Tepid Tim Tebow Joins the Patriots

Tim Tebow has joined the New England Patriots!  I was flabbergasted when I heard the news, what with Bill Belichick calling Tebow out as a terrible football player just days ago. Really, Tim Tebow seems like a curious choice to join the three time champions.  Some in the family would agree with me.

"Really, Dad, he stinks!" My 11 year old texted me.

"Why did they sign him, they have Tom Brady!"  My 8 year old stated.

"Who's Tim Tebow?" DLG asks me, not really sure what all of the commotion was about.

Huh?

Now over the last 24 hours, pundits have theorized why Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Robert Kraft signed this guy.  It was a favor to Urban Meyer.  It was a favor to Josh McDaniels.  It was a ploy to increase interest in the team prior to camp starting next month and to increase sales and attendance at preseason games.  It was a shot at the Boston Herald for reporting that Belichick hated Tim Tebow just a couple of days ago.

Who cares?  The simple reason the Patriots signed Tebow was because he comes without risk.  He signed a non guaranteed contract.  He's a hard worker and will likely be motivated to excel in any capacity that the Patriots find for him.  Personally, I think that he would be the third string quarterback but will also play a lot of special teams with his religious teammate Matthew Slater.  A good, hard-nosed player playing special teams is what every team is looking for.

All-in-all, I think it is a good signing.  We might not agree with it using the playing field as a barometer.  And all of the local columnists are crying that the signing will bring the circus to town.  But so what?  If there is a team that is adept at dealing with circuses, it's this one.  Remember, Albert Haynesworth, Randy Moss and Chad Ochocinco were also considered side shows when they came to Foxboro.  Some succeeded some did not, but they all managed to fall into the Patriot way.  It was not that big of a deal then, and I doubt this will be a big deal now.

So let's hope that this works out.  I like the heady play and the leadership that Tebow can bring.  I like the spirit and locker room presence he can lend, and I like how he can take some of the media pressure off for a Patriots team that is entering is 9th season of the Brady era without a Super Bowl.  Maybe Tebow will win that elusive starting job somewhere after he leaves the Patriots.  I think it is worth a shot to see if he can do it.

A Football Life by Bill Belichick - Teddy Bears and Costumes

Last week made for some pretty compelling television courtesy of NFL Films and Bill Belichick.  Following Belichick and the New England Patriots around for the 2009 season, last week we finally got a glimpse into the football mind of a Hall of Fame football coach.  What makes Part 2 of the documentary (and with Belichick dry sense of humor and sarcasm, it borders on mockumentary) so interesting is that we Patriots fans know how the season ended.  Fourth and two; Wes Welker's injury, the drubbing by the New Orleans Saints.  The beginning of the end started with Ray Rice's 83 yard touchdown run and ended with an embarrassing 33-14 loss in the Divisional playoffs.  I can't wait to see how this ends.

And does Derrick Mason get into Belichick's grill during that game?

Definitely not the Result of This Season.

Part 2 starts with us explaining to the kids Coach Belichick's costume for the Patriots' players' Halloween party.  Randy Moss just wants a DJ and go out like when he was younger!  And he seemed genuinely surprised that the Coaches were so interested in going to the party.

Next scene.  And in the ultimate foreshadowing moment, we see the Patriots convert a Fourth and one on their own 25 yard line against the Atlanta Falcons.  And in the next scene we are treated to a brutal stretch in the Colts game.  We all remember how this one turns out.

"Billy get ready on the fourth down I don't want to give them the ball back."  Belichick tells his OC as the Patriots line up on Third Down.  What a great scene with Brady.  "If it's a shitty look, Delay of Game."  Belichick tells Brady as they talk about the Fourth Down play.  A great perspective on perhaps the turning point of the Patriots 2009 season.  Was Belichick leaving the play call up to Brady so if the play failed to convert it was Brady's fault?

Anyway, it didn't matter.  Cut to the next scene against the Saints as Belichick reminisces about Super Bowl XXXVI.  Adam Vinatieri was the best player on that 2011 team?  Winning that game was a miracle?  And all of those great memories ended after the Saints handed our lunch back to us.  That scene was closely followed by a lighter moment.  In a scene with Greg Gumbel, Belichick goes on about his co-star the Chevy Impala and his inability to fix the clock for Daylight savings time.  It's never easy.

In an attempt to get so much fit in to an hour program, the scene then cuts quickly to the Jaguars clinching game.  After we see all of the defensive players dancing on defense, and then giving up a touchdown, Belichick goes absolutely bonkers and proceeds to yell at the "punks" who didn't play defense for 60 minutes. 

And then Welker goes down in the Texans game.  Really depressing stretch for the team, but honestly, this season was not a good season no matter how you cut it and we knew that from the get-go. And of course, the Playoff game went off like I thought it would - although we didn't see Derrick Mason come back over to the sideline for another jab at Belichick, Thank God.

