UTChief
06-06-2005, 07:19 AM
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2005/06/06/gretz_reallife_video_games/
GRETZ: Real-Life Video Games
Jun 06, 2005, 5:02:46 AM by Bob Gretz
Earlier this spring, Al Saunders made a journey that’s a video game player’s dream. The folks at EA Sports, the people that create the John Madden football game each year, invited him down to Orlando, Florida for a day.
They wanted to pick the brain of the coordinator of the most productive offense in the National Football League for the last three years. In Madden Football, anybody can call the plays for the offense on the screen. Saunders gets to manipulate real human bodies, some of the best in pro football.
So, it only makes sense that EA Sports would want to troll for some knowledge. “I’ve seen those types of games in the locker room and I’m sure we probably had them around the house when the kids were growing up,” said Saunders. “But I’ve never sat down and played the game. I didn’t really know much about them.
“It’s an amazing thing what they do down there with computers and creating players, creating plays.”
Ah, creating plays, that’s something Saunders does each off-season. Right now, as the Chiefs go through OTA practices, the offense works on the basics. They also work on some of the new ideas that have jumped into the head of their offensive coordinator.
“That never stops,” Saunders said. “That’s the great thing about this offensive system; it’s really only limited by the imagination of your coaching staff.”
And, the talent on hand; if everyone is healthy, the Chiefs will have more offensive weapons, more possible explosions with the football than they did last season. Only WR Johnnie Morton is gone. Marc Boerigter is back. Samie Parker and Larry Johnson got the chance to play at the end of last year and showed flashes of the talent that the Chiefs saw in draft evaluation. Kris Wilson showed last year before he was injured in the final pre-season game that he could be a factor.
“We want more tools in our box than our opponent,” said Saunders. “We want tools to take advantage of every single thing we want to be able to do, and we want to be able to dictate that.”
Saunders’ job is to figure out how to dictate to the defense, how to put the best tools on the field for any and all occasions. It’s about creating match ups that are favorable to the Chiefs offense and detrimental to the opposing defense.
Here are some examples of how that might happen in 2005:
STAR PACKAGE: The Chiefs have already shown this during OTAs, with Holmes and Johnson in the backfield together. It’s a personnel package that really excites Holmes.
“It reminds me of being at Texas and being in the same backfield with Ricky Williams,” said Holmes. “There are a lot of things that can happen when you’ve got both of us together.”
Think about the problems this pairing presents. Holmes is the best perimeter runner in the NFL, while Johnson’s forte could very well be running between the tackles. Holmes is one of the best receivers out of the backfield in the league; Johnson showed last year that he could catch the ball as well. How about being able to throw a screen or a short dump off pass to either side of the field? Imagine Holmes and Johnson with three blockers in front of them in the open field: that’s a defensive nightmare.
So the basic personnel package of two backs, one tight end and two wide receivers, is that run or pass? How does the defense react? That’s the kind of questions Saunders tries to create for his counterpart on the defensive side.
THREE TIGHT ENDS: With most NFL teams, if they put three tight ends on the field, with one back and one wide receiver, it’s going to be a running play. But what if those tight ends are Tony Gonzalez, Kris Wilson and Jason Dunn?
Again, that leaves a question in the mind of the defense. Do they try to cover Gonzalez and Wilson with linebackers, because it may be a run? Do they concede the chance it’s a passing play, and bring in nickel coverage?
FOUR WIDE RECIVERS: Yes, yes, I know everybody’s concerned about the Chiefs wide receivers right now. Funny, but this offense was the most productive in the NFL with the same group they’ll have this year, minus Morton, but with the return of Marc Boerigter.
The number of times the Chiefs have used four wide receivers in the last three seasons can probably be counted on one hand. The position hasn’t been that strong and with Gonzalez and Holmes who seldom leave the field, there have not been many plays that called for four wide receivers.
But what about an obvious passing play, where it’s Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker, Dante Hall and Boerigter, along with Gonzalez? Talk about being able to create match up problems for the defense. Kennison and Parker are the fastest players on the offense and who is quicker than Hall? Boerigter’s size and speed are a great combination that can create an advantage. We already know Gonzalez presents match up problems.
With speed like Kennison and Parker, a defense has to have deep help on the outside. That’s four players to cover two receivers. That leaves three other defenders behind a four-man rush to handle Hall, Boerigter and Gonzalez. Somewhere in there is a great match up for the Chiefs offense.
