It has often been said that Bill Belichick is one of the most difficult coaches to play for. It’s also widely known that many players have a hard time adjusting to the strict culture that is held in New England.
The tough environment on players has even been linked to Rob Gronkowski’s desire to stay retired. Julian Edelman elaborated on this notion while speaking with Ian Rapoport on the ‘RapSheet + Friends’ podcast.
“Where I play, our coaching staff and some of the leaders, coach Belichick, hearing him and how he handles success,” Edelman said, transcribed by MassLive. “I’ve been there for 11 years, you learn from it and it’s applicable to your life. You get institutionalized, bro. You just do it.”
The Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles this week and lineman Lane Johnson has widely said that New England’s players don’t have fun. Kyle Van Noy and Duron Harmon shut that idea down after they won a Super Bowl, so it appears as if there are two ways to look at it. Players can get ‘institutionalized’ and reap the benefits, or they can play elsewhere and have a less demanding culture around them.
Edelman went on further to explain the turnover rate in the NFL and the difficulty for Patriots to get acclimated on a week-to-week basis.
“That’s everyone,” Edelman said. “Not the new guys, everyone. We’re such a gameplan team. Every week, it’s install and everyone’s got to learn it together. Then you go out and practice it hard and I think you get so caught up in that you almost forget about those outside things that are happening.”
Edelman has been in the league for 10 seasons and it took him four years to become an integral part of the system. He put in the work and continuously did his job — which led him to three Super Bowl wins and a Super Bowl MVP award.
Playing for Belichick may not be the easiest task, but Edelman is laying the blueprint on how to successfully do it.
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