With six Super Bowl titles as New England Patriots head coach, few can rival Bill Belichick’s NFL coaching career. Now that the winningest head coach is away from the sidelines, he has often been sharing his words of wisdom with teams that really need it. Well, the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans are certainly among those contenders.
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Belichick believes that the three teams still have enough time to make it to the playoffs, despite their 0-3 record. “Do just one thing better,” he advised on the Belichick Show.
Breaking it down more clearly, the former head coach said that an NFL team is not just composed of stars like quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs; it is an ecosystem of 53 players and 15-20 coaches. Each of them has a defined role and is responsible for both the success and failure of the team.
Therefore, Belichick pointed out that each player should focus on improving one thing. From the starting quarterback to the assistant coaches—if each person could concentrate on enhancing just one aspect of their game or game plan, the cumulative effect could do wonders!
“If each person—each coach, each player—can do a little bit more, study a little bit more film, prepare a little bit harder, miss one less tackle, make one less penalty, certainly commit one less turnover, do one more little thing to help the team, that rising tide can lift all boats.”
Incredible advice indeed — one less mistake and one better decision made by the roster can really have a profound effect.
Belichick also emphasized that it doesn’t come down to each player making isolated improvements; collective effort is the ultimate key.
“If one person improves a little and everyone else stays the same, I don’t know if that moves the needle,” he said, explaining how every player has to show up to make this strategy work.
For the teams that are struggling the most—Bengals, Jaguars, and Titans—these small improvements will surely help. Additionally, there’s another factor that might aid them: divisional games.
Belichick’s secret to turning a season around
As the season progresses from Week 1 to Week 2 and so on, losses crush the morale of vulnerable NFL teams and, as a result, they lose hope.
However, the ex-Patriots Head Coach feels that even in those moments of hardship, the struggling teams should still push and give their best. Especially considering that a single win in divisional games can help keep their playoff hopes alive, even if they’ve struggled on a macro level.
“Even if you only have one win and it’s against a division team, that’s not a bad place to be,” Belichick noted and added how “there are only 17 games; you don’t want to let any of them slip through.”
Thus, Belichick’s message for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans is loud and clear — every game is precious, so making the most of every opportunity is the mantra.
