Is Mr. Belichick reverting back to his Cleveland Days

[mikey]

Is this a legitimate question?

Am I gonna get lynched here?

Why is it that Adam, Willie, and Troy, all loyal long-time employees, feel "betrayed" by the silent treatment from Belichick?

Why is it that Givens wasted no time in taking the first bus out of town?

Isn't this scenario exactly what happened in Cleveland, as described in David Halberstam's book? As Halberstam wrote, it was not just the releasing of Bernie Kosar that spelled Belchick's doom, it was the "brutality" with which Kosar was dismissed.

To answer my own question , the response is clearly no. The situations are very different. Bernie Kosar was being sent to the pasture while the Pats players here are going to other teams for more lucrative deals.

But on the surface, Belichick's silent treatment must be unsettling to players like Troy and Willie.

.

 

[Willie55]

By some accounts he hasn't given them the silent treatment. They've had conversations.

BB was right in the Kosar situation and I think we'll see, in the long run, he will be right here also.

 

[Patjew]

Lynch him anyway!

 

[PatsSteve1]

BB has released popular players just about every year here. Milloy 5 days before the season started? Bledsoe who had many supporters. He isn't afraid to cut guys no matter how it looks. I don't think it's a case of him reverting back to his Cleveland days. I don't think he really ever changed. The difference is winning 3 Super Bowls. If the Pats hadn't done that and he still was cutting like he has, he'd be hung in effigy -

 

[Bill's Girl]

By some accounts he hasn't given them the silent treatment. They've had conversations.

BB was right in the Kosar situation and I think we'll see, in the long run, he will be right here also.

The only people getting the silent treatment here is the media! Just because BB is not holding press confrences does not mean he is not speaking to his players!

BB is not turning into the man/coach he was in Cleveland, however NE fans are starting to treat him like the fans did in Cleveland!

So far we have lost a couple of bit players, a 34 year old linebacker and a WR who was looking to make as much money as possible. As much as I loved Willie and all he has done here, there was a reason BB did not re-sign Willie right after he was cut!

People in Cleveland STILL hate Bill for cutting Kosar.....cripes even Bernie admits that Bill made the right decision for the team!

 

[davekari]

Can't pay too much kids

Givens was going to command a good amount just because of his clutch post-season performances. His season stats weren't great, but his td's in the post-season were what had coaches excited. 5 mill a year for Givens? Too rich for the Pats, but the Titans offense is terrible, and they think Norm Chow will optimize his talents. Hope so. As for Willie, it sounds like he had no hard feelings, and he himself said he enjoyed his first free-agent signing. At 34, even though he is still a good player, you must wonder when he might finally slow down and succumb to another back injury. There are many good linebackers that may fill into his role, as a true hybrid 3-4 linebacker, but probably not as well. Still, the Patriots are doing what they think will work best long-term. With Colvin showing signs of being back late last year, maybe they felt that McGinest was expendable. Or, they are already targeting somebody via the draft.

 

[ClosingTime]

Steve hit the nail on the head. Winning has mollified Bellichick's obtuse manner in dealing with players. The fact is, he is not a guy players like. He's generally ineffectual and has cut some popular players without even so much as a goodbye. I wouldn't go as far as Tom Jackson did when he said they hate their coach but they, as a group and generally speaking, certainly don't like him. But they do like winning so they move beyond it.
THis is not a bad thing either. Many of us have worked for bosses we dislike but we do our jobs. Taking it a step further one could argue that a people will work harder for a person the dislike than one they are buddies with.
Bellichick is what he is. A very good X's and O's coach. No one would ever call him a 'players coach'. To be fair I'll admit that Bill Cowher is not a great Xs and Os coach but players love playing for him.
But BB has 3 SBs and Cowher has one.
I do think the McGinest situation was not handled correctly and will cause more animosity and distrust from the remaining players. Willie was a leader of the team and well respected. However, Brady will continue to keep the Pats contenders for the rest of his career which will stave off any significant mutiny.

 

[Patters]

The fact is different teams have different needs and place different values on players. For Cleveland, having someone like Willie will make it easier for Romeo to introduce his version of the Belichick system. Willie is worth more to them than to us. Givens in our spread-the-ball approach may be less valuable to us than to a team that has go-to guys. Losing players is understandable; what I find a little odd is that BB is being so slow about acquiring players. That said, BB has a great record, and I think he's truly earned the right to ignore the fans!

 

[BelichickFan]

Taking it a step further one could argue that a people will work harder for a person the dislike than one they are buddies with.
Bellichick is what he is. A very good X's and O's coach. No one would ever call him a 'players coach'. To be fair I'll admit that Bill Cowher is not a great Xs and Os coach but players love playing for him.

Who's ever said they don't like playing for Belichick ? How about the players who say they can't wait for Wednesday when they get the game plan to see what's in it. Just because Belichick doesn't pinch them in the ass like Cowher does doesn't mean the players don't like playing for him.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Just my opinion guys.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Is this a legitimate question?

Am I gonna get lynched here?

Why is it that Adam, Willie, and Troy, all loyal long-time employees, feel "betrayed" by the silent treatment from Belichick?.

