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Please Tell Me Belichick is Calling Defensive Plays!

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According to a report from Ben Volin (so take it for what it’s worth) Bill Belichick will be the one to call the plays for the defense this year.

The buzz I am hearing from a league source is that Bill Belichick will simply call defensive plays himself this fall. This same source also told me Bielema would become defensive line coach, which I was going to write in this space before it was confirmed on Friday.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/patriots/2019/05/11/john-urschel-retirement-was-case-simple-math/sASqkV9xeS7e48JvO8ABKI/story.html

As we’ve seen plenty of times now from whenever he’s been miked up, Belichick takes the calm overseer role. He sticks his nose in here and there, mostly to tell people to do their job, but he takes in the big picture.

The most famous incident being when all the coaching staff was waiting for Belichick to call a timeout at the end of Super Bowl 49. Will Belichick be able to have that same kind of insight if he’s also worrying about getting the plays in?

SB49 – Butler INT

Regardless I’d be all for at least part of a season with the old Hood calling the plays. The defenses from Romeo Crennel to Dean Pees to Matt Patricia and Brian Flores all held true to a generally conservative overall philosophy. Really, Flores’ 2018 was one of the least bendy/least breaky seasons.

Seeing Belichick playcall would be fascinating at this stage in his career. Would he be more conservative like Patricia or more aggressive like Flores? Obvioulsy his fingerprints have been all over every defense, but each has had their own personality with the defensive coordinator being a big part of that.

Does Belichick immediately go to pass rush fronts with everyone walking around? Or will he wait until November for that like every year before “discovering” how effective it is?

He has a lot of tools at his disposal and I’d say it’s a good bet he’ll lean on his son Steve who is suddenly the most tenured defensive coach. With the younger coach having a veteran safety group he’ll be able to give some attention to the rest of the defense. Maybe he’s the next defensive playcaller.

But for now getting a chance to see Bill Belichick call a defense again is exciting to think about. Though of course, needing to wear a standout color might severely effect the Hoodie Database….