Copycat league?

The NFL has long been a copycat league. When a team starts having success with something, you can be assured that at least some teams will attempt to copy them. Recent history has shown us copycats with The Wildcat, which is now basically dead. The Read Option, which may start to die out unless you have someone like Russell Wilson to run it effectively. Going back about 30 years, the Redskins had success with the one back set and was later copied by many. The 80's brought about the West Coast Offense which was eventually run by most teams in some form or another.

We have witnessed the NFL make rules adjustments over the years to favor the passing game. Most pundits would now characterize the league as a passing league. At one time the forward pass was an anomaly or a gimmick. My question is, with the success that the Seahawks have had the past 2-3 years with a run oriented approach, do any of you think that more teams might go to (or back to) a ball control clock eating offense over the high octane pass first approach? We have seen other teams with some success using the run first. SF, Dallas, KC come to mind. I wonder if XLIX had gone the Seahawks way, that we might see more teams taking the run first approach. If they win the Owl again any time in the next 1-3 years we may see a bit of a shift.

RB's have essentially fallen out of favor in recent years as 1st round draft picks or even as high picks at all. The current crop of draftable RB's seems to have some talent and depth at the position. If one or more are drafted in the first or even top half of the second round, I believe that this may be an indication that at least some teams are willing to take the copycat approach to building their team. I can't think of a better model of success in recent years than that of the Seahawks regime.

You make many good points. Not only is the NFL a copycat league, it tends to be a shortsighted copycat league.

That's why it's so important to have an overarching team philosophy that you can remain true to, so as not to be swayed by the most recent game or the current fad of the hour.

oldhawkfan":1t0fk9ef said:

RB's have essentially fallen out of favor in recent years as 1st round draft picks or even as high picks at all.

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For good reason, look at who's been drafted in the first round the past three years.

Doug Martin
David Wilson
Trent Richardson
Mark Ingram

Now look who's been drafted later on the past couple years

Giovani Bernard
Le'Veon Bell
Eddie Lacey
C-Mike
Demarco Murray
Jeremy Hill
Bishop Sankey
Carlos Hyde


So yeah, teams may have seen the light of building a defense and run game vs pass happy offense and finesse D's, but the fact still remains that drafting a RB in the first round isn't necessary. Because they're less valued than anytime in the history of the league teams can find REALLY good ones without having to spend a 1st round pick.

There are a lot of people that are enamored with all the pass happy in the last few Years, but there are a lot of teams that have taken a long hard look at the direction that the Seahawks have gone with the Defense, and I expect this is how the rest of the League will approach it, but the "Pass A Bunch", and hope for the best is not optimal in winning a lot of Championships.
Peyton Manning is coming back next Season, and I'll wager that the Broncos will have a RB to add another facet, and take a lot of pressure off his geriatric butt, and because they know that they aren't going to get it done with his arm alone.
Pass happy Stats is fun for discussions, but Balance is the name of the game.

Good points. League still hasn't found a way to copy Pete's coaching style or at least its consistentcy (Belichick excluded)

I know I am not the founder of this belief but for a team to be successful, one has to have a great owner, GM and Head Coach. Then they have to be able to work together. Sounds simple but it seems that there are to many big egos in the NFL universe for this to be pervasive.

Also to have the patience to score and not turn the ball over. Most high scoring teams throughout NFL history have to rely on the QB on having a good game. All QBs are suspect to bad games. I could go on forever but the fact that we have been in ever game for 3 1/2 seasons is extraordinary.

Pete's success (with the backing of Paul Allen and as part of a team with John Schneider) is a copycat affair as well.
Copycatted especially from Bill Walsh.
Copycatted some more from John Wooden.

After incorporating the best ideas of others, Pete has also put his remarkable and unique stamp on how he does things.

Once upon a time, Vince Lombardi was the be-all and end-all of coaching. A lot of idiots copied his syntax (including general abusiveness towards players) without effectlvely copying his substance, the real reasons why he won. So a lot of Lombardi wannabe idiot coaches screamed at their middle school football and basketball players, back in the day.

Thank God more people copied John Wooden than Bobby Knight. Knight was successful despite his childishness, not because of it. Thank God Pete actively studied and borrowed from John Wooden.

Other teams and coaches can copy elements of Pete's syntax, and some parts will probably be effective for them. A lot of old-school guys, say, like a Mike Ditka type of mindset, I don't think would be able to really buy into many parts of the way Pete does things, and might only be able to make use of certain things while rejecting others. I just don't see anyone doing Pete nearly as well as Pete does, for the next 5-ish years, and the most likely candidates would be guys from his coaching tree. A lot of other old-school guys might have too much to unlearn, to really "copycat" effectively. Pete's been a student of coaching and athletic performance for a lifetime.

And the coach who, I think, is most similar overall to Pete, in substance? Bill Belichick. Very different syntax, sure, but many similarities, and similar organizational effectiveness in teaching and developing players and getting exceptional performance out of them.

Front offices and coaching staffs will all try to copy the tangible things we do, like drafting tall corners, or drafting and signing players with unique skillsets, but the one thing that they will probably fail on is getting a staff that has as much synergy as this staff and front office does. Pete may have made some Co-ordinator gaffs early on, but for the most part I think the greatest thing about Pete is having that synergy that allows him to put people in a place where they can do what they are good at.

Dann Quinn was just given the same power as Pete (vice pres of football ops) Im real interested to see how that pans out.

It's a copycat world. This league is just part of it.