New England Patriots: Bill Belichick expects promptness despite weather
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t want to hear any excuses for players not showing up for practice despite the poor weather.
The New England Patriots finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, going 13-3. It was a hard fought season, as they overcome a lot of injuries, earning their place in the standing.
However, their job is not close to being done. While they have a bye for the Wild Card Round, the Patriots will be hosting a Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium on January 13th at 8:15 pm ET.
Despite not playing this week, it is business as usual with the Patriots. They will be holding practice as they normally do in preparation for the game. The only snag in that plan is Mother Nature.
The northeast is supposed to be hit by a nasty snow storm starting early Thursday morning. It could make for nasty driving conditions, making it difficult for employees to get to work. That goes for professional athletes as well.
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While some bosses may be okay with people calling out of work due to poor weather, head coach Bill Belichick is not one of those people.
The Patriots are expecting to hold their second and final practice of the bye week Thursday morning at 10:35 am ET. According to Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston, that is a few hours earlier than normal for the Patriots.
The time change could be because of the weather, or because the Patriots are on bye. Whatever the reason may be, Belichick expects his players to be at practice on time. Matt Slater spoke about it.
"“You certainly better leave yourself enough time to get here on time tomorrow. We all know there is weather. Coach has mentioned that several times to the team, so I wouldn’t want to be the guy who is late tomorrow,” special teams captain Matthew Slater said."
Slater, who has been with the Patriots since 2008, knows about as well as anyone that Belichick means business. He was around in 2009 when Belichick sent home four players for showing up late to the facility.
Another longtime Patriot and captain, Devin McCourty, said Belichick made it clear that he doesn’t want any excuses for players not showing up for practice.
"“He’s mentioned that he doesn’t care; ‘don’t call and say your car got stuck.’ I think everyone knows there are two hotels up here at Patriot Place, so stay there for the night. Find a way,” McCourty said.“I tell guys, ‘Wake up earlier.’ Especially if you don’t have a garage or something. Wake up and go clean your car off. I think guys know. We’re in the NFL playoffs. I think everyone, if you’ve been here for a week or two weeks, you kind of get that — ‘this guy Bill that talks every day in the early morning, he doesn’t play.’“So not much needs to be said about being here on time and being ready to work.”"
That sounds harsh, but Belichick is a no-nonsense head coach. Excuses can be left at the door, and if he and the rest of the coaching staff can make it to the facility for practice he expects his players to be there as well.
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Hopefully, the weather isn’t as bad as many people are expecting it to be and there are no problems. Safe travels to anyone that has to go out on the roads, as things could get pretty nasty in the area in the morning.