File this one under "not surprising in the least."
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Vikings coach Brad Childress' assessment of the Patriots' signal-stealing practices in a conference call on Tuesday. To the surprise of nobody, Belichick offered no comment.
"Right now, we're just trying to focus on the Vikings, get ready to go and play them," Belichick said. "We're not really worried about other games that happened in the past or any later ones that are coming up on the schedule. We’re just getting ready for Minnesota and that will consume a lot of energy and time right there. That’s plenty to work on."
The comments in question came from Childress on Monday, when he said the Patriots were stealing signals in a Monday night matchup in 2006.
"These were some of the all-time great signal stealers," Childress said of the Pats, who dismantled the Vikings 31-7 in Minnesota in the game in question. "In fact, that's what was going on. They were holding, holding, holding. We were signaling from the sideline. They were good at it. It's like stealing signals from a catcher."
Belichick was also asked about his relationship in general with Childress. The Patriots' coach said there wasn't much to discuss.
"Brad and I have never coached together," Belichick said. "Like all the other coaches in the NFL, you see everybody at the combine and owners meetings, stuff like that."
They'll see each other on Sunday, and it's safe to assume that Childress' comments will be in the back of both coaches' minds when they head to midfield for the awkward handshake.
