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Either Borges upped his meds or he has finally drank the Kool-Aid, read the article kept waiting for the other shoe to fall, but it didn't. I agree completely with this article, have said since the injuries began that this season, no matter the outcome, would define BB as one of the greatest coaches ever.
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2006/01/01/this_ballot_is_for_belichick/
None of these other coaches had to rebuild a coaching staff after losing their two most trusted lieutenants. None saw 60 percent of their offensive line go down with injury, nor had to install two rookies on that line. None faced situations in their secondary and at inside linebacker as severe as the ones Belichick had to sort out (although it was his missteps in personnel that created them in the first place).
The easiest thing in the world would have been for Patriots players and coaches to fold their cards at some point and conclude, ''It's not our year. We already won three Super Bowl rings." They didn't, which is a credit to everyone involved, but when you are the captain of the ship, it tends to go where you steer it, and despite starting 45 players, having a different defensive backfield on seven straight weekends, losing three of his five starting offensive linemen for a time, watching Corey Dillon limp through the season at half of what he was a year ago, and spending six weeks without Tedy Bruschi and a month without Richard Seymour, Belichick more than kept things afloat.
Winning when you have two of the best teams in the league, as Dungy and Holmgren are doing, is not easy and deserves credit. But continuing to win after long-term success with a depleted lineup and a coaching staff that was without the heads of both its offense and defense seems a far more daunting task. Bill Belichick completed it, whether or not his team wins the season's final game. This was his finest hour. For that he deserves to have the ballot checked in his favor.
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2006/01/01/this_ballot_is_for_belichick/
None of these other coaches had to rebuild a coaching staff after losing their two most trusted lieutenants. None saw 60 percent of their offensive line go down with injury, nor had to install two rookies on that line. None faced situations in their secondary and at inside linebacker as severe as the ones Belichick had to sort out (although it was his missteps in personnel that created them in the first place).
The easiest thing in the world would have been for Patriots players and coaches to fold their cards at some point and conclude, ''It's not our year. We already won three Super Bowl rings." They didn't, which is a credit to everyone involved, but when you are the captain of the ship, it tends to go where you steer it, and despite starting 45 players, having a different defensive backfield on seven straight weekends, losing three of his five starting offensive linemen for a time, watching Corey Dillon limp through the season at half of what he was a year ago, and spending six weeks without Tedy Bruschi and a month without Richard Seymour, Belichick more than kept things afloat.
Winning when you have two of the best teams in the league, as Dungy and Holmgren are doing, is not easy and deserves credit. But continuing to win after long-term success with a depleted lineup and a coaching staff that was without the heads of both its offense and defense seems a far more daunting task. Bill Belichick completed it, whether or not his team wins the season's final game. This was his finest hour. For that he deserves to have the ballot checked in his favor.
