FOXBORO — If Bill Belichick’s final practice as head coach of the Patriots truly was Friday, then the day was perfectly unpredictable.
As regimented as Belichick is as a leader, the Patriots — this might surprise you — don’t go off much of a regular schedule. Players arrive in the morning and then learn how their day is going to go. Other teams have their schedules mapped out weeks in advance and updated in an app on their phones.
Not the Patriots.
Players and the media alike sometimes won’t know if there’s a training camp practice until the night before. In season, Belichick will sometimes call an audible and decide to practice in the Patriots’ field house, as he did last week, despite there being no inclement weather or a domed opponent.
So, it wasn’t all that surprising to see that Belichick had moved his regularly scheduled in-person Friday media availability to a WebEx video conference call. It turns out there was a good reason for it. Belichick caught whatever illness has been floating around Gillette Stadium for weeks and didn’t think it was right to cough on the first two rows of media members. His voice sounded hoarse via video conference, and he had to pause to cough a few times.
But this was nothing that would keep him from working for the rest of the week, including Sunday’s game, he said. That’s good. Because a DNP in what could be Belichick’s final game as head coach of the Patriots would be just about the worst way to go out. Instead, Belichick is preparing for and wants to beat one of his former teams, the same one he resigned from on a paper napkin 24 years and two days ago, the Jets. He’s not focused on the past 24 years, just the game in front of him.
“Well, I’ve always appreciated the opportunity, and I’m just looking forward to Sunday’s game against the Jets,” Belichick said. “Like I said, trying to put our best game out there this year. That’s what we’re working towards. I’m sure there will be another time to talk about other things, but right now we’re just trying to focus on the Jets.”
Players said Friday’s practice had last-day-of-school vibes, even though the team will reconvene for a walk-through on Saturday, the game on Sunday and locker room pack-up on Monday. But there’s an awareness that this was the last practice they’ll experience with many players on the roster. And for as bad as the Patriots were this season, the team was close, and most players fought until the end.
Belichick was spotted twirling his whistle and talking to offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien during the period of practice open to the media. “Revolution” by Kirk Franklin, a gospel singer, played as players warmed up. It was the second time this week that a gospel song played during the start of practice. ESPN’s Mike Reiss said that Wednesday’s selection, “We’re Blessed” by Fred Hammond, was a favorite of Matthew Slater, who also could be playing his last NFL game this weekend.
There was a laid-back feel in the locker room. One offensive starter was playing Connect Four with a staffer in the locker room while he waited for another media obligation. A defensive player was helping staffers dump laundry into a larger bin. Players expressed excitement to play in this weekend’s upcoming snowstorm but were nervous for the drive-in. Safety Jalen Mills said he practiced in the snow during his time with the Eagles but hasn’t played in it since that time. Offensive tackle Vederian Lowe went to Illinois, where he played a snow game against Wisconsin in 2018. He said footwork doesn’t really change since everyone is playing in the same conditions. He just expects players from both sides to be sliding around the field. Lowe noted that wind is a bigger factor when it snows since it limits visibility. There will be max gusts up to 27 MPH on Sunday in Foxboro.
Current forecasts have the storm starting around 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night and continuing until Monday at 1 a.m. Foxboro is projected to get 4-to-8 inches of snow, which will certainly impact Sunday’s game against the Jets. Given the weather and state of both offenses, it’s not surprising to see the point total set at 30.5.
Belichick is still skeptical to put too much faith in the work of meteorologists, however.
“We’ll see what happens,” Belichick said. “Things can change quickly at this time of year, so we’ll see how it goes. As the conditions get closer to game time, we’ll deal with them appropriately.”
He would say that the Patriots weren’t going to bring in fake snow or anything but that they’ll talk about how to play through it and show the team examples of how to handle it.
As a decision nears about Belichick’s future with the Patriots, every day is monumental in that it could be the last of something. Friday was especially sleepy with the end of the season on the horizon.