Bill Belichick says the Patriots are onto 2017 after getting Super Bowl rings
When it comes to talking about his football team, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a knack for understatement. We see it every week during his in-season press conferences, and back in 2014, he coined perhaps one of his most oft-repeated Belichick-isms: "We're on to Cincinnati."
This came in response to questions about the Patriots' blowout loss to the Chiefs. Belichick had no interest in rehashing the past, and was instead looking ahead to the next opponent -- the Bengals. It's why he offered some variation of "We're on to Cincinnati" five different times in the span of five questions.
Almost three years later, Belichick continues to focus on the future. Yes, the Patriots are fresh off their fifth Super Bowl title, and yes, they last week received their championship rings commemorating the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, but none of that matters now as the team prepares for the 2017 season.
"It was a great night, but, really, we need to move on to 2017," Belichick said, via the team website. "You know, we've had enough parades, enough celebrations and enough everything. This '17 team hasn't done anything yet -- none of us have. We really need to focus on what we're doing this year. There have been a lot of great moments in the past, which is great, but that isn't going to help us this year."
Belichick isn't alone in his thinking; wide receiver Julian Edelman echoed similar sentiments.
"Yeah, I could say for me personally it does that," Edelman said about the ring ceremony serving as the last chapter in the 2016 campaign. "Sixteen was fun but '16 is over. It's '17 now. There are no champions. Everyone's got the same record. Everyone is working hard in heat. So it's one of those things where the teams that can go out and take advantage of these times and really mold together are usually the teams that come out and have good starts to their seasons, so that's what I'm trying to do personally."
To recap: The Pats are moving on because there are no days off. In conclusion: Do your job.