Bill Belichick hasn't shied away from criticizing officials in the past, but he's been quite satisfied with their performance this season.
As ESPN's Kevin Seifert pointed out, Belichick only challenged one play this season. Not surprisingly, he won it.
But think about that for a second. Some coaches challenged multiple calls on a single drive. A few ran out of challenges in the first half of games. But Belichick felt the need to throw out the red flag once all season.
Belichick is only the fifth coach to challenge just one play in a season over the last 10 years. When asked about that remarkable stat, the Patriots‘ legendary head coach broke from his usual press conference mold to praise the referees.
From the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe:
Belichick praised the NFL officiating in Patriots' games this season: “Hasn't really been much to talk about. That's a good thing.”
Belichick continued to offer compliments for sources he's butted heads with in the past, heaping praise onto the media. Again from Howe:
Belichick says media can take the weekend off: “I think you guys have it pretty well under control. Best group I've seen in a long time.”
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