GRETZ: Real-Life Video Games
Jun 06, 2005, 5:02:46 AM by Bob Gretz
Earlier this spring, Al Saunders made a journey that’s a video game player’s dream. The folks at EA Sports, the people that create the John Madden football game each year, invited him down to Orlando, Florida for a day.
They wanted to pick the brain of the coordinator of the most productive offense in the National Football League for the last three years. In Madden Football, anybody can call the plays for the offense on the screen. Saunders gets to manipulate real human bodies, some of the best in pro football.
So, it only makes sense that EA Sports would want to troll for some knowledge. “I’ve seen those types of games in the locker room and I’m sure we probably had them around the house when the kids were growing up,” said Saunders. “But I’ve never sat down and played the game. I didn’t really know much about them.
“It’s an amazing thing what they do down there with computers and creating players, creating plays.”
Ah, creating plays, that’s something Saunders does each off-season. Right now, as the Chiefs go through OTA practices, the offense works on the basics. They also work on some of the new ideas that have jumped into the head of their offensive coordinator.
“That never stops,” Saunders said. “That’s the great thing about this offensive system; it’s really only limited by the imagination of your coaching staff.”
And, the talent on hand; if everyone is healthy, the Chiefs will have more offensive weapons, more possible explosions with the football than they did last season. Only WR Johnnie Morton is gone. Marc Boerigter is back. Samie Parker and Larry Johnson got the chance to play at the end of last year and showed flashes of the talent that the Chiefs saw in draft evaluation. Kris Wilson showed last year before he was injured in the final pre-season game that he could be a factor.
“We want more tools in our box than our opponent,” said Saunders. “We want tools to take advantage of every single thing we want to be able to do, and we want to be able to dictate that.”
Saunders’ job is to figure out how to dictate to the defense, how to put the best tools on the field for any and all occasions. It’s about creating match ups that are favorable to the Chiefs offense and detrimental to the opposing defense.
Here are some examples of how that might happen in 2005:
STAR PACKAGE: The Chiefs have already shown this during OTAs, with Holmes and Johnson in the backfield together. It’s a personnel package that really excites Holmes.
“It reminds me of being at Texas and being in the same backfield with Ricky Williams,” said Holmes. “There are a lot of things that can happen when you’ve got both of us together.”
Think about the problems this pairing presents. Holmes is the best perimeter runner in the NFL, while Johnson’s forte could very well be running between the tackles. Holmes is one of the best receivers out of the backfield in the league; Johnson showed last year that he could catch the ball as well. How about being able to throw a screen or a short dump off pass to either side of the field? Imagine Holmes and Johnson with three blockers in front of them in the open field: that’s a defensive nightmare.
So the basic personnel package of two backs, one tight end and two wide receivers, is that run or pass? How does the defense react? That’s the kind of questions Saunders tries to create for his counterpart on the defensive side.
THREE TIGHT ENDS: With most NFL teams, if they put three tight ends on the field, with one back and one wide receiver, it’s going to be a running play. But what if those tight ends are Tony Gonzalez, Kris Wilson and Jason Dunn?
Again, that leaves a question in the mind of the defense. Do they try to cover Gonzalez and Wilson with linebackers, because it may be a run? Do they concede the chance it’s a passing play, and bring in nickel coverage?
FOUR WIDE RECIVERS: Yes, yes, I know everybody’s concerned about the Chiefs wide receivers right now. Funny, but this offense was the most productive in the NFL with the same group they’ll have this year, minus Morton, but with the return of Marc Boerigter.
The number of times the Chiefs have used four wide receivers in the last three seasons can probably be counted on one hand. The position hasn’t been that strong and with Gonzalez and Holmes who seldom leave the field, there have not been many plays that called for four wide receivers.
But what about an obvious passing play, where it’s Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker, Dante Hall and Boerigter, along with Gonzalez? Talk about being able to create match up problems for the defense. Kennison and Parker are the fastest players on the offense and who is quicker than Hall? Boerigter’s size and speed are a great combination that can create an advantage. We already know Gonzalez presents match up problems.
With speed like Kennison and Parker, a defense has to have deep help on the outside. That’s four players to cover two receivers. That leaves three other defenders behind a four-man rush to handle Hall, Boerigter and Gonzalez. Somewhere in there is a great match up for the Chiefs offense.