Belispeak

“I don’t think our protection was good enough. I don’t think our passing game was good enough . I don’t think our running game was good enough. Our run defense, our pass defense, pass rush, kicking game. They all need to be improved.” -Bill Belichick

That pretty much covers everything. This quote came from the media gathering following the New England Patriots 23-6 preseason loss to the Washington Redskins this past Thursday night. Of course, the media kept digging for specific reasons as to why all parts of Belichick's team left a lot to be desired. Most of his answers regarding the specifics stated a need to watch game film. Belichick never gives much to the media but that never stops the media from trying. This back-and-forth is often hilarious. 

I absolutely love Bill Belichick press conferences. I've seen him give the same one sentence answer to about a dozen question during a single session. It's hilarious because the answer is to the same question asked a dozen different ways. The media thinks that they are being clever but they really aren't. They are often ridiculous and Belichick isn't joining in their game. The media thinks that they are simply doing their jobs. Most probably are but so many just want to create drama. They want a sensational story. If they can't find one, they will create one. Belichick won't give them the ammunition to do so. I've listened to many press conferences from coaches and players across the league. Frequently the articles and columns spawned from the press conferences are closer to fiction. So many in the media seem to take what is said and report something entirely different. If the coaches and players don't give them a proper story, they will turn what is said around and around until they have a story. Bill Belichick doesn't feed the fiction by basically saying nothing. It's hilarious. 

I don't think that new Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer will be as elusive or as evasive as Bill Belichick but I can see him losing his patience with the media. Some of the questions thrown out by the Minnesota media are truly mind-numbing. A few know less about football than your ordinary, flowering plant. Former coach Leslie Frazier was always painfully patient with these clowns. Brad Childress tried to be painfully clever. I think that Mike Tice was drinking buddies with all of the drinking members of the media. Zimmer has often said that "honesty is always the best policy." I believe that he will always be honest. That doesn't bode well for some in the Minnesota media. It's still too early to know how the, hopefully long, relationship between Zimmer and the media will develop but my guess is that it will be much more like the often chilly Belichick-press relationship than anything seen before in Minnesota.