It is no secret that this season certainly hasn’t lived up to the standards of the New England Patriots. After sneaking a win out from the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers, New England finally collected their third win of the season. It is hard to say whether this team deserved the win or if Bailley Zappe made three plays well above his form to give New England an insurmountable first half lead. The one thing that can be said without a single shred of a doubt is that the New England locker room had right to party after a hard-fought win.
Talented Safety speaks his Mind
Following the slugfest win earned by New England, there were a lot of jubilant players in the locker room and one of them sang loud praise for Head Coach Bill Belichick:
“We needed it. I just feel good we could get it done for Bill and the rest of the coaches,” starting safety Jabril Peppers said after the team broke a five-game losing streak.
“I don’t really like all the flak he’s been getting, because it’s on us as players to go out and execute. I personally feel like the game plan has been phenomenal week in and week out, and when we had opportunities to make plays, we didn’t make them. But we made enough tonight.”
Belichick has now spent 24 years as the head coach in New England and while he has six super bowl victories to show for it, the twenty-fourth year clearly hasn’t been as smooth for the living legend. Even with the win over Pittsburgh, New England is still 3-10 and is currently last place in the AFC.
The unrest coupled with the nightmarish season for Belichick has lead to speculation that the mythic coach will be pushed out following the season for a coach with a little more understanding of the modern game. While he has been a terrific coach for the past twenty years, Belichick still preaches an old-fashioned style that doesn’t seem to get results in the modern game. At least without a certain player who left him for Florida.
Another New England Player came out and proclaimed his respect for the icon as well.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach, how he does things. He’s tough. He’s fair,” longtime captain David Andrews stated following the game. “We’re all putting in the most effort we can to try to win.”
What is next for New England Patriots?
While it has been a tough season for New England, they have a lot of key pieces to look forward to. Elite defender Christian Gonzalez appears to be the real deal and the team will be poised to grab their franchise quarterback of the future in the upcoming NFL Draft given their draft position. The Patriots will certainly have a bright future even if their legendary coach isn’t on staff to share it with them.
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