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Chapter Three: The Castle of Gillette


With 4 titles in New England, Bill Belichick could retire the day after Super Bowl XLII and be considered the greatest of all time. But at 55, Belichick was not even a quarter of the way finished.

As the 2007 New England Patriots gathered in the steaming, sweaty locker rooms of the University of Phoenix Stadium, they no longer felt like players on a team, but living legends. They had just done what only team before them did: have the perfect season. As they Head Coach Bill Belichick walked into the room, they all started to erupt into applause and shouts of "Who's the GOAT? Bill's the GOAT!" Belichick began to laugh, and stood up on a bench to address all of his players with him. "Guys, tonight we act like champions, tomorrow we get enough sleep to make up for six months of hard work!" The room burst into laughter, and a linebacker in the back started to chant "No Days Off! No Days Off!" The room burst into laughter again, and someone popped open a Champagne bottle. They were the champions, no matter what anyone said about Spygate, or any scandal. They were elite.

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As the team bus drove back to the hotel, Bill Belichick sat in the back, headphones in, watching reruns of the Super Bowl. He watched every play, twice. While the other assistants, coaches and players were partying it up, he was at work. This was his job. He had realized long ago that all the one hit wonders of the NFL, teams that had gone 13-3 one year and won the big game, only to go 5-11 the next, were caused by pure hubris. Under him, everyday was a working day. If you want to win rings, he once told an assistant, you think about how to get to winning one whenever you can. Belichick's mind was that of a football genius, always thinking about how to perfect the art of winning the game. He could've almost been a clock: his brain always ticking about the sport. And one thought in particular had stuck with him, from 2001 to the present day: Tom Brady. and who would succeed him. For now, Brady was an elite, young enough player. He did his job. He did what was needed. But Belichick's worst fear was seeing Brady deteriorate and not detect it. His worse fear was Bray tearing his ACL at the beginning of a season, not knowing how to replace him. He knew, sooner or later, he would need to find a strong, reliable backup. One who would take over from Brady, one who would be there and ready when Brady was carried off the field on a stretcher. Belichick never told anyone of his plans, but right now one thing was his job as the Head Coach and General Manager of the New England Patriots: Find a Quarterback in the 2008 draft. Belichick had looked, quietly, stealthily, and had successfully avoided detention. And he found his guy. And after tonight, he knew he was certain. There was only one problem.

How to stop other team's from getting to Delaware and picking Joe Flacco.

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For once, Bill Belichick was thankful for that dipshit in New York Rex Ryan. It was obvious he was drafting an offense in New York, one that could score points. He was actually somewhat surprised, Ryan being defensively minded and all. Ryan was helping Belichick, as QBs would be picked later, following Ryan's Offensive splurge. And he planned on trading up to get Flacco.

Belichick's plan worked. He traded up with New Orleans, getting the Round One, Tenth Pick. On Draft Night, everything went according to plan. Joe Flacco was drafted, and immediately became Tom Brady's backup. Surprisingly, Brady wasn't mad with the move, and was happy to show the ropes to the rookie, who would replace him when Brady was ready to go, an idea Belichick sold to Brady. The Raiders, in desperate need of a QB after the JaMarcus Russell flop, were happy to take the experienced Cassel, giving the Patriots their 2008 Round Two Pick, and a 2009 Round One Pick.

2008 New England Patriots Draft Picks:
Round One, Pick 10: Joe Flacco, Delaware (QB)
Round Two, Pick 34: Matt Forte, Tulane (RB)
Round Two, Pick 62: Martellus Bryant, Texas A&M (TE)
-Due to the fact that Defensive Players are picked later in the Draft due to Rex Ryan's offensive splurge Dallas decided to take advantage of this, and drafts Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who had fallen back in the draft, as teams decided to scramble for Offensive players.
Round Three, Pick 78: Cliff Avril, Purdue (DE)
Round Three, Pick 94: Tyvon Branch, Connecticut (CB)
Round Four, Pick 129: Josh Sitton, Central Florida (G)
Round Five, Pick 153: Matthew Slater, UCLA (WR)
Round Six, Pick 197: Bo Rudd, Nebraska (LB)

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