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Great Scott! Pioli stars in Patriots' personnel game
By Michael Felger/ Patriots Insider
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Hank Poteat first came through Foxboro for a tryout in late December. The street free agent cornerback hadn't donned an NFL uniform since training camp and had played just one game in 2003, but his workout was still decent. The Pats told him to stay in shape.
Poteat had heard that before, of course. So he went back to his home and baby daughter in Pittsburgh and enrolled in school to finish his business degree. The plan was to head to Canada and the CFL come summer.
Poteat was driving to class one freezing cold morning the second week of January when his cell phone rang. It was his agent, Brian Levy, who had just gotten off the line with Scott Pioli. Pack your bag and forget class, said Levy.
Less than three weeks later, Poteat was back in Pittsburgh, only now he was on the scratchy turf at Heinz Field looking across the line of scrimmage at four-time Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward in the AFC Championship Game. In the blink of an eye, Poteat went from applying diaper rash cream to coming up on Ward and throttling him as the ball arrived, forcing a key second-quarter incompletion.
Only the Patriots [stats, news].
When owner Robert Kraft emerged from the locker room in Pittsburgh Sunday night and said the Pats' two playoff victories over the Colts and Steelers had represented the ``finest coaching and player executions'' he'd ever seen, he was leaving at least one item off his list.
The Pats are on the verge of NFL history for many reasons, not the least of which has been the work of personnel director Pioli and his staff. The Pats have proven beyond a doubt that championships are won with depth, and Pioli continues to provide the bottom of Belichick's roster with the best role players in the league. When it comes to a ``ready list,'' no one competes with the 2003 NFL executive of the year.
``It's amazing. You go to the Super Bowl one year with Ty Law [news] and Tyrone Poole, and then you turn around and go back with guys like Randall Gay and Hank Poteat? How is that possible?'' said Tennessee Titans [stats, news] general manager Floyd Reese yesterday. ``I don't know how anyone can match that. I don't know if that's possible.''
Poteat was hardly an unknown commodity in personnel circles. A four-year veteran, he was somewhere near the bottom of everyone's board, so it's not like Pioli pulled his name out of a hat. And ask anyone around the league, and they'll tell you the key to the equation is the ability of Belichick and his staff to ``coach-up'' players like Poteat and fit them into the system.
But it all starts with Pioli's ability to pinpoint the type of player who will thrive under Belichick. Poteat is like a lot of players on the Pats' roster. He is versatile, hard-working and coachable. He's strong on special teams, both as a returner and in coverage. Pioli was well aware that his one game for Tampa in 2003 produced three solo special teams tackles.
And his 40-yard dash time? Who cares?
``They tried him out about 14 weeks into the season, and he had a pretty good workout,'' Levy said. ``And that told them something right there. Here's a kid who obviously hadn't given up. By that point, most guys have mailed it in. I've known Scott for so long that I know what he wants -- and I wouldn't even bother calling him if it wasn't about a certain kind of player. Scott's not the type of guy who wants his time wasted.''
Finding the players
Of course, the personnel prowess of Belichick and Pioli extends well beyond the bottom of the roster.
Their 2003 draft class was remarkable, producing Ty Warren [news], Eugene Wilson [news], Asante Samuel [news], Dan Koppen [news] and Bethel Johnson [news]. Their 2001 free agent crop was huge, with Mike Vrabel [news], David Patten [news], Roman Phifer and Larry Izzo still on board making major contributions. Their selections of Tom Brady [news] (sixth round, 2000) and Richard Seymour [news] (first round, 2001) look like Hall of Fame picks. And their recent free agent signings (Rodney Harrison [news], Poole, Josh Miller, Keith Traylor) and veteran trades (Corey Dillon, Ted Washington) have them on the brink of three Super Bowl titles in four years.
``I mean, they're in the stratosphere,'' said Giants GM Ernie Accorsi. ``Bill is on a road to history.''
