Brewster- Mike Shanahan is the best Coach

[dragondawg]

CHARLEY WALTERS

Before Tim Brewster became the University of Minnesota football coach, he was the Denver Broncos tight ends coach, working for Mike Shanahan for two years. The Broncos lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game two years ago, then finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs last year.

"Mike Shanahan, in my mind, is the best coach in the National Football League, and the best football coach, period, at any level," Brewster said. "It's a players' game, and in the NFL now, it's even harder to sustain a tremendous level of success because of the volatility of the roster. With the roster changes and the salary cap, it's just made it very, very hard."

So hard that Shanahan's Broncos (6-9), who host the Vikings on Sunday in Denver, uncharacteristically will miss the playoffs for a second straight year.

"But one thing's for certain," Brewster said. "The Denver Broncos and Mike Shanahan will be playing to win on Sunday, regardless of the fact that they're no longer in the playoff hunt. He's the most prideful human being I've ever been around."

Shanahan, 55, a former Gophers assistant, coached the Broncos to two Super Bowl championships (1997-98) but will finish with a losing record this season for the first time in eight years.

"Mike has a relentless approach to studying the game of football, and it's something that I've taken from him," Brewster said. "His ability to attack weakness, he does it better than anybody."

Brewster has been in Denver with his family the past week. He also is a close friend of Vikings coach Brad Childress.

"Sunday's game is unique for me because I've got such good friendships with both head coaches," he said. "Brad Childress is one of my best friends in life, and I consider Mike Shanahan the same."

Brewster, who reiterated the Gophers are having a fine recruiting season, will fly to San Antonio this weekend to watch his son Nolan play in the U.S. Army prep all-star game at the Alamodome. Nolan has committed to Texas; his father wouldn't say it, but he still could end up at Minnesota.

Former Vikings coach Bud Grant, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, on Shanahan: "I think it proves the old axiom that it's not coaches who make the difference, it's the players.

"If you can take the best players and give them to most coaches in the league, they'll win. So the secret to winning is getting the best players.

"Shanahan had the best players for a while, and now somebody else has the best players. Coaches make very, very little difference in the outcome of a game. It's acquiring the players and maintaining a level of healthiness, and not losing key players. That's how you win."

http://www.twincities.com/ci_7824835?source=most_viewed&nclick_check=1

[orinjkrush]

"It's acquiring the players and maintaining a level of healthiness, and not losing key players."

that's why poor drafting and poor NFL player talent evaluation hurts so much.

and why "systems" aren't necessarily the solution.

[Drek]

"It's acquiring the players and maintaining a level of healthiness, and not losing key players."

that's why poor drafting and poor NFL player talent evaluation hurts so much.

and why "systems" aren't necessarily the solution.

A strong system is needed to have consistent drafts and FA signings though.

Consider our OL for much of the late 90's and early this decade. We picked up guys in later rounds and off the FA pile with exceptional success because there was a clear system (ZBS) in place by which players could be measured.

Contrast that to our DL where we've basically rotated through every 4-3 scheme in the book over the last 6 years. How many impact players have we drafted or signed there? I mean real impact guys too, not stat padding DEs like Hayward and Berry who get 3 sacks against replacement OTs and zero in big production in big games against quality OTs.

New England consistently finds late round draftees and second tier FAs that they plug in with great success. Indianapolis does the same thing. Why? Because both have long standing, unchanging schemes in place. Every player brought through those organizations has some skill or talent that makes him a good fit somewhere in their system. There might be someone better and so not every guy gets his shot, but when someone goes down there is a player to fill each and every hole.

The only position you can't do that with is QB, because there aren't even enough NFL level QBs for every team to have decent starters, let alone legitimately skilled backups. Thats why those two franchises have invested so heavily in Brady and Manning.

We need to do the same thing with Cutler. Decide on a defensive scheme, be that Bates' 4-3, a cover 2, 3-4, whatever, and stick with it. Build a familiarity and mentality of success within the unit and we'll see the results we want.

[elsid13]

A strong system is needed to have consistent drafts and FA signings though.

Consider our OL for much of the late 90's and early this decade. We picked up guys in later rounds and off the FA pile with exceptional success because there was a clear system (ZBS) in place by which players could be measured.

