Cory's Corner: Bill Belichick Has Patriots Winning Formula

Adversity is life’s greatest litmus test. If you can stay afloat during tough times, you’re doing something right.  

Adversity is life’s greatest litmus test. If you can stay afloat during tough times, you’re doing something right.

The New England Patriots have not only survived adversity, they have been swimming in it. From Spygate, to Aaron Hernandez to Deflategate, the Patriots have been through a maelstrom of activity that many teams wouldn’t have been able to survive.

And even this season, this team is currently wading through a potential split locker room that has Tom Brady and his personal trainer Alex Guerrero on one side and everyone else on the other.

Then there was the bombshell about Brady’s mysterious throwing hand injury. He may be listed as questionable, but Brady and his avocado ice cream are playing in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. It's the seventh straight time the Patriots are playing in the NFL semifinal and fifth time playing at home during that span. But it still could be labeled as a distraction for the rest of the team that now must answer questions about the most famous throwing hand left in the playoffs.

These things would derail a lot of teams, including the Packers. We’ve seen how the Steelers imploded because the star running back chose to be late for practice and last week’s game. The Seahawks have been allowed to bad mouth their star quarterback because Russell Wilson doesn’t fit the mold of the Legion Of Boom.

That stuff doesn’t happen in New England. Bill Belichick might be the most inaudible person on the planet. Heck, attending a Belichick presser is the biggest waste of time because he is either going to give you one-word answers or an answer in a gravelly grumble that doesn’t even make his face move.

But I think deep down there is a method to the madness. Belichick has the discipline of a kindergarten teacher and the results have spoken for themselves. The players know that if they push the envelope, they aren’t playing.

And as far as adversity, Belichick remains the same even-keeled guy. He still looks disheveled with the Hoodie, but that has also been the Patriots psychological baseline. New England players expect their head coach to come across like Wilford Brimley but they know what that persona means and what to expect. When Aaron Rodgers was injured, Packers coach Mike McCarthy became salty with the media when asked about how he develops quarterbacks. Has Belichick sniped at the media? Sure. But that usually happens after a loss or more specifically after a tight loss. He doesn’t go out of character for an entire season.

And that’s why the Patriots are the Patriots. You can talk about all the great free agent thrifty moves and you can talk about drafting the best quarterback ever in the sixth round.

But the reason the Patriots will be good year after year after year is because the philosophy stays the same: Boring wins. 

 

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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn

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Comments (33)

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 20, 2018 at 06:20 am

When you win, your “style” is applauded.

Tom Landry was stoic. When the Cowboys were great he was “a calming, steadying influence”.

When Dallas declined, he “failed to motivate his team”, even though his demeanor was the same as before.

Just win, baby.

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Turophile's picture

January 21, 2018 at 07:06 pm

The Patriots have had the worst kind of wadrobe malfunction - style has gone out of the window. What has caused the Emperor to lose his clothes ? Answer = Tom Brady.

That personal relationship between Brady and Kraft has doomed the Patriots to mediocrity for years. Between them they orchestrated the keeping of a 40 year old QB (41 before next season starts) over a potential second franchise QB in Garoppolo. Not only that, he was traded for a bargain basement price as well.

Given how Belichick is known for getting rid of players early rather than late, you have to suppose he had no say in what went down. The Brady/Kraft friendship has doomed them. It wouldn't surprise me to see BB leaving the Pats after 2018 - it would surprise me even less to see the Pats become a forgotten, going-nowhere team, for the next decade.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 20, 2018 at 10:30 am

Unless they unearth the next Brady or Garoppolo soon.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 20, 2018 at 01:28 pm

Hey, it could happen.
But I’m not pulling for it.

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NickPerry's picture

January 20, 2018 at 06:45 am

Before I make a comment I want to say to my friend Bearmeat..."Please stay calm".

First 2 pictures of that PUTRID purple uniform last week and now 2 more of BB and the Patriots this week? I'm pretty sure my CHTV buddy Bearmeat might not appreciate this!

Looking forward to your guys work on the Draft, Free Agents, and Al's CHTV Draft Guide and this season being OVER!

