You think the Patriots are going to be prepared to face the 49ers on Sunday?
You think the Patriots are going to be prepared to face the 49ers on Sunday?
Patriots Bill Belichick has an incredible football mind. He demonstrated on Wednesday when the Boston-area media asked about the Patriots’ lack of familiarity with the 49ers. The question was whether it’s one of those things where they have to see them on the field to accurately be able to judge their speed and quickness.
Here’s Belichick’s amazing answer:
“To a certain extent. Also the scheme and how they are going to play us. They have a lot of different ways of playing teams. You see a lot of different things from week to week. You can watch guys on film but their explosiveness, power, quickness, different moves – it’s different in person than it is watching it on film. You can certainly prepare for it and that is a good part of the preparation. But until you see it live, it’s a little different.
“We have seen a lot of these players — defensively, the whole secondary. Donald Strickland was in Indianapolis. Michael Lewis was at Philadelphia and Mark Roman was in Cincinnati. Nate Clements, we saw a lot of in Buffalo. Walt Harris was at Indianapolis and Chicago. We have seen Justin Smith. We have certainly seen Takeo Spikes and (Aubrayo) Franklin.
“We’ve seen a lot of those guys just not in that system. It’s a pretty veteran group they have on offense and defense. Guys like (Barry) Sims, Isaac Bruce, Arnaz Battle, Bryant Johnson and DeShaun Foster. Plus all of their specialists – those guys are an experienced group, too.
“They have a few young players in there but it is a pretty experienced team. Some have come up in their system like Eric Heitmann and Frank Gore. So, we have seen some of those guys just not in a San Francisco uniform.”
Belichick mentioned 15 players by name. And, furthermore, he did it all without notes. He knew all those players off the top of his head. And he does that every week – regardless of the opponent.
Meanwhile, Mike Nolan mentioned one Patriots player today. Well, I’m pretty sure when he said “Wesley Walker,” he meant Wes Welker.
