Belichick

There is a real tangible sense of relief emanating from a lot of people - outside of New England, that is - because someone other than the Patriots is in the Super Bowl. Everybody knows the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick-Scott Pioli stories by heart from the previous five years. The Colts do bring something completely new, starting with their quarterback's big-game reputation. Remember last week when Brian Billick said he faced a lot of nights waking up at 2 and 3 in the morning replaying the mistakes from the Ravens' playoff loss?

Lovable New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick angrily pushed aside a photographer to get to New York Jets coach Eric Mangini after yesterday's 37-16 playoff victory at Gillette Stadium, then gave his former protege an exaggerated hug at midfield. Maybe the severed horse head will be delivered later. Much has been made of the chilly relationship that developed between the two coaches after Mangini left the Patriots to turn around the struggling Jets' franchise. So, it was no surprise that the first half of this playoff showdown quickly turned into a mind game.

So, is it time to start really disliking the New England Patriots? The beat-down of the Dolphins was certainly predictable. The Patriots have become the equivalent of a powerhouse college team that can run up the score at will against lesser opponents. They have a coach who is a convicted (by the NFL) angle-shooter. And a front office that is playing Big Brother by forcing an online ticket broker to give up the names and personal identification of 13,000 people who were involved in Patriots ticket transactions during the past several years.

The Ravens added two players to their roster yesterday, but teriminated the contract of veteran left guard Leo Goeas, who missed the final five games of the 1997 season after tearing a pectoral muscle.Goeas failed the preseason physical, which possibly makes him a candidate for an injury settlement with the team. But it was apparent that the Ravens were unhappy with his play at the midseason point.The Ravens signed free-agent defensive back Alfred Jackson and tight end Scott Richards. Jackson has been in the league for seven seasons; Richards was waived last Aug. 18 by Kansas City.

NEW ORLEANS -- During the free-agency hunt last winter, the top off-season acquisition may have been an assistant coach instead of a player.The New England Patriots hired Bill Belichick as assistant head coach on Feb. 16, and 11 months later find themselves in the Super Bowl because of his defense."

New York Jets coach Bill Belichick is raiding the Ravens to help form his new coaching staff.Both Ravens quality control assistant on offense Eric Mangini and Scott Pioli, the pro personnel coordinator, resigned late Monday night and joined the Jets' payroll yesterday morning.The Jets also have gotten permission from the Ravens to speak with receivers coach Mike Sheppard, who is a candidate to be the Jets' offensive coordinator.Belichick, who was fired last February by Ravens owner Art Modell after five years with the Cleveland Browns, was hired by the Jets on Tuesday.

The Ravens who played for Bill Belichick agree on one thing. No one was more driven by, or obsessed with, the idea of winning. No one worked harder to gain a competitive advantage. No one demanded more, physically and mentally, from his players.Eighteen of the Ravens played for Belichick during his five-year reign (1991-95) as head coach of the Browns. It was a period that featured the franchise's last trip to the playoffs in 1994, which was followed by the 5-11 flop in 1995, which was followed by the turbulent move to Baltimore that included the firing of Belichick.

According to the NFL record books, Bill Belichick had a 37-45 record in his five years as coach of the Cleveland Browns.It turns out, though, that Belichick was keeping his own score.He thinks he was 32-34. Well, it does sound better.He's not counting the 5-11 record he had in his last season in Cleveland.When Belichick was named coach of the New York Jets, at least until Bill Parcells escapes New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, it also lifted the gag order Parcells had in place.Parcells didn't let his assistant coaches speak to the media except at the Super Bowl, when the league mandates that they be made available to the media.

NEW ORLEANS -- It was no surprise that Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, was suffering from an upset stomach yesterday.The surprise was that he couldn't blame Patriots coach Bill Parcells for the ailment.Kraft came down with a mild case of food poisoning Monday night, but he was still at Super Bowl media day at the Superdome yesterday, answering questions about the other irritant in his life -- his coach.The rift between Kraft and Parcells has been a continuing story since last April when Kraft stripped Parcells of his authority to make the draft picks.

After nearly a month of speculation, Baltimore owner Art Modell fired head coach Bill Belichick yesterday, and is expected to begin this city's new professional football era with former Baltimore Colts coach Ted Marchibroda.Mr. Belichick was dismissed after a phone conversation with Mr. Modell. The owner later began interviewing Nr, Marchibroda, 64, in a downtown hotel with several members of the team's staff. The meetings began yesterday afternoon and continued into the late evening."We've had some success with Bill, including an 11-5 playoff team in 1994.

