Belichick On Pregame Fire-Up Techniques

One of the many things Bill Belichick has disdain for is pregame chest-thumping. He held forth on that Friday in a morning press conference in advance of Sunday's matchup with the Steelers.

"You can go in there and beat your helmet against your locker before you go out on the field, hold hands, chant, kick chairs and break blackboards, but as soon as the ball is snapped you do your job better than they do theirs or vice versa," Belichick testified. "After a couple plays, it might be after one play, it is really about execution. What team can do what they have to do better than the other team. No just individually one-on-one but collectively as a group. You get into situational football, field position, clock management, changing personnel groups, substitutions, calls and adjustments. That to me is what the game is about. I think you can go in there, take a sledge hammer and break up the cinder blocks, but I don’t think that helps you block them. I don’t think that helps you tackle them. I don’t think it helps you do what you need to do from a football standpoint. If you can’t do that then I think the rest of it is minimal."

The topic arose because - for the second year in a row - Steelers safety Anthony Smith "guaranteed"  a victory over New England. Like the one last year (which didn't pan out) Smith's guarantee came with caveats and wasn't terribly incendiary.

But still, it's out there and chances are good that Patriots players who were informed of Smith's boast won't know it was mildly worded. Belichick was asked if he's had to ask players to tone it down on his teams.

"I think in general what we all need to do is focus on what our jobs are and do that. There are a lot of potential distractions out there, stuff gets said and we all know what kind of stuff happens. Sometimes they can be distracting and I am not saying that we don’t feel them or it isn’t a burr in your saddle, but in the end you have to put all of that past you whether you are on the giving or receiving side, I have seen it go on both ways, and go out and do your job. That is really what it comes down to."

Belichick himself is wise to what's said in the days leading up to a game. Joey Porter, who talked a good game leading into the Pats-Dolphins matchup last week got an indirect jab from Belichick when the Pats coach discussed the work done during the week by linebacker Vince Redd who was honored for his work emulating Porter's style in the days leading up to the game.

"Last week (Redd's) role was really Joey Porter," said Belichick. "I thought he did a real good job on him, whether he had one tackle in the game or whatever it was (Porter had one tackle, a sack). I think we were well prepared to play him."

Asked if Redd also talked a good game as Porter does, Belichick quipped, "Yes, he kicked the dirt."