Anyone who has ever watched a Belichick press conferance or post game interview would never ask such a question.

If Belichick speaks once, twice, 20 times or never to any athlete in person or by phone we would be the last, if ever to know. I don't care what athlete or reporter lays claim to silence...truth or not, it's impossible to know unless Belichick speaks and he's not about to elaborate on this one.

Claims of the silent treatment are merely posturing to look good as athletes cash in and leave town. I don't begrudge them at all for taking the cash...but I would be happier to hear them all say that "We couldn't work things out " or a similar statement...it's okay.

 

[ClosingTime]

Let me clarify. They like playing for him because he is a great tactician and a gives then an excellent chance to succeed. They just don't like him.

 

[gomezcat]

It isn't about being liked. It's about convincing a group of people that you have the right strategy for winning. Off the top of my head, people like Steve Marriuci are popular with players, as was Pete Carroll. Patters is right; if Cleveland wants to pay $4 mill for a OLB on the downside (and with less pash rush left in him than ever was the case), then be our guests. Yes, there is a way saying goodbye but enough people have signed new contracts to suggest that they like the way the Pats do things. I have no bitterness towards Willie. He has done a great job without complaining and is now cashing in pre retirement. I think he'll have something to teach the younger ones and that's OK. Good luck to him.

 

[RayClay]

Is this a legitimate question?

Am I gonna get lynched here?

Why is it that Adam, Willie, and Troy, all loyal long-time employees, feel "betrayed" by the silent treatment from Belichick?

Why is it that Givens wasted no time in taking the first bus out of town?

Isn't this scenario exactly what happened in Cleveland, as described in David Halberstam's book? As Halberstam wrote, it was not just the releasing of Bernie Kosar that spelled Belchick's doom, it was the "brutality" with which Kosar was dismissed.

To answer my own question , the response is clearly no. The situations are very different. Bernie Kosar was being sent to the pasture while the Pats players here are going to other teams for more lucrative deals.

But on the surface, Belichick's silent treatment must be unsettling to players like Troy and Willie.

.

After much research I've found the answer.

http://www.faust.fr.bw.schule.de/mhb/bilder/dollar.jpg

 

[RayClay]

Let me clarify. They like playing for him because he is a great tactician and a gives then an excellent chance to succeed. They just don't like him.

And you know this how?

 

[BelichickFan]

They just don't like him.

I don't think there's any evidence for this whatsoever. There may be times when they don't like the way he takes the human element out of decisions but the Steelers let plenty of players go to free agency too. Please provide evidence that, in the general case, the Patriots' players don't like him.

 

[BelichickFan]

After much research I've found the answer.

http://www.faust.fr.bw.schule.de/mhb/bilder/dollar.jpg

That's a good answer except the bills are several orders of magnitude too small

 

[bosfan]

Just my opinion guys.

Can we get this picture linked to the site so we can zap every ridiculous post that these forum terrorists put out?

 

[Willie55]

Let me clarify. They like playing for him because he is a great tactician and a gives then an excellent chance to succeed. They just don't like him.

Have you spoken to players that have told you this?

 

[fgssand]

Patriot model works for me

Steve hit the nail on the head. Winning has mollified Bellichick's obtuse manner in dealing with players. The fact is, he is not a guy players like. He's generally ineffectual and has cut some popular players without even so much as a goodbye. I wouldn't go as far as Tom Jackson did when he said they hate their coach but they, as a group and generally speaking, certainly don't like him. But they do like winning so they move beyond it.
THis is not a bad thing either. Many of us have worked for bosses we dislike but we do our jobs. Taking it a step further one could argue that a people will work harder for a person the dislike than one they are buddies with.
Bellichick is what he is. A very good X's and O's coach. No one would ever call him a 'players coach'. To be fair I'll admit that Bill Cowher is not a great Xs and Os coach but players love playing for him.
But BB has 3 SBs and Cowher has one.
I do think the McGinest situation was not handled correctly and will cause more animosity and distrust from the remaining players. Willie was a leader of the team and well respected. However, Brady will continue to keep the Pats contenders for the rest of his career which will stave off any significant mutiny.

I disagree with you relative to the way the Willie Mac situation was handled. As far as I am concerned it is Willie that disrespected the Patriots. The Patriots showed Willie all the respect in the world, which enabled him to get a nice fat 12 MM payday as a retirement present. BB spoke to Willie the day we let him enter free agency. Bob Kraft spoke to Willie and thanked him for everything the day he signed with Cleveland. Where is the disrespect??

What bothered Willie and Givens and AV is that we will not overpay for our players. If we gave Willie the 12MM , it would have meant we would have overpaid by about 1MM per year. What would that say to someone like Hochstein and Pass, two of the players (or players like them) that would have had to be cut so as to afford to overpay to keep them?

BB & SP simply felt in Willies case that his best days are behind him and 12MM was simply too much. Where is the disrespect?? I happen to agree with the decision. I happen to believe in the Patriots way of doing things in this day and age of NFL & salary cap & CBA.

However, it doesn't matter what I think - the fact is the Patriots have been the most successful team of the 2000's, and I do not think that will change as long as we have BB/SP & the Kraft family. :rocker: