Bill Belichick Emphasizes Importance Of Patriots’ Special Teams Play

It’s no secret that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick loves special teams football, even with the struggles New England has had in recent years.

In a recent interview with The 33rd Team, Belichick touched on a variety of topics such as what the plan is for Patriots rookie Christian Gonzalez and the greatest players he’s coached in his career before emphasizing how he sees the potential in significant game-changing plays through special teams.

“All those kind of impact plays, I really kind of look at those as bonus points, bonus yardage,” Belichick told The 33rd Team. “You can’t count on those. You never go into a game saying, ‘Well, we’re going to be able to block a punt for a touchdown.’

“But if you get one of those plays, then that seven-point swing is statistically a huge, huge difference. No different than a defensive score or a special teams score kind of equates to that. So those bonus points that you can get, or bonus yards that you get, make a big difference ultimately in the points, and that’s the name of the game, those extra points.”

Belichick added there is a lot of strategy and control between the kicking game and the offensive game plans.

“That’s really where the majority of the strategic plays come from,” Belichick said. “Defensively, you’re reacting a lot to what the other team does in those situations.

“You have a lot of opportunity with the kicking game. What you do from a field position standpoint. Three points here or there, you know, changes a game, changes the season. Changes everything.”

The Patriots are coming off one of their worst seasons in special teams play, where they ranked near the bottom of the league, an area Belichick will look for New England to improve on in 2023.