Belichick honors late Madden
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — During a video press conference Wednesday, Bill Belichick spoke for five consecutive minutes honoring the late John Madden.
And that was only his opening statement.
Over most of the 20-minute session, Belichick recalled all that made Madden, a Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster, so great.
“It’s a huge loss for the NFL and professional football. John is just a tremendous person to be around,” Belichick said, before later calling Madden a good friend. “I think we all, probably, set out to try to have a good professional career. John had about five of them. He set the standard for coaching in his era. They had the best record, best teams, championships, and all that.
“He certainly did a lot for the league and the competitiveness of the league. He was a great champion for minorities and minority scouting. Some of the great players that they had with the Raiders from the smaller black colleges, he and [Al] Davis brought into the organization. Then he moved to broadcasting and, certainly, increased the popularity of the game, singlehandedly, by quite a bit.”
Belichick recounted coaching against Madden in the late 1970s, when he led the Raiders to a Super Bowl title. Belichick used the word “mystique” to describe the experience of facing those Oakland teams, a term opponents have used before playing his Patriots for years now. Madden broadcast several of Belichick’s most formative games as a head coach, including one of his first preseason games in Cleveland and the Pats’ famous upset of the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. They also collaborated over the NFL’S Top 100 players list two summers ago.
“Any time he spoke, I listened,” Belichick said. “Whether that was in private conversation, group meeting, or a forum where other people spoke. … you could always see where he was coming from. And it was always, I felt like, what was best for the game and a very unselfish view.
“He presented it that way, and I think that’s why he was so respected, because his motivation was for the game, the fans, the entertainment, the safety, and
all the things that are right about football. That’s what he stood for.”
Belichick even admitted to playing the Madden NFL video game, which
helped elevate the league’s popularity greatly in the 1990s and early 2000s. Belichick said he played a few times with his kids, including sons, Steve and Brian, who are now on staff. More recently, Belichick sat down for an on-camera interview as part of the “All Madden” documentary that will air Thursday on FOX at 8 p.m. and detail the life and career of an all-time football icon.
“He was a Hall of Fame coach and then, all the other stuff that came on top of it, what a man,” Belichick said of Madden. “What a career.” Stevenson returns, no new COVID cases: Rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson and backup linebacker Harvey Langi were activated off COVID-19 reserve Wednesday and returned to practice.
Stevenson sat out last weekend’s kickoff against Buffalo, while Langi has missed several weeks between stints on COVID-19 and injured reserve. Before testing positive, Stevenson earned the right to split carries with starter Damien Harris.
This season, the Oklahoma product’s averaged 4.2 yards per carry, while rushing for 465 yards and three touchdowns.
The Patriots received more good news when zero players tested positive Wednesday. Veteran linebacker Dont’a Hightower revealed players have spoken amongst themselves about taking every precaution to protect themselves and the team’s playoff chances, especially with five teammates testing positive this week.
“I’ll say, we’ve had a discussion,” Hightower said. “I won’t go into what it all entailed, but I think everyone is kind of aware of how contagious it is, and once it gets in, it’s in there. We’ve had the luxury these last couple of weeks of it not being here and seeing it
hit other teams and seeing how it can tear a season down, tear a couple of weeks down and put them in a tough situation.
“We know what we have in front of us, so we’re hoping everyone does the
right thing.”