Bill Belichick was awkwardly silent when being asked about not taking timeout
By Jerry Trotta
Patriots HC Bill Belichick didn’t use his last timeout in a crucial spot and we don’t know why.
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks always manager to deliver wildly entertaining games whenever they square off in primetime, and they expectedly came through for viewers on Sunday night.
After stopping the Seahawks on a pivotal third-and one late in the fourth quarter, New England took over down five points with a chance to win the game with a touchdown. To quarterback Cam Newton’s credit, he marched the Patriots down the field to put them in that position.
As we know, head coach Bill Belichick’s side ultimately came up short, and media members pointed to his decision not to call a timeout after a long completion to wide receiver Julian Edelman that forced over 20 crucial seconds(!) to come off the clock before the next play was called, leaving them with just 13 ticks left.
After the game, Belichick was asked why he didn’t use his remaining timeout and he provided an extremely awkward pause that you have to see to believe.
Very long silence from Belichick after @DougKyed asked about not taking a timeout after the late completion to Edelman. pic.twitter.com/B0SFQzW6uh
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) September 21, 2020
We hate to come at the king, but his silence and facial expressions after the question was asked really speak volumes. In fact, they almost indicate that Belichick is aware that he messed up in letting the clock run from 36 to 13 seconds after the Edelman completion. Had the Patriots managed the clock correctly they could have easily gotten two or three more plays off before time expired.
It’s easy to criticize Belichick in hindsight as his decision ultimately gave New England a chance to win the game with a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. However, the Seahawks had a hunch that Newton would take it himself and they absolutely blew up the play, tackling the three-time Pro Bowler before he could even make a cut to avoid a defender.
https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1307884988499664896
Any fans criticizing the play call there should take a seat because it had yet to be stopped thus far this season as Newton has four rushing touchdowns through two games. Could the Patriots have at least baited Seattle into thinking they were going to throw? Maybe, but we have zero issues with asking the former MVP to make a play.
You could also argue, however, that Newton would have won the Patriots the game the way he was slinging the pigskin had he had two or three more plays at his disposal. We’ll unfortunately never know because Belichick opted against using his timeout.
We would have loved a better explanation from the six-time champion, but being passive aggressive in postgame press conferences after losses is simply par for the course.
