After practice, the players sit through a brief review session and a meal. I have seen many organizations try to save money at mealtime, dishing out less than the best quality or selection. That is not the case in New England. The Patriots’ cafeteria is impressive. The minute players enter the building, the blenders start whirring, cranking out protein shakes, and a hot meal awaits. The cafeteria sends a positive message to the players the same way companies such as Apple and Google pamper their employees with plush modern campuses. Some teams talk about being first-class; the Patriots are.
When the players head back to their meeting rooms to watch tape or to one of the sleep rooms Belichick had installed at the facility so that players can stay rested, the coaching staff sits down to rewatch practice. At the head of the table with remote in hand, Belichick admits that the practice field conditions are a problem. As much as he’d rather not give in to the elements in any way, he sees no choice. Tomorrow we will be on the turf inside Gillette Stadium.
The practice-review session is a glimpse into how the game might go, and Belichick operates in this meeting as he does on the sideline during a game: asking questions, making suggestions, letting the coaches know what is acceptable and what is not. (The only difference: no headsets.) Never raising his voice, he makes a point and lets the film continue to play. Just as with the tight end decision, there is no gray area; no one is confused, and by the end no one isn’t 100 percent certain of his assignment.
We start, as always, with the kicking game. Coach O’Brien gives the calls for the returns and explains his thinking around each one. As we watch the units go through their paces, Belichick pays close attention not only to make sure the main team is performing as they should but to be certain the scout team is giving us a good look as well. As we watch the defense practice their first-and-10 calls, Belichick tells coordinator Matt Patricia to make sure we attack the quarterback from the get-go. Kubiak always comes out throwing against us, Belichick says.
The session takes an hour and a half, and Belichick makes notes throughout. That will come in handy tomorrow morning at the next team meeting, when he’ll use clips of the prior day’s practice as a teaching tool. Once the film is over, Belichick reminds the coaches that ball security and third downs are critical and urges them to keep the tempo high in practice. The meeting ends, and the coaches head back to their offices to prepare for tomorrow.
Most won’t head home until well after midnight.
TUESDAY: FOUR DAYS BEFORE KICKOFF
As the game approaches, the mood in the building never wavers. From one week to the next, the Patriots maintain the same demeanor. This is the case because Belichick never wavers either, always more concerned about preparation than about the magnitude of the game. He understands, of course, that the playoffs are not like other games, but he doesn’t show it—not in his behavior or routine. Instead, he continually reminds his assistants not to change their methods or show a different look. “If the players sense we are tense, they will be tense,” he reminds them. It’s an approach that soon will be tested to the extreme.
At the 8 A.M. meeting today Belichick begins by complimenting the players for the previous day’s effort. He lets them bask in that moment for about 10 whole seconds, then it’s right back to work. Belichick shows clips of what Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco can do when he gets too much time on first down. As the video plays one “chunk” big-yardage play after another, Belichick’s omniscient voice-over fills the room. “We must be aggressive on first down and get him to play fast,” he says. The video shifts to short-yardage plays, and once again Belichick reminds us that the determining factor will be our ability to stay on the field on third and short while getting them off the field in the same situation. The messages this morning are no different, but the presentation is. There’s an edge to his voice now. “Look at this moron; guy can’t even make a tackle and get off the field,” he says in a sarcastic, biting tone. Who the moron is hardly matters; he can be any of the zillions of players who fail at some point to perform up to Belichick’s standards.
The players watch and listen as the video jumps to a montage of Jacoby Jones. The Ravens’ return man and wide receiver is respected by our team and staff. He is big, powerful, and fast and breaks right through arm tackles. “Look, if we don’t cover well and gang tackle, we won’t control field position,” Belichick explains bluntly as we watch Jones return a kick 108 yards for a touchdown during the season. Belichick’s use of voice and video gets today’s points across: Contain Flacco, win the third-down battle, swarm Jones.
* * *
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Today’s meeting is much shorter. Just before Belichick dismisses the players to their positional get-togethers, he informs them that practice will be in the stadium, adding unnecessarily that it will be bitter cold.
Then, so as not to disappoint his players or mess with our routine, he leaves them with his touching farewell: “Get your shit on and be ready.”
As it turns out, the wind is a massive problem, whipping from every direction and making it that much more unbearable. It doesn’t bother Brady, of course; he throws the ball the best he has thrown it all week. He’s remarkable, really. I wish every fan could see him at work like this. Sometimes I think watching Brady every day is like living at the foot of Everest: The magnificence almost becomes routine. Julian Edelman, meanwhile, looks like the best player on the field, and Gronk is moving well. The only disappointment is that LeGarrette Blount, our power back, has the flu and is sent off the field to the training room.
After practice, as the team gathers around, Belichick reminds everyone to stay hydrated. No time for soft tissue injuries.
