Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was a key part of the Patriots for several years. During that time, he got to witness some motivational tactics from coach Bill Belichick.
Edelman was part of a successful Patriots run, that saw the team reach the playoffs in 11 out of the receiver’s 12 seasons.
He played at a high level when January football came around, recording 118 receptions for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns in 19 playoff games. His best playoff run came in 2018, when he recorded 26 catches for 388 yards.
Edelman recently appeared on the “Pardon My Take” podcast and broke down some of the tactics Belichick used to motivate players, as transcribed by WEEI’s Alex Reimer.
“He would give us highlight clips, like a cut-up of old situations of that same situation. Or old games of that game,” said Edelman. “Like, not even Patriots [expletive]. He would show us New York Giants. Like, ‘This is how you do it. Watch [Lawrence Taylor!]’
Not only that, the coach used to run down the list of every player in the organization and give them a mini-motivational pep talk.
“He would bring in all these clips and give a breakdown and then he would have a speech. He would point guys out like, ‘Matthew Slater, no one ever wanted you. You weren’t even supposed to be drafted,’” said Edelman.
The pregame hype by Belichick must have worked, given the success of the Patriots teams in the early 2000s and mid-2010s. One has to wonder if Belichick will continue this, as the Patriots look to get back into the top tier of the AFC.
