Felger: Oh, gross! What a gross answer. But boy does that give you insight into the way that the team is being run and the thought process down there and what’s going on down there. And what feels to me like sort of just a slow decline of playing out this string with Belichick resting on his laurels and his resumé. Why should we be optimistic for 2023?
Belichick Audio: The last 25 years.
Felger: Oh the last 25 years? What if a player said something like that to him? What if a player was on the roster bubble or had a couple of bad years and was up for a contract? Oh, I don’t know, like, maybe even someone really good? Like, I don’t know, like Tom Brady? I don’t know. What if a player had said that to Bill?
Jim Murray: He’d sack him.
Felger: And Bill asks, “well, you know, why should we put our faith in you going forward?” And the player says, “the last 25 years, Bill. Or my resume”. So that’s what the Patriots are doing now.
Mazz: Maybe one of the most hypocritical things he’s ever said. I mean, he’s asked point blank, “why should people be optimistic?” And I’ll give you my interpretation of that comment, when he says “the last 25 years”, “I’ve given you enough. I’ve given you more than anybody in the history league. You’re asking for more. I’ve given you enough. Last 25 years, nine Super Bowl appearances, six championships. I’ve given you plenty. What more do you want?” That’s how I interpret that comment. When he says it that way, “the last 25 years”. Okay, so now what? Time stops? Like it doesn’t move forward any more? We can just all stop doing anything now? I don’t know how many times we’ve said this over the course of the 13 plus years we’ve been on the air, no matter how many times you win, you still have to show up the next year and play. They don’t cancel the season. They don’t all of a sudden, like just say, “okay, well, you’ve won enough now so you don’t have to try anymore”. And that’s true in every sport and every season.
Jim Murray: Yeah, but the NFL might be the most “what have you done for me lately?” in of all of the pro sports. And for him to be sitting there resting on his laurels, “oh look at the last 25 years”, yeah, where the important piece is now gone, too. You’re going to bring that up. He’s a guy who’s just on the back nine here, a few holes left, resting on his laurels. “Look what I did in the past”. That’s all that was.
