New England Patriots: 5 observations from Week 17 win over Jets

Jedi mind tricks

You can have all the God given talent in the world, but if you’ve got nothing between the ears, you won’t succeed. No one is more cognizant of that fact than Bill Belichick.

Naturally, Belichick decided to channel his inner Jedi and play a few mind tricks on the Jets. He chose to do something so small, so insignificant, that it would disrupt the Jets psyches without them even realizing it. The simplicity of his mind control would make Leonardo DiCaprio’s character from Inception proud.

The move? He put big thermometers in the Jets tunnel. “And then what, Ben? I don’t get it.” Well, that’s it. Seriously. All he wanted to do was remind their players how brutally cold out it was. “Brick”, as the kids would say.

Therein lies Bill Belichick’s genius. It’s impossible to tell whether this tactic worked or not, but it took minimal effort to put into action. If even one player or coach for the Jets looked at the thermometer and said “wow, it’s really cold out”, then it was worth it.

A lot of people are trying to minimize this move, saying that the Jets already knew it was cold. That it was freezing in New York too. Well, the naysayers may be right, but they’re also completely wrong.

Of course anyone standing outside in 0 degree weather could tell you it’s cold. However, a good player will do whatever it takes to neutralize the elements. Maybe Bryce Petty had convinced himself it wasn’t that cold out. When he took a look at the giant, strategically placed thermometer in the tunnel, he said “Oh s*%t, it really is cold”. Checkmate.