Belichick’s Side of the Story

Not that it's beyond Bill Belichick to stonewall the media, but it's not much of a surprise that he kicked off this afternoon's press conference by addressing what happened last night.

After all, the moment Belichick grabbed that official, we all knew that a fine was on the way. As a result, he knew that he'd have to answer a few questions. So, Belichick did what Belichick doeshe nipped it in the bud. He began today's meeting with a preemptive explanation. And you better believe that's the last time he'll talk about it.

So, what did you think of Belichick's take?

For one, I'd say it was one of his most candid rants in a while. He obviously knows that he made a big mistake, regardless of his intent. So, in the name of defending his honor, Belichick was forced to open up, turn on the charm and pretty much just act like a normal human being.

I especially enjoyed when he reminisced about Drew Bledsoe in Week 17 of the 2000 season: "In 2000, here in Foxboro, with Johnny Grier as the referee, Drew Bledsoe was trying to throw a pass at the end of the game against Miami, and the ball was ruled a fumble. The clock ran out. The game was over. And then, as I was walking off the field with Johnny at that time, I talked to him how this seems like an incomplete pass, there should be more time on the clock, we should have another play here. But no, that was the ruling, the game was over. We go back into the locker room, and 10 minutes or so later, Johnny comes back and says they're reviewing the play and we may have to go back out and finish the game. Five minutes after that, the players got dressed, we came back out for a final play in that game."

And you can't deny that his explanation makes a lot of sense. All he wanted was an explanation. But at that point, the refs were far more concerned with escaping the stadium alive than they were in breaking down the logistics of a last-second field goal; the logistics of which they probably could explain if they tried. Belichick deserved at least that much, and you can understand why he so desperately wanted the official's attention.

Of course, it doesn't matter. He touched the ref. He was wrong. He'll get fined and he deserves it. At which point, we can hopefully move on and pretend the whole thing never happened.