At the postpractice staff meeting, Belichick lists the latest inactives. The Ravens, he notes, are healthy, too. Jernigan and Monroe are banged up, but they should be ready. Then he reiterates for the defensive coaches their first priority. The certainty in his voice is unignorable. “When they need a fucking play,” he snarls, “I’m telling you they are going to Daniels.”
WEDNESDAY: THREE DAYS BEFORE KICKOFF
Today the schedule begins to vary a bit from our regular-season routine. The next two days will run like a couple of usual Friday practices: no pads and an intense focus on situational football. That means red zone work, third-down situations, and Belichick’s all-important “gotta have it” plays. But it also means no evening meetings, and so the coaches can go home, get away from the facility, and recharge with some family time.
At the full team meeting Belichick cues up the Ravens-Steelers game. Belichick will spread the viewing and real-time analysis over a couple of sessions. He takes his time for two reasons: (1) to adequately explain relevant game situations and (2) to drill down on the details of the few plays that cost the Steelers the chance to advance. You might think that once the lights go out, the players’ wakefulness will soon follow, but that’s not the case. Everyone is fully engaged, eyes on the screen, because they all know Belichick might call on them to answer some game-situation question. You don’t want to be the snoring guy when he does, not if you want to stay a Patriot.
We watch the first half and listen to Belichick review all the game-changing moments. The Steelers dominated time of possession—almost 21 minutes to 9—yet trailed, 10–9. The reason: too many drive-killing negative plays, including three sacks. And though Ben Roethlisberger threw for 183 yards with only six incompletions, the offense couldn’t find the end zone. Without the injured Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers had no running game, and as Belichick reminds everyone, you cannot expect to beat the Ravens throwing the ball 60 times. It all comes back to basics: We need to control the line of scrimmage. We need to run the ball. We need to convert on third downs, especially in the red zone. Meanwhile, the Ravens’ first scoring drive was assisted by a personal foul penalty on Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, and Belichick jumps all over that. “These dumb fucking penalties are going to cos
t us,” he says. “We cannot have them. We have to stand up to these guys, but we cannot lose our composure.”
The team watches as the Steelers answer the Ravens’ drive with 12 plays of their own that end in a field goal. But the drive was slowed by a first-down sack that forced a second and 19, one more chance for Belichick to hammer home his no-negative-plays-especially-on-first-down mantra. As he puts it, “There are 70 plays in a game; we need to make them all count.” The tape stops at halftime. The screen goes dark, and the team disperses.
Today’s practice features the defensive backs working on long balls. Long balls are part of every Belichick practice, but this week they get even more attention because Flacco has drawn 15 pass interference penalties this season that eventually were converted into 56 points. We don’t just practice covering the deep throws; we work on playing underthrows, too, reminding our defensive backs to get their heads turned around in time to play the ball while avoiding getting tangled up with a receiver. We are going to make the Ravens’ offense earn its points.
THURSDAY: TWO DAYS BEFORE KICKOFF
Today is Gotta Have It Day.
It begins with an 8 A.M. meeting featuring part 2 of Belichick’s review of Steelers-Ravens. We settle in as Baltimore opens the second half with the ball, and right away it’s the perfect storm for Professor Belichick. On third and two at their own 37, the Ravens take a shot down the field that, right on cue, results in a pass interference penalty because the Steeler in coverage, Antwon Blake, fails to find the ball in the air (the exact thing we worked on in yesterday’s practice). It’s a 32-yard gain. “Always be ready for the shots and play the ball,” Belichick says.
During the next series, the Ravens take another shot. This one is a 40-yard completion on first down. “We cannot sit back and wait on first down,” Belichick preaches. The score goes to 20–9, and Belichick fast-forwards, stopping only when Ravens running back Justin Forsett fumbles at the Steelers 47 with the game seemingly in Baltimore’s control at the start of the fourth quarter. “This is how you lose games—not protecting the ball,” Belichick says.
One play later, the Steelers score a quick touchdown. After their two-point conversion fails, Belichick fast-forwards again to a third and long on the Ravens’ next possession. It’s a critical moment, and Belichick doesn’t let it pass. “The Ravens gotta have it, so who is getting the ball?” he asks. A few faint votes for Owen Daniels echo in the dark room, and Belichick confirms, “Right, when they need a play, it’s going to be Daniels. We have to get him.” This is how Belichick inserts his game plan into the team’s collective subconscious one vital detail at a time. He plants the message—stopping Daniels is a key to winning—then he proves it and repeats it using several different media until it’s ingrained in our brains. Then Belichick shows us what happens when we don’t follow the plan. The tape rolls, Daniels gets free, and the Ravens convert on their way to another field goal that puts them up 23–15.
Roethlisberger throws an interception, and Belichick stops the tape.
“What’s next?”
Again, a few unconvincing murmurs from the crowd. Almost before Belichick has a chance to agree—“Right, a shot”—Ravens backup tight end Crockett Gillmore catches a 21-yard touchdown pass that ices the game.
