As Bill Belichick and the Patriots move closer and closer to a situation where divorce seems inevitable, it’s unclear where he will coach next year. If he’s trying to make himself as attractive as possible to a new team, he may want to reconsider his approach to his final days in New England.
The sudden refusal to reveal the name of the team’s starting quarterback seemed a little strange at first. It’s a little strange. Two days before the 2-8 Patriots face the 3-8 Giants, Belichick’s stubbornness in naming a starting pitcher is unusual.
This isn’t the first time he’s gone a little crazy. When your team is playing well, you play better. The Patriots are currently one of the worst teams in the NFL, so it’s a strange turnaround to suddenly make a play on who will play quarterback on Sunday.
Consider this portion of the transcript of Friday’s press conference. Again, Belichick did not say who would play quarterback.
Q: Bill, Mac Jones said on Tuesday or Wednesday that he was hopeful to start against the Giants and felt like that was the plan. Is that the plan?
BB: I told everyone to get ready to leave. I hope they all do. I’m not going to announce every position or other starters. Everyone is ready to leave.
Q: Mostly Mac and Bailey? [Zappe] Would you like to represent the first team in practice?
BB: I told everyone to get ready to leave.
Q: You said you were ready, but in your own mind have you decided on a man yet?
BB: I told everyone to get ready to leave.
Q: Bill, why aren’t you announcing it?
BB: Then we announce who’s going to start this, who’s going to play that, who’s going to do this, who’s going to do that. I mean, once I start doing that, I’m not going to go down that road. So, I’m sorry.
Q: I am committed to only having one position.
BB: Yes.
Q: Do you think it’s because you have a competitive advantage?
BB: I won’t go into that. Whoever we use, we hope they’re ready to play well. Whenever that happens. Sometimes it’s the first play of the game, sometimes it’s the last play of the game. I don’t know.
Q: Is it possible that today’s practice will have any impact?
BB: Practice is important for any player.
Q: Does the matchup have a big impact on this decision? The Giants seem to be a very blitz-heavy team, so will that be a consideration?
BB: You’d have to ask the Giants what they’re doing, I don’t know. Don’t blitz on every play. Maybe they will, I don’t know.need to ask [Don] wink [Martindale] I don’t know about that. I don’t know what they will do.
Q: But will it be considered for your phone?
BB: I don’t know what they’re going to do. Can you tell me what their game plan is? I don’t know.
Q: Bill, do you think there’s any benefit to letting the team know about that and rallying the team?
BB: I told everyone to prepare and be ready to play. That’s what they all do. I think everyone has something to work on. Focus on what you need to do, be prepared and don’t worry about what others are doing. I think that’s good advice for all of us. . . .
Q: Bill, do you tell all your players to prepare for every game?
BB: Yes, that’s right. what? Do you think I would tell them not to prepare? “Don’t worry about this, take a week off.” Every day, every game, that’s what we come here for. every day. We all have goals that we try to accomplish every day, and we try to accomplish them. every day.
that’s ok. It’s all clear. All players must be ready to play in every match. Understood.
In this particular case, the question is simple. Who is the quarterback?
Either Belichick and the team know who it is and no one says so, or the players don’t really know and will be nice on Sunday.
My money is on the former. Anyway, everything is strange. And it should make owners considering hiring Belichick think twice about maximizing the Belichick experience for their city, their team, their fans, and the reporters who have to interact with Belichick. It’s something. , multiple times a week.
