Rude, arrogant, ornery, grumpy, classless, sore loser and a prick. Yep, Bill Belichick
has been called all those and a few other choice words over the years. The head coach
of the New England Patriots has also been referred to as a genius once or twice during
his brilliant career, but when it comes to handling the media, he can get ugly, real ugly.
And sometimes, that can be a beautiful thing.
During Wednesday's press conference the Hoodie emitted some serious repellant to
all those journalists who wanted to re-hash Monday night's massacre, criticize Tom
Brady, and bury Belichick for giving his franchise quarterback a bunch of receivers
who are has been's, never heard of's, and never will be's.
Nearly every question he received was returned with nearly the same answer
accompanied with the emotion of a mortician.
"We're moving on to Cincinnati."
But Bill, do you think you have given Tom Brady enough offensive weapons to
work with?
"We're moving on to Cincinnati."
It was classic Belichick. Five questions about everything but Cincinnati were
answered with a "we're moving on to Cincinnati." Whether it's SpyGate or the
K.O. in K.C., nobody can stiff arm the media like the Hoodie and he knows it.
He takes as much pride in it as Jim Brown did when he bulldozed opponents
and the media during his amazing career with the Cleveland Browns.
In his 13-plus years in New England, very few members of the media have tried to
challenge Belichick and when they do, they either get a "it is what it is" or like on
Wednesday, a "we're moving onto Cincinnati" which became the theme of not only
the day, but the week.
Belichick has the personality of the Grinch after he loses and it's not much
better after a win. He just detests the media. It was that way in Cleveland and it
didn't change much when he got to New England. You get the feeling Belichick
would rather undergo eight hours of waterboarding torture than show up to talk
to the media. He hates it that much, but he certainly knows how to defuse and
use it to his advantage.
I covered the Patriots nearly every day for two years and it became common
knowledge that everything Belichick says in his press conference is received loud
and clear by his players and they usually repeat what the head coach says during
their sessions with the media.
I'm sure if you edited down every interview with the players Wednesday, you
could make quite an entertaining reel titled, "We're moving on to Cincinnati."
Belichick doesn't care what the media or anyone else thinks. He doesn't care about
the nasty things people say about him. He doesn't care what the media writes about
him, either. He knows he's not getting paid or measured by how he acts with the
media. He doesn't care about popularity contests or "trending" on Twitter.
Belichick is almost always surly but he repels negativity better than any coach in
the game. He knows the way he acted and what he said on Wednesday will be fodder
for all the talk shows, columnists, and social media network. Everybody will be
talking about and criticizing him instead of Brady and the rest of his teammates.
He gave the media absolutely nothing to write and talk about but his surly demeanor
and uncooperative behavior.
That's just another stroke of his genius. There is a method to all of his madness.
Sure, you can talk about his bad draft picks and lack of offensive weapons for his
franchise quarterbacks. He won't lose sleep over it. Neither should any Patriots fan.
As Bill Parcells famously said, "You are what your record says you are."
11 straight seasons with 10 or more wins, five Super Bowl appearances with three
victories, and a 51-13 record in the last four years. Now, what is wrong with Belichick
again?
All this negativity around the Patriots and Tom Brady is quite comical. One loss and
the sky is falling all around New England. That's in Belichick's rearview mirror and he's
just making sure it's in the player's one, too.
After all, they're "moving on to to Cincinnati."
Great article. Agree 100%!
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