Patriots gridiron news: Bill Belichick praises team’s focus ahead of SBLII
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been quite loose in the week heading up to Super Bowl LII, but maybe that’s because of his team’s focus.
It has been a good week of practice according to Bill Belichick. On Sunday, the New England Patriots head coach will attempt to add another page into the history book as his team will look to win a sixth Lombardi Trophy.
With most of the nation pulling for the Philadelphia Eagles to knock the Patriots off their throne, Belichick took a moment to praise his players on their focus in practice during the week.
"“I think they’ve been focused, no question,” Belichick told Nicki Jhabvala, via WEEI. “There are things that are different about this game, but we’ve managed those and we’ve tried to focus on what we need to do and I think the attention level has been good.”"
The usually stoic coach knows how hard it is to win in the NFL. Although it is something he has mastered for almost two decades, he appreciates the competitive nature of the game and knows his guys will have to be prepared to take on a talented team like the Eagles.
Speaking of the NFC champions, Bill Belichick threw some praise their way as well.
"“They’re pretty good at everything – good in the kicking game, good on defense, good on offense, make you defend a lot of things,” he said. “Just the volume of it all. It’s not like one thing you have to stop because there’s 10 things you have to stop. So everybody is going to have to do a good job. You can’t just rely on one guy or one thing.”"
That one guy is Tom Brady. The New England Patriots as a team are going to have to find different ways to win this game if the Eagles pressure can rattle the 40-year-old quarterback. Even if they can, the Patriots will get their points. That means the defense has to find a way to play their best game of the season and make Nick Foles look like…Nick Foles.
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Vince Wilfork addresses team prior to Super Bowl
If any player knows what it means to prepare for the big game, it is former Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.
On Thursday, the man who made No. 75 famous visited practice as a guest and had a great message for the team. As a player, Wilfork is 2-2 in Super Bowls. He won in 2004 and 2014, but saw defeat in that 2007 season and again in 2011.
In a game of inches and luck, the big man could’ve easily been 4-0 or 0-4. So, he knows the amount of pressure the Super Bowl can hold. He also knows how hard it is to get to the big game. That’s why part of the message to the team was to “cherish the moment,” according to Rob Gronkowski who drew inspiration from his former teammate.
"“Vince is a great teammate and a great player, and it’s always good to see Vince around, especially this week, here in Minnesota,” Gronkowski said, via ESPN. “He’s an inspiration. How much hard work he’s put in through the years. He came with some good words of wisdom.”"
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Hopefully, that wisdom will help some of the younger players on the team, especially on the defensive side. With veteran players like Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and James Harrison – all who have won Super Bowls – the Patriots will rely on some of their younger players to step up to the challenge and limit the Eagles’ offense.