Don banks doesnt understand why BB was stoic

[SVN]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/09/week1/index.html

I get it that it's Bill Belichick's job to convince his Patriots the loss of no one player ends a team's season, and if everybody just does their job everything will work out just fine. But c'mon. This is Tom Brady's left knee that will require season-ending surgery, not Jabar Gaffney's.

Belichick could have at least dropped the stoic act for a moment in Monday afternoon's press conference and admitted his team faces its greatest challenge of his nine-year tenure in New England, if for no other reason than it's a great way to rally the troops for the task ahead.

No one expected him to stand up there and weep for No. 12, or bemoan the 2008 Patriots' fate. You take the good with the bad in the NFL, and Lord knows New England has had its share of the good the past seven years.

But do you think anyone in the Patriots locker room doesn't realize what it will mean to be Brady-less for the first time ever? Do you think the players buy into Belichick's stiff upper lip to the degree that they don't roll their eyes when hearing him offer up only the barest acknowledgement that New England just lost the most difference-making player in the league?

Belichick's motto remains the same, no matter the situation: Give 'em nothing. And when they ask again, give 'em a little more nothing. But this time, even by his business-as-usual standards, it was over the top.

i really dont get whats BB to do ? cry and say and yell like herm edwards and **** vermeil that it will be very hard without a QB after just the 1st game ?
i also dont believe BB gave any rallying cry for the team players to roll their eyes so to speak. he believes in keeping quiet and things settling down and playing its course on its own.

 

[Ring 6]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/09/week1/index.html



i really dont get whats BB to do ? cry and say and yell like herm edwards and **** vermeil that it will be very hard without a QB after just the 1st game ?
i also dont believe BB gave any rallying cry for the team players to roll their eyes so to speak. he believes in keeping quiet and things settling down and playing its course on its own.

And I am quite certain that Don Banks has the education, epxerience, knowledge and intelligence to be a better judge of how to get through to 52 players that you are the leader of better than Bill Belichick.

This is like a reporter walking into Microsoft and critiquing Bill Gates meetings with his staff, and telling Bill Gates what his demeanor should be.

 

[billdog3484]

this guys just md BB never gave him a good thing to write about. these reporters are the worst

 

[signbabybrady]

I don't understand why reporters have to critique every little thing this guy does. Is the way he handles the loss of Brady really something to be critiqued maybe noted about but not critiqued?

 

[SVN]

this guys just md BB never gave him a good thing to write about. these reporters are the worst

oddly he is from the boston area and more close to the patriots than others...

 

[DefenseRules]

What is BB supposed to do, CRY AND SAY "OMG WE ARE DOOMED". Our starting QB is gone. NO ONE in the NFL feels sorry for the Patriots. It will do them no good to start feeling sorry for themselves. They have to move on and find a way to win some games. BB is the #1 leader of this team. He has to set the example. DON BANKS get over yourself.
I lose more and more respect for the media Everyday.

 

[Zeus]

It's been very educational to observe Belichick and the team in the aftermath of the Brady injury. Belichick - who always chooses his words very carefully - said that he felt bad for Brady. What he did not say is that he felt bad for the team. And from what I've seen, Tom's teammates are not feeling sorry for themselves.

These guys expect to play well and to win a lot of games. Belichick knows that the minute any doubt creeps into the minds of his players, the season is over. He'll never concede that and neither will his players (including Brady himself).

That Banks thinks that there was anything at all to be gained by Bill crying in his beer is just plain dumb.

 

[spacecrime]

I like Banks but this is illogical.

He says BB should have dropped his stoic demeanor in a press conference "if for no other reason than it's a great way to rally the troops for the task ahead.

... do you think anyone in the Patriots locker room doesn't realize what it will mean to be Brady-less for the first time ever? Do you think the players buy into Belichick's stiff upper lip to the degree that they don't roll their eyes when hearing him offer up only the barest acknowledgement that New England just lost the most difference-making player in the league?"

Hey, Don, the players were not at the press conference. Reporters were. BB had already talked to the players and when a reporter asked what he told the palyers, BB said what goes on within the team is private "and I hope you can respect that."

 

[PatsDeb]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/09/week1/index.html



i really dont get whats BB to do ? cry and say and yell like herm edwards and **** vermeil that it will be very hard without a QB after just the 1st game ?
i also dont believe BB gave any rallying cry for the team players to roll their eyes so to speak. he believes in keeping quiet and things settling down and playing its course on its own.

