Belichick Was Asked About His Recent Drafts and His Answer Was Diabolical
A couple of days ago, I took a deep dive into the results of the Patriots recent drafts, breaking down the playing time of the key picks in the last four classes:
tl;dr: With the exception of LT Isaiah Wynn, LB Ju'Whuan Bentley and TE Ryan Izzo in this, their third year, and sixth round rookie OL Michael Onwenu, not one player they've selected has been in for even half the team's snaps in any one season. Thats among all the picks from 2017-20. Even allowing for the fact they prefer a running back rotation to one bellcow back, Sony Michel has missed significant time and Damien Harris was a redshirted all of last year.
My explanation had to do with the quantum mechanics concept of retrocausality, future events affecting the past, like how Hodor got his name. Because I have not other excuse and I'm an immature manchild. Now I'm not saying my post inspired Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston to pose the question to Belichick this morning. But I'm not saying it didn't either. Here it is, in all its excruciatingly awkward glory:
Here's the text of the Q and the magnificent A:
"I'm not going to apologize for our record over the past 20 years. I've certainly seen a lot worse." Brilliant. I would've preferred he go into the block time theory of the universe that says everything that has existed or will exist is all part of the same reality and past-present-future are all just how the human mind perceives it. But that's offseason stuff. He's got the Ravens to focus on right now.
And his point is well taken. We nitpick things like the lack of playing time and production from the young players at the expense of focusing on what really matters: Success. Winning. Competing for championships. This is how you stay on message, as the public relations experts like to say.
As a matter of fact, this response is so powerful and I am so out of my depth in this field, I reached out to a Washington-based media trainer who wishes to remain anonymous for their reaction:
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Bill Belichick is the undisputed champion of message discipline, and today’s press conference was a masterclass in communicating in the age of coronavirus.
After facing an adversarial question about a perceived weakness (draft picks), he went the unorthodox route of weaponizing a prolonged pause. Conventional wisdom suggests that a pause before answering is a sign of weakness or nerves – because you don’t know what to say. But people who adhere to conventional wisdom don’t choose the wind and give the ball to Peyton Manning in overtime after winning the coin flip.
Instead, Belichick decided to toy with the reporter before delivering a dominant, headline-able answer. The 13-second delay between question and answer is a Jedi mind trick.
After the tactical pause TKO, he gave his standard sterile answer, proving at no point was he ever unsure of what he was going to say. In the follow-up he decided to “bridge” the conversation – bringing the discussion to a more favorable turf by reminding the audience that under his watch, which includes nearly 20 drafts, New England has won Six Rings.
At the end of the exchange he wanted it to be known that like always, his focus isn’t on punditry, rather it’s on next week’s opponents: The Ravens.
The Patriots may be 3-5, but Bill Belichick’s press conference tactical innovation is proof he’s still having fun.
And that's coming from a professional. I appreciate Curran being tip of the spear when it came to asking he question. But I appreciate the answer even more. Had it been a lesser reporter or not one of the Patriots regular beat guys, Belichick might have destroyed him with Force lightning from his finger tips. But remind us all that he's been the best GM in the league - by far - for the last 20 years is just as effective.