| KC Jones |
08-29-2009 05:59 PM |
Yeah, Haley is definitely from the Tuna's coaching tree. Do you guys remember JoPo's piece on Gonzalez at the pro bowl under Belichick?
Unfortunately I can't find the original article, but here's a blog entry that discusses it:
Quote:
You want an idea of how important winning is to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick? The Kansas City Star's Joe Posnanski tells a great story about the Pro Bowl, Belichick and Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez.
The Pro Bowl, by its very nature, is a game populated by the league's best players. It's not a surprise then that there aren't a lot of guys familiar with the coverage and return teams. Which means that special teams is something of a spectator sport, even for the participants; nobody wants to get hurt covering kicks in Hawaii.
This explains why at last year's game, Gonzalez watched a kickoff sail over his head and proceeded to ... not block anybody. No biggie, right? I mean, it's the freaking Pro Bowl.
Uh, wrong. As Gonzalez made his way off the field, Belichick offered this frank assessment: "Why don't you (bleeping) block somebody, Gonzalez."
It was beyond imagination. Belichick had cursed at Tony Gonzalez, the best tight end in football, for missing a block. In a Pro Bowl game. On the kickoff return team. This would be like, what, your boss coming up to you at your Sales Person of the Year party and swearing at you because your shoes aren't right for the occasion.
Unsurprisingly, Gonzalez fumed until the next kickoff when -- you guessed -- he blocked his ass off. Which led to this exchange:
Then, Gonzalez was sure to walk by Belichick. Yeah, what do you have to say now, Mr. Genius? Again Belichick did not even look Gonzalez's way. Stared straight at the field. That's right. Tony walked, and Belichick did not say a word. And then, with Gonzalez almost out of range, Belichick barely whispered: "Nice block."
When Posnanski asked Gonzalez how he felt after Belichick's meek praise, the future Hall of Famer replied, "I felt really good." That, people, puts the whole maniacal coaching thing in perspective. Of course, Belichick probably made similar remarks back when he was running the Browns' into the ground in the mid-'90s, but nobody remembers those days when you win three Super Bowls in eight season
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http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2007/12/22/b...e-of-blocking/ |
