I didn’t think NFL Films would ever top the Bill Belichick episode of A Football Life where they followed Belichick for the 2009 season and got all kinds of behind the scenes access.
But Do Your Job did just that.
Most all, after months of the Patriots being called cheaters, it was nice to see what really makes the Patriots so good. Not giving opposing team’s warm Gatorade or stealing playbooks, but old fashioned hard work and unparalleled preparation and anticipation.
While BB’s A Football Life gave some glimpses behind the curtain, we often felt like a fly on the wall. In Do Your Job we weren’t flies, BB and the coaching staff were actually talking to us and telling us what happened with the kind of candor you’re never in a million years going to get from the everyday media that follows the team.
Maybe it’s wrong to start at the climax, but the entire last act built around Malcolm Butler’s interception was purely amazing. Not only did Ernie Adams hold up his diagram of the last play the Seahawks would run, but they showed the practice footage of the Patriots running it and Malcolm getting beat on it.
As Adams said, it doesn’t always work out quite so perfectly but this is one time it did and the fact that it happened when the Pats were just one yard away from another horrible Super Bowl defeat is astounding.
This is the real Bill Belichick we saw, not his stonewall-the-media persona, but the brilliant coach who has such an innate feel to the game he seems to know what they’ll need for a game well before the game happens. And oh yes, he also has a biting sense of humor.
His uncanny ability to know what the Pats might need to win was on display with the segments on the tricky formations they ran against the Ravens as well as the double pass.
Most of all, it showed what an art form playcalling really can be not only within a game, but over the course of a season. Imagine if the Pats had burned the double pass in a meaningless second half against Kansas City with the game well out of reach! Luckily Amendola had the foresight to tell Edelman not to show it when they knew the play was going to LaFell.
Another talking point that Do Your Jon destroys is that Belichick has too many “yes men”. Now this was also destroyed in David Halbertam’s Education of a Coach, but once again we see how Belichick takes input from everyone and isn’t afraid to be challenged.
So many out there want to diminish what the Patriots have accomplished over the last 15 years, but Do Your Job makes it abundantly clear the reason for their success is they are a finely tuned football machine from the head coach (who has full support of his owner and full control of the team) right down to the 53rd man on the roster.
Belichick not only knows what it will take to win each week, but he has the tools in his coaching staff and players to execute it. One moment I liked was Josh McDaniels mentioning that putting in a play the night before a game in a hotel ballroom is no problem for the Patriot players who never blink. Yes, the Super Bowl-winning touchdown play was one of those last-minute additions.
Some quick hit other thoughts:
– Great credit for the unreal play by Hightower on first-and-goal just before Butler’s interception.
– Loved BB really opening up on what he thought of Arrington being “streaky”. Guess after the Super Bowl they were done with that streakiness.
– Nice to hear every Patriots coach sum up that they were feeling exactly the same thing I was feeling after the Kearse catch. Especially Mr. Kraft’s “we have no f’ing luck.”
– Yes, I studied the Pats’ depth chart and was proud that it looked very similar to the one I keep. Though I certainly didn’t have Tyler Gaffney as the top pass-catching running back at any point.
– Great credit to Browner for the Butler interception as well. He knew what was coming and never let the receiver off the line. That interception doesn’t happen without Browner.
I could go on for thousands of words about this special. There are so many interesting moments, none of which was more interesting than actually hearing Ernie Adams speak about what he does. And it wasn’t just Adams but all the Patriots’ assistants who are rarely more than just faces we see on the sidelines during games. All of them came off incredibly focused and intense about their jobs, and it’s easy to see why they are where they are.
If this was the offseason I’d break down this whole special shot-for-shot, and maybe I still will someday, but it’s game day and time once again for the New England Patriots to DO THEIR JOB!
You can see the entire Do Your Job special here, password pinkstripes.