Pioli and Belichick have certainly had their share of misfires (hello, Donald Hayes). They've also had a lot of luck (they selected home-sick tight end Dave Stachelski 58 picks ahead of Brady). But through all their hits and misses, they continue to churn out coachable, high-character players. Those players may not always arrive in Foxboro that way, but once they're on the field they fall in line. The Pats have done that with a consistency that amazes their peers.
``It seems like all their players are competitors,'' said Accorsi. ``They're selfless, not selfish. Not those kind of guys who draw attention to themselves. I mean, everyone celebrates on the field a little bit nowadays, but they're different. Now, the league has always been seduced by times and results. I worked two drafts with Bill in Cleveland (as a vice president in 1991-92) and he didn't exactly turn away from talent. But the thing is, you can give the Patriots' plan to 25 different people, and it wouldn't work. You have to be able to recognize the character. It's one thing to say we want those kinds of guys, it's another to actually find them. They find them.''
Added Reese: ``The thing that makes them not only the most unique team in the league, but in all of pro sports, in my opinion, is that team-first attitude they have. It's no secret. I mean, how many Pro Bowlers does Philadelphia have? (Nine). And how many do the Patriots have? (Four). And do you hear any of those players in New England griping about it? Everywhere else, that's all you hear.
``It's so one-minded there,'' continued Reese. ``You really noticed it when they had that winning streak. That's all anyone around the country wanted to talk about, but then you'd listen to Tedy Bruschi [news] or Troy Brown [news] or Willie McGinest [news] and heard nothing of it. They downplayed it. And then you'd listen to Bill, and he'd be saying the exact same thing. Amazing.''
The price of success
The players Pioli and Belichick select can also play some football. Sometimes that actually translates to their combine results. Johnson, for instance, was the fastest player in the 2003 draft. And tight end Ben Watson, a first-round pick in 2004, also had off-the-charts measurables. But more often than not, what they bring to the field goes beyond their numbers on a graph. After all, there are no stats for picking up the blitz or chucking a receiver at the line.
``I've looked at a lot of their players over the last few weeks and saw that the guy I was watching was playing at a speed faster than what I remembered his times to be,'' Accorsi said. ``And that's what they're so good at. They realize when someone is running for a test or a result and what a `real' time is. They have so many guys who play faster than their times.
``And they TACKLE. It's amazing how no one tackles anymore. It's probably the most underrated thing going on in the league right now. I saw 1,000 missed tackles on Sunday -- but none by them.''
Success comes at a price, and Belichick is in the process of finding that out with the imminent departure of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to Notre Dame and the likely move of defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to the Browns. Reports have Crennel taking defensive line coach Pepper Johnson with him to Cleveland. And according to various reports, Dolphins coach Nick Saban unofficially requested, and unofficially was denied, permission to interview linebackers coach Dean Pees regarding Miami's vacant defensive coordinator position.
That attrition will eventually hit the front office as well, and teams have already started to nip at the heels of Pioli and his assistants.
In December, Pioli said he will serve out his Patriots contract through the 2006 draft. That didn't stop teams from asking, and the Pats responded by taking a hard line on his contract, making it clear to Cleveland owner Randy Lerner that Pioli was off-limits for the Browns' GM opening. That seemed to run counter to Kraft's oft-stated ``organizational philosophy'' of letting ``our employees better themselves elsewhere if we can't let them help themselves.''
You can't blame the Patriots for wanting to keep Pioli, and they were shrewd enough to sign him to a contract that classified him as a ``high-ranking team employee,'' even though he doesn't have those powers.
But whether it happens sooner or later, Pioli's time is coming.
``Absolutely. He has to be one of the leading contenders for any GM job,'' Accorsi said. ``He knows talent. He knows what makes teams successful. He's already a top executive. I don't know of an ingredient the job requires that he doesn't have. And what I love about him is he's always trying to learn, always trying to get better. He doesn't act like he has all the answers.''
In fact, said Accorsi, that trait extends to the entire Patriots' operation.
``What I really like is that there is a humility to how they do it,'' he said. ``They always give credit to the players and their effort. It's gratifying for those of us who have these values to see them succeed at the level they have.''
