Patriots coach Bill Belichick doesn’t tolerate fights and doesn’t like undisciplined play, and when he sees it from other teams, he makes an example of it with his own team.
That’s the word from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who said on Friday that incidents like the Thursday fracas between the Browns and Steelers turn into topics of discussion in Patriots team meetings, where Belichick tells the players what he expects.
“Coach Belichick tries to use it as teaching moments. Talks about not throwing punches, not touching referees and staying on the sidelines,” Brady said.
That’s not to say the Patriots are perfect on that score -- Rob Gronkowski was suspended for a cheap shot in 2017, and a fight marred the end of the Patriots’ Super Bowl win over the Seahawks -- but good coaches understand that their players need to be disciplined. Browns coach Freddie Kitchens took umbrage with reporters when he was asked after Thursday’s game whether he condones fighting, but it’s hard not to look at Kitchens’ team and think the coach needs to do a better job of finding teaching moments.