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 that has been thrown around when attempting to describe the kind of atmosphere Belichick has fostered in Foxborough, and with how serious its leader is, one could imagine that environment is built on discipline, focus and hard work. That “Patriot Way” is not for everyone, however.
During a recent interview with Tyler Dunne of “Go Long” Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore described his four months with the New England Patriots as a low point in his life. If you don’t recall, Moore was actually picked up by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Valdosta State in 2017, but didn’t make the final roster.
“The longest four months of my life,” Moore said when discussing his time in New England. “I thought I was done with football. My mental capacity and my mental space? I was just maxed out.”
Moore described the atmosphere in New England as militaristic — so much so that he wanted to quit. He said he butted heads with his position coach in Josh Boyer, which only added to his unhappiness. If this is what it was like playing with one of the best teams in the NFL, could it only get worse with another club?
“That was one of the low spots of my life,” Moore said, “because that’s really when I felt like, ‘I’m probably not built for the league.’ And having that feeling of, ‘You’re not good enough,’ that’s a bad feeling. You feel like you don’t belong. I lost all of my joy and passion. I didn’t even want to play football. I didn’t want to go to work anymore.
“I was depressed. I was trying to fight my way out of it.”
With this kind of pressure compounded by the fact that he was an undrafted free agent trying to make an active roster, Moore said he dreaded going to work.
“It just felt robotic,” Moore said. “You don’t want to do anything else but go home and go to sleep because tomorrow is about to be crazy. I really felt like I was in the military. Like, damn.”
Despite a fairly impressive preseason, Moore was part of the Patriots’ final cuts heading into the 2017 regular season. Belichick told Moore they liked him but that it was a numbers game. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the Colts picked him up not long after, and he became a full-time starter in his second season with Indy. Fast forward to today, and Moore is coming off of his most impressive season with the Colts, putting up career numbers all across the board in 2020. In 16 games played, he posted 80 combined tackles, 13 passes defensed and four interceptions.
It’s hard to argue against the way Belichick and his staff operate because of the success they have found. Some may argue that success left with Tom Brady, but that hasn’t stopped some big-time free agents from signing with Belichick this offseason.
