Bill Belichick- A Football Genius Or A Puppet Master???

With all of the moves and drama going on this NFL off season, Bill Belichick’s name has been pretty consistent through all of the madness. But some are starting to wonder: Is Belichick still an NFL genius, or has he become a puppet master, of sorts?

If you think about it, Belichick’s name has come up a lot, whether it would be good or bad. In 2007, SpyGate was all we heard about. In 2008, he was pretty quiet, but they may have something to do with Brady being out for the season. However, recent events are starting to have some question Belichick’s real agenda. Let’s take a look at what stories he’s been associated with, in this month alone:

1. The Cassel/Vrabel trade to KC- Okay, we all know the story here. Scott Pioli, the Patriots for VP of Player Personnel, went to Kansas City to become the GM for the Chiefs. He and Belichick have a long relationship, dating back to 1992 during their Cleveland days, so there is familiarity there.

Earlier this month, the Pats had this bizarre trade to the Chiefs, which sent QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel to Kansas City in exchange for the 34th overall pick.

What makes this trade bizarre?? Plenty. For starters, no one knows for sure that QB Tom Brady will be healthy by the time the season starts. In addition to having a bad knee injury, Brady has had issues with the knee post-surgery. Cassel was a great insurance policy that stepped in and played pretty well down the stretch.

Second, Mike Vrabel is considered one of the veteran leaders on the Patriots, not to mention he’s a touchdown machine when they put him on offense. Why would you send 2 players, both with value, to a team for a 2nd round pick?

Oh and finally… the last time I checked, Cassel received the franchise tag, which doesn’t allow him to become a free agent. This means that the Pats could easily receive a 1st round draft pick. Instead they take a second rounder??? I know the $14.65 million cap space they retrieved back from the Cassel tag helps a lot. But this team has always been well under the cap since Belichick has run the show…. Hmmmmm

2. The Cutler Trade Talks- Of course, we keep hearing about this over, and over, and over again… Jay Cutler wants a trade…. wah wah wah. But according to some reports, not only was McDaniels approached first about acquiring Cassel via trade, but that Belichick allegedly pushed the issue of making the trade happen so that McDaniels could bring in his own people. Belichick has always been known not to cater to the “superstars” on his roster. Remember when he benched Bernie Kosar for Vinny Testaverde???

McDaniels is a young head coach (he’ll be 33 in March), and with Belichick as a mentor, I’m sure he picked up a lot of his “how to’s” and is using them accordingly. Is this Cutler fallout happening because of McDaniels, or is this a result of a situation that Belichick possibly created???? Hmmmmm………

3. The Peppers “Trade”- Although this trade didn’t happen, a report had gone out earlier in the week that Julius Peppers would be traded to the Patriots in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick- the same pick Belichick received from the Chiefs. We all know that, as of right now, Peppers is still a Panther. But was I the only person scratching my head when they reported that Carolina would accept JUST a 2nd rounder in the trade? I found that extremely hard to believe. Peppers is the Panthers all time sack leader, and also the team’s franchise player. There is no way Carolina could be that dumb to take a 34th overall pick for such a high profile player. Since then, the report came out to be false. However, it still came out nonetheless. It had to come from somewhere, so my guess is some, or most of this story had some truth to it. If that’s the case, then Belichick is one bad mutha…….

I don’t think anyone can deny the talents Belichick has for evaluating talent, in addition to being a great head coach. But these scenarios have left a lot of conspiracy theorists wondering what exactly is going on. Let’s not forget, when the SpyGate incident occurred, he basically got a slap on the wrist with a $500,000 fine and a 1st round draft pick taken away (which didn’t matter anyway, they had another 1st round pick that was higher than the one confiscated). Is everyone that loyal to him, that he’s able to make such moves?? Does he have something on these GMs and coaches that allow him to do what he pleases?? Is Belichick the real Darth Vader?

I have no idea, but it has to make you go hmmmmmm………