Bill Belichick Kindly Reminds Dion Lewis Of Importance Of Ball Security At Rainy Practice
BOSTON (CBS) -- A rainy practice on Wednesday gave Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the perfect chance to remind his team about the importance of ball security.
The Patriots took the field behind Gillette Stadium in full pads for their first practice of AFC Championship week, and their head coach saw the weather as a good teaching point.
Patriots in full pads today. Everybody present. Raining a bit here. Belichick: "Great day for ball-security!" Turns to Lewis. "Right, Dion?"
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) January 18, 2017
That's Belichick calling out a player who set an NFL playoff record on Saturday night. But while Lewis may have scored three touchdowns, becoming the first player in postseason history to do so with a TD run, a TD catch and a kick return for a score, he also put the ball on the ground twice, losing one of those fumbles in New England's Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans. The Texans turned Lewis' fumble on a kickoff into a quick touchdown, and made Saturday's game much closer than it had to be.
Lewis wasn't happy with his fumbling following New England's 34-16 win, saying he had an "OK" game despite finding the end zone three times. He vowed to be better at hanging onto the ball, and was given a reminder from his head coach on Wednesday.
Belichick's message was heard by all of his players, as every member of New England's active roster was at practice on Wednesday.
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