Bill Belichick To Media On Gronk Injury Statement: 'Just Trying To Be Cooperative And Help You Out' [VIDEO]
By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)
BOSTON (CBS) -- "Ignore the noise." It adorns the walls of Gillette Stadium, and Bill Belichick may or may not brand the phrase into his players' skin. Whether you want to admit it or not, part of the Patriots' success lies in their ability to remain focused on football and minimize media interference.
So it should shock no one that Belichick was visibly shaken when he admitted in his Wednesday press conference that the Patriots and Rob Gronkowski's family released a joint statement on No. 87's injury to help the media obtain information.
"Just try to do everything we can to help you out," Belichick said, shaking his head with his usual scowl. "Sorry if you're offended by that...Just trying to be cooperative and help you out. So if that's a problem just let me know."
When pressed on it further, he offered a classic Belichick-ism: "We did what we did." Then he deflected the questions to Patriots PR Chief Stacey James.
Clearly, Belichick had the team release the statement to show that they and the Gronkowskis are on the same page after the 2013 fiasco over Gronk's broken arm. But he also approved the statement so he could give reporters the ol' "We've already covered that" when they ask him about Gronk's health. But you can clearly sense how much it pained him to actually give the media something, to contribute to the noise.
Belichick wouldn't, however, comment on Gronk's tweet yesterday saying he 'agrees' that the NFL is targeting him for OPI calls. He of course played his trump card: "We're really focused on Philadelphia right now."
So now that Belichick has finally willingly given the media something, you can expect him to retreat back to his lair and give no information for at least the next two years. He needs time to recover. And get ready for Philadelphia.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
