FOXBORO — The Patriots had been again to work Wednesday with their focus aimed on the activity at hand: beating Buffalo on Sunday.
So, life was again to regular contained in the partitions of Gillette Stadium. It was enterprise as typical.
Only it wasn’t.
Head coach Bill Belichick didn’t meet the media, as is his customized midweek, and supply his typical spiel pumping up the upcoming opponent. The gamers additionally weren’t made obtainable. Along with Belichick, 4 different press conferences with staff captains had been canceled together with the same old open locker room.
Same deal in Buffalo. No media entry or availability, which isn’t the same old apply.
Let’s simply say regular went out the window Monday evening when Buffalo security Damar Hamlin collapsed on the sphere within the first quarter and wanted to be revived after going into cardiac arrest.
Normal disappeared when the Week 17 sport between the Bills and Bengals was halted, didn’t end, and won’t ever attain a conclusion in wake of the Hamlin scenario. And understandably so.
So whereas the sport gained’t resume, not less than not instantly, the NFL has moved on to Week 18.
That means the Patriots are — for now — nonetheless scheduled to play the Bills in Buffalo with their playoff lives weighing within the steadiness underneath lower than very best circumstances for each groups.
Enter Belichick.
There’s nobody higher or extra outfitted to information the Patriots via this making an attempt scenario with the entire uncertainty surrounding the week. As one of the crucial skilled coaches within the league, Belichick will carry the requisite calm to the scenario, and impart simply the proper tone together with his gamers.
Already, he’s taken management. It was Belichick who requested, and was granted permission, to keep away from the customary press conferences and media availability that happens on Wednesday. He additionally shut down three assistant coaches from conducting their scheduled video conferences on Tuesday.
Belichick has by no means been shy about benefiting from any measure to guard his staff, and hold the main focus the place it must be.
While the Patriots haven’t fairly skilled something like this, Belichick has needed to shepherd his groups via many opposed conditions, most notably Spygate and Deflategate, together with the Aaron Hernandez saga.
The Patriots additionally needed to cope with the loss of life of a teammate, dropping Marquise Hill, their 2004 second-round pick of LSU, in a jet ski accident.
There was additionally the COVID-19 expertise in 2020, and having to navigate via all of the velocity bumps related to a quarantine, testing and video games being moved.
So it’s not Belichick’s first disaster. And he’s dealing with it the best way he sees match to try to keep away from any and all distractions.
“I think of it as he’s shepherding his flock here,” Matthew Slater mentioned in a latest interview with The Athletic. “He’s going to set the tone. He’s going to head us in the right direction. He is going to do everything he can to make sure he cuts out the outside noise and refocuses on the things that we need to focus on. … This team is only going to go where we’re directed to go, and fortunately, we have a great director.”
Add within the energy and knowledge of veteran leaders Slater, Devin McCourty and David Andrews, and the Pats will do what’s wanted regardless of in the event that they play or not on Sunday. They’ll deal with no matter comes down.
Understandably, there’s a somberness and pall surrounding the sport, if it does actually get performed. While Hamlin has reportedly proven some indicators of enchancment, ideas will probably be proceed to be on the Bills security and his progress.
Bills offensive sort out Dion Dawkins, showing on CNN Tuesday, mentioned all of the ideas, focus, and vitality of the staff is on Hamlin, versus taking part in soccer. The second-year defensive again stays in essential situation on the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
And on condition that, something and every little thing remained on the desk as of late Wednesday.
Whether it’s taking part in, not taking part in, a Buffalo forfeit, transferring it to a different date, any of the above might occur. Basically, everyone seems to be in uncharted territory in the intervening time.
NFL govt V.P. of soccer operations Troy Vincent principally painted that image Wednesday throughout his press briefing.
As it stands, the NFL appears intent on taking part in the Week 18 video games as scheduled, with the attainable exception of the Patriots-Bills sport.
While Vincent mentioned the league hasn’t formally mentioned the opportunity of suspending the sport, he additionally didn’t rule it out. He mentioned the general well-being of the Buffalo gamers and coaches would information the league’s decision-making course of.
Given the scenario, that’s the way it needs to be.
The Bills had conferences Wednesday and a walkthrough, whereas the Patriots carried out a non-padded apply and did their finest to remain in routine, with Belichick probably sending the message to only “control, what you can control” as a result of the gamers can’t management what’s taking place with Buffalo or Hamlin.
No doubt, the league is monitoring the Bills, and gaging how they’re coping, together with how Hamlin is doing, earlier than making any remaining judgement on the sport Sunday towards the Patriots.
So the scenario stands in limbo, which fortuitously for the Patriots, is correct in Belichick’s wheelhouse.
Source: www.bostonherald.com