Great article on Bill Belichick

It's from ESPN.


Here's a direct link to the article

The building of Bill Belichick's beautiful mind

Here are some quotes from the article that stood out

Phil Savage: "He's been in that position himself, living in an empty apartment with a cardboard moving box as your coffee table. So when we'd win a big game, on Monday he'd give you one of those $100 handshakes. It was the kind of gesture people would never, ever connect to Bill Belichick. There's a generosity to Bill most people don't get to see. "

John Harbaugh (Ravens Coach, 2008-Present): "Bill called our owner at like 3 in the morning to recommend me for the Ravens job. I was just really grateful and I couldn't believe it. I called Bill up and thanked him right away. He just said, 'Ah, don't worry about it, you should've had the job three days ago.'"


Jon Robinson (Patriots Scout, 2002-09, and Director of College Scouting, 2009-13): "After my daughter was diagnosed at 6 with Type 1 diabetes, a week later on my desk there was a little teddy bear, with a Belichick hoodie on it. And he had written a little note: 'I know this doesn't cure it, but just something for Taylor to know we are thinking about her and praying for her.' She knew it was from Coach. She named her bear Hoodie."

Jim Schwartz: "He did a great job of coaching coaches. It wasn't just the players. He coached the coaches."

qbno12 said:

Here are some quotes from the article that stood out

Phil Savage: "He's been in that position himself, living in an empty apartment with a cardboard moving box as your coffee table. So when we'd win a big game, on Monday he'd give you one of those $100 handshakes. It was the kind of gesture people would never, ever connect to Bill Belichick. There's a generosity to Bill most people don't get to see. "

John Harbaugh (Ravens Coach, 2008-Present): "Bill called our owner at like 3 in the morning to recommend me for the Ravens job. I was just really grateful and I couldn't believe it. I called Bill up and thanked him right away. He just said, 'Ah, don't worry about it, you should've had the job three days ago.'"

Jon Robinson (Patriots Scout, 2002-09, and Director of College Scouting, 2009-13): "After my daughter was diagnosed at 6 with Type 1 diabetes, a week later on my desk there was a little teddy bear, with a Belichick hoodie on it. And he had written a little note: 'I know this doesn't cure it, but just something for Taylor to know we are thinking about her and praying for her.' She knew it was from Coach. She named her bear Hoodie."

Jim Schwartz: "He did a great job of coaching coaches. It wasn't just the players. He coached the coaches."

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Yeah, Harbaugh has been so gracious in his thanks to Bill. Really appreciate it, ya #@!%@!

Wow... this is pure Patriot fan porn.

Really enjoyed this, right up until the obligatory Spygate/Deflategate section.

This made me laugh:
Heath Evans: "Those Q&A's could get really, really stressful because he could ask you anything and you'd better know it. [Former Patriots tackle] Matt Light always sat right behind me, so any time Bill did ask me a question early on, Matt would be whispering in my ear all the wrong answers."

Great article but, **** Harbaugh.

Akiem Hicks (Patriots Defensive End, 2015): "My first game with Bill, I made a play and gave the crowd a little hype signal. And I got back to the sidelines, and he just chewed me out. He said a bunch of expletives to me. It's ingrained in my mind. Bill doesn't mind if it's a passionate thing you do, you make a big play and get up and be excited, but there's a range where, anything after three seconds, you cut that off. Believe me, after that one I didn't step on any other lines."

Kevin Faulk (Patriots Running Back, 1999-2011): "When he first got to New England, for almost three years I'd see Bill in the hallway going to breakfast at the facility. Now, I'm from Louisiana. I don't care who you are, I'm going to say 'Good morning, how you doing? How's everything today?' But for the longest time I'd walk right past Coach Belichick, say 'Good morning!' and I'd get nothing back. Nothing. I said good morning to him for years. Then, one day I said it and he finally looked up and said, 'Good morning, Kevin,' and so I reached out and I stopped him, and he was like, 'Whoa, whoa, Kevin, what are you doing? What's wrong?' And I said, 'You said good morning! Do you know how long I've been saying good morning to you and you haven't said a word?' He just says, 'Aw, Kevin, my bad' and walks away."

This is funny

Matt Cassel: My rookie year, I got crushed in the back by a corner blitz against the Giants. We're playing them the next year in the last preseason game. He asks me, 'OK, Cassel, what front do they like to bring the corner blitz from?' I had looked it up the night before, anticipating it. I said, 'Coach, it's an over.' And he goes, 'Brady?' Well, you know immediately when he goes to the next guy: 'Oh, no. Oh, no.' And Brady says, 'An under.' And he goes, 'Brady's right. I don't want to have to send your mother another note that says, 'Dear Mrs. Cassel, we regret to inform you that your son got killed being a dumbass.'"

