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The New England Patriots‘ Bill Belichick was asked a pretty direct question about his failures in the NFL Draft. Belichick’s answer was interesting.
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Bill Belichick Tells Tom Curran to Count the Rings
NBC Sports’ Tom Curran deserves credit for asking a legitimate NFL legend a tough and compelling question about his performance as the Patriots’ head coach and general manager.
During a media live stream, Curran asked why the Patriots have had a harder time “getting consistent production and development from the guys” that they’ve selected in the draft. Belichick said this after a 13-second pause:
Well, I’d say–look, any time you bring a player onto your team, you put him into a role or a situation that you think fits him. Sometimes you have to modify that a little bit as you get to know the player, and then you work with him to try to develop that. He competes with other players at whatever position it is or whatever role it is, and ultimately, you choose – or we choose, I choose – the best player out of that competition. So that’s really the process. I don’t know how else to answer the question. Obviously, each player’s different. Each player competes with different players. Positions are different. So I don’t know there’s a general answer to that.
Most would have probably left the situation at that with Belichick who is notoriously hard to question. However, Curran strayed vigilant and dug for more meat. He talked about the lack of production the Patriots have gotten out of players taken since 2017, with the exception of Michael Onwenu. At this point, Belichick looks to fall back on his resume rather than offering a legitimate answer to the question. He said:
Yeah. Well, Tom, I’d say the most important thing to me is winning games. I’m not going to apologize for our record over the last 20 years. I’ve seen a lot worse. So ultimately, we try to put the best team on the field that we can to be competitive, and I don’t really see that changing. So whoever those players are or aren’t, that’s the responsibility I feel to the team. The competition plays itself out, and the better players play, whoever they are.
Still doggedly chasing Belichick for an honest answer, Curran says, “I know you referenced the last 20 years, but really the last four, or really since 2014, do you think the drafting and the production you’re getting from drafted players hasn’t been where you’d hoped?”
Despite Belichick donning a gator, you could tell he was legitimately irritated at this point. He paused again for 10 seconds before Curran promises this was his last question. Belichck responded half-heartedly once more.
Yeah, well, honestly Tom, my focus has been on the Ravens. Right now, drafting scorecard, which, I understand you want to write about that, which is great, but I’m really trying to focus on getting ready for the Ravens. So I think I’ll leave my attention on that.
Here is a look at the segment:
Only a couple awkward pauses this morning…
Bill Belichick and @tomecurran discuss the contributions of Patriots draft picks over the last few years.
Fact: The Patriots Haven’t Gotten Much Out of the NFL Draft
Belichick was uncomfortable, and that’s a bit rare. For the first time in about a decade the predominant narrative is about his failures as a general manager. The rumblings in 2020 began a few weeks ago when former New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott suggested the Patriots fire Belichick the GM and retain him as a head coach.
Now, these questions are being asked of him directly. At some point, Belichick is going to have to find a stud in the draft or a way to continue to win at the expected clip with what he has on his roster.
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Bill Belichick Awkwardly Responds to Criticism of His Draft Failures