This is actually a good interview with Belichick about how other teams manage to suck ass yearly. I know we bash him a lot, but he's dead-on right here. No mention of the Jets. By the way, whoever typed/edited this article missed several typos. http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/5800/belichick-explains-how-organizations-go-bad Belichick explains how organizations go bad November 6, 2009 9:58 PM Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham Yahoo! Sports columnist Jason Cole recently stopped by Gillette Stadium for a few minutes in New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick's office. Cole came away with a compelling Q&A interview with Belichick that was posted Friday. Belichick discussed a lot of topics, from the Richard Seymour trade to the two most important quarterback traits to how he handles watching his kids play sports. But the exchange I found most interesting was Belichick's response to a question about why there are so many substandard teams in the NFL these days. Here is that exchange, but I highly recommend you read the whole interview: Cole: Why are there so many bad teams around the league this year? Belichick: Here’s the only thing I’ll say: I think to have a really good team in this league, you have to make a lot, a lot of good decisions. You have to have a lot of good people, players, coaches, whatever. You need a lot of those Conversely, to not be competitive, you would have to have a lot of bad decisions. One bad decision is not going to do it, one bad player is not going to do it, one bad coach is not going to do it. You’re going to have to collectively, over a cumulative period of time, make a long series of bad decisions and accumulate a lot of players who are substandard for their position. There have to be a multitude of things that go wrong. Cole: Because you can keep yourself average for a long time? Belichick: That’s the system. If you don’t have good players, you have money to spend on players. If you have a bunch of good players, you eventually run out of money and you can’t keep them all and somebody else gets them. That’s the system, it keeps everybody average. We’ve seen teams be really good just on coaching. We’ve seen teams be competitive with just a few good players. Cole: Jimmy Johnson once said, if you don’t take too many risks, you can win nine or 10 games a year. Belichick: Jimmy probably said the same thing to you that he once said to me: “You’re really only competing with about 10 teams a year. If you just say out of the way, the other 20 teams will screw it up themselves. Whether it’s ownership or personnel or coaching or some combination of factors.” Ego, internal struggle, something will happen to two-thirds of the teams, that was Jimmy’s theory. That leaves you with about 10 teams that you’re going to have to really battle with. Those teams have it together. They’re going to make good decisions and if you play bad football, they’re going to take advantage of it. They’re going to find some undrafted guy or some middle-round pick or some veteran free agent who is going to spark their team. Pittsburgh is always going to be there. Indianapolis is always going to be there. They may not win it, but they’ll be there. You’re going to have to beat them. Philadelphia is going to be there. Yeah, [quarterback Donovan] McNabb might get hurt one year and they might go 7-9, but they’re going to be there. You’re still battling them on every front.
I wonder if he gave this interview after his breakfast. He always seems happier after he's done consuming the souls of little children.
Not many coaches actually come out and say this, even though they all think it and know it. Most coaches will say that every team has a chance, I think the Raiders have a chance to be good this year, blah blah blah. Its especially odd to see Belichick say anything at all other than the bare minimum to get him out of the interview.
Here's the whole interview. Pretty interesting http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-belichickqa110609&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
It's kind of strange the way he feels the need to be a completely different person at press conferences compared to his own players and the rare interview like this. Obviously most coaches are more candid in personal settings but Belichick is literally two separate people depending on the setting.
i've noticed the same thing. i think he just doesn't like PCs. He probably hates them with a passion. I always seem to find myself listening or reading what he has to say. You're going to learn something.
It was a chance to take a shot at the Fins (Parcells) and the Jets at the same time. How could he pass that up?
Actually, Belichik threw bouquets at Parcells in his interviews this week. Talking about the Parcells defenses and how he builds them with big d linemen, and fast linebackers.... mentioning the Jets, Cowboys, and Phins as examples. I think you can take anything said as a shot at your team if you want to twist what someone says around enough.
Yeah, but we won 2 of the last 3 meetings dating back to last season. So the timing of this dig ain't a good one.
It can only be taken as a shot at the Jets if you yourself think your team has been inept year after year. I don't think a team that's made the playoffs off and on this decade fits that. My guess is it would refer to the Raiders, Browns.....
He's got a gigantic ego, I don't find it strange at all. Press conferences are a required exercise and he probably resents being forced to listen to idiotic questions from sportswriters who have basic knowledge of how he does his job - he feels like he's above it, and participates in a minimalistic fashion. This interview was set up to stroke his ego, and that's why he opens up.
Yeah but other guys like Parcells and Bob Knight that have huge egos enjoy fucking with the reporters and making people laugh when they speak at press conferences. Belichick doesn't even offer style, he is just boring as hell. I agree with the part about thinking the reporters are below him, in press conferences it's just funny the contrast he shows. Hearing him talk about roster building and franchise stuff is interesting enough, though it would be a good test to your theory to hear him do a sitdown interview about spygate.
I disagree, I think that he acts like an introverted douche during press conferences because he's so paranoid. Press conferences are half empty narrative/platitudes and half specific game information, which Belicheck is loathe to divulge.
