It will be interesting to see what place the 2020 season holds in NFL history. Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this season has been anything but routine or regular. The results — especially if the NFL chooses to modify it’s playoff field — are also likely to be irregular.
That’s why former New England Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light thinks Bill Belichick may have come into the year with slightly less ambitious goals than the coach typically has.
“Five years from now, when we look back on this season, are we going to be talking about it?,” Light told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “Are we going to be comparing it? We win a Super Bowl back in the day and they compare it to a previous Super Bowl we won. ‘Oh, this one was so much bigger.’ And, ‘Remember that year?’ No one is going to look back on the 2020 season and compare it to anything other than, it was a joke. It was ridiculous.
“I mean, Bill Belichick’s the greatest there is, man. Do you want to compete? Do you want to go after it at the highest level? Or do you want to do what they’re doing right now with all the uncertainty? This is not the game of football we all know. It’s something other than that. Bill recognized it early on. I firmly believe that. And I think he’s building for the time that we can play for a real championship, with real players getting after it, fully prepared, getting ready to go.”
I’m not sure Belichick is the type of coach to shy away from a challenge. He has always prided himself on adapting with adverse situations. This season presents unique challenges — and the Patriots dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak within their locker room — but Belichick wants to win. Always.
Belichick preached philosophical consistency this week.
“The situation we’re in is that we play the Jets this week and that’s what we can do this week is we can have a good week and prepare for the Jets and do everything we can to win,” he said Monday. “I don’t know what would change that. Like if our record was different, I’m not sure how we would approach it differently.”
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