Safety exposed
Two weeks ago, a member of the Patriots was watching the Steelers-Jets divisional playoff game when Pittsburgh Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu stepped in front of a Chad Pennington pass and advanced the interception deep into Jets' territory. After cursing Pennington, the individual offered his thoughts on Polamalu.
``He's a good player, but (Steelers defensive coordinator) Dick LeBeau does a good job protecting him,'' he said. ``He's rarely put in a position where he's exposed.''
Well, Brady and Weis exposed the second-year safety in the AFC title game, twice completing skinny posts deep down the middle to Deion Branch [news] in the first half. Brady and other players maintained afterward that the goal wasn't necessarily to pick on Polamalu. Rather, they said, it was the Steelers' coverage scheme they were going after, specifically a split-safety look that forced Polamalu to choose between an in-cut on one side, and Branch's deep post on the other. The first time, Polamalu bit up and Branch scored from 60 yards out. The second time, Polamalu arrived late and throttled Branch after a 45-yard gain.
``Part of going downtown was just what we saw on film,'' said Troy Brown. ``We just caught them in certain coverages that we knew we could take advantage of. The two times we hit it they played the exact coverage we wanted. A split safety look to one side -- and the safety has to make a choice. Who is he going to pick up? Is he going to jump the post route or the crossing route? He jumped the crossing route and the post came wide open.''
Whether they were going after him or not, the Pats got Polamalu playing away from the line of scrimmage, where he does his best work. And how Polamalu responded only further put the lie to his selection to the Pro Bowl over Harrison.
The last dance
Two days after the Steelers' 34-20 wipeout of the Pats on Oct. 31, a game in which Joey Porter performed his dirt-kicking sack dance at least three times, a veteran member of the Pats offense was asked his thoughts on the demonstrative linebacker.
``What an (expletive),'' the player said. ``I mean, what has he ever won? That's the kind of guy that will never win a thing.''
Porter's trademark gesture was clearly on the minds of the Pats during Sunday's game, as Vince Wilfork could be seen mocking the dance on the field and Rosevelt Colvin imitated it several times on the sideline. Once again, the Pats had the last word.
By Michael Felger/ Patriots Insider
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Hank Poteat first came through Foxboro for a tryout in late December. The street free agent cornerback hadn't donned an NFL uniform since training camp and had played just one game in 2003, but his workout was still decent. The Pats told him to stay in shape.
Poteat had heard that before, of course. So he went back to his home and baby daughter in Pittsburgh and enrolled in school to finish his business degree. The plan was to head to Canada and the CFL come summer.
Poteat was driving to class one freezing cold morning the second week of January when his cell phone rang. It was his agent, Brian Levy, who had just gotten off the line with Scott Pioli. Pack your bag and forget class, said Levy.
Less than three weeks later, Poteat was back in Pittsburgh, only now he was on the scratchy turf at Heinz Field looking across the line of scrimmage at four-time Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward in the AFC Championship Game. In the blink of an eye, Poteat went from applying diaper rash cream to coming up on Ward and throttling him as the ball arrived, forcing a key second-quarter incompletion.
Only the Patriots [stats, news].
When owner Robert Kraft emerged from the locker room in Pittsburgh Sunday night and said the Pats' two playoff victories over the Colts and Steelers had represented the ``finest coaching and player executions'' he'd ever seen, he was leaving at least one item off his list.
The Pats are on the verge of NFL history for many reasons, not the least of which has been the work of personnel director Pioli and his staff. The Pats have proven beyond a doubt that championships are won with depth, and Pioli continues to provide the bottom of Belichick's roster with the best role players in the league. When it comes to a ``ready list,'' no one competes with the 2003 NFL executive of the year.
``It's amazing. You go to the Super Bowl one year with Ty Law [news] and Tyrone Poole, and then you turn around and go back with guys like Randall Gay and Hank Poteat? How is that possible?'' said Tennessee Titans [stats, news] general manager Floyd Reese yesterday. ``I don't know how anyone can match that. I don't know if that's possible.''
