On Sunday, the Patriots announced that the joint practices set for Tuesday and Wednesday with the Titans have been canceled. The Patriots did not provide a reason.
Appearing Monday on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show, Belichick was asked why the move was made. He did not elaborate.
“I just felt like for a number of reasons it was the best thing to do for the team,” Belichick said, via " Belichick added that he spoke about the situation with owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft, and that they agreed with the decision.
While the Patriots have no obligation to elaborate publicly on the reasons for not proceeding with the joint practices in Nashville, it would be useful to the game for the truth to be disclosed. If it’s as simple as Belichick doesn’t believe the players will be in the right frame of mind for joint practices so soon after the injury suffered by cornerback Isaiah Bolden on Saturday night in Green Bay, that’s fine. If Belichick is exploring the broader questions raised by joint practices — especially on consecutive days — and whether any animosity engendered during joint practice(s) could linger into the game, he could do the game a real service by lending his voice to the discourse.
He’s wired to say nothing, because strategic objectives point toward saying as little as possible, as often as possible. Sometimes, it’s fair to ask whether his team should take a backseat to the broader interests of the game.
In an inherently competitive environment, Belichick would be tempted to let others keep doing something that he has decided perhaps shouldn’t be done. Given the potential impacts of joint practices on player health and safety, this is one of those situations in which game should trump team.
