Belichick to Patriots: Forget About the Past

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Friday, July 30, 2010

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

The signs of championships past are gone.  In fact, you wouldn’t recognize the old new barn.  Gillette Stadium has undergone a transformation this offseason.  No, seats were not added.  A retractable roof will have to wait.  And escalators to get fans up to the nose-bleed sections?  Fuhgettaboutit!

These changes were more subtle but they have Bill Belichick’s fingerprints all over them.  Gone are pictures that adorned the walls inside the stadium.  Those walls are now simply white.  Pictures of past Patriot greats who were part of the glory years last decade are history.  The coach’s message appears to be a simple one to his players, “we’re not here to dwell on the past, we’re here to create our own great moments in franchise history.”

Of all of the major pro sports, football, more so than any other, lends itself to motivational tactics.  And this may have been a stroke of genius by the master motivator.

Maybe Bill Belichick believes that his players have leaned on the organization’s past glory like Tiny Tim leaned on his crutches.  The problem is that Tiny Tim needed his crutches.  The Patriots did not and should not have used theirs.

Last season’s embarrassing home playoff loss to Baltimore may have been the ultimate confirmation of this theory.  The NFL’s franchise of the decade probably just assumed that there was no way that the Ravens could come into their house and win a playoff game.  Final score: Baltimore 33 New England 14.  And the game was not as close as the final score indicated.

So the question is; can this franchise climb the mountain once again?  Are they indeed a Super Bowl contender or simply a team on its natural descent from best in the NFL to just another team?

The 2010 season will help answer those questions.  But, clearly, this team is going to have to create its own identity and not expect opponents to cower at the mere presence of their flying Elvis logo.

Let’s hope the walls inside Gillette Stadium don’t remain blank for too long.

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