Bill Belichick speaks on Damar Hamlin situation: "Life's bigger than this game"

BOSTON -- Bill Belichick was obviously not in Cincinnati on Monday night to witness Damar Hamlin collapse in the middle of a game between the Bills and Bengals. But watching that scene play out on TV brought Belichick right back to the final week of the 1997 season.

In Week 17 of the 1997 season, Belichick was coaching on Bill Parcells' staff with the Jets. In that game, Lions linebacker Reggie Brown went down and remained on the field unconscious, requiring CPR and medical attention before being taken off the field in an ambulance.

Belichick has certainly been present for quite a bit of football in the 25 years since, but being present for that moment has always remained with him.

"It was chilling," Belichick said Thursday.

"It was quite a lengthy process where the teams looked very much like the game Monday night of concern and thought and prayer and kneeling and so forth," he added. "It was a very chilling game, one that I'll obviously never forget. And it's just -- I've been at a lot of games, but it's just a moment that sticks out. That would be one of them."

While Belichick noted that all of the more notable and frightening on-field injury situations are different, he certainly used that moment from his own history to find a great deal of empathy for the Bills and the Bengals for what they witnessed earlier this week.

"It's something that you just never forget. So, again, on a personal level, that's kind of where I was on that," Belichick said, noting that he's reached out to Sean McDermott and the Bills as well as Zac Taylor and the Bengals on behalf of the Patriots organization.

"Life's bigger than than this game," Belichick said. "It's just one of these humbling moments for all of us that stands out."

Like everyone else in the football world, Belichick said he found the Thursday update on Hamlin's status to be a significantly positive development.

"Certainly the news from a little earlier this morning about Damar's progress is great news and encouraging news for all of us," Belichick said. 

As for his own team, in the midst of an important football week that has taken on a very different level of significance in everyone's lives, Belichick said that everyone is trying to get through each day in their own ways.

"I think we're all doing the best that we can, I think everyone else is probably doing the same thing, from whatever perspective they have on it," Belichick said. "And again, from talking to other people that are in this league or that have experienced something like this ... it's just a very, I don't think there's any easy answer to it. And you just deal with it the best that you can."

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones also addressed the media on Thursday, and said that it has been a tough week inside Gillette Stadium. There have been a lot of good conversations among everyone on the team, but it has been a tough balance focusing on Sunday's game and Hamlin's status.

"It's been tough for everybody -- players, coaches. You just think about him and his position. We all just want him to be OK," said Jones. "And at the end of the day, it's all about conversations and coming together and not taking anything for granted. And that's every day, coming to work and trying to have a positive attitude and just coming together and praying and doing all those things. So you know, there's a game in our mind, but there's also a lot bigger things than football itself. 

"Everything revolves around him and his family and making sure he is OK. The game is the game, but at the end of the day, we are really just concerned about him and his family," Jones added. "We want to be there for the Bills and their organization as well. Definitely a lot of emotions running around and staying focused on the game has been hard to do. .... But you send your prayers and continue your routine as best you can. It's hard, but everything revolves around him doing better."

Belichick expressed his admiration for players and for what they do in their careers, and he noted that he's leaned heavily on the perspectives of linebackers coach Jerod Mayo and receivers/kickoff returners coach Troy Brown in helping the team navigate this week. He also said he's not focused much on any speculation about Sunday's game being postponed, as such a decision would be well out of the Patriots' control.

Meanwhile, the Patriots will be leaning on each other as they work through what is an obviously difficult week.

"Everybody -- coaches, medical staff, team chaplain, team psychologist, veteran players, coaches, each other, teammates. I don't think there's any boundaries," Belichick said. "Whoever people are comfortable talking to -- whether it's spiritual, whether it's medical, whether it's family -- I mean, it could be any and all of the above. We're all different, and we all have different ways of dealing with something like this."

He added: "I think everyone is doing the best they can. And that's -- I don't know any other way to put it. I think that covers a lot of ground, there's a lot of different scenarios, that question could be asked 1,000 different ways. But I think the answer is really the same. Whatever it is, I think everyone is doing the best they can."