The Patriots secret for building team chemistry

USA Today
If you follow the New England Patriots for even a short amount of time you'll notice the word versatile is said a lot. Its said about the team in general. About their schemes and looks on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. And more importantly its said about their players.

Whenever they lose a player to injury they seem to be able to put the next guy in and not lose a beat. Even if that guy happens to be playing out of position. That versatility of the coaches and players is one of the many reasons they have been able to remain one of the leagues premier teams year in and year out.

The foundation of this versatility is laid in training camp and the preseason. And so far through the first two weeks of preseason the Patriots are still moving around anyone and everyone. Except Tom Brady of course. Unless you count his attempt at tackling Cary Williams after the interception as his stint at free safety.

But is that versatility the secret of the Patriots team chemistry?

Tom Curran of Comcast Sportsnet caught up with Nate Solder after Friday nights win over the Philadelphia Eagles and got his thoughts on playing multiple positions on the offensive line.

We don’t get an explanation (as to why the changes are made) but it’s kinda fun too because they plug you in with a bunch of different guys and you kinda build some camaraderie between the whole group,” he explained. “You don’t know who’s gonna be out there, you don’t know what’s gonna happen but that’s what’s great about it. Each position (gets to the point) where you can just plug it in and we keep trucking.

And really this is where the genius of having players play multiple positions is. Not only do players get in game experience at different positions in case they need to come in during an emergency but its essentially a team building exercise. And its quite a bit more effective than doing trust falls off the conference room table into your co-workers arms.

By playing different positions the player gets to learn the nuances and quirks that each position brings. And by experiencing those first hand they understand what their teammates are going through when certain things happen. They can then empathise with a teammate if they happen to make a mistake since they know while it appeared to be an easy play there are more factors that could have played into it. While also understanding how doing certain things at their own position can help a teammate more easily play his.

In the same article Duron Harmon had these two things to say.

"Everybody’s on the same page when you have guys like Kyle and Logan coming back after playing cornerback,” said safety Duron Harmon. “It helps them learn the whole defense so that they see what might be a problem in a coverage if they hadn’t played safety as well as corner. It definitely helps out.

For real, even though we’re all in competition I look at everybody as my brothers, especially the defensive backfield in general. We do a lot of stuff together, we cheer each other on, if somebody makes a play in practice, everybody’s high-fiving him. We really love each other and it shows out on the field

Team Chemistry is so important in the NFL because it truly is a team game. And you constantly hear from former players and coaches that you "Can't coach chemistry". Well don't look now because it looks as if the Patriots have figured out a way to do just that.

Follow me on Twitter @ETthomehome