New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick beef continues with Giants
New England Patriots’ HC Bill Belichick proves to be angry with the New York Giants coaching staff for endangering his rookie QB, Bailey Zappe.
New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick has an interesting history with the New York Giants, to say the least. Earlier in his career, Belichick was the defensive coordinator for the Giants under at the time HC Bill Parcells. He went on to win two Super Bowls as the DC for the Giants, however, his biggest blemishes as an HC are also against the Giants. This past Friday, the Pats took on the G-Men in Gillette Stadium and lost, 24-21. While losing never feels good, many believe Belichick left the game with a bad taste in his mouth but not from the score.
"“Well, with what the Giants were doing, there’s a lot of reasons for some of the things that we did just to try to manage the game. So, just leave it at that.”"
Got the sense Belichick wasn't all that pleased with how blitz-happy the Giants were.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 12, 2022
On the Pats' lack of play-action: "Well, with what the Giants were doing, there's a lot of reasons for some of the things that we did just to try to manage the game. So, just leave it at that." https://t.co/TFnogLMpau
Belichick appeared a bit irritated with the Giants DC Don Martindale, reported Zach Cox for NESN. He felt Martindale coached as if he had a point to prove and overly blitzed his QBs that played that night. According to Cox for NESN, he also noticed the Giants were a bit “blitz-happy”. In fact, he provided context via Twitter to help drive the point home.
Blitzes Patriots QBs faced in Week 1 of the preseason, per @PFF:
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 12, 2022
2017: 6
2018: 9
2019: 8
2021: 5
2022: 21 https://t.co/YudlF6Qkh0
Did the New England Patriots have a right to be angry?
Understanding there’s no specific rule that prohibits or limits the amount of blitzing a team can do, it’s considered one of the unwritten rules in the NFL. During the preseason, the teams are attempting to see who will make the roster. Often teams are also trying to practice different schemes and play calls that they think can be beneficial later in the season. However, it’s hard to do so when one’s offense is getting obliterated with blitzes. Blitzing at such a high frequency also puts teams’ QBs at risk, as well.
The amount of blitzing also makes it difficult to grade the team’s offensive linemen, wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs. It doesn’t seem far-fetched that the Giants wouldn’t care much either way!
While Belichick was clearly not happy, Giants HC Brian Daboll comes from the Belichick umbrella. This means, there most likely won’t be any big-time ramifications from this but it’s never a good sign when the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) is angry!