Great story on Bill Belichick

[BrianPat]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3034890

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

Thanks - great stuff.

These numbers are ridiculous :

"In his first season with Cleveland in 1991, Belichick's defense allowed 144 fewer points than the previous year. When he joined the New York Jets as Parcells' assistant head coach in 1997, the difference was 167 -- 10 fewer points allowed per game. Those are remarkable numbers."

 

[maverick4]

All these recent mediots will ignore how talented and smart of a coach Belichick is, and try to say he only won through CHEATING.

Give me a f'ing break.

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

Thanks for posting that article.

An interesting introspective side of Belichick.

 

[nowayback]

great article ty. growing up in that enviroment..not hard to see how it has affected his demeanor.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

That was a magnificent piece by a mediot who, on reflection brought on by the spectre of scandal, finally gets it.

"When details of the signal-stealing emerged a few weeks ago, I thought of something Belichick once told me about Taylor. Despite his bouts with drug use and his sometimes messy personal life, Taylor always gave his best effort -- such that it sometimes was -- on the field.

"Lawrence completely sells out on every play," Belichick said. "He doesn't care about his body -- or anyone else's for that matter. He will do anything it takes to win. Anything.

"The same thing that makes him [an unlikable] human being," Belichick added in a telling aside, "makes him one of the greatest players who ever lived."

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I believe the same is true of Bill Belichick."


See, that's what the majority of mediots have never realized - his best players (by and large) sense that and respond to and admire it and trust him implicitly because of it. Rodney has said on occasion they get mad at Bill, never hate him. He makes it his life's work to put them in a position to win. And he doesn't BS them or ever use them along the way to spin the heat off himself, as so many of the hugger coaches do. To the contrary, as Tom said, he protects them even at the expense of pissing some folks off royally. In their book that makes him not only a great HC but a magnificent SOB. The guy you want to go to war for and with.

Sad thing is I think Felger had much the same opportunity given to him early in Belichick's return here that this reporter had in NY. Because BB thought he had the (comparative) football intellect to benefit from it compared to the rest of the hacknied Boston sports media. But he pissed it away over the chance to make his bones on WEEI (including letting confidences slip) and Sports Final and I think the fact that Holley got Patriot Reign, not that Bill offered it - Holley went after it, tipped Felger over the edge. Holley can be trusted to maintain confidences shared with him in background even at the expense of not breaking the splashy story or jumping on the popular media spin. Doesn't even mean Holly won't be critical at times, but he always does it in context. He understands that we as fans want to know what they will do, not what a mediot thinks they should do. Belichick gave Holley the context, as he did Greg Garber, to figure him out. Nice to see in more than one instance it wasn't wasted.

 

[upstater1]

Here's what I don't get. This mediot (nice) was invited a few times to view video with Belichick. This makes him somehow qulified to comment on Belichick's personality and personal life and quality as a human being. I'm sorry but being surly to the media, and by generally giving them nothing to work with, does not really tell us anything about Bill Belichick the person. I've watched this guy for over a decade. And I don't know anything about him. Even when he's reprimanding his players, there doesn't seem to be any animus in his voice. "Do your job. Just do your job." That famous quote from the Super Bowl was not spoken with any screaming or the like. Yes he was damant, but I haven't seen anything especially unlikeable from him. His press conferences? Well, I'm not a reporter, so they don't rub me the wrong way. Why do people allow reporters to be the judges of personal character?

 

[Halifax_Pats_Fan]

I had stated this is an earlier post just after this whole thing started on this board....reviewing tape and Belichick go hand in hand, always have and always will...

 

[LoveDemPats]

This is a well thought out, intriging article. The author comes to his conclusions through reason.

You really can't beat that.

In response to the last line, some folks don't like Bill for his behavior, but I would wager that the man has some friends around these parts.

 

[signbabybrady]

Nice to see someone writing something good about him....

I always love reading stuff about LT too the guy was a beast on the field.....

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Here's what I don't get. This mediot (nice) was invited a few times to view video with Belichick. This makes him somehow qulified to comment on Belichick's personality and personal life and quality as a human being. I'm sorry but being surly to the media, and by generally giving them nothing to work with, does not really tell us anything about Bill Belichick the person. I've watched this guy for over a decade. And I don't know anything about him. Even when he's reprimanding his players, there doesn't seem to be any animus in his voice. "Do your job. Just do your job." That famous quote from the Super Bowl was not spoken with any screaming or the like. Yes he was damant, but I haven't seen anything especially unlikeable from him. His press conferences? Well, I'm not a reporter, so they don't rub me the wrong way. Why do people allow reporters to be the judges of personal character?

See, you do know a little more about him than you think you do. People/fans allow reporters to be the judges of personal character because we're too dam busy judging too many dam people in this media driven age to do it ourselves (or not care to as the case may be.)