There is respect, admiration and awe. There are good teams, exceptional teams and the New England Patriots. Somewhere between respect and awe, between good teams and the Patriots, are the Ravens. But the gap is closing. How much, we find out Sunday. Foxborough, Mass., is this week's court of popular opinion. The perennial Super Bowl-contending Patriots are the litmus test. The Ravens are ready. "For the last decade, the Patriots have been a team that wins games, wins championships," Ravens wide receiver Kelley Washington said.

No cover-2 patterns or zone coverage? That suited the Ravens' secondary just fine. After giving up 436 yards nine days ago against the San Diego Chargers, the Ravens' defensive coaches could have called for more zone or safer coverage against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. But the coaches never backed down from their desire to be aggressive, which the defensive backs appreciated. "The coaching staff, they have faith in us, and they know that we can play," cornerback Domonique Foxworth said after the Ravens' 34-3 demolition of the Browns.

Family Guy 6 p.m. [Ch. 45] You can watch this and still make Super Bowl kickoff. It's a football-themed show, with Peter joining the New England Patriots. Tom Brady voices the cartoon version of himself. Bill Belichick supplies the lead voice on a stirring musical number. OK, he should have.

This isn't a Belichick vs. Brady argument, not even close. However, it is a fun question given that Harbaugh, the rookie head coach, and Flacco, the newbie starter, were blank slates when the season began. But I'll pick Flacco as the guy who made the difference this season - with a tip of the helmet to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. No question, Harbaugh set the table. His disciplined, meticulous approach made a world of difference in the way the team prepared. But unless you're Bill Belichick, the quarterback is still the man with his hands on the wheel and his foot on the gas. (Even super genius Duane Charles Parcells couldn't win in New York with Scott Brunner.

If there is such a thing as Santa Claus, then the Ravens had better hope he delivers them the perfect late gift Sunday night. That present would be a first-round playoff game against anyone but the New England Patriots. Of course, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here, because the Ravens haven't beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars yet to earn a playoff berth. But that's a formality. In those famous words of a song written by the late James Brown, "Please, Please, Please," don't bring on the Patriots.

Poor Roger Goodell. No one promised him a rose garden, certainly not Paul Tagliabue, but he expected to at least have some idea where the trouble might come from. When Goodell was named as just the fourth NFL commissioner in six decades in August 2006, he certainly anticipated some wayward lads who now and then liked to have a little too much fun in saloons and on party boats. Sure, there were always going to be the sad cases of DUIs, weapons violations and the occasional drug bust. And there would always be a few front offices that would test him with some razzle-dazzle circumvention of the salary cap. But for the love of Vince Lombardi - Brett Favre?

News item: Former New England Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh said in an interview last week he knew at the time it was wrong to covertly videotape opposing teams signals for Patriots coach Bill Belichick. My take: Hence the term "covertly." If Belichick really thought it was within the rules, Walsh correctly pointed out, why did the Patriots go to such lengths to cover up what they were doing? News item: Sen. Arlen Specter has called on the NFL to institute an independent investigation into the Patriots' "Spygate" scandal, perhaps something like the one former Sen. George Mitchell undertook to get to the bottom of major league baseball's performance-enhancement drug problem.

Bill Belichick insists there are no new revelations forthcoming about Spygate. "I think they've addressed everything they possibly can address," the New England Patriots coach said yesterday morning. Belichick, speaking during the AFC coaches breakfast at the NFL meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., said he was interviewed again after the Super Bowl about allegations that former team employee Matt Walsh had illegal tapes. Those tapes presumably included a walkthrough by the St. Louis Rams on the day before the 2002 Super Bowl, a game the Patriots won. "I've addressed so many questions so many times from so many people I don't know what else the league could ask," Belichick said.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- In a move that should help stop another Spygate incident, NFL owners approved a communication device for defenses yesterday. Only one defensive player on the field will wear a helmet similar to what the quarterback is allowed on offense, letting him communicate with coaches without hand signals. "It didn't pass last year and it did pass this year," Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "So, you can draw your own conclusions." During this past season, coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were disciplined for taping opposing coaches' defensive signals.

No, he didn't have a video camera, and no, he wasn't trying to steal Princeton's defensive signals. But yes, that was New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on the Johns Hopkins sideline yesterday at the Face-Off Classic, attempting to look anonymous in a black Blue Jays hoodie sweatshirt and a head warmer. Belichick, who grew up in Annapolis and is a big lacrosse fan, was a guest of Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala. The coaches have become friends in recent years, and Belichick pulled aside Blue Jays midfielder Paul Rabil last week for a pep talk on leadership.