Tag: Bill Belichick (Page 21 of 26)

      Long-time Patriot Tedy Bruschi to retire

      August 31, 2009 /

      After 13 seasons in the NFL, New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi has decided to hang ‘em up.

      From ESPN.com:

      “I’m 36 years old,” Bruschi said at a news conference. “Your body doesn’t heal as quickly.”
      Bruschi’s performance declined last year and he was playing with the second unit on defense this summer. He missed much of training camp with an undisclosed injury but played in two of the team’s last three exhibition games.
      Coach Bill Belichick, usually stoic, choked up as he discussed Bruschi.

      “How do I feel about Tedy Bruschi?” Belichick said. “He’s a perfect player.”

      Bruschi’s reaction?

      “That’s something you’ll never hear during your career,” he said as he and Belichick laughed. “To have him say that to me is probably the best compliment he could ever give me.”

      Over his career, Bruschi compiled three Super Bowl rings, five 100-plus tackle seasons and was a Pro Bowler in 2004. He also won the 2005 Comeback Player of the Year Award after suffering a stroke in February of that year.

      Leadership doesn’t show up on the stat sheet every Sunday, but Bruschi certainly led the team in that category almost every year he played in New England. He was the consummate pro and his success after in ’05 was inspirational considering he thought he was done playing after the stroke.

      Comment fodder: Is Bruschi a Hall of Famer? I would say he probably comes up just short of that honor, but he’ll definitely go down as one of the better players in Patriots history.

      NFL

      Rex Ryan: ‘I’m not intimidated by Bill Belichick.’

      August 19, 2009 /

      Jets head coach Rex Ryan isn’t afraid to speak his mind and apparently isn’t afraid to take a couple swipes at a rival head coach who has three Super Bowl wins on his resume either.

      From 670 The Score:

      Ryan said during a radio interview a few months ago that he didn’t come to New York “to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings.” He explained Tuesday what he meant, and might have provided more bulletin board material.

      “When I said that about Belichick, I’m just letting him know I’m not intimidated by him,” Ryan said.

      “He’s got the same position I have. We’re both head coaches in this league. He just happens to have a hell of a lot more Super Bowl wins. I don’t have a win. I understand that, but we’re not going to tiptoe our way through this thing.

      “You don’t line up and beat a Bill Belichick-coached team by tiptoeing in there.”

      Comments like these are exactly why Jets players have come to love and respect their new head coach. It’s hard not to want to play for a guy who isn’t afraid to speak his mind and let the proverbial bullies of the AFC East know that he and his team won’t be intimated.

      That said, Ryan has yet to win a game, while Belichick has compiled 153 victories, three Super Bowl titles and is a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year winner (2003, 2007). While Ryan’s attitude is brash and refreshing, he probably should be a bit more diplomatic in what he says in his first year.

      Belichick has a way of humbling fellow head coaches and while he’ll never play the quote game with Ryan through the media, I’m sure he has taken stock of what Ryan has said.

      NFL

      NFL Power Rankings of 2000s decade

      June 3, 2009 /



      Don Banks of SI.com       did a cool feature in which he ranked all 32 teams based on their performance this decade.

      1. New England
      Regular season: 102-42, .708
      Playoff wins/record: 14-3
      Super Bowls won/appeared: 3 out of 4
      Playoff seasons: 6
      Winning seasons: 8
      Losing seasons: 1
      In the past six seasons, the Patriots have won an astounding 77 games in the regular season (one shy of 13 per year), and 11 more in the playoffs. And let’s not lose sight of the fact that Bill Belichick’s 2001 no-name club authored one of the most remarkable Super Bowl upsets in history. If the 2007 Patriots had just been able to close the deal against the Giants, the only debate would be whether that New England team is the NFL’s greatest ever, not whether the Patriots are the best of the current decade. Alas, the Pats are one miraculous David Tyree helmet catch away from all of that.

      He’s top five consists of the Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Eagles and Giants, which is hard to argue with. The Patriots won three of the four Super Bowl appearances they played in, while the Steelers won both of theirs. The Colts made the playoffs eight times this decade and won the Super Bowl in 2006. Even though the Eagles didn’t win their Super Bowl appearance in 2004, they had seven playoff seasons and seven winning seasons.

      Giant fans might be a little upset that their team didn’t get a higher ranking than No. 5 after producing one of the best upsets in SB history (if not the best), but they were stomped in their other SB appearance of the decade and had three losing seasons, which was the most of any teams in the top 5. Banks’ ranking was fair.

      Not surprisingly, the Lions ranked dead last in Banks’ rankings and there’s little debate that they’re the worst team of this decade.

      NFL

      Is Jason Taylor in the Pats’ future?

      May 10, 2009 /

      The Providence Journal is reporting that free agent defensive end Jason Taylor is close to becoming a member of the New England Patriots. Some within the organization believe a handshake agreement is already in place.

      The Journal also notes:

      From the moment he hit the free-agent market, New England has been targeted as a likely destination for the six-time Pro Bowler. Pats’ owner Robert Kraft said Taylor can become a Patriot if that’s what he wants, and it’s hard to believe head coach Bill Belichick would put up much of a fight given his history of fairly gushing over the former Miami Dolphins’ star.

      Belichick has always had an eye on acquiring Taylor, and it wouldn’t be too impossible to believe that a playbook would be given him to study over the summer months. This would allow Taylor to spend time with his family and then sign an agreement with the Pats prior to the start of training camp. Belichick has made similar concessions in the past with other veteran players, including QB Vinny Testaverde, who was allowed to miss a majority of training camp a few seasons ago.

      NFL

      65 Observations about the 2009 NFL Draft

      April 27, 2009 /

      I’m going to channel my inner Peter King and dole out a crap load of quick-hit thoughts on last weekend’s NFL draft, which by the way, was one of the more unpredictable drafts I have ever witnessed.

      Below are 65 observations from the 2009 NFL Draft. Why 65? I don’t know – don’t worry about it. Originally I came up with 62, but I know that some people freak out when things aren’t in round numbers, so I added three more. But the number 65 means nothing, so don’t waste time searching for its meaning.

      Obviously these are all my opinions and feel free to debate them. But before you do, I already know that it supposedly takes three seasons to fully grade a draft and that no prospect is a sure thing. Again, I’m projecting here – so lighten up and let’s strike up some good debates.

      1. Outside of the fact that he’s now a millionaire and could buy a small country, I kind of feel bad for Matthew Stafford. You know some halfwit fan or media member can’t wait to utter the comment, “For $72 million, he should have made that pass.” I hate the fact that money plays such a huge role in sports because when you get down to it, completing a pass, making a catch or kicking a field goal has nothing to do with how many zeros are on your paycheck.

      2. I know I’m not saying anything new here, but the rookie salary structure is a joke. When teams don’t even want a top 5 pick anymore because of the financial burden that comes with it, there’s a huge problem.

      3. The kid could turn out to be the next Ryan Leaf on the field, but Lion fans have to at least take comfort in the fact that Matthew Stafford is saying all the right things at this point. He did an interview with the NFL Network on Sunday and he talked about how he wants to be a starter right away, but also wants to learn and be patient in his development. From all accounts, he looks like he has a great head on his shoulders.

      4. If Tyson Jackson turns out to be the next Richard Seymour like Chiefs’ GM Scott Pioli believes, then nobody is going to remember (or care) that he was taken with the third overall pick in a weak draft class.

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      NFL, NFL Draft

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