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Rossonero's picture

January 20, 2018 at 07:32 am

I'm hearing Gutekunst will surprise us and select edge rusher Marcus Davenport from UT-San Antonio.

"Davenport is a large man — UTSA lists him at 6’7” and 255 pounds, though we’ll get his official measurements from the Senior Bowl weigh-in next week. Davenport put up very good numbers in his four years, totaling 21.5 sacks, 37.5 tackles for loss, and six forced fumbles. He also had an excellent senior season, posting 55 total tackles, 17.5 for losses, and 8.5 sacks to go with three forced fumbles." - Acme packing company

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Turophile's picture

January 20, 2018 at 09:48 am

So, given the Packers rep for giving away less than nothing before the draft, is there anything that suggests the Acme writer is having anything more than a wag ?

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NickPerry's picture

January 20, 2018 at 10:28 am

I've saw him go to the Packers in 3 different Mock Drafts so far. I really want to see him play in that game to get a better look at him. Picking at #14 likely won't happen again, at least if Rodgers is healthy. Saw one draft with Davenport going to the Packers in 1st and Mark Andrews the Oklahoma TE in the 2nd which I wouldn't be pissed about one bit. Love that Andrews kid.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 20, 2018 at 10:31 am

Unless he doesn’t pan out.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

January 20, 2018 at 02:01 pm

Acme just responded to Mel Pipers (whatever his name is) mock that had Davenport coming to GB. The APC author never advocates for Davenport, and having read a lot of Tex Western articles, I'd read between the lines and suggest that Tex didn't think much of this idea.

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CAG123's picture

January 21, 2018 at 02:12 am

Ehh no thanks Davenport is a 4-3 DE masquerading as a 3-4 OLB he plays very stiff and relies too much on raw power plus he doesn’t have too much lateral quickness so forget about him dropping into coverage. Ardon Key is a bit slimmer at 240-245 but can definitely play with his hand in the dirt or standing and just seems to play faster and looser I just feel Key brings more versatility.

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NickPerry's picture

January 21, 2018 at 04:37 am

I think your right but Key brings the possibility of problems due to his History. Saw one piece who compared him to Randy Gregory. It's to early in the process to say yeah or nay to some of these guys. Especially if I haven't really looked at the kid and have no idea about many of them.

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Tundraboy's picture

January 20, 2018 at 08:46 am

Looking forward to hearing what Pettine and Gute have to say. The future is now. Have heard enough pap from Murphy and MM. What's the plan, how passionate are they about the roster and coming year.

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Bearmeat's picture

January 20, 2018 at 01:04 pm

lol... I actually clicked right to the comments and didn't read the article for this reason.

Ugh. Not being in the playoffs sucks. I understand ESPN and JSOnline etc.. talking about the games that are actually still being played, but at OUR fan blog, it really does somewhat infuriate me to see other teams ugly mugs all over the place. Especially division rivals.

But no worries NP. I hate the Pats, but it's just jealousy with them. Nowhere near as much as I hate team purple. So I'm calm. lol.

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marpag1's picture

January 20, 2018 at 09:03 am

So if I understand this correctly, it's saying that Bill Belichick is a good football coach.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 20, 2018 at 09:09 am

I’m buying what you’re selling.

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4thand1's picture

January 20, 2018 at 10:19 am

Welcome to the Patriots web site. We'll play them in next year's SB and stomp em in the ground.

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Bearmeat's picture

January 20, 2018 at 01:06 pm

They won't make it there. Brady is done and Belichick will retire as soon as Brady does. Kraft really screwed the pooch trading Garoppollo. They're going to be bad for years.

A new dawn rises in the AFC. Brady done. Ben just about done. Peyton done. Rivers close to done.

That conference is there for the taking going forward.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 20, 2018 at 01:30 pm

Jaguars.
IF they can solidify QB.
Which is a big “if”.

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stevehj's picture

January 20, 2018 at 10:23 am

In my opinion, the reason Belichick has been more successful than McCarthy is because his teams have been consistently better on defense. That is where his coaching excellence has shined year after year. Even without superstars all over the field, the defense gets the ball back to Brady. When Brady needs a touchdown or a field goal to win, the Patriots defense gets the stops to hold the lead. If the Pack could do that, they would rule the NFL with Rodgers at QB. We can only hope that Pettine will mold our defense into something that has been as successful as NE's defense.

