Besieged Belichick endures media, plays sympathy card

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- If you didn't know better, you would have almost felt sorry for New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Tuesday morning.

Dressed in a green Hawaiian shirt that certainly was a far cry from that bland cut-off sweatshirt that has become his game-day apparel, Belichick sat at a table here at the league meetings swarmed by the media, all badgering him about Spygate. For an hour during the AFC coach's breakfast, Belichick spoke softly, barely audible at times, and seemed to be a sympathetic figure.

We know better.

Belichick: 'I can't control what other people think.' (US Presswire)

Belichick does get some credit for sitting through the session, although some say he was forced to do so by the league. Belichick didn't even attend the meetings last year, so maybe there is some credence to that. It could be why he seemed so willing to sit and take the questions that came.

Breakfast with Bill. I wasn't going to miss that.

It was clear Belichick wasn't comfortable rehashing the torture of explaining his actions involving Spygate. When he talked football, his face seemed to light up and he raised his voice. When he was asked questions about spying, he lowered the voice and slouched in his seat.

It was hard to believe that this is the same man who is the best coach in the NFL, and maybe the best of all-time, a man who usually treats the media like a burr on his ass and jumps his players for minor mistakes.

Not once Tuesday did he challenge a question and he didn't ever raise his voice. There were no smart responses, no waving off the questioner, just sheepish responses that made him look like a wounded soul.

Poor Bill.

Even when I asked him if it bothered him that some people think his three Super Bowl titles are tainted now because of Spygate, Belichick just answered the question. No nasty looks.

"I know what the truth is," Belichick said. "Everybody's entitled to an opinion. I can't control what everybody thinks. I'm not going to try to do that. I'm just going to try to do what I've done since September of last year, which is to do the best I can and coach our football team, run an organization that's efficient and competitive with the other 31 teams in the league. That's what I'll continue to do."

Last September, tapes of the New York Jets' defensive signals were confiscated from a Patriots employee on the sideline. That led to the specter of cheating hanging over Belichick's head. He was fined $500,000, by the league and the team forfeited a first-round pick in this year's draft.

That's nothing compared to the beating his reputation has taken. Restoring it might be something that might have too high a price.