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Julian Edelman Reveals A Bill Belichickism That Helps Explain Patriots' Late-Season Success

BOSTON (CBS) -- The "secret" of Bill Belichick often ends up being a lot less complex than people might think. A deep analysis of "Do Your Job" shows that, at its core, the message is simply so straightforward that it cannot lead to confusion.

And one unique aspect of the Patriots' long run of success has been the team's penchant for getting better as the season goes on. With 2020 being an obvious exception, the Patriots under Belichick have been the gold standard for performance after Thanksgiving.

While the reasons for that success may be multiple, Julian Edelman revealed one simple message that is apparently a Bill Belichick staple late in seasons.

"During the season, there's an old saying that Bill would say," Edelman explained on the Pardon My Take podcast. "He would sit and say, 'Put everything in the drawer. And deal with it after the season.'"

It's obviously not an earth-shattering message, but it helps to provide a larger picture on the laser-sharp focus the Patriots have had late in seasons for so long.

"He'd bring up this drawer four or five times like after Week 14, like, 'All right, put it all in the drawer. You gotta go out and do this. We all understand you have bills, taxes. Let's just put it in the drawer and we'll worry about that after the season,'" Edelman said.

From 2001-19, the Patriots went 72-19 in December and January of the regular season, while of course going 30-11 in the playoffs with six Super Bowl victories. That has to do with game planning and execution above all else (plus some good quarterback play), but clearly there are certain messages from the head coach that resonate with players to help make it all possible.

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