When Bill Belichick talks to the media, the resulting answers are typically short, often revealing little information of value. But every now and then Belichick gets asked a question that, for whatever reason, he’ll go extra deep on.
It's tough to predict which questions will garner such a response. I'd say perhaps it depends on Bill's mood that day, but I also wonder if Belichick actually has different moods.
The New England Patriots head coach took part in his weekly conference call with the Philadelphia media on Tuesday morning and gave one of those rather lengthy answers when asked about playing in the City of Brotherly Love.
Turns out old Bill has a soft spot for our fine city dating back to when he used to attend the Army-Navy game as a youngster. He dropped the names of some Philly bona fides, from former Eagles players to former department stores.
"I always got a real nice and warm reception from the fans," Belichick began. "I'm sure that will continue."
"There are a lot of memories for me from Philadelphia, going back to the Army-Navy game at JFK Stadium and the Vet. From the Randall Cunningham 93-yard punt to winning there with Cleveland in 1994, the great rivalries with the Eagles when I was with the Giants. It was tough against Dick Vermeil, and then we did okay for a while, then it was tough in the later 80's when they had some of those great defenses. They had [Keith] Jackson, [Keith] Byers, a lot of those guys."
"They're always a very competitive team. I think that Jeff Lurie and his family have done a great job with that franchise. They've been very competitive through the years, going back to Dick and Buddy [Ryan] and obviously Andy [Reid], and now [Doug] Pederson is really an Andy disciple. They've always been a good defensive team as well, going back to Marion Campbell when he was there with Dick and obviously the Buddy Ryan years and now Jim Schwartz."
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"They've always been a tough team to deal with. The fans are passionate. It's a great environment. Memories of the lacrosse games there as well. The Final Four has been there several years."
"I've personally always had a real affection for the city of Philadelphia," Bellichick said. "I grew up there going to all the Army-Navy games the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Get up there on Black Friday and see all the shoppers out there, how busy it was at Broad Street, at the Square, Wanamaker's, Bellevue-Stratford. There's really a lot of great memories from my childhood those weekends in Philadelphia, to competing there in the division when I was with the Giants, and then these other random meetings as I've been in the AFC, some big games against the Eagles in a couple Super Bowls."
"It's been a while since we've been back there but I always enjoy going back to Philadelphia -- the city."
Belichick has spent some time in recent years in Philly when the Patriots played the Eagles in the preseason and the two teams held joint practices prior to the game but Sunday will mark for first regular season game for the Pats at the Linc since 2011.