New England’s Bill Belichik doesn’t usually open up this much, but his was a talking mood Sunday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
He made an impromptu visit to the press box, where he was drawn into a conversation with former Patriots linebacker and now NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest.
McGinest was a first-round pick by the Patriots in 1994, when Belichick was head coach at Cleveland. He won three Super Bowls under Belichick after he became Patriots head coach in 2000.
In their banter, Belichick takes a few swipes at the NFL and Indianapolis. Take a listen:
An explanation on those statements:
1. In a rematch of the 2003 playoff game the Patriots won in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Willie McGinest recorded a 13-yard sack on the Colts’ Peyton Manning that forced Mike Vanderjagt to attempt a potential game-tying field goal from 48 yards in Week 1 of the 2004 season. It went wide right.
“You got the Colts back-to-back, two years in a row. Here and in Foxborough,” Belichick gloated.
Referencing the sack, Belichick says “I think that’s where [Mike] Vrabel got them on the fake timeout, too, and then they changed the rule on that, but anyway.”
This one, Belichick got wrong. Patriots linebacker Vrabel signaled an exaggerated timeout as the ball was being snapped, knowing the Patriots had none to call, against the Arizona Cardinals the following week in 2004. The kick flew wide. Rules stated officials ignore the timeout call. No penalty was called. The Patriots won the game.
The following season the NFL instituted the illegal timeout rule:
An attempt to call an excess or illegal time-out to "freeze" a kicker prior to a field goal attempt or a PAT will be considered unsportsmanlike conduct. Penalty: loss of 15 yards.
2. McGinest said as a result of Patriots’ wins over the Colts commented he often received less than desirable treatment when in Indianapolis.
To this Belichick responded: “Trust me, Willie, when I came to Indianapolis, they threw stuff at me, yelled at me and everything else. Then when I went for it on 4th and 1 and got stopped, ever since then it’s been, ‘Hey coach, good to see you. How’s it going?’ ”
Belichick was referencing the time in 2009 when his Patriots failed to convert, and allowed Peyton Manning and the Colts a short field for a game-winning touchdown.
Belichick has steadfastly said it was a 4th-and-1, but it was in fact 4th-and-2.
3. Belichick was wearing a sweatshirt with the insignia "VI Rings." This is in reference to his boat, which he purchased 15 years ago and has renamed various times to denote his Super Bowl wins. He has recently renamed the boat "VII Rings," to denote the Patriots' win over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
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