Contrast that to our DL where we've basically rotated through every 4-3 scheme in the book over the last 6 years. How many impact players have we drafted or signed there? I mean real impact guys too, not stat padding DEs like Hayward and Berry who get 3 sacks against replacement OTs and zero in big production in big games against quality OTs.

New England consistently finds late round draftees and second tier FAs that they plug in with great success. Indianapolis does the same thing. Why? Because both have long standing, unchanging schemes in place. Every player brought through those organizations has some skill or talent that makes him a good fit somewhere in their system. There might be someone better and so not every guy gets his shot, but when someone goes down there is a player to fill each and every hole.

The only position you can't do that with is QB, because there aren't even enough NFL level QBs for every team to have decent starters, let alone legitimately skilled backups. Thats why those two franchises have invested so heavily in Brady and Manning.

We need to do the same thing with Cutler. Decide on a defensive scheme, be that Bates' 4-3, a cover 2, 3-4, whatever, and stick with it. Build a familiarity and mentality of success within the unit and we'll see the results we want.

You nailed it on the head. That why Tampa has become a great defense team, and Indy is able to be successful with picks later in draft in defense. It about finding the system and getting the same type of players to make it run. I actual think that Shanahan has giving to much control to DC when comes to personnel, and hasn''t demand that stick with system.

[Drek]

You nailed it on the head. That why Tampa has become a great defense team, and Indy is able to be successful with picks later in draft in defense. It about finding the system and getting the same type of players to make it run. I actual think that Shanahan has giving to much control to DC when comes to personnel, and hasn''t demand that stick with system.

I blame it mostly on the constant "couple players away" mantra we've lived under for nearly a decade now. We keep patching round holes with square pegs because the square pegs have potential to fill square holes well. It makes no sense.

I'm not a Coyer fan by any stretch but he saw the problems here. He ran just about every defensive alignment known to man and a few that he just made up on the fly to try and find homes for all these misfit toys Shanahan has acquired.

Hopefully this season under Bates, with the significant turnover we've had, is a sign that he's giving Bates system a legit shot and letting Bates run through all the cheaply available talent he can find before investing real money this off-season. But then I'll believe it when I see it. Shanahan can't resist getting involved for too long.

[elsid13]

I blame it mostly on the constant "couple players away" mantra we've lived under for nearly a decade now. We keep patching round holes with square pegs because the square pegs have potential to fill square holes well. It makes no sense.

I'm not a Coyer fan by any stretch but he saw the problems here. He ran just about every defensive alignment known to man and a few that he just made up on the fly to try and find homes for all these misfit toys Shanahan has acquired.

Hopefully this season under Bates, with the significant turnover we've had, is a sign that he's giving Bates system a legit shot and letting Bates run through all the cheaply available talent he can find before investing real money this off-season. But then I'll believe it when I see it. Shanahan can't resist getting involved for too long.

See I think you're not giving Shanahan credit for listen to his folks. I think a lot of misfit toys are result of coaches becoming enamored with players and convincing Shanahan that would help the team. I think the only reason Gold is back is because Coyer sold him on the idea that DJ could play the SLB and Gold would be player maker. Look at MOC debacle. That was Turner's pick, he said so in the media. Shanahan might make the final decision, but he doesn't do it the vacuum.

[nickademus]

I blame it mostly on the constant "couple players away" mantra we've lived under for nearly a decade now. We keep patching round holes with square pegs because the square pegs have potential to fill square holes well. It makes no sense.

I'm not a Coyer fan by any stretch but he saw the problems here. He ran just about every defensive alignment known to man and a few that he just made up on the fly to try and find homes for all these misfit toys Shanahan has acquired.

Hopefully this season under Bates, with the significant turnover we've had, is a sign that he's giving Bates system a legit shot and letting Bates run through all the cheaply available talent he can find before investing real money this off-season. But then I'll believe it when I see it. Shanahan can't resist getting involved for too long.


Its funny that not 10 hours after I was sitting at my favorite wattering hole talking about our d and the problems we have had and boiling it down to not sticking with a system do I find this thread. I am truely hopeing that bates has brought in guys like winborne and webster to be the low price guys and hope that he could find a gem somewhere for our d-line before we go and shoot are whad on some overpriced FA.