Great article, but this bugged me.

"As New England continued its roll toward its fourth Super Bowl win, in February 2015, and beyond, other incidents exposed Belichick's trademark gamesmanship as something closer to habitual rule-bending."

The author failed to mention what these other incidents are... because there is nothing to it. It's a made up narrative by butt hurt opponents.

I...need a cigarette.

qbno12 said:

This is funny

Matt Cassel: My rookie year, I got crushed in the back by a corner blitz against the Giants. We're playing them the next year in the last preseason game. He asks me, 'OK, Cassel, what front do they like to bring the corner blitz from?' I had looked it up the night before, anticipating it. I said, 'Coach, it's an over.' And he goes, 'Brady?' Well, you know immediately when he goes to the next guy: 'Oh, no. Oh, no.' And Brady says, 'An under.' And he goes, 'Brady's right. I don't want to have to send your mother another note that says, 'Dear Mrs. Cassel, we regret to inform you that your son got killed being a dumbass.'"

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I loved the article too....right up to the point where they try (in true ESPN style) to justify the lies about spygate and deflategate. They start with the myth that BB violated the rules of the game in 2007. They continue with continually IMPLYING that he'd break the rules if he thought he could get away with it. And they never mention that he's doing nothing that every other coach in the league is doing.

The last section was not only mean spirited, it was false. Most of the comments were purposely taken out of context. In other words it was a typical ESPN hatchet job. BTW- what's up with using quotes from players who were here for just a year?

patfanken said:

I loved the article too....right up to the point where they try (in true ESPN style) to justify the lies about spygate and deflategate. They start with the myth that BB violated the rules of the game in 2007. They continue with continually IMPLYING that he'd break the rules if he thought he could get away with it. And they never mention that he's doing nothing that every other coach in the league is doing.

The last section was not only mean spirited, it was false. Most of the comments were purposely taken out of context. In other words it was a typical ESPN hatchet job. BTW- what's up with using quotes from players who were here for just a year?

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I will take any sound bite or quote from Aqib Talib any day! However I did not like the quote from a 'Formal NFL Headcoach"

The Belichick hall of fame speech is going to be awesome. I'd predict at least an hour and a half. I didn't know Saban was with him in Cleveland. I imagine Bill will thank everyone and take no credit.

Froob said:

The Belichick hall of fame speech is going to be awesome. I'd predict at least an hour and a half. I didn't know Saban was with him in Cleveland. I imagine Bill will thank everyone and take no credit.

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I wonder who he will pick to introduce him....

I'm betting it's not Tomase or Borges.............................

Patsfanin Philly said:

I wonder who he will pick to introduce him....

I'm betting it's not Tomase or Borges.............................

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Ernie will say his first words.

Curtis Martin: "My rookie year in New England, we'd scrimmage goal-line full go at the end of the practice. Seven or eight times in a row he told the defense I was running and jumping over the top and to keep me from getting in. He would literally tell them what side I was going to run on. They were just teeing off on me. But out of eight times, I got the ball in the end zone like five times. He wanted to see what type of fight I had in me, if I would break."

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Someone help me here. We drafted Martin in 1995 when Belichick was still with the Browns. Is Curtis just remembering this wrong or am I high?

fnordcircle said:

Someone help me here. We drafted Martin in 1995 when Belichick was still with the Browns. Is Curtis just remembering this wrong or am I high?

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They were on the same team for three seasons. 96 with the Pats and 98 & 99 with the Jets.

It's a pretty good piece. Those who are curious to learn more about Belichick in time will come to realize that his public persona (as defined and established the nitwits in the media) is not all that representative of the man himself. Bill doesn't suffer fools gladly; too bad for him that a highly visible part of his job involves interacting with world-class fools and know-it-alls on a regular basis.

True to form, BSPN just couldn't resist the temptation of reverting to its all too familiar tactic of allowing anonymous sources make unsubstantiated claims in support of what almost always consists of the most scurrilous aspects of the story. Odds are pretty good that the nameless "Former NFL Coach" is a gutless wonder who had his lunch money stolen by BB on a regular basis and who thinks that a 40 point ass-kicking is the result of being served the wrong flavor of Gatorade at the wrong temperature. Might this be the reason that this clown is unemployed now?

I have yet to hear a single excuse from the head coach of the Patriots dating back to 2000 now. It's beyond tiresome that the faceless whiners and losers continue to readily find a platform to propagate their nonsense, but in the end, that's what BSPN traffics in. Screw them.

Patsfanin Philly said:

I wonder who he will pick to introduce him....

I'm betting it's not Tomase or Borges.............................

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Most likely his daughter.