Regardless Of What You Think It’s Been A Great Year
Job Well Done As Belichick Has The Pats Just 1 Win Away From an 11-5 Season
Your Simply The Best - Bill Belichick may be one of the NFL’s greatest coaches but this year is without a doubt his best coaching job. The Patriots are just 1 win away from a tremendous 11-5 season which may include a trip to the playoffs. Belichick truly is a genius and the Patriots are lucky to have him.
You’re Better Than All The Rest
Ok, if you know me you understand that I tend to be biased when it comes to my teams. I may think things are better than they really are so when things get sour I am pouting and complaining. Regardless of what anyone thinks about SpyGate, about Belichick’s injury secretiveness, or even about him as a person you have to admit that in this day he is second to none in coaching. As a matter of fact I’ll go one step further by saying that Bill Belichick just may be the greatest coach in NFL history and it is all because of hard work and dilligence.
When Belichick was 9 years old he would watch films of his dad’s team (Navy) and try to figure out how to adjust to certain offensive sequences. Imagine 9 years old ! When I was 9, I don’t even think I knew what a game film was. Belichick later began his football career with the Lions as a water boy and through hard work he was promoted up to an assistant defensive coach. His first real break came when he joined Bill Parcells’s Giants enroute to winning 2 Super Bowls but like we all know the best was yet to come. He would then leave the Giants for his first head coaching job at Cleveland with the Browns by replacing the then great Marty Schottenheimer. Belichick succeeded there as the Browns would make the playoffs for a few years until owner Art Modell decided to sell the team midseason and leave Belichick out in the cold holding something I am not at liberty to say. Belichick was in a hopeless situation in Cleveland and fans began to blame him for his team’s lack of performence. Bill would then take a few years off only to return to the Jets as a defensive coordinator. This may have been the turning point in Bill’s career as he would stay on with the Jets to eventually become Bill Parcells replacement. I want you to read this very carefully because although this may relate to football his choices can also relate to life.
Belichick was under Parcells who always tried to build a winner and leave. Belichick knew this and when Parcells left the Jets he left them in complete salary cap chaos. Belichick saw this and just two days after accepting the Jets job he jumped ship to become the new head coach of our New England Patriots. Bob Kraft never gave Parcells full control and he was heavily crticized for this when things fell apart after Parcell’s departure. Kraft wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice as he gave Belichick full control in order to lure him away from the rival Jets. The reason this is important is because what if Belichick stayed with the Jets? I can tell you one thing we probably wouldn’t have 3 Super Bowls and a modern day dynasty attatched to our flying Elvis logo. See, Belichick saw the Jets as a hopeless situation with their cap problems after Parcells left. People in New York want to rip Belichick but what he did was exactly the same thing that Art Modell did to him in Cleveland. Give Belichick credit as he was not going to be left out in the cold again as he had learned from his situation in Cleveland. Belichick got burned by Modell and in life sometimes people make mistakes when they touch the proverbial hot stove. The point here is that Belichick got burned by that stove and he learned from it which led to his coming to the Patriots.
If you are a real fan you know the history of Belichick and the Patriots so I don’t think I need to go over all the clutch games his team’s have performed in Super Bowls and Championships etc. I mean this guy is probably most famous for dismantling the Greatest Show On Turf, the 2001 St.Louis Rams who were 14 point Super favorites. Belichick’s defense shut them down and gave New England its first Super Bowl ever. Also how can we not mention Belichick’s dominance against Peyton Manning and the Colts up until 2006. The Colts could never beat the Patriots in the early Belichick days and you have to give them credit for finally being able to get the job done. The Steelers still can’t beat the Patriots in a meaningful game and hopefully that trend can continue.
Let’s fast forward to 2008. Belichick’s resume has 3 Super Bowls in the salary cap era, a 16-0 perfect regular season (the first in NFL history by the way) and 4 Conference titles. I would count Division titles but in New England winning the AFC East isn’t even relevent anymore. To start this season Belichick and the Patriots were heavy favorites as they were almost destined to play in Tampa for the Super Bowl. Week One saw Tom Brady’s season end in quick fashion leaving the Patriots as a team that looked as if their season was over before it started. Give the coach credit as he was the only one who felt Matt Cassel could get the job done. Cassel was a guy who hadn’t played in 8 years and Belichick still stuck by him. The Patriots would win a tough road game against the Jets and things didn’t look so bad. Over the next few weeks they would lose Rodney Harrison, Adalius Thomas, Laurence Maroney, and Tedy Bruschi all to injured reserve which pretty much deflated the defense. This is the real reason why his defense is ranked 30th overall. I never complain about injuries because everyone has them but when you lose key guys for the season it makes things very difficult. Belichick still battled and schemed week in and week out. Forget Brady’s loss for a minute and the fact that they had a kid with no experience playing the most important position on the field, they still sit 1 win away from an 11-5 season. Does anyone see truely how remarkable this is?
Take any starting QB off their team for a season and that team wins no more than 5 games. Take Manning off the Colts and you think Jim Sorgi and Tony Dungy can win 11 games. Take Big Ben off the Steelers and Mike Tomlin and Byron Leftwich aren’t in a fight for the playoffs. Think about it, we lost Brady the NFL’s best player and reigning MVP and Belichick has pulled guys off the street in order to keep this season alive. The Patriots are 1 win away from an 11 win season and regardless of how the Jets and Miami game turns out, you need to really sit back and be pleased with the effort of the 2008 New England Patriots. Furthermore, you should feel blessed as a fan to know that you have the Greatest Coach in the History of Pro Football. No other coach could have gotten more out of a team with the amount of injuries the Pats have endured.
Congrats Bill On Your Best Year Of Coaching And Thank God Your With The Patriots
The Brain-Matthew Giacoppo
Tags: Reguardless Of What You Think Its Been A Great Year, The Brain-Matthew Giacoppo