FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick is committed to the bit, perhaps to the bitter end.
With speculation swirling about his job status with the Patriots, Belichick began what might be his final week in New England by being his typically inscrutable self. Wednesday, the unofficial start of game weeks at Gillette Stadium, felt like it could’ve been plucked from any other point in Belichick’s Patriots tenure.
It started with a curveball to reporters — albeit a welcome one.
It’s commonplace for Belichick to change media availability schedules at the last minute, and they typically make life more difficult for reporters. This time, he condensed Wednesday’s typically long, laborious schedule into a tightly packaged five hours. We’ll take it.
Just after 9:30 a.m. ET, Belichick took the podium for his regularly scheduled news conference. And, as is the case every week, he began with a long opening statement about the upcoming opponent — in this case, the New York Jets. He even gave a shoutout to Greg Zuerlein, because of course he did.
Over the next 11 minutes, Belichick quietly grunted through a series of questions while giving mostly short answers. He dodged a question about JuJu Smith-Schuster, gave a standard “talk to those teams” answer to a question he actually could answer better than anyone and scoffed at the notion of sitting players in a meaningless game.
When a question about his job finally arrived, Belichick Gronk-spiked it to Nantucket.
“Have you had any conversation with Robert Kraft this week about your future with the team?” NESN’s George Balekji asked.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to working, getting ready for the Jets here,” Belichick predictably said.
Toward the end of the presser, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan attempted to inject some levity by asking Belichick whether there was “any love lost with the Jets” after all these years. Belichick, whose history with the Jets is well-documented, kept a straight face while saying he has respect for head coach Robert Saleh and the “pretty good team” he’s assembled.
There was a cherry on top, and it came in the form of Trent Brown.
The veteran offensive tackle was a healthy scratch last Sunday and reportedly has miffed players and coaches by displaying poor effort and motivation. Belichick was asked whether Brown would practice Wednesday amid controversy surrounding his status with the team.
“Uh, yeah, I don’t think he’s on the injury report,” Belichick said.
Fast-forward two hours and Brown wasn’t on the practice field. And it would be a major surprise if he returns Thursday or Friday.
Honestly, you kind of have to respect it. One last bold-faced like, just for old time’s sake.
What happened Wednesday wasn’t a surprise.
To his credit, Belichick has fought like hell this season to keep all facets of the “Patriot Way” intact, even those many deem annoying and unnecessary. His consistency is partly responsible for why his players haven’t mailed it in despite having every reason to.
So, like it or not, we’re going to get the same old Belichick even with Judgement Day just around the corner.