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ironman3169's picture

January 21, 2018 at 04:43 am

Here’s hoping pettine runs a 4-3 base defense. A yard pinching, 3rd down holding, everything except “bend but don’t break” defense.

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fastmoving's picture

January 20, 2018 at 11:05 am

We’ve seen how the Steelers imploded because the star running back chose to be late for practice and last week’s game..........

And I thought it was because of BR turnovers!!

But its the perfect example. Just win and everything is better than ever before.
If you lose someone is sure the reason is that you put on your left sock before your right.......

Bell played a good game (2 Tds/over 150 yards). not sure how 127 seconds from his 15. practice of the week could have change that....

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Since'61's picture

January 20, 2018 at 11:19 am

The Steelers defense imploded because they lost Shazier for the season. Bell and the turnovers did not help but the loss of Shazier was the biggest blow to the Steeler's season. Thanks, Since '61

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fastmoving's picture

January 20, 2018 at 12:51 pm

Yeah, Shazier was a big blow. But they knew it before.
But I watched the game and just checked the stats and Bell has nothing to do with it. Maybe he left some yards out there, but his average was good against this kind of D.
I just dont understand that the whole week nobody had Bell as a reason for the defeat. But after the news he was late to a practise we know for sure why they are out?????? strange.
He did not even had a bad game by any means.

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PortlandMark's picture

January 20, 2018 at 11:05 am

In the past when I looked at the over the cap website I saw that Brady's salary was about $10 million less than Rodgers. That gives the team more room for free agents. They also seem to be least loyal team in the league. The only player they keep is Brady. Everyone else is expendable. I'm not sure how I feel about that. In this internet age we can learn more about players. I'm glad to be cheering for Cobb and Nelson I especially how Cobb gets a ring with the Packers.

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Since'61's picture

January 20, 2018 at 11:25 am

There are many ways to pay a player, or anyone else, besides the usual salary approach. It would be interesting to know the structure of Kraft's holding company(s) and also how much money he keeps offshore. Thanks, Since '61

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fastmoving's picture

January 20, 2018 at 12:38 pm

I completely understand that there are thousend ways to wire the money around if you are willing to break the rules (salary cap, goverment, whatever). but at some point you have to trust.........
and if a player plays for fare less the market value, it probably would be double checked.
Not saying that something like that is never done before, but if you assume that in a big way, just everyone is suspect. and it evens out in the end, again.
I doubt it.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

January 20, 2018 at 02:41 pm

From 2008 to 2017 inclusive, Brady's cap hit has been $3.855M more than AR's. Brady's cap hit is scheduled to be $1.5M more than AR's, but that might change if AR gets an extension. Note it might be more than $1.5M not less.

2008: Brady $0.625M more than AR.
2009: Brady $4.2M more than AR.
2010: Brady $10.92M more than AR.
2011: Brady $5.25M more than AR
2012: half a million less than AR.
2013: Brady's cap was $2.15M more than AR.
2014: $2.75M less than AR.
2015: $4.25M less than AR.
2016: $5.49M less than AR.
2017: $6.30M less than AR.
2018: Brady is $1.5M more than AR. So far.

The last 4 seasons Brady has indeed provided a nice discount to NE, but nowhere near $10M a year. In point of fact, Brady's cap hit since 2008 has been more than AR's. In terms of cash actually received, Brady has received $8.06M more than AR has between 2008 and 2017, inclusive. Brady's discount does not really explain why NE has been so much more successful than GB. Nice try though.

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dobber's picture

January 20, 2018 at 11:48 am

This is me boycotting a second Pats article in two days...

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marpag1's picture

January 20, 2018 at 12:32 pm

Actually, it's the same one, watered down and rehashed.

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dobber's picture

January 20, 2018 at 01:15 pm

Oh, well, in that case... ;)

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

January 20, 2018 at 03:18 pm

I do not think it means what you think it means.

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4thand1's picture

January 20, 2018 at 02:14 pm

WTF, where's the Viking stories, lol. Sorry Cory.

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