And just like that, the show ends as it started, Belichick in Nantucket on his boat, V Rings.  I really hope they change the name of the boat this year. 

Takeaways:

1.  Belichick really relied on Brady as an extra coach out there.  The exchange between them at the Saints' game was extraordinary television.

2.  Belichick hates - I mean hates - fourth down punts.  Going for it on fourth down seems to be a mental block for him, at times as he justifies by explaining that he believes in his players to make those yards.  Sometimes, as in the Colts game, it backfires.

3.  I really like the family barbecue outside of the Stadium idea.  Maybe we'll hang around after the games from now on.  Maybe Wes Welker or Albert Haynesworth will have burgers cooking outside after one of the games.

Until we see VI Rings.  Thank you Bill Belichick and NFL Films.  That was fantastic television.

photo courtesy of bostonsportspulse.com

Bill Belichick's Football Life in 6 Easy Steps

Is Bill Belichick the greatest football coach in NFL history?  He's won three Super Bowls out of four appearances as Head Coach, and he has won two with the New York Giants as Assistant Coach under Bill Parcells.  Not bad.  But he's been blessed with great players (Tom Brady, Lawrence Taylor, etc.) during his career, and when saddled with a mediocre football team, his tenure went nowhere (Hello, Cleveland!).  I happen to think he is the greatest Football Coach in NFL history.  He's served longer than Vince Lombardi, but yet done more in less time than Tom Landry.  Chuck Noll and Tom Shula may have been more accomplished, but they were also blessed with great players on both sides of the ball for longer periods of time.

A Football Life, produced by NFL Network, follows Belichick around during the 2009 season.  This will be our collective chance to see a human Bill Belichick and perhaps decide once and for all whether he is the greatest coach in history.  I watched Part one of the series with six things in mind.

1.  Not Surprised by:  Notoriously private and paranoid, the first thing I found interesting was that this was a showcase of Belichick from the 2009 season.  I found this to be very telling.  I can see Belichick begrudgingly agreeing to do this, but only under the condition that it not be from a recent year.  What I'm surprised about is that he agreed to this for the 2009 season rather than say 2006.  Don't underestimate Bob Kraft in getting this thing produced.  One note:  I love that Belichick's boat's name is "V Rings."

2.  Greatest Moments (Humor):  Jon Bon Jovi looks ridiculous in the Pat Patriot T-Shirt - he's from Jersey!  Tom Brady's hair growing from a respectable length to Gisele length by Week Four.  Sebastian Vollmer's catch during Training Camp with no meetings and no curfew on the line (Belichick: "I never thought he'd catch that!  I wasn't counting on him catching that." Minutes after a shaky Vollmer settles under a 50 yard punt.  Belichick talking to Tom Brady about missing passes.  "What about Maroney?" "It went right through his hands." "It was over his head!" "Oh that one."

The moment that made me laugh the most, though was the exchange between Wes Welker and Belichick after Julian Edelman returns a punt for a touchdown in the final preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Belichick to Welker:  "Do you know who Wally Pipp is?"

Welker: "No"

Belichick:  "He's the player who played before Lou Gehrig when Gehrig played 20,000 games in a row.  That's the story on punt return."

Welker:  "He can have it, man."

Belichick: "Way to compete.  Way to compete."

3.  Greatest Moment (Drama):  Robert Kraft talking to Seymour about the team approximately 17 minutes before Seymour is traded to the Oakland Raiders.

There is also a scene where Belichick is walking through the Meadowlands locker rooms reminiscing - talking about the coaches' locker room and the old racquetball court.  The disappointment and anger he has toward Bill Parcells is palpable; a book should be written about that last year between Belichick and Parcells for the New York Jets.  What a great scene.

4.  Most Surprising Moments:  Belichick drives a Chevy Impala.  Really?!?  Sankaty Head Golf Club allows its players to wear jeans and sneakers on the course?  Another great scene occurs when Belichick kisses Ed Reed's ass and then throws into his missing coverage.

5.  Things I Learned:  Tom Brady is a big whiny bitch!  Seriously, when Belichick asks him to take it easy.  Brady starts to give him the Gisele treatment by whining in a high pitched voice that he got drilled on one pass to Kevin Faulk and that one screen went through Lawrence Maroney's hands (it didn't, it went over his head).  Although I originally thought it was for salary cap relief, Richard Seymour was traded to the Raiders so the Patriots could sign Vince Wilfork.

6.  One Thing I'm Concerned About:  Derrick Mason's I'm sure going to remember Belichick yelling at him later on in the playoffs when the Ravens absolutely spank the Patriots in the Playoffs.  That will be one interesting conversation - if it happens.

We'll see you next week for the conclusion of "A Football Life."  I can't wait.

photo courtesy of pigskinlovinglady.com