I was Wrong

After having lived in the Northeast for 3 years, there are things about the area that I grew to dislike. Boston Red Sox, Red Sox fans, New England Patriots, and more specifically, Bill Belichick. The guy has a aura of smugness attached to him that I absolutely cannot stand. I hate the interviews that he gives to the media. I'm not asking him to be Chris Rock up there, but something a little bit more than robot would be better.

However, I have to give him a lot of credit this year for the job he has done getting the Patriots to the doorstep of the playoffs. Honestly, when I saw Tom Brady get injured in the first game, I was pleased. Not because Brady got hurt, but because Belichick was going to get stomped on this year by everyone else. I was hoping to see that the reason why the Patriots had been so good the past few seasons was because of Brady, not Belichick. Unfortunately for me, that wasn't the case.

Mike Smith and Tony Sparano are two popular choices for NFL Coach of the Year. And they are well deserved candidates. But, I feel that Belichick should also be mentioned in the conversation. After Brady went down, only the most diehard and delusional of Pats fans thought that the Patriots could have made the playoffs. But that's exactly where Belichick has the Patriots. With a win and some help, the Patriots will make the playoffs as a wild card team. What makes this even more impressive is that he's using a quarterback that hasn't started a game since high school leading him there. Sure, it helps that the Patriots got to play the cupcakes in the AFC and NFC West, but they still have to beat those teams. And unlike the NY Jets, that's exactly what the Patriots are doing.

My dislike for Bill Belichick has me hoping that the Patriots don't make the playoffs, but there is a very small piece of me pulling for them to get in. It would be a well deserved reward for the great coaching job that Belichick has produced this season.