Belichick meets the press
PALM BEACH, Fla., -- “Want to talk about the forceout?”
That was how a smiling Bill Belichick greeted reporters as he arrived at his table for the AFC breakfast here at the NFL annual meeting.
The humorous question about a rule proposal to eliminate the forceout call set a light tone for what was to come over the next hour (7:15-8:15 a.m.), as Belichick – dressed in a short-sleeve Hawaiian gray shirt -- answered questions from various reporters from around the country.
There were seven seats for reporters, but with the demand for Belichick so high, others circled the table to ask their questions – which ranged from the Matt Walsh issue, to the Super Bowl, to the draft, to team-related roster items.
Belichick opened by talking about his erratic golf game and his meeting with actor Gene Hackman last month. About five minutes into the session, Belichick answered a series of questions on the Super Bowl and the team’s videotaping procedures.
One of the more notable items to come out of that was Belichick noting how the Patriots have reorganized their operation since the team was fined for illegal videotaping procedures.
“I’d say going forward, as difficult as dealing with some of this situation has been, we’ve taken it as a positive and done a lot of things in our organization to reorganize a number of things, in terms of making sure everything is being done on a more efficient and more accountable basis, to make sure a situation like this never comes up again,” he said.
“That was corrected in September. Like I said, we modified some of the other procedures organizationally. I think the good part of it – if there is a good part of it on our end – is we’ll be more efficient, more streamlined, and have a better organizational operation than we had in September. If that was the intent of the commissioner’s penalty, then, at least for the New England Patriots, that was certainly achieved.”
On football-related matters, Belichick was asked about the potential return of linebacker Junior Seau.
"I think we'll evaluate the situation with Junior a little bit further into the spring," Belichick said. "We'll see where he's at. I don't think really after the season with a player like that, is the time to make that decision. I think it's good to give it a little time and we'll plan on talking to him about that at some later point. There is no specific time or cutoff date, or anything like that."
Belichick also noted "it's possible" the team still could sign restricted free agent linebacker Adam Seward to an offer sheet.
We’ll have more from Belichick in a bit.
How long do they have to make an offer to Seward?
I hope this spygate thing goes away. I am so sick and tired of the subject. It spoiled last season and if doesn't go away, it's going creep into this season. Whatever the outcome, GO AWAY!!!
The reason it won't go away is because Matt Walsh is trying to get legal protection for when he comes out and tells fantastic lies with no evidence to back it up, kind of like his resume.
He actually is starting to seem like a nice guy. Wow what a surpirse.
This will NOT go away simply because the media wants to keep it alive. It will die only when the media finds another "possible smoking gun", prints the crap without completely vetting it, and tarnishes someone or something else.
They certainly will never print a retraction and admit it is a baseless story. I'm not even a Patriots fan and I feel their constant discomfort having to live with this continual rehashing. I truly believe they attempting to "trap" someone into saying anything that just might be a little bit of a contradiction of a previous statement. Aha! Then we can raise the spectrum of perjury
Should the Cowboys sign PacMan Jones perhaps the media hounds can chase that around until they wear it out..
If the Cowboys get to sign PacMan Jones perhaps the media hounds can jump on that and give the Patriots some peace and quiet.
I hope somebody asked him about what it would take to get Colvin back in uniform for the Pats....or at least if his return is at all a possibility.
But what does the almighty Peter King think? Stay tuned!
Good question on Colvin, I was surpised by the cut because of Seau possibly retiring and Bruschi aging. Other than the reason being a salary cut, was the extent of the foot injury more severe than we had been let on? Colvin's a good player when healthy, but this was the 2nd time his season was cut short.
dharper has this right.
The media has inserted themselves into this situation - they are creating controversy to drive readership (ad revenues)
They created the whole "tainted" Superbowls thing – but it’s a farce.
Especially so when one considers what the Patriots did with taping (from the sidelines vs pressbox) compared with what the Broncos did with the salary cap – (over spending by $29MM - specifically for Elway and Terell Davis) – here is where context matters…. I don’t believe I ever read or heard a reporter provide this perspective when reporting on the Patriots last year.
At minimum - the press is obligated to provide context so the consumers of their drivel at least could draw their own conclusions.
Unfortunately, Truth and Perspective are not controversial – enough...
Unlike dharper though- I am a Patriots fan - have been since they moved to my town in the 70's and I am pissed that the morons in the press have so much power and are so willing to wield it in ways that suit their financial interests regardless of fact or story context.
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Broncos Penalized Again for Salary Cap Violations
By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 17, 2004; 5:37 PM
The penalties imposed Thursday on the Denver Broncos for violations of the league's rules regarding the disclosure of deferred compensation to players and the salary cap were the second sanctions against the team for similar infractions in less than three years.
In December 2001, the Broncos were fined $968,000 and lost a third-round pick in the 2002 draft for violations reportedly relating to $29 million in deferred payments to quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis.
On Thursday, the league announced that the Broncos have been fined $950,000 and will lose a third-round selection in next year's draft for circumventing the salary cap between 1996 and '98. The penalties were set in an agreement between the league, the Players Association and the Broncos and resolve a case against the team brought before the sport's special master by the NFL's Management Council in January 2003, the league announced.
The penalties could be viewed as further vindication for Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, who has said in the past that Broncos owner Pat Bowlen should be suspended for salary cap violations. Davis has contended that the Broncos' circumvention of the salary cap helped them win the Super Bowl in the 1997 and '98 seasons…..
" he that is without sin,let him cast the first stone"
Coach Bills only flaw was getting caught. I'm sure up until the Jet game
everyone has been doing it one way or another. I have been a Patriot fan
1959. I have followed them from Babe Perelli to Tom Brady.
Their fine was more than I could have expected,matter of fact it was extremely
harsh. It is finished now,let it rest and the rest of the league can breath easier
for they were not caught
let us go on from here . The Commisoner did his job. lets play football!!!
I am so sick of hearing about Spy Gate It's time to move on and finally put Spy Gate to rest
And the Pats needs to get Colvin and Brown back in a Patriots Uniform Troy Brown deserves to Retire a Patriot he is the only person that has been ther the Longest That is called Loyalty so he has Earned that right
Okay Folks, let me tell you how much of a "nice guy" Matt Walsh really is.
"Nice guys do not tape conversations like he did on conversations with Scott Pioli without Scott's permission. A fellow employee discovered Matt was doing this and turned him in. Thus Matt got fired.
"Nice guys do not continually exaggerate or misrepresent elements on their biography.
"Nice guys do not pull pranks on their friends by booby trapping bed sheets with a stainless steel six-pronged blender blade, sending their friend to the hospital, thus getting kicked off the Springfield College Golf team.
As far as I am concerned, this man is a sick individual who is a "disgruntled, fired employee who is finding any opportunity to get back at the Patriots. Why would Matt and his lawyer ask for immunity if Matt did not do anything wrong? If Matt found any taping so scandalous, why didn't he report it immediately instead of waiting until an "opportune" time to jump on a bandwagon to get back at the Patriots? Finally, what does "I may have some evidence against the Patriots mean"? Either you have evidence or you do not. If Matt does not know what this means, then his lawyer should. Again, if you did not do anything wrong then you do not need to ask for immunity and have nothing to worry about. The only time you worry is when you are guilty of something.
So answer these questions before you decide whether Matt Walsh is a "Nice Guy" or not!
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