Steve Belichick vividly remembers preparing for and facing Tom Brady last October. He also remembers what happened afterward.
"I got killed after that game," the New England Patriots' outside linebackers coach said this week on Chris Long's "Green Light" podcast. "I became a GIF."
That game featured an impressive performance by the Patriots defense, which held Brady and the high-powered Tampa Bay Buccaneers to one touchdown in a 19-17 loss. But it was an unfortunate one from Belichick, who became instant meme material when NBC cameras captured some of his bizarre sideline facial expressions.
You remember the ones:
The snarl. The scowl. The tongue.
What exactly was happening there?
"I was just thinking a lot and trying to stay ahead of it," Belichick told Long. "I'll never forget after the game, my wife and (former Patriots safety) Pat Chung, they were sitting together watching the game and they just kind of put their arm around me like, 'It's going to be OK.' (I said), 'What the (expletive) are you talking about?' They were like, 'Just battle through it. You've been through worse, but battle through it.'
"I was just in it, and all my friends loved it. They enjoyed that."
The Patriots' defense, led by Belichick and inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, enjoyed itself for much of last season, ranking at or near the top of the NFL in many defensive categories entering the stretch run. But a late implosion tanked New England's hopes for a deep postseason run. The Patriots allowed 33 points in two of their final three regular-season games and then were eviscerated in their lone playoff contest, surrendering touchdowns on every possession in a 47-17 loss to rival Buffalo.
New England will hope the same coaching staff can produce better results in 2022. Unlike on offense, where the Patriots lost coordinator Josh McDaniels and four other assistants, every defensive coach returns this season, with Belichick and Mayo continuing to steer the ship.
There have been some significant on-field changes for the Patriots' defense, however, with a collection of younger, faster linebackers replacing veterans Dont'a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins and a star-less cornerback group looking to weather the loss of Pro Bowler J.C. Jackson.
"We have a saying around here that once you get to the playoffs, only one plane lands, and everyone else crashes and burns in the ocean," Belichick told Long. "It's the truth. So only one team's plane's going to land, and everyone else is going to crash and burn."
