The Patriots acknowledged this week that Bill Belichick is not expected to attend the NFL Scouting Combine that has been underway in Indianapolis since Tuesday!
And?
It feels like all of Patriot Nation should react to such news with a unified gasp.
Oh no, the soon-to-be-71-year-old Hall of Fame mastermind of the New England dynasty has lost his fire. He’s finally slowing down and giving way to the gridiron grind after nearly five decades of non-stop, 365 dedication to his craft, the last 20-plus years of that dedication to his Kraft!
Welp, guess it had to happen sooner or later. It was fun and productive while it lasted. Every dog has its day and eventually every dog stops chasing cars or squirrels or rabbits with the same youthful vigor it once did.
Too bad, too, with the Patriots holding the No. 14 pick in next month’s NFL Draft. It is after all New England’s highest selection since it took Jerod Mayo at No. 10 overall, the linebacker who’s now entrenched as an assistant coach, seen as the possible heir to the Belichick coaching throne in Foxborough.
Coming off a second playoff-free season in three years with Robert Kraft fixated getting back to contender status and winning postseason games again, now doesn’t feel like the most appropriate time for Belichick to be putting his feet up and forgoing his annual trek to Lucas Oil Field and the Indiana Convention Center.
But, alas, it is what it is.
Actually, though, it may not be what so many reactionary may portend or pretend it to be.
Why should Belichick be at the Combine?
Because pretty much all NFL coaches and GMs attend the annual Underwear Olympics. Duh.
But why?
Because that’s the way it works. That’s the way it has always worked. Again, duh.
OK, but why?
Is it for Belichick’s binocular view from the stands of the blazing 40-yard dash times? The ones that can be read on any laptop spreadsheet or watched by any and all on NFL Network?
Is it for the eye-opining 15-minute interviews with players in a hotel room, a glorified speed dates for which the would-be mate is well-prepared and well-rehearsed? Those can be handled by almost any assistant coach or member of the scouting department, the interrogation glory recorded for any member of the organization to see at any time.
Is it to walk the halls with old pals or catch up on relationships over some world famous shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo’s?
Sure, the NFL Scouting Combine remains a big deal on the NFL’s year-round calendar. The league has invested plenty into turning into a TV event, marketing it heavily to fan base that takes what it can get this time of year when offseason hope burns strong and the only alternatives are doomed-to-fail spring startup football leagues. At least most of the guys wearing their No Bull sweats swag at the Combine are actual NFL prospects, which is more than almost any of the guys in the XFL or USFL can say.
But while on the surface it seems jarring and alarming for Belichick to skip out on the Combine, it’s probably not a very big deal.
Not at all actually.
He’s not missing anything. His staff will collect and collate all the information that’s to be had from this part of the prospect process. He’ll know who ran what, said what and did what.
By the time late April rolls around Belichick and Matt Groh and the rest of the New England staff will have all the information needed to make the critical picks they need to make.
And maybe, just maybe, Belichick has something more valuable and pressing to do this week. Like once again trying to figure out how the New England offense is going to constructed, schemed and deployed this fall under newly-hired offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.
Or maybe Belichick is focused on the first step in the team-building process, free agency with a negotiating window that opens on March 13.
Hell, even if the aged Belichick is resting up and recuperating right now for a hectic run through free agency, pro days and the draft process, even if he’s catching at nap on Nantucket or a few rays in Barbados, he’s really not missing out on much. Certainly nothing that can’t be made up.
The Patriots may have a great draft next month, jumpstarting a return to glory in Foxborough.
Or New England may waste the opportunity that comes with the 14th pick and the rest of its valuable selections.
Either way, it’s doubtful it will be because Belichick skipped the Combine, missed his annual nasal passage clearing with the St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktail or failed to show up for some hangout time with his old pals in hotel lobby.
You may wanted to be worked up by the fact the Belichick is one of the few key NFL decisions makers not at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine this week. You’ve been programed to react that way.
But you shouldn’t be. It’s really not that big a deal.
