The NFL Films documentary A Football Life: Bill Belichick, filmed over the course of the 2009 season, includes one shot of the exit door at Gillette Stadium on which a motivational poster has been affixed. The poster lists four points players have to keep in mind when leaving the New England Patriots’ facilities: Don’t believe or fuel the hype. Manage expectations. Ignore the noise. Speak for yourself.
The Patriots have proven to be masters of doing all that, but every now and then we get a glimpse behind the business-first facade the organization has built over the past two decades.