Belichick Praises Patriots Captain: ‘Perfect Player’
FOXBORO — As the New England Patriots prepare for their penultimate game of the season — a Week 17 matchup with the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium — team captain Matthew Slater may be readying to make the final road trip of his esteemed 16-year NFL career.
Having spent his entirety of his gridiron tenure with New England, Slater has become one of the NFL’s most respected players, both on and off the field. In fact, he is often considered the standard to which his teammates (and even his coaches) hold themselves accountable. A 13-time team captain, he has earned two first-team All-Pro selections (2016, 2019), three second team All-Pro (2017, 2020, 2021) and 10 Pro Bowl nods, the most by a special teamer in NFL history.
New England Patriots ST Matthew Slater, coach Bill Belichick
Cred: USA Today Sports Images
While it is important to note that his future has yet to be decided, Patriots head coach took a reflective tone when asked about the impact Slater has had since the team drafted him in the fifth-round (No. 153 overall)of the 2008 NFL Draft.
"He's just about the perfect player," Belichick told reporters on Friday morning. "He does everything you want him to do for your team. He's the first guy in, last one out. He's a minimal playing-time player — in terms of the total number of plays he plays — but the way he trains, the way he prepares, communication, does everything he can to help the team.”
For all of his on-field success, the argument can be made that Slater is equally respected off the field. The Pats captain takes great pride in his role as a mentor for many of the team’s younger players — not only leading them throughout the game, but also offering his wisdom and advice away from it.
The effect which Slater’s presence has on his teammates was evident during their Week 16 victory over the Denver Broncos. Despite missing the game due to a lingering hamstring injury — his first absence since 2017 and only his 20th since joining the team — the 38-year-old was there to impart his football wisdom, while serving as their primary emotional supporter. Accordingly, Slater’s inherent leadership came as no surprise to Belichick.
“He has tremendous, total respect from everybody in the organization -- players, coaches, staff, you name it. He's earned it … and he earns it every day. He doesn't rest on it. Anything he's done in the past, he comes in and every day is [like] his first day … Every day he comes in like he might get cut that day. He prepares and practices and performs like, 'If I don't do good today, I'm not gonna be here tomorrow.' And that’s a tremendous attitude."
Amid their 4-11 record and having failed to reach the playoffs in three of their last four seasons, questions surrounding Belichick's future with the Patriots have risen more frequently than bubbles in a carbonated beverage. Still, the Pats’ special teams ace has been careful to deflect the biggest share of blame away from New England's legendary head coach.
“I’m someone who has not lost sight of what Coach Belichick has meant to this organization … to this league,” Slater said during a mid-December press conference. “I have as much faith in Coach Belichick as I’ve ever had. There's no reason to be doubting who he is as a leader and a coach for this football team.”
Based on both resume and reputation, Slater has earned the right to have his opinion neither ignored, nor simply brushed aside as lip-service. The same may be said of Belichick, as he provided a clear ringing endorsement for Slater to be enshrined among the game’s greats — whenever he may decide to ride off into the proverbial sunset.
“He's in a very unique category, one that I don't think is represented in the Hall of Fame,” Belichick said. “But based on what he did during his career and the length of time he did it and at the level he's done it at, I would say this guy's been as productive as has ever been at his position throughout his entire career, which is very lengthy. So I think he's the best that's ever done what he's done. Whether that's Hall of Fame-worthy or not, that's a different subject that I don't have a say in. But I can't imagine putting anybody in there ahead of him at that position."
