Bill Belichick, clearly, doesn’t operate like most NFL coaches.
Over the years, the New England Patriots head coach has had unprecedented success, due in large part to his ability to almost always push the right buttons.
One such case came in 2008 following an ugly loss. In a story NBC Sports Boston published, ex-Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel revealed that Belichick once literally buried game tape following an ugly loss.
When we lost, it was a different tone. I remember after we played the Miami Dolphins — it was the infamous Wildcat game in 2008, when Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams came to Foxboro and rushed for like 250 yards (Editor’s note: 211 yards) — and we got absolutely stomped.Â
But that following Tuesday, he didn’t come in and rip us.Â
Instead, we literally went out to the practice field, dug a hole, and buried the game film.
Seriously: It might still be there. Somebody might have to take a metal detector and go find that thing.
But I’m glad it got buried, because it sent a message to the team: ‘Look, you guys can sit here and dwell on this bad loss and beat yourself up over it, but after this moment right now, we’re burying it and we’re moving on. It’s in the past.’
We’d love to see someone go digging for that tape.
