Belichick makes player expectations perfectly clear in massive snowstorms
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t want to hear any excuses out of his players ahead of the second and final practice of the team’s first-round playoff bye week as the NFL playoffs get underway.
Even though 5 to 8 inches of snow were expected in Foxborough, Massachusetts, as part of the eastern United States’ “bomb cyclone” storm, practice was on and players were expected to be on time, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.
Which, well, anyone who grew up in Boston knows it takes a lot more than 5 to 8 inches to cancel school, and school is not football practice, so Belichick has a point.
Special teams captain and Pro Bowl selectee Matthew Slater summed up the gravity of the coach’s orders, saying Wednesday, “You certainly better leave yourself enough time to get here on time tomorrow. We all know there is weather. Coach has mentioned that several times to the team, so I wouldn’t want to be the guy who is late tomorrow.”
The Patriots started practice inside the Empower Fieldhouse at 10:30 Eastern on Thursday morning, giving the players a break from trying to go through their drills in driving snow and high winds.
When reporters asked Belichick if holding practice in a snowstorm was some kind of lesson for his players, he gave the sort of clipped answer for which he is infamous:
“Every day is a work day.”
Safety Devin McCourty chimed in on the Patriot Way that Belichick holds his players to when discussing how to be on time and stay in the coach’s good graces.
Said McCourty, “He’s mentioned that he doesn’t care; ‘don’t call and say your car got stuck.’ I think everyone knows there are two hotels up here at Patriot Place, so stay there for the night. Find a way.”
And really, calling Captain Obvious may be your best bet; Gillette Stadium is located along a woefully underequipped access road on U.S. Route 1, a road south of Boston that turns into a parking lot for South Shore commuters and a fast food junkie’s arteries on football Sundays.
And when you add snow and an early Thursday morning start? Definitely a “stay in a nearby hotel” kind of situation.
McCourty continued, “I tell guys, ‘Wake up earlier.’ Especially if you don’t have a garage or something. Wake up and go clean your car off. I think guys know. We’re in the NFL playoffs. I think everyone, if you’ve been here for a week or two weeks, you kind of get that — ‘this guy Bill that talks every day in the early morning, he doesn’t play.’
“So not much needs to be said about being here on time and being ready to work.”
McCourty’s position mate at safety, Duron Harmon, had similar words, saying, “Snow doesn’t matter. We have to find a way to get here. Just be prepared. … These days are too important for us to have guys missing and being late and being a distraction.”
Truly, why let a little national news-making blizzard get in the way of a good crusade?
The Patriots are on a mission, 11-1 in their last 12 games after starting the season 2-2, ranked second in points scored and fifth in points allowed, that latter despite ranking fourth up from the bottom in yards allowed with their bend-don’t-break approach to defense.
They have home field throughout the AFC playoffs as they try to defend a Super Bowl title and get Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady their sixth Super Bowl rings, which would put Brady in sole possession of the record for most Super Bowls won by a player; he currently shares that mark with 49ers and Cowboys legend Charles Haley.
By removing all excuses, by showing New England-honed toughness in the face of a snowstorm, and by putting all eyes on that sixth ring, Belichick is placing his team in the driver’s seat.
Just don’t drive on Route 1 if you are not on the New England Patriots. Seriously. It’s a disaster out there.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
