Bill Belichick has witnessed a lot of intense action during his 24 seasons leading the New England Patriots, especially as his teams worked hard to improve.
Summer is a peak time for competition, with players fiercely battling, sometimes literally, for roster spots and a chance to prove themselves in the NFL.
As the Patriots prepare for joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles, Belichick highlighted his appreciation for these opportunities, where his players can face outside competition.
“Good players want to compete and improve,” Belichick said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday. “They want to do things that will help them in regular-season games. They don’t want to get shown up by some free agent who’s not going to be around next week. They want to go up against other players who respect the competitiveness of joint practices.”
Belichick valued the strategic planning and game scheming that joint practices offer. Whether with the Patriots or the New York Giants, he learned about his team’s strengths by observing opposing coaches and borrowing effective drills.
He also stressed the importance of having NFL referees at joint practices to create and enforce game-like conditions, which he believed helped prepare the Patriots for the regular season.
“I always told the officials to treat a taunt like a fight,” Belichick explained. “If one of our guys makes a play and taunts the other team, just throw him out, because it’s only going to hurt practice. We’re here to make plays, not to taunt each other.”
As for the current Patriots, they’ll be practicing with the Eagles before their preseason game on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.