Poteat was hardly an unknown commodity in personnel circles. A four-year veteran, he was somewhere near the bottom of everyone's board, so it's not like Pioli pulled his name out of a hat. And ask anyone around the league, and they'll tell you the key to the equation is the ability of Belichick and his staff to ``coach-up'' players like Poteat and fit them into the system.
But it all starts with Pioli's ability to pinpoint the type of player who will thrive under Belichick. Poteat is like a lot of players on the Pats' roster. He is versatile, hard-working and coachable. He's strong on special teams, both as a returner and in coverage. Pioli was well aware that his one game for Tampa in 2003 produced three solo special teams tackles.
And his 40-yard dash time? Who cares?
``They tried him out about 14 weeks into the season, and he had a pretty good workout,'' Levy said. ``And that told them something right there. Here's a kid who obviously hadn't given up. By that point, most guys have mailed it in. I've known Scott for so long that I know what he wants -- and I wouldn't even bother calling him if it wasn't about a certain kind of player. Scott's not the type of guy who wants his time wasted.''
Finding the players
Of course, the personnel prowess of Belichick and Pioli extends well beyond the bottom of the roster.
Their 2003 draft class was remarkable, producing Ty Warren [news], Eugene Wilson [news], Asante Samuel [news], Dan Koppen [news] and Bethel Johnson [news]. Their 2001 free agent crop was huge, with Mike Vrabel [news], David Patten [news], Roman Phifer and Larry Izzo still on board making major contributions. Their selections of Tom Brady [news] (sixth round, 2000) and Richard Seymour [news] (first round, 2001) look like Hall of Fame picks. And their recent free agent signings (Rodney Harrison [news], Poole, Josh Miller, Keith Traylor) and veteran trades (Corey Dillon, Ted Washington) have them on the brink of three Super Bowl titles in four years.
``I mean, they're in the stratosphere,'' said Giants GM Ernie Accorsi. ``Bill is on a road to history.''
Pioli and Belichick have certainly had their share of misfires (hello, Donald Hayes). They've also had a lot of luck (they selected home-sick tight end Dave Stachelski 58 picks ahead of Brady). But through all their hits and misses, they continue to churn out coachable, high-character players. Those players may not always arrive in Foxboro that way, but once they're on the field they fall in line. The Pats have done that with a consistency that amazes their peers.
``It seems like all their players are competitors,'' said Accorsi. ``They're selfless, not selfish. Not those kind of guys who draw attention to themselves. I mean, everyone celebrates on the field a little bit nowadays, but they're different. Now, the league has always been seduced by times and results. I worked two drafts with Bill in Cleveland (as a vice president in 1991-92) and he didn't exactly turn away from talent. But the thing is, you can give the Patriots' plan to 25 different people, and it wouldn't work. You have to be able to recognize the character. It's one thing to say we want those kinds of guys, it's another to actually find them. They find them.''
Added Reese: ``The thing that makes them not only the most unique team in the league, but in all of pro sports, in my opinion, is that team-first attitude they have. It's no secret. I mean, how many Pro Bowlers does Philadelphia have? (Nine). And how many do the Patriots have? (Four). And do you hear any of those players in New England griping about it? Everywhere else, that's all you hear.
``It's so one-minded there,'' continued Reese. ``You really noticed it when they had that winning streak. That's all anyone around the country wanted to talk about, but then you'd listen to Tedy Bruschi [news] or Troy Brown [news] or Willie McGinest [news] and heard nothing of it. They downplayed it. And then you'd listen to Bill, and he'd be saying the exact same thing. Amazing.''
The price of success
The players Pioli and Belichick select can also play some football. Sometimes that actually translates to their combine results. Johnson, for instance, was the fastest player in the 2003 draft. And tight end Ben Watson, a first-round pick in 2004, also had off-the-charts measurables. But more often than not, what they bring to the field goes beyond their numbers on a graph. After all, there are no stats for picking up the blitz or chucking a receiver at the line.
``I've looked at a lot of their players over the last few weeks and saw that the guy I was watching was playing at a speed faster than what I remembered his times to be,'' Accorsi said. ``And that's what they're so good at. They realize when someone is running for a test or a result and what a `real' time is. They have so many guys who play faster than their times.