People who have gotten to know Bill well seem to like him very well. But he doesn't suffer fools which leaves many in the media on the outside looking in and thay resent that. Even that aging idiot in Baltimore who was interviewed last week in NFLN's hatched Who Is He segment, never understood that if he did his job as an owner, rather than trying to interfere in Bill's football operations while expecting Bill to run interference for him with the all important fans and influential media owners are best left to manage, he might not have had to hire those moving vans.

Guys like Kossar had to go because he cared more about being acknowledged and getting his way than he did about winning. That's why some had to go here, too. But ownership had his back when he pulled the trigger because it was his football genius they traded for, not his personality. That is Kraft's genius.

 

[patchick]

Just giving the piece a much-deserved bump -- fresh insights on this story are rare. (And especially rare from ESPN!)

 

[Fencer]

Great story.

As favorable as they come, too.

And it still calls him an "unpleasant human being."

 

[DarrylS]

."

See, that's what the majority of mediots have never realized - his best players (by and large) sense that and respond to and admire it and trust him implicitly because of it. Rodney has said on occasion they get mad at Bill, never hate him. He makes it his life's work to put them in a position to win. And he doesn't BS them or ever use them along the way to spin the heat off himself, as so many of the hugger coaches do. To the contrary, as Tom said, he protects them even at the expense of pissing some folks off royally. In their book that makes him not only a great HC but a magnificent SOB. The guy you want to go to war for and with.

This along with putting his players in a position to capitalize on their strengths and putting them in a position to win, the Herald has an article on Bruschi/Seau and how they are sharing the weakside LB spot on this defense.. realistically alone Tedy could not handle the workload, so bringing in Seau is brilliant.. it allows both players to play part of the game well, instead all of the game mediocre. You could go on and on, but bottom line is he is respected by his players and by most of the true believers. Guys like Felger, Borges and some of the other scribes all want something different, to mold him into a warm and fuzzy reincarnation of a Pete Carroll.. in reality they beat Carroll up also.. he is what he is, the greatest FB coach of all time.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

I enjoyed reading this piece, every Pats fan will. Plus, some of the overheated pundits around the country would benefit from reading it as well.

 

[Captain Cliche]

I had stated this is an earlier post just after this whole thing started on this board....reviewing tape and Belichick go hand in hand, always have and always will...

I totally agree...in fact I started a thread on the subject that dropped like a rock.

Maybe it is a simplistic view, but I felt it was all about his obsessive nature with video tape.

It's obviously not about cheating, or civil disobedience, or making a statement, he just couldn't lay off the video.

His obsession cost him a first rounder. The perfect punishment.

He exposes the media for the lazy, mental midgets they are. They have been circling overhead waiting for such an opportunity.

Ask an intelligent question...get an intelligent and thoughtful response. Do your homework...get a look inside. Act like the village idiot...get brushed off like an insect.

He even starts some responses with, "That's a good question...."

So I guess I just answered my own question. For what started out as a simple cause...video taping signals anyone on the planet can obtain....the effect was a brutal feeding frenzy when the sharks smelled blood.

With any other coach and any other organization...would the punishment have been so much greater than the crime???

I don't think a Cleveland or a Miami or an Indianapolis with a media friendly coach would had suffered such a severe and unpresidented punishment.

I think NFL history will look back on this episode as an extreme over-reaction by a rookie comissioner who bought into the media feeding frenzy in a ham-handed attempt to impose his "tough guy" image.

I even wonder if there is some down the road compensation or deal for taking the fall so Goodell can make his mark.

 

[psychoPat]

So The Worldwide Leader can publish something favorable to BB !

But even so ... as noted previously ... it has to end downbeat:

"The same thing that makes him [an unlikable] human being," Belichick added in a telling aside [about LT], "makes him one of the greatest players who ever lived."

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I believe the same is true of Bill Belichick.

 

[captain stone]

So The Worldwide Leader can publish something favorable to BB !

But even so ... as noted previously ... it has to end downbeat:

"The same thing that makes him [an unlikable] human being," Belichick added in a telling aside [about LT], "makes him one of the greatest players who ever lived."

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I believe the same is true of Bill Belichick.

I also took note of that last sentence. Garber does BB a disservice, by comparing him with LT. Lawrence Taylor was one of the biggest a-holes in football, then and now. He was/is loud, obnoxious, rude, disrespectful and ignorant; another disciple of Muhammed Ali. BB is none of those things; in fact, he is the opposite of those things. The drive-by media still don't understand, and most probably never will.

 

[bishbash]

I think NFL history will look back on this episode as an extreme over-reaction by a rookie comissioner who bought into the media feeding frenzy in a ham-handed attempt to impose his "tough guy" image.

Good one Capt. Think I'll use it for a sig.
bish