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September 20, 2006

Smack out of Denver

Shalise and I are sitting here eating pizza and she came across this story from the Gazette out of Colorado Springs.

By Frank Schwab

ENGLEWOOD - Denver Broncos running back Cedric Cobbs spent one season playing for New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and that was enough.

Cobbs said Belichick’s reputation as a heavy-handed coach is well deserved. Cobbs, who was with New England in 2004, described the Patriots’ players as being scared of Belichick.

“There’s definitely a lot of fear out there,” Cobbs said.

The Broncos play Belichick’s Patriots at New England this Sunday. Belichick is known for his three Super Bowl championships, his lack of personality in the media and his authoritarian reputation.

Cobbs has been in the Patriots’ locker room and said the latter statement is true.

“Not only do I sense it, I’ve also experienced it,” said Cobbs, who was cut by New England at the end of preseason in 2005. “I’ve seen a lot of good players drafted in the first round, or play for the organization for a long time and get cut.”

The Patriots have dumped or not aggressively pursued Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Deion Branch, Willie McGinest and Adam Vinatieri over the past few years.

“They handle football like a business,” Cobbs said. “Everybody is on their toes up there.”

In Sunday’s game, Cobbs muffed the first kickoff of overtime. He scrambled and recovered the ball before the Chiefs got it. Cobbs cringed when he thought about what would have happened had he muffed a kickoff in New England.

“Muffing the ball . . . ooh,” said Cobbs, who sprained his ankle on that play and might miss this week’s game. “I’m sure I would have been even more afraid if I would have done that playing in New England.”

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan doesn’t have much patience for mistakes, especially turnovers. Cobbs said Belichick has less.

“I don’t think New England knows a player may need another chance, another opportunity,” Cobbs said. “It’s pretty cutthroat. Out here I think there’s a little more leeway. They understand players make mistakes. You just can’t make many out here.”

Belichick’s reputed cold personality was on display this week.

After a game against the Jets, who are coached by former Patriots assistant Eric Mangini, Belichick gave a half-hearted handshake to Mangini. According to Newsday, Belichick didn’t refer to his old assistant in his postgame press conference by his first or last name, just “him” or “he.”

“I’m trying to do the best with my team,” Belichick told Newsday. “He’s trying to do the best with his team.”

That’s a contrast from Shanahan, who publicly endorsed offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak for Houston’s head coaching job at the end of last season. Before a preseason game against Houston last month, Shanahan talked about how lucky the Texans were to have Kubiak and how he respected Kubiak as a person and a coach.

Cobbs has noticed similarities between Shanahan and Belichick. He said both are bent on winning, are clear on what they expect from their players and that when players make mistakes, they offer specific solutions.

“They both have their priorities straight,” Cobbs said.

Shanahan has matched wits with Belichick a few times, as opposing coordinators and head coaches.

The last meeting was a 27-13 playoff win for the Broncos in January; the Broncos also won the regular-season meeting.

Shanahan respects Belichick and said he’s looking forward to coaching against him again this week.

“You know his team is going to be well prepared,” Shanahan said. “If you beat him, you’ve really accomplished something.”

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