Attending the Super Bowl was one of the most incredible experiences of my life that defied all expectations. I didn’t think the Atlanta Falcons would be able to stick with the New England Patriots, and yet they built up a 28-3 lead. I didn’t think the Patriots would be able to recover, and yet QB Tom Brady and company led a comeback for an ages to force overtime.
I would argue that only one of my predictions came true and it took place after the game had ended and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was speaking to the media the following morning. I tried to guess the inner-dialogue of Belichick at the podium.
"This award ceremony is taking time away from my draft scouting." -Bill Belichick's inner monologue, probably pic.twitter.com/1rwfmNeEZc
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) February 6, 2017
Well, Belichick was happy to voice his thoughts and they almost aligned perfectly with my tweet:
“The NFL season, the calendar is what it is,” Belichick said. “As of today- and as great as today feels and as great as today is- in all honesty we’re five weeks behind on the 2017 season compared to the rest of the teams in the league.
Yes, the Super Bowl is taking away from the team’s preparation for 2017. Such is life. But it also points to another mantra of the Patriots, as shown in the video at the top of this article: No Days Off!
The Patriots practiced in pads and ran hills and lifted heavy weights leading up to the Super Bowl, while their opponent opted to skirt around their conditioning, ultimately leading to their downfall late in the game. No Days Off!
The NFL Combine is coming at the end of the month and Free Agency starts in March. We at Pats Pulpit are going to keep posting content so long as there are NFL events to be covered. No Days Off!
And you can commemorate the 2016 Patriots with a t-shirt that borrows that No Days Off mentality!
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7988769/Capture.PNG)