Regimented, disciplined, organized. Bill Belichick epitomizes essentially all of those things. He has a system, and he sticks to it, because he knows that in the end, it will guide his team to success more than shooting from the hip. This once again seems to be bearing out in a Patriots draft, as New England methodically checked off items in the system plan (set yourself up for the future regardless of present circumstance, stockpile draft picks, etc). Looking over their moves on day two of the 2014 NFL draft confirms this. And it also confirms that Bill Belichick is the responsible adult in the room.
New England fans kind of hate it. They look around and see John Elway and the Broncos making exciting moves, the 49ers taking multiple intriguing players, and even someone like New Orleans trading up on day one to get an explosive wide receiver.
Meanwhile, Belichick has the Patriots responsibly filling defensive line needs, trading down from the third round to gather more picks for day three, and most of all, taking a possible quarterback of the future while he still has his quarterback of the present.
Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots second round pick from Eastern Illinois, was a head-scratcher for many Patriots fans. Why not help your aging Hall of Fame quarterback now, instead of wasting a pick on a player who won’t help the team for years? Belichick would interject that planning for the future takes precedent, regardless of short term, knee-jerk opportunities.
In other words, Bill Belichick is not the Cool Dad.
Instead of letting his fans have fun with some tantalizing skill position pick, he’s keeping them grounded with astute decisions that have the future in mind.
“I don’t care if Eagles fans say Chip Kelly lets them have two wide receivers in two rounds,” you can picture Belichick saying. “You’re going to plan for 2018’s quarterback crisis now, and you’re going to like it!”
He’s like the dad that makes you get a job all summer, planning decades of your financial future as a high school freshman. And, the frustrating part for New England fans, is that despite the fun-sucking nature of it, he’s right. You don’t make gut decisions in the draft all of the time, because it’s irresponsible (can’t you picture Belichick scolding someone with those very words?)
Trading up, signing big free agents, making obvious plays for marquee college talent. These are staples of the NFL’s Cool Dads (Jerry Jones being either at or near the top of the list). But New England fans, like tormented, overachieving high school students, are saddled with the very good problem of a having a buzzkill coach, who is so annoyingly right in his calculations. He only wants what’s best for you and your future, after all.
