Belichick obviously knows more about football than anyone else here, possibly anyone else who ever lived.
But great geniuses can sometimes get so wrapped up in their area of expertise that they overlook something that someone who knows less would see easily.
Belichick has made some GM errors - sometimes he overestimates some player's learning ability, for example. Sometimes he stood on his interpretation of a rule, even if it would earn the enmity of the league office, not realizing (since it's not really football) that the politics of acceding to the league office far outweighed the benefit of his acting on his own rule interpretation.
Two things concern me along these lines: Edelman and Butler.
Holding Edelman to his contract, after all he's done and all he's given, is risky. It risks Edelman's loyalty and it risks team credibility in saying, "play to help the team, the rewards will come."
Information about Butler is sketchy and contradictory right now. It may be that what's happening with Butler is a symptom of his agent, which, if true, would be a bit of a personal tragedy for him, as we thought he'd overcome his past. But if the Butler issues are from Belichick, then, again, I could see Belichick not fully realizing how someone like Butler helps the spirit of the team.
