Belichick: Falcons' 28-3 Lead Didn't Factor Into Patriots' Offseason
BOSTON (CBS) -- In one of the most shocking offseasons in Patriots history, Bill Belichick approached the 2017 league year as if the Patriots had lost Super Bowl LI. He treated his team-building like the Falcons' 28-3 lead held up and Tom Brady's historic comeback in the fourth quarter and overtime never happened.
But ask Belichick himself, and he will tell you that now-infamous 28-3 lead had little to do with the moves he made.
Speaking exclusively to the Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard, Belichick denied that the Falcons' big Super Bowl lead factored into the Patriots' surprisingly aggressive offseason. Among their moves were signing a big-money free agent (Stephon Gilmore), trading a first-round pick for a receiver (Brandin Cooks), trading for a tight end (Dwayne Allen) and a defensive lineman (Kony Ealy), signing two running backs (Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead), and signing defensive lineman Lawrence Guy.
But Belichick didn't necessarily make those moves because of the numbers 28 or 3. In fact, he thinks that score made the Super Bowl look more lopsided than it really was.
"No ... I didn't think 28-3 was indicative of the game," said Belichick. "The score was the score, but, I don't know, they didn't convert many third downs, we gave them a touchdown on a pick six, we fumbled going in, we couldn't pick up a third-and-1, we gave up a third-and-10 for a touchdown…"
Much like the Patriots players on the field never gave up in the face of a seemingly insurmountable deficit against the Falcons, Belichick never felt the Patriots were too far out of it. As he pointed out, the game would have been much closer in the third quarter if not for a couple of crucial Patriots turnovers.
"If we had just done a few things, maybe it's 10-6 at the half and then we're not talking about 28-3," said Belichick. "But it was 21-3, 28-3 because it was, but I didn't feel like the game was out of control or out of hand. The score was, but I didn't feel like we were not competitive."
Ultimately, Belichick said the Patriots' offseason moves were about what he always says, that they did "what we felt like was the best way to build our team." If the way the Super Bowl played out had anything to do with it, the coach isn't showing his hand.
