McGinest On Adam Jones Show: Welker 'Just A Guy' Before Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) - Former New England Patriot Willie McGinest joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's The Adam Jones Show on Thursday night, touching on Wes Welker's comments about Bill Belichick earlier this week.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Welker said Belichick treated him differently during his final year in New England and would admonish him in front of the team -- something he hadn't done to that extreme before.
"When you talk about Bill Belichick and how he treats players and what he expects, before you walk in that door and sign a contract he lays it all on the line; he tells you what he expects from you, what your role is going to be, what he expects from you on and off the field. When you're here, we expect you to do everything in your power to win games, be a good teammate and give back," said McGinest, who played 12 seasons with the Patriots and was part of all three of their Super Bowl Championship teams.
"Wes has a personality; he's one of those guys who was very productive as a New England Patriot and you can't deny that. But it wasn't just Wes, it was the system. Wes was just a guy before he got to New England," said McGinest. "That offensive system that was in place allowed him to take his game to another level times ten."
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"Of course, Bill Belichick, when it comes to certain things he's a lot different than other coaches. He doesn't want you talking to the media or giving other teams things to put on the bulletin board. He likes to keep everything in house -- take care of everything in the family," he said. "It wasn't tough. He has a sense of humor and he's not a robot like people say he is."
"Bill says and does things for a reason, he has a purpose. When you break it down and understand why he does things, it becomes less personal. It did for me," said McGinest.
"As far as calling out guys in the meeting rooms he did it to everybody -- he doesn't care who you are. From Tom Brady down to a practice squad guy it doesn't matter. From A-Z everyone is held accountable and everyone is treated the same. If there were some extracurricular things that happened then that was between Wes and Bill Belichick that I'm not aware of. That's between those two guys."
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McGinest said that Belichick was no different towards him when he entered a contract year with the Patriots.
"He was the same, he always wants his players to be at their best and play at a high level," said McGinest. "I didn't deal with Belichick on my contract -- my talks were with Scott Piolli and my agent. I had some talks with Scott about wanting to be there and retiring a Patriot, but I never went into an office and had a full-on talk about a contract."
McGinest also gives his take on the Patriots defense, and what he expects out of Chandler Jones in his sophomore season:
Willie McGinest On Patriots Defense
Tune in to Friday's Patriots-Eagles preseason game on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins on 98.5 FM at 4:30 p.m. and on WBZ-TV at 7 p.m..
