Bill Belichick's Mic'd Up Locker Room Speech Shows How Patriots Hope To Keep Winning Games
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bill Belichick knows more about football than 99.99999 percent of human beings. His knowledge of the history of the game, the schematics of the game, the emotions of the game, the rules of the game, and everything else involved in the sport of football is, quite literally, second to none.
Sometimes he puts that elevated level of knowledge to work for all to see. But sometimes, even for someone like Belichick, the sport can be as simple as simple gets.
The latter appears to be the case with the current Patriots team. Through 14 games, the offense has yet to find its identity, struggling to move the ball, struggling to score from the red zone, struggling to convert third downs, and struggling to even remotely resemble all of the great offenses that Tom Brady has led over the course of his career.
And on the other side of the ball, the Patriots have been dynamite, boasting the best defense in the league and probably the best defense Belichick has ever coached.
So, in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's victory in Cincinnati, it was no surprise that Belichick was quite pleased with the all-around effort from his team. And Belichick's postgame message in the locker room revealed the rather fundamental approach the Patriots will be carrying through the end of the season and into the playoffs.
Here's what Belichick said:
Now, fellas, that was getting back to good Patriot football there. Plus-five turnovers, taking good care of the ball, four picks and a fumble recovery, 175 yards on the ground. All right? Making progress. Making progress. That'll be a winning formula: Don't turn the ball over, run the ball, play good in the kicking game, play good defense, that'll win for us.
...
Congratulations, men. That was a good week.
It's far from surprising to hear Belichick harp on turnovers and protecting the football, but his message was quite clear that being able to run the football will be paramount for the Patriots to take this season where they hope to take every season: The Super Bowl.
Last year, the team turned into a rushing juggernaut late in the year. After losing back-to-back games in December, the Patriots ran for 237 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16 against the Bills, and then ran for 131 yards in the regular-season finale vs. the Jets. That set the stage for 155 rushing yards and four touchdowns vs. the Chargers in the divisional round, 176 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the AFC Championship Game, and 154 rushing yards and the lone touchdown of Super Bowl LIII.
This year, with different bodies at center and left tackle and tight end, and with no healthy bodies left at fullback, running the ball has proven to be challenging. And though it came against a dreadful Bengals defense, Belichick clearly hopes that the 175 rushing yards from Sunday can help launch a similar late-season blossoming of the run game.
It's not overly complicated. Play defense, take care of the football, and run, run, run. As he said himself, "That'll win for us."
