Are reporters afraid to ask Belichick the tough questions ?

Miguel said:

I have to answer harder questions on my FAQ page http://www.patsfans.com/salary-cap/?p=443 than the softballs BB gets to answer

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You need to become more demeaning and condescending in your replies to questions!

Miguel said:

I have to answer harder questions on my FAQ page http://www.patsfans.com/salary-cap/?p=443 than the softballs BB gets to answer

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Just start saying "I don't know we'll see." Honestly though I hope you get paid for what you do. Surprised a team hasn't tried to hire you to do cap stuff. Would be a better use of money than paying a guy to squirt Gatorade into players' mouths.

Sciz said:

There's more to bring a member of the media than showing up, asking tough questions, and then calling it a day. One key factor of real success in the media is connections. As an example, one reporter accidentally outed Caserio as an anonymous team source in an article. If you tick off Belichick enough, you can bet he's directing Caserio to never give you an inside tip again. Unless he chooses to talk to you anyway (like one Jets coach in that circus in recent history), then you just lost a team source. That's an extreme example, but so are the questions you want to ask.

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Exactly. What the OP simply does not understand is that a sportswriter has to produce 250-1,000 words on a deadline. Unless he/she is wasting their own time, they are there to get something out of the person they are questioning. If, over a decade and a half the subject has proven time and again to go stonefaced at certain questions, guess what? Those types of questions won't be asked by people who have to produce news copy within a few hours.

However, if someone from TMZ or that 1920's fellow in Dallas gets into the room, then Scott99 may have his wish.

Are many reporters more concerned with looking good than actually doing their job? Yes. Does that mean the idiot from NFL.com who makes his business from asking BB stupid questions is doing his job well? No.

If BB wasn't required to do press conferences, the answer to every question would be "We do what's best for the team...."... "We'll take it one day at a time..."... "I'm only going to talk about the players that are here..."...."Ask <expert>.... He seems to know everything... (when referencing someone else's opinion on the team or a player)" The media can ask whatever they want, he won't answer anything anything with much detail unless it's about football history or general football strategy.

Froob said:

Just start saying "I don't know we'll see." Honestly though I hope you get paid for what you do. Surprised a team hasn't tried to hire you to do cap stuff.

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Whether or not I get paid is an actual question on my FAQ page so it may be that I do have to answer some easy ones

Rob0729 said:

He missed his first game in his third year. Players play injured all the time. Maybe Gronk would have missed time if he sprained his ankle mid-season, but he didn't miss any time.

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No but he was injured and was next to useless in the Super Bowl. The Giants defense called him a "****ing decoy". Like I said, he's gotten injured in every season since his rookie one. Therefore, you can't count on him to be healthy which makes the awful depth at TE after him that much more disturbing.

Please allow me to do you a favor and give you the exact answers Belichick would give you if you were a reporter who asked him those questions:

scott99 said:

If I was a reporter, I would ask him "The 2014 draft was known as one of the deepest drafts as far as WR ever, why wasn't a WR picked until the 7th round ?" Especially since we have a weak receiver corp, and the 3 rookies from last season, all ended the season with injuries.

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"When we make our draft picks, uh, we're just trying to do what's best for the team."

scott99 said:

And then the BIG Gorilla in the room, I'd ask him, "Why wasn't the TE position addressed at all ?" Especially when the team needs receiving TE's desperately. It's so obvious our offense is elite when Gronkowski is in there, but when he's not, the offense suffers.

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"Well, uh, we just select the players available we feel are the best fit for our team."

scott99 said:

I didn't see ANY reporter ask these questions, and they are viable concerns. I know BB would come back with the usual "I picked the players I thought would make our team better", but I wouldn't sit there and nod my head and say, "oh". I'd come back and say, "That answer doesn't answer the specific questions".

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"Well, uh, we just select the players we feel are best for the team."

Boy your questions really got him on the run!

hey bill what comes to mind when you think about the jets?

scott99 said:

And how in the world were my questions stupid ?

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I don't think your questions are stupid. What's stupid is your belief that the media aren't doing their job but that you would be able to come in, ask those questions, give a sternly worded follow-up, and all of a sudden Belichick would break down and thoroughly detail every part of his decision making process.

PatsWickedPissah said:

You need to become more demeaning and condescending in your replies to questions!

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I actually enjoyed Miguel's not-so-little jab at Felger.

He does have a great sense of humor. Maybe for the posters and the media he'll have a special post draft presser just once before he retires.

"Damn, are you saying there was a tight end available? Which one? I know I made a note somewhere to draft one and I just forgot. I know we traded to get a bunch of picks later, didn't we get a good WR? Hell, you must have figured it out by now, we're going to trade for Andre Johnson, that's why.

I probably shouldn't have said that. Hope that doesn't queer the deal. I'm sure O'Brien wouldn't dare change the terms just because i leaked it. He knows I'd kick his ass.

Don't know why you didn't bring up all this draft stuff when it could have made a difference. It's too late now, looks like we screwed up another one. I'm starting next year's early so this doesn't happen again. Get me Captain Stone on the phone, stat."

varjao said:

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"Aw, you know me coach. I wouldn't harm a fly. (Just strangers who spill drinks on me in a bar, and anyone who talks about it later.)"