The Ravens beat the Steelers because they made all their “gotta have it” plays. It’s a nice segue. Near the end of any preparation week, Belichick uses days like these to go over the plays and players he feels will be difference-makers in the game. First, he highlights Ravens wide receiver Michael Campanaro. God knows why; Campanaro is a seventh rounder who has been active for only four games and did not have a single catch against the Steelers. It seems like guesswork or secret intel, but it’s actually Belichick’s powers of deductive reasoning that have led him to Campanaro. He knows one of our weaknesses on defense also happens to be one of the Ravens’ strengths: the middle of the field. Campanaro, meanwhile, is quick and strong and can separate in the slot and win in man coverage. It’s a calculated prediction, not a wild guess. We will keep our eye on Campanaro on Saturday.
At practice, though, all eyes are on Alan Branch. The sun is out but the weather is brutal, yet the players seem to be inspired. Branch, a defensive tackle we signed late in the year to bolster our depth along the line, works so hard that sweat freezes on his body.
FRIDAY: ONE DAY BEFORE KICKOFF
During the regular season, the day before a game is quick and easy. During the playoffs nothing is.
Belichick calls a last-second 7 A.M. coaches’ meeting before the full team meeting to go over final details and a few future projects. All the coaches are in their seats at least 10 minutes early, meaning that for once Belichick is the last man in. This pleases him, and once seated at his spot at the table head, he looks at his notes and then up at his staff and announces that he wants everyone to review the previous four Patriots’ postseasons to uncover anything we may have missed in our preparation. He wants them watching not through the lens of their particular unit or area of expertise but as a team of objective, independent observers. Of course, there is no assurance he will agree with their assessments or act on their recommendations, but no one doubts that he will process all the new information and won’t hesitate to incorporate anything he deems worthwhile. More than anything, this is an exercise in staying focused on the big picture, leaving no stone unturned, and seeing the game through fresh eyes and with a different perspective.
Belichick then reiterates that he wants the team to play fast and aggressive but most of all poised. It’s a fine line. We cannot let the Ravens push us around, but we cannot lose our composure. Finally, he demands a good start from our kicking game and precision in our two-minute drills. Belichick sends us off with this boiled-down report of the Ravens’ mentality: “They think they can cover Gronk with [safety] Will Hill, dominate our offensive front, and win.”
After the team meeting and walk-through, the players are free until they have to report to the hotel for the 7 P.M. special teams meeting. The coaches work on the playoff project, dutifully typing up pages and pages of notes for the boss before heading home for a few hours. They pass Belichick’s car in the parking lot. He doesn’t go home on nights before a game. He works out, watches more tape, shuts the world out, and locks in on the task at hand.
Belichick holds his evening coaches’ meeting at the local hotel the team stays at the night before the game. This session has always been one of my favorites. In it, Belichick goes over how he sees the game playing out and doles out parting instructions to his coordinators. The first order of business, though, is to finalize the inactive list. Then it’s on to the officials. Belichick reviews all the Patriots games that Bill Vinovich, the head official assigned to our game, has done. He informs the staff that he actually went over the trick plays we might run with Vinovich to make sure we don’t catch his crew off guard. Fans, players, and coaches alike forget that the pace of the game is just as fast for officials as it is for the rest of us; forcing them to figure out a proper call on an unusual circumstance in the heat of the moment is asking a lot. When it benefits us, we try to make life a little easier for them. Belichick doesn’t worry about Vinovich spilling our plans to the Ravens. He’s not worried about the play’s legality, either, because he’s already had a chat with the league office about the rules. The man leaves nothing to chance.
Not that he doubted the legality of his play. It already had been confirmed by his own resident rules pundit, Ernie Adams. Many people have asked me what Adams actually does for Belichick. As far back as Cleveland, owner Art Modell would say, “I will pay $10,000 to the person who can tell me what Ernie Adams does.” Adams doesn’t attend meetings, nor does he coach a position. He’s a confidant of Belichick’s, a trusted friend, a sounding board, another set of eyes and ears, and a legitimate rules expert. He knows the rule book as well as the head of officials, probably better. A
dd his great understanding of the history of the game, and Adams is an incredible resource and comfort for Belichick. The coach confers with him on replay challenges, and he’s always nearby when Belichick is in a conversation with the refs.
Adams also brings me to the elephant in the room. Call me a Kool-Aid drinker if it makes you feel better, but here’s the fact: The Patriots don’t cheat. Okay, maybe they do a little. But only stuff that all teams in the NFL do to try to gain an advantage. And I’m not talking about unbalanced line play here; that’s just knowing the rules, pushing things right up to the edge in an effort to gain every possible advantage. It’s not cheating, although it’s often portrayed that way. I’m talking about the biggie: filming another team’s signals. It was wrong, and they paid a hefty price—draft picks, fines, and permanent damage to the franchise’s reputation—but they were doing only what other teams have done and will continue to do.
Gridiron Genius Page 20