By Sam Hollingsworth
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has certainly been considered versatile, among plenty of other less-flattering adjectives, but one thing he certainly is: resilient.
And while he hasn’t led the Pats (9-3) to the Lombardi Trophy in six years, he’s definitely had a knack for making believers out of doubters.
The Man in the Frayed Hoodie did it after losing reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady to injury in the first game of 2008, just months after his team wrapped up a perfect regular season. We saw backup quarterback Matt Cassell handle a solid year that, despite missing the playoffs, earned 11 wins.
Belichick did it with record-breaking receiver Troy Brown, who was one of the better defensive backs (but also a standout wide receiver) on the team when he last played in 2007. And now, not only is he doing it with receivers Julian Edelman and Matt Slater on defense; Belichick’s getting it done with journeymen and first-time starters alike.
Former Miami Dolphin, Dallas Cowboy and Denver Bronco Nate Jones had a solid game against the winless Indianapolis Colts, as did second-year guard guard Nick McDonald.
“I thought (McDonald) did a real good job for not really having many reps with the first group and just really getting them this week for the most part,” Belichick said at Monday’s press conference. “He hadn’t had a lot of exchanges with Tom (Brady) or just Logan (Mankins) and Brian (Waters), working next to them with combination blocks and things like that. I thought he did a real good job.”
“I thought Nate did a good job too,” Belichick said. “Same thing — came in, I mean, he wasn’t even familiar with what we were doing, so he had a steeper learning curve, but he’s a more experienced player.”
New England also received more solid play from Edelman and Slater. Edleman racked up a couple more tackles, while Slater added some more depth to the defensive backfield. He finished with seven tackles and a forced fumble.
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