KontradictioN said:

That's the problem. Gronk hasn't shown that he's capable of staying on the field. He's literally been injured every season since his rookie year and there's no reason to expect that to change. After him, the team has probably the worst TE corps in the entire league. Hopefully they give Keller a look or Jones surprises.

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What are you up to Kontra. Almost none of what you are saying above is true. Are you channeling your inner Borges today. Gronk never missed a regular season game his first 2 years until Pollard sprained his ankle. His other 2 injuries have less to do with his durability and more to do with random bad luck. Anyone hit on the knee the moment he planted his foot would wind up with an ACL. BTW- when you have a TE who is the most impactful non-QB on offense in the league, your TE corps is NOT the worst in the league. Lots of teams have Jags as back up TE's and you know it.

Sorry about your bad day, but don't take it out on us or the Pats FO.

As for the OP - You think the Pats WR corps is weak Scott. Did you ever think that BB and his staff don't see it that way and drafted accordingly. Who is to say that any of the players BB could have drafted in the 2nd or 3rd rounds were projected to be better than the guys we already have on the roster.

As for the TE question, its way to early to ask it, since we don't know how it will work out before TC. Maybe he'd answer it by stating, "Scott, looks like we are only going with 3 TE's this season and we feel good about winding up with a solid group from the guys we have on our 90 man roster right now.

scott99 said:

I was thinking aout this last night. Thinking back to the 2014 draft, and major positions not being addressed (especially TE & WR), why didn't the reporters ask him about that ? Why didn't reporters ask him about risking a #1 pick on a guy who has had 2 major knee surgeries on both knees ?

If I was a reporter, I would ask him "The 2014 draft was known as one of the deepest drafts as far as WR ever, why wasn't a WR picked until the 7th round ?" Especially since we have a weak receiver corp, and the 3 rookies from last season, all ended the season with injuries.

And then the BIG Gorilla in the room, I'd ask him, "Why wasn't the TE position addressed at all ?" Especially when the team needs receiving TE's desperately. It's so obvious our offense is elite when Gronkowski is in there, but when he's not, the offense suffers.


I didn't see ANY reporter ask these questions, and they are viable concerns. I know BB would come back with the usual "I picked the players I thought would make our team better", but I wouldn't sit there and nod my head and say, "oh". I'd come back and say, "That answer doesn't answer the specific questions". Why are reporters so afraid of Belichick, or are they not intelligent enough to ask these question ?

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Why ask rhetorical questions? What do you expect him to say? If he even dignified the question with a response, select one:

a) I did what I thought was best for the team.

b) We didn't have enough high draft picks. (We didn't have 5 First Round selections. Wait till next year.)

c) We won't be emphasizing the two TE Offense. The League caught up to it.

d) I apologize. I screwed up completely. It is all my fault. Please forgive me.

I wouldn't hold my breath for response d). !!!!

Miguel said:

I have to answer harder questions on my FAQ page http://www.patsfans.com/salary-cap/?p=443 than the softballs BB gets to answer

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He learned in Cleveland not to answer rhetorical questions, like: "When did you stop beating your wife?"

50 years ago, Marshal McCluhan wrote a book about media, which documented the evolution of how the "medium has become the message"... no where is that more obvious than amongst sports reporters.

BB has disdain for the press not because they are the press, but because the NFL mandates that he speak with them in a prescribed manner and on prescribed days. Similar to the way he dresses on the sidelines, it is silly that prior to last year he wear Adidas Clothing and most recently with Nike clothing...

The press also asks a lot of stupid questions that they know they will not get an answer for..

Most of what he does is a big FU to the NFL and stupid rules...

shmessy said:

Of course we do!

And, after 14+ years we all know that a media person asking Belichick about this will yield exactly zilch in response. So why be George Foreman and waste all your energy on the Ali Rope-a-Dope?

One may as well ask him whether he is excited about a touchdown dance. He is who he is. Doesn't mean he is right. Just means it is a waste of time to ask him.

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He has them well trained.

I have a friend who's a TV sports anchor, and whenever we get together the topic eventually ends up being Bill Belichick. According to him, when Belichick refers to the media as a whole he uses the phrase "those a******s" as he points toward the media room.

The way Belichick was treated by the media in his early years has led him to the point he's at now. He took a beating from them in Cleveland and New York, and does "duplicitous pond scum" sound familiar to anyone here?

Payback is a *****.

I think the answer to the TE question is obvious; he didn't rank/value the crop as high as the players he drafted and we know BB is not going to answer a question directly that might indicate any strategic position.
What's more amazing is how many teams in the Patriots position wouldn't have drafted a TE even if their own boards had them rated the same as the Pats. I would bet at least 90% of teams would have done so just to force the need and avoid second guessing neither of which BB would ever do.
He sticks to his plan and beliefs and while he misses plenty, its another example of his consistency which we hear about from players and former players all the time and another reason why this team's run since he's been here has been the most impressive in sports in the last 50 years and in era setup to promote parity more than at any other time (ok I don't know if its really 50 years but it sounds impressive putting out that number).