Don Banks has no idea what was said in private between BB & the team. The local guys were reporting how somber it was in the lockerroom. Why does BB have to acknowledge anything in public? As Banks says, the players aren't stupid; they know what a bad thing it is to lose Brady (as does anyone else with a pulse); why does it have to be said publically or over & over again? If BB allows the team to wallow in the loss of Brady, they are going to lose focus and hence games. If Banks could declare a mourning period for a couple of weeks and suspend all our games, I am sure BB woudl get up on stage and cry. But, it really "is what it is". All the other teams in the NFL have either left us for dead or are psyched that we lost the MVP. I have no doubt that the troops have already been rallied in private. That is good enough for me. Why does everyone expect BB to change his spots every time something happens, good or bad?

 

[Wildo7]

Yes, good way to inspire Cassel, by making a speech about how monumental the loss is. That fits right in with his no excuses attitude. BB, builds this team around the TEAM concept, Brady wouldn't want different treatment than Gaffney. He expects them to overcome the loss, and that is most likely why they will.

 

[ALP]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/09/week1/index.html



i really dont get whats BB to do ? cry and say and yell like herm edwards and **** vermeil that it will be very hard without a QB after just the 1st game ?
i also dont believe BB gave any rallying cry for the team players to roll their eyes so to speak. he believes in keeping quiet and things settling down and playing its course on its own.

how sad....now the media is angry b/c BB doesnt adopt their doomsday predictions for the team

 

[MassPats38]

I believe the phrase "just do your job" comes to mind with regard to Belichick's response to virtually any injury, followed by a media statement to the effect of "It's tough to lose a player of [fill in the blank]'s caliber." I am sure he is personally unhappy to see Brady injured given his high regard for his leadership and ability, but leaders do not show fear in the face of adversity.

Belichick typically only shows emotion after winning the NFL championship and not before (there were exceptions last year, but that was a weird year for him). If the media is expecting him to go running around on the sidelines exclaiming "What do we do? What do we do???" after the injury, they have obviously been watching a different coach than I have been watching over the years.

 

[godef]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/09/week1/index.html



i really dont get whats BB to do ? cry and say and yell like herm edwards and **** vermeil that it will be very hard without a QB after just the 1st game ?
i also dont believe BB gave any rallying cry for the team players to roll their eyes so to speak. he believes in keeping quiet and things settling down and playing its course on its own.

Doesn't it occur to Banks that BB probably has dropped the "stoic act" in the locker room with the players? After all, he's been doing something these past seven years to get them to win so much.

It comes down to this: who does Banks think he is to demand that he must also drop the "stoic act" in front of him and the rest of the media? Me thinks he being the douche that he accuses BB of being.

 

[patchick]

Everything BB has done since the injury -- including and especially refusing to work out veteran QBs who had already flown in for the purpose -- seems designed to bolster the confidence of his team, starting with his new starting QB. What message would it have sent to Cassel and the other players if he acted distraught?

 

[NYCPatsFan]

I wish someone emails him all the excellent points made above and make him rethink what he wrote.

As with many others, I like Banks' commentaries but this stinks. He should have known better than to sound like Borge-Felger's mentor.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

And I am quite certain that Don Banks has the education, epxerience, knowledge and intelligence to be a better judge of how to get through to 52 players that you are the leader of better than Bill Belichick.

This is like a reporter walking into Microsoft and critiquing Bill Gates meetings with his staff, and telling Bill Gates what his demeanor should be.

Perfect analogy. Sweetjeeezuz someone please tell me who these pundits think they are. Banks' new book: Coaching For Dummies.
BB needs a Suggestion Box outside his office.

 

[emoney_33]

Whoa did he just right an article saying that BB did the wrong thing by not being a hypocrite and if he was hypocritical that would be the RIGHT thing to do?

 

[bostonbuzz]

Don what you don't seem to get is there's more to the make up of the Patriots than just BB and Tom Brady. The rest of the team may have had more than just a little to do with it's success over the past seven years. Maybe just maybe BB understands that every single player on the team is an important piece to the overall puzzle. Any player that goes down needs a quality replacement that's ready, willing, and able, to step in and get the job done. BB has been preaching those virtues since he's been in Foxboro.

Now, obviously, losing an MVP Quarterback for the season is something no coach wants to deal with but not acknowledging the rest of the team as being able and capable of handling the situation in any other way but 'stoic' would be foolish and demeaning. They are all professionals and no doubt very proud of their collective prowess playing a game that millions of fans live and die for every season. What's he supposed to do Don? Hang his head and mope around and carry on like the season can't be a good one without TB? Not going to happen. This team has a ton of talent and still has the makeup to go back to the Super Bowl if the cards fall their way.

Get over yourself.

 

[TheComeback]

They're just trying to find something to criticize Belichick for. The press doesn't like him because he doesn't give them what they want--tabloid material.

 

[SVN]

i remember what BB said once during an interview when asked about his personal relationship with parcells. he said its "personal". if i talk about it with everyone then what is "personal" about it ? iam paraphrasing here but wordplay means a lot BB so what he speaks and acts with the team isnt meant for everyone according to him.