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FOXBOROUGH – The scary situation involving Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals reminded New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick of another scary moment he was a part of during a game in 1997.
Belichick said he was watching the game Monday when Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, which caused him to immediately recall the moment Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown suffered a scary injury in which he was on the turf and needed CPR in a game against the New York Jets. Belichick was the defensive coordinator of the Jets at the time.
“I'll just say on a personal level, I usually don't watch the Monday night game. I'll maybe flip through it or whatever. But because we're playing Buffalo on a short week, I happened to have it on,” Belichick said about the Damar Hamlin situation. “When I saw the situation, it reminded me very much of one that I experienced when I was with the Jets in 1997 and we played the Lions. I think that was the last game of the year and Reggie Brown was injured. It was kind of a normal play. Adrian Murrell got tackled and everybody got back up and went to the huddle and Reggie laid on the field and didn't move. He was unconscious for quite a while, I forget how long, 10 minutes or something like that.
“The whole process took a long time. It must have taken a long time. It must have taken a half hour between giving CPR, revived, put on the board, and put in the ambulance to be driven off the field at the Silver Dome. It was quite a lengthy process, where the teams looked like the one on Monday night with concern, thought, prayer, kneeling, and so forth. It was a very chilling game, one that I'll obviously never forget.”
#Patriots coach Bill Belichick delivered a 5-plus minute opening statement talking about Damar Hamlin and what happened the other night.
“I think everyone is doing the best they can,” Belichick said. #ForeverNE #Bills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/z07YREt9a1
— Conor Roche (@ConorRoche27) January 5, 2023
In the aftermath of Monday's event, Belichick said that he began reaching out to people. He said he texted Bills coach Sean McDermott, whom Belichick and the Patriots will face on Sunday, and reached out to Bengals coach Zac Taylor and his team. Belichick declined to get into the specifics of what he told McDermott.
Belichick recognized that while his personal experience in this matter can help, it also won't solve all the problems either as he said he's reaching out to many more people.
“Not that I have all the answers, because I certainly don't. But I was there and experienced that and had some sense what the players, teams, and coaches went through on Monday night,” Belichick said. “It's something you never forget. On a personal level, that's kind of where I was on that. I reached out to a number of different people for perspectives. A number of different coaches in our sport, in other sports, on our team.
“Our players, we talked to them on Tuesday and addressed it. All I can say, all I'm gonna say, is that everybody's doing the best they can. That can be on a lot of different levels. That can be a lot of different perspectives.”
With what happened to Damar Hamlin, Bill Belichick showed his appreciation for his players considering what they put on the line in such a dangerous sport.
Bill Belichick talks about how grateful he is to have Jerod Mayo and Troy Brown (as former players on his staff) this week pic.twitter.com/zQHVKJ1OPh
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) January 5, 2023
“Football is a very great and competitive game. Unfortunately, injuries and things like that can and do happen from time to time. It’s very unfortunate,” Belichick said on Thursday. “It seemed like the care that was given was very prompt and good. I’m thankful for that. Life is bigger than this game.
“This is one of these humbling moments for all of us that stands out. I’d say as a coach, it’s different and I’ve expressed this to the players multiple times but the amount of respect I have for them and what they do and how they do it is immense. I’m proud to coach the players that I’ve coached here and everywhere else and respect them for what they do and how they do it.”
Belichick also mentioned how it puts into perspective how fragile the game can be.
“There’s obviously nothing more important than the health and safety of our players. I respect how much they put into this,” Belichick said. “As a coach, that’s nothing I ever think about. I don’t worry about getting hurt in a game. Although I’ve been hit a few times, it’s not a story. I know the players, it’s different. They walk out there, they put the equipment on. It’s a contact sport. It’s what they and their families deal with. As participants, it’s different from what I do as a coach and I respect that and appreciate what they do.”
It was reported Thursday morning that Damar Hamlin was awake for the first time since Monday night. Belichick said it was “great news and encouraging for all of us” to hear that.
Now, the Patriots are in a weird spot as they have to turn the page and prepare to play a Bills team that just went through such a traumatic event. The NFL currently has the Patriots and Bills still scheduled to play on Sunday at 1 p.m. following the postponement of Monday's Bills-Bengals game, which will not resume.
Belichick was asked if he knew about any possible changes for his team's game on Sunday.
“All of those questions are out of our control,” Belichick said. “So, not going to worry about any of those. Trying to control what we can control, which is what we’re doing here and how we’re doing it. And we’re doing the best we can.”