``And they TACKLE. It's amazing how no one tackles anymore. It's probably the most underrated thing going on in the league right now. I saw 1,000 missed tackles on Sunday -- but none by them.''
Success comes at a price, and Belichick is in the process of finding that out with the imminent departure of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to Notre Dame and the likely move of defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to the Browns. Reports have Crennel taking defensive line coach Pepper Johnson with him to Cleveland. And according to various reports, Dolphins coach Nick Saban unofficially requested, and unofficially was denied, permission to interview linebackers coach Dean Pees regarding Miami's vacant defensive coordinator position.
That attrition will eventually hit the front office as well, and teams have already started to nip at the heels of Pioli and his assistants.
In December, Pioli said he will serve out his Patriots contract through the 2006 draft. That didn't stop teams from asking, and the Pats responded by taking a hard line on his contract, making it clear to Cleveland owner Randy Lerner that Pioli was off-limits for the Browns' GM opening. That seemed to run counter to Kraft's oft-stated ``organizational philosophy'' of letting ``our employees better themselves elsewhere if we can't let them help themselves.''
You can't blame the Patriots for wanting to keep Pioli, and they were shrewd enough to sign him to a contract that classified him as a ``high-ranking team employee,'' even though he doesn't have those powers.
But whether it happens sooner or later, Pioli's time is coming.
``Absolutely. He has to be one of the leading contenders for any GM job,'' Accorsi said. ``He knows talent. He knows what makes teams successful. He's already a top executive. I don't know of an ingredient the job requires that he doesn't have. And what I love about him is he's always trying to learn, always trying to get better. He doesn't act like he has all the answers.''
In fact, said Accorsi, that trait extends to the entire Patriots' operation.
``What I really like is that there is a humility to how they do it,'' he said. ``They always give credit to the players and their effort. It's gratifying for those of us who have these values to see them succeed at the level they have.''
Safety exposed
Two weeks ago, a member of the Patriots was watching the Steelers-Jets divisional playoff game when Pittsburgh Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu stepped in front of a Chad Pennington pass and advanced the interception deep into Jets' territory. After cursing Pennington, the individual offered his thoughts on Polamalu.
``He's a good player, but (Steelers defensive coordinator) Dick LeBeau does a good job protecting him,'' he said. ``He's rarely put in a position where he's exposed.''
Well, Brady and Weis exposed the second-year safety in the AFC title game, twice completing skinny posts deep down the middle to Deion Branch [news] in the first half. Brady and other players maintained afterward that the goal wasn't necessarily to pick on Polamalu. Rather, they said, it was the Steelers' coverage scheme they were going after, specifically a split-safety look that forced Polamalu to choose between an in-cut on one side, and Branch's deep post on the other. The first time, Polamalu bit up and Branch scored from 60 yards out. The second time, Polamalu arrived late and throttled Branch after a 45-yard gain.
``Part of going downtown was just what we saw on film,'' said Troy Brown. ``We just caught them in certain coverages that we knew we could take advantage of. The two times we hit it they played the exact coverage we wanted. A split safety look to one side -- and the safety has to make a choice. Who is he going to pick up? Is he going to jump the post route or the crossing route? He jumped the crossing route and the post came wide open.''
Whether they were going after him or not, the Pats got Polamalu playing away from the line of scrimmage, where he does his best work. And how Polamalu responded only further put the lie to his selection to the Pro Bowl over Harrison.
The last dance
Two days after the Steelers' 34-20 wipeout of the Pats on Oct. 31, a game in which Joey Porter performed his dirt-kicking sack dance at least three times, a veteran member of the Pats offense was asked his thoughts on the demonstrative linebacker.
``What an (expletive),'' the player said. ``I mean, what has he ever won? That's the kind of guy that will never win a thing.''
Porter's trademark gesture was clearly on the minds of the Pats during Sunday's game, as Vince Wilfork could be seen mocking the dance on the field and Rosevelt Colvin imitated it several times on the sideline. Once again, the Pats had the last word.