Well, it’s just as we feared. Bill Belichick is brainwashing his New England Patriots players. At least, that’s the way Tom Brady explains it.
During his weekly appearance with the Kirk & Callahan Show, Brady talked about the Patriot way under Belichick.
“I would say in general on our team we have a sign on our wall that says, ‘Doing the right thing for the team when it might not be the right thing for you.’ That’s just putting everything aside. Ignoring the noise, the positive things people may be saying about you, or the negative things people may say about you. Just believing in yourself and not making excuses. There’s always an excuse you can build into why you lose a game. We’re only playing on six days rest. We have this person hurt. Or we didn’t get that call. There are a million of them, and they’re all built in and you can pick them all off before the game,” he said, per Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
“I think our coach does a great job of never buying into the B.S. He never makes it about one player. He never makes it about one play. He never makes it about one call, or one situation. It’s all about all of us collectively trying to do the best thing we can for the team to try and help us win. He never lets his foot off the gas pedal. So when it comes to our team, you’re brainwashed. That’s just the way it goes. You need everybody, and in this era in football with players changing teams and so forth, it’s so great to be able to see guys who come from other places, then come to our program, and experience it. They may not get all the accolades that they may have gotten at their old place. But to see the smile on their face when we win. It’s like, ‘Man, we’re playing meaningful games in December and a first-round bye, division game, AFC championship and now we’re going to the Super Bowl.’ It makes it all worth it. I think that pretty much sums it up.”
New England is headed to the Super Bowl for the seventh time in 17 years under Belichick, and Brady has been there for every one. If they win one more championship, Brady would have five total Super Bowl wins under his belt, which would be more than any quarterback in history.
A team that continues to thrive without a ton of what you’d consider star power, the Patriots have won because everyone does their job. Period. Belichick’s message of the team, the team, the team never gets lost in the shuffle. It is the identity of the Patriots, and Brady has never once attempted to veer away from being just one more player on the roster, rather than a bonafide superstar.
Patriots players never focus on themselves during interviews (unless said player bears the Gronkowski name).
It’s always about the team. It’s always about the “we.” Even in the excerpt from his appearance on the Kirk & Callahan Show, Brady didn’t even mention Belichick’s name, calling him “our coach” instead. This is a central theme that resonates within the organization, and it’s one that has led to historic success.
No doubt, most players in the NFL would love to get “brainwashed” into the Patriot way. Results don’t lie.