After Thursday night’s game, Bill Belichick was asked about the Steelers’ screwy headsets, because any reporter worth their salt would poke and prod the Patriots’ head coach on any remotely odd occurrences during the game. There’s no better time. Belichick was finally forced to say meaningful words for the first time in months.
Belichick first explained away the headset malfunctions by calling it a “pretty common” glitch, also taking the opportunity to point out how his team was prepared for that situation, just like it is for every scenario, whether it be a nonfunctional headset or horse tranquilizers in the Gatorade jugs. The team site transcribed his comments:
I don’t really know, I don’t know enough about technology to know how any of that works. But that’s how it goes. And, you know, we ended up hard-wiring a couple of our headsets to kind of eliminate the wireless part of it. You know, we…it’s not an uncommon problem. We ended up having to signal some of our plays offensively and we couldn’t get them in. But that’s … we look at it as something you have to be ready for every week. And we practice it. So…home, away, I don’t really think there is any common denominator on that.
The wizened football goblin also had a message for all the sad losers and haters out there questioning the Patriots’ integrity:
But I’d just say on, kind of tying this in with a couple things from last week, or earlier in the week, I just think overall it’s kind sad, really, to see some stories written that obviously have an agenda to them with misinformation and anonymous type comments. Writing about warm drinks and trash cans and stuff like that. I mean it’s just, I think it’s a sad commentary and it’s really a very, it’s gone to a pretty low level. It’s sunk pretty deep. First of all I would say that our program here is built on competition and trying to improve every day and trying to work hard. And it’s not built on excuses. And we just try to go to work and improve and find a way to get better.
What home-game quirk will be next for the Patriots? No benches on the visitors’ side? A nasty smell channeled through the vents of the opponents’ locker room? Someone stepping in front of a kick returner going down the sideline? Wait, that was the other guy.
Photo: AP
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