into his groove how other teams can react. Say what you want about talent winning football games and schemes and coaches not winning them, I believe an innovative scheme properly run can win games without great talent. The Pats are a recent sign of that. The Redskins teams that won were always a sign of that.

I look forward to seeing how Spurrier does when it matters and how he does now that there's so much doubt about him. I agree he is sitting back enjoying this very much. Now, he's got to show folks why he's enjoying it so.

[redman]

Our first real vision of how well Spurrier adapts to NFL defenses on the fly, when the games count, will be in week 2 on MNF against the Philly defense. (I don't think the Cards have nearly enough talent on defense to test our offense on the level we're discussing.)

If you think that the best way to attack Spurrier's offense is to blitz, then you'll see a heavy dose of the "best" defense because Philly blitzes all the time, from any and every direction. They've also got the DB's to cover WR's in single coverage. I can't wait to see Spurrier on this stage, on MNF against a talented and attacking D and D-coordinator, against the former division champions.

[kaffeen]

Thanks BCS and Die Hard, I guess my Muse was working overtime. I felt inspired.:high:

[NavyDave]

After watching the tape of the game then the REdzone report I have to disagree.

While it was very nice of Bellichek to gameplan and show S Double a new look on Defense to prepare for, this game was more of a get out of the preseason with as few injuries as possible.

IMO it was as vanilla as the fun and gun will get.

I believe team like the Cards and iggles trying bellichek gameplan will be sorely disappointed and will realise that S Dub played them.

With Stai at RG paired with Jansen we will be able to run on the Cards and Iggles and the offense will have fade and slant routes for the blitzes.

Did I mention that Samuels should be starting on Sunday and S Davis is fresh without any bangs and bruises?

So no worries here

[kaffeen]

NavyDave,

Spurrier has more than a few things hidden up his sleeve, I agree. However, one of the best attributes Steve has is his improvisation skills. One on one, coach to coach, he got beat by Belichick.

Even though he is the master improvisor. He did look at the Patriots/Rams game tape. He did put together a plan that he thought would work (as much as possible in just a couple days of preparation). He did want to win.

Although SOS was obviously not prepared for Belichick, he didn't sandbag it that game either.

Belichick perfected one of the best pass defenses in the country last year. He brought that defense out of the box, spit shined it up, added a few wrinkles, and let it go just for Spurrier (preseason be damned).

Spurrier did not want to get embarrassed like that, preseason or not. He has too much ego, too much pride, and too much of an investment in what he is trying to accomplish with the Skins.

The bottom line is Spurrier got beat. Belichick won that hand. I also sense alot of "them against us" mentality in the NFL. I'm just trying to say Spurrier will have the last laugh.

[indyskinsfan]

Indy reporting for duty Sir!

Dang man, that's one for the Marines aint it!

He** I'm suiting up, no matter how I look in my uni, I'm juiced baby, and bringing 185 of pain and pure speed, got my pack and a jacket that aint bring nothing but hd and bubblegum, no jack!

HTTR!!!