NFL Total Access: Belichick's Genius

NFL Network
March 10, 2009

Tedy Bruschi joined the NFL Total Access crew to discuss the keys to Bill Belichick's success.

[Footage of Bill Belichick mic'd for sound during Patriots practice]

Rich Eisen:  It's that sort of attention to detail that's led to wins in New England. Also, of course, players like yourself, Tedy [Bruschi], bringing three rings to the Patriots this decade alone. And you see that winning percentage of this decade's version of the New England Patriots – better than the Niners of the '80s and '90s, and we still have some more left to play in this decade. Mike Mayock joins us, a guy who knows about playing for Bill Belichick himself, correct, back in the day?

Mike Mayock:  Yeah, but I didn't have quite the illustrious career as Mr. Bruschi. Year three I tore my knee up. Bill was a special teams coach, and one of the youngest coaches in the league, when I made the Giants. I always look back on that kind of fondly. Even though he was tough on me, the reason I got a cup of coffee in the NFL was – it was typical Bill Belichick – I could play both safety positions without a lot of reps in practice and I could play ever special teams. So for him that saved a roster spot.

Eisen:  So, what is it about him that shepherds this team to the win column more than the 'L' column in New England, Tedy?

Tedy Bruschi:  I think just two words he always harps on, and that's 'get better.' Simple. 'Get better.' He always demands constant improvement from his players, his coaches. From mini-camp to training camp to regular season, it's 'OK, how did we do bad in this game? What can we improve from?' He's a great evaluator. 'What do you need to improve on as a player? This is what you need to work on, Tedy. This is what you need to work on to help us win football games.' His coaching staff, too. 'Coaches, this includes you,' something he always says, that they need to get better. We all need to improve, and it never stops.

Eisen:  I know he says that all the time at the podium afterwards – 'We have to play better,' 'We have to tackle better,' 'We have to do this better' – but how does it manifest itself in the week after a loss, or maybe even a win? How does that manifest itself?

Bruschi:  During the week he'll put us in situations – like you saw in that highlight reel – of situational football. 'This is where we failed last week.' And he'll run that situation again for us on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Maybe we have trouble in the red zone. 'OK, we're going to work the red zone every day this week.' Even if it's something like maybe kickoff coverage. 'We're last in the league in kickoff coverage, guys. Every day this week we're going to touch on it.' So those are the things, the repetitive ways, that he can help us get better every week.

Jamie Dukes:  Yeah, but it goes beyond that to me. I think it goes back to guys like you. It's high-football-IQ players that mean a lot. Now, of course you wouldn't say that, but watching this… I mean, you go back and you look at the litany of the great teams that have been in this league. Number one, there [are] high football IQs in a lot of cases, but there's also leadership. Every position, pretty much, on your roster – just like the rest of the championship teams' rosters – has leaders. And you guys have three or four at linebacker alone. So, I think that the Patriots, certainly – and the Patriot Way – deserves a lot of credit. Belichick is a fantastic coach, there's no question about it, but having smart guys who can play in his system and help him give him the flexibility to show his genius, I think, is important also.

Mayock:  Let's start with the 'genius' word, OK? Because having worked in the business world and the football world, this guy as a CEO in any business would be unbelievable. He's that intelligent. That's number one. Number two: Rich, you mentioned the attention to detail. I think they're the most prepared team on a weekly basis in that league. And lastly, and it almost sounds counterintuitive, even though he is so detail oriented, he also thinks outside the box. This is a conservative guy by nature. A couple years ago he wants to run the football on offense, but what did he do? He blew up his entire offense, he went and got [Randy Moss], he went and got the slot receiver [Wes] Welker, and he changed everything he did. … He blew up everything he did offensively. He said I'm going to hand the football to maybe the greatest quarterback of all time and let him make decisions at the line of scrimmage and we're going to throw it all over the lot. [To Bruschi] Did that surprise you?

Bruschi:  It did. You come in… usually offensively we have a system – we'll run the ball, we want to convert on third down, make first downs. But all of a sudden we come into a year where there are weapons everywhere – Moss, Welker, we signed Sammy Morris that season. So, offensively Tom [Brady] had just a bunch of toys to play with.

Mayock:  So many coaches get married to a philosophy or a scheme, and I think that's where Bill transcends that. He doesn't get locked into a box. Whatever will help the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl, he's going to do.

Bruschi:  And to change that he also asks his players to change, to do more. Our championship runs, Mike Vrabel's catching touchdowns as a tight end. Troy Brown's scoring touchdowns as a punt returner and not a receiver. It's always about 'the more you can do.'

Eisen:  Versatility. And who knew? So should we put Belichick in charge of AIG, is that what we should do?

[Laughter]

Mayock:  At this particular time right now? I'll tell you one thing, he'd kick some butt.

Bruschi:  You wouldn't need a bailout.

Eisen:  There'd be a new accountability.

Transcribed by the webmaster.