It appears to me that every great situation in life isn’t always what it seems to be, particularly when you’re on the outside looking in. This equation pertains to business, relationships, family, sports, etc. What we see on the surface isn’t nearly enough to comprehend what lies beneath and within the internal structure of an organization.
When it comes to the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick, there’s been some very questionable coaching decisions, particularly in Superbowl LII. The benching of your best defensive back Malcolm Butler in the biggest game of the year certainly is a head scratcher to say the least. Despite allegations and conflicting reports, when addressing the media after the Superbowl regarding his decision, Belichick as always wasn’t one to go into heavy detail behind the benching.
Apparently a combination of things such as sickness earlier in the week, Butler having what we’ve been told was a “bad week of practice”, and an alleged violation of a team rule led to Butler being benched. Per sources, it appears Butler wasn’t even aware of the benching until prior to game time on the sidelines. Belichick was quoted as saying the following: “I respect Malcolm’s competitiveness, I’m sure he felt like he could’ve helped. I’m sure other players felt the same way. In the end, we have to make decisions that are best for the football team”.
His decision not to play Butler clearly angered some players within the Patriots organization and also cost them on the field as Matt Patricia’s defense was chewed up and dominated by Nick Foles and the Eagles passing attack. The MVP of Superbowl LII, Foles did indeed post some impressive numbers throwing for 373 yards, 3 TD’s and one interception. He also caught a TD pass. If Malcolm Butler was on the field, would the end result have been different?
Unfortunately, we’ll never know but we can live in a world of hypotheticals, which clearly gets us no where. The growing tensions between Brady, Gronk, and Belichick seems to be significant. This marriage between Brady and Belichick has been active for the last 18 years, but it’s true when they say all good things must come to an end. The biggest question I have and everyone else wants to know is will they depart together or who will go first? I don’t believe they will both exit New England side by side, for I believe that Belichick will be gone before Brady.
Many players, particularly Gronk and Brady feel they’re not appreciated by Belichick for the value they bring to the team and the contributions they’ve made. Others are clearly upset regarding the Alex Guerrero situation and how Belichick forced his hand. Guerrero was stripped of several privileges including being banned from flying on the team plane and having his sideline access revoked. He could no longer treat players on the Gillette Stadium premises and that caused a problem amongst certain players. Apparently Belichick felt comfortable with the current New England medical staff and the trainers they already had in place.
With an influx of changes already looming over the Patriots heading into the 2018 season, many are starting to wonder is this the beginning of the end of the New England dynasty that we’ve grown to witness over the years. Danny Amendola is gone, playing for the Dolphins. Nate Solder is in N.Y. playing for the Giants and Malcolm Butler and Dion Lewis both are in Tennessee playing for Mike Vrabel. The Rams have recently acquired WR Brandon Cooks from the Patriots in exchange for their 23rd pick in the 1st round. Cooks was a great deep threat option for Tom Brady, now he’s gone. Who will be the next guy to go?
There’s a growing tension amongst Rob Gronkowski and coach Belichick. Gronkowski as we already know is very outspoken, a very flashy and party centric guy off the field, and very active on social media. Speaking of which, it’s more than a coincidence regarding his Instagram post recently where Gronk showed appreciation for Danny Amendola upon his departure from New England. Gronkowski posted in caps to Amendola “BE FREE, BE HAPPY”. Take it how you want, but I clearly see what those words meant and who that was directed towards.
Gronkowski and many players in today’s NFL love winning, but they also want to play in an environment where they enjoy the actual element of winning games, not feeling like they’re under some sort of dictatorship. There have been rumors swirling about Gronk potentially retiring or even getting traded. Three teams that are interested and would benefit heavily from his services are the Seahawks, and Niners.
We all know when healthy, Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends in the NFL. He is very valuable on the field despite his off the field antics. One thing we never hear about Gronkowski is high profile arrests. To his credit, he has stayed out of trouble unlike some player’s in today’s NFL circle. So taking Gronk on by any team is a calculated risk, particularly when it comes to his health and availability. If I’m an NFL coach or GM, I would roll the dice and take chances on him just based on his on the field play making ability.
In the past 18 years, Belichick has delivered 5 Superbowl titles to New England, with a (.739) regular season winning percentage and a 27-10 postseason record. He certainly has left his stamp on the Patriots and the NFL as one of the greatest coaches of all time in NFL history. However his stubbornness and his ego may have gotten the best of him this time as the Patriots are facing some serious changes and challenges this off season.
With tensions brewing between him, Brady, Gronkowski, and owner Robert Kraft, only time will tell how this all plays out. Brady is still playing at a high level, but there is no viable backup QB in place in the event of a Brady injury. The Patriots defense certainly needs some holes filled, particularly in the secondary. Who will be the replacement for the departed Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator? So many unanswered questions that hopefully will be answered sooner than later.
Based on the fallout loss vs the Eagles and the questionable coaching decisions from Superbowl LII, I believe this upcoming 2018 season there’s more pressure than ever before on coach Belichick. This time around let’s see if he uses better judgement or will his arrogance once again get the best of him. Stay tuned and let’s see how this all unfolds in New England.