Bill Belichick has established himself as one of the best NFL coaches of all time. He has more Super Bowl wins than any other coach, with six, and more Super Bowl appearances and playoff wins as well. “The Patriot Way” is a term used when trying to describe the kind of atmosphere that Belichick created at Foxborough, and with the seriousness of its leader, one can imagine that the environment is built on discipline, focus and hard work. This “Patriot Way” is not for everyone, however.
During a recent interview with Tyler Dunne of the “Go Long” Indianapolis Colts cornerback, Kenny Moore described his four months in the New England Patriots as a low point in his life. If you don’t remember, Moore was picked up by the Patriots as a free agent not called out of Valdosta state in 2017, but he didn’t make it to the final list.
“The longest four months of my life,” said Moore as he discussed his time in New England. “I thought I was done with football. My mental capacity and my mental space? I was on edge.”
Moore described the atmosphere in New England as militaristic – so much so that he wanted to give up. He said he ran head-on with his position coach on Josh Boyer, which only added to his unhappiness. If this was what it was like to play with one of the best teams in the NFL, could it only get worse with another club?
“That was one of the low points in my life,” said Moore, “because that’s when I really felt like, ‘I probably wasn’t made for the league.’ And having that “You’re not good enough” feeling is a bad feeling. You feel like you don’t belong. I lost all my joy and passion. I didn’t even want to play football. I don’t want to work anymore.
“I was depressed. I was trying to fight to get rid of it.”
With that kind of pressure exacerbated by the fact that he was an uncontracted free agent trying to make an active list, Moore said he feared going to work.
“It looked robotic,” said Moore. “You don’t want to do anything other than go home and sleep because tomorrow is about to go crazy. I really felt like I was in the army. Like, damn it.”
Despite a very impressive preseason, Moore was part of the Patriots’ final cuts towards the 2017 regular season. Belichick told Moore that they liked him, but that it was a numbers game. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the Colts caught him shortly thereafter, and he became a full-time starter in his second season with Indy. Today, Moore is coming out of his most impressive season with the Colts, accumulating career numbers in 2020. In 16 games played, he posted 80 combined tackles, 13 defended passes and four interceptions.
It is difficult to argue against the way Belichick and his team operate because of the success they have found. Some may argue that Tom Brady was successful, but that did not stop some great free agents from signing with Belichick during this off-season.