Just another Reason Why Bill Belichick Is an NFL Rarity

It’s the third quarter of a close game and your team is at fourth-and-one from their own 24-yard line, ahead by just six points. Do you go for the extra yard or play it safe and punt? For most NFL coaches, the choice is easy - you kick a field goal and take the extra three points. Not so for Bill Belichick, though - at least not last weekend. Belichick ran a gamble when he signaled Tom Brady to go for that extra yard when the above scenario played out, and with the help of Sammy Morris the Patriots cleared two yards and set themselves up for the following 16-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a field goal and a nine-point lead over the Atlanta Falcons going into the fourth quarter of last week’s big game.

Things could have gone very badly had the Patriots not gained that extra yard on the fourth down at their own 24, but then again that’s the beauty of Bill Belichick. The USA Today acknowledged Belichick’s coaching tactics in an article this week, with former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach and current radio analyst Dan Reeves saying, “I guess I know now why I’ve never won a Super Bowl. If you win three Super Bowls, it might give you the ability to go for it on fourth-and-one from your own 24.”

As for Belichick, his underplayed confidence came out in a quote after the game, when he simply stated, “I felt like we could get a yard. There would have been plenty of criticism if we didn’t. But then we were able to get that and basically hold onto the ball.”

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Posted in Uncategorized on October 1, 2009

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