FOXBORO - Are the New England Patriots and their reputation for deviousness already getting into the heads of the Dallas Cowboys? Ah, yes, the intimidation factor of the “Belichickian” mystique is alive and well.
“We know Will (Greer) knows where a lot of the bones are buried,” Schottenheimer said. “We know Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott) does as well,'' said Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as the Patriots (1-2) and Cowboys (2-1) prepare for their Week 4 matchup this weekend at AT&T Stadium. "I’m sure (Grier) is definitely being interrogated and spending a lot of late nights with their defensive coaching staff.”
Schottenheimer expressed his thoughts in a mostly-tongue-in-cheek manner, suggesting that Pats coach Bill Belichick and his staff may be conducting some intense questioning of former Dallas running back Elliott and former Dallas quarterback Greer — both of whom now wear Patriots blue.
The idea of an "interrogation'' brings up all sorts of clever and maybe even "evil'' visions. The reality is that the Pats' probing of Grier and Elliott is a simply practice which happens across the NFL in every locker room. ... and all Dallas is really going to do it change up some sideline hand signals and some at-the-line verbiage.
Indeed, Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien shared such sentiments when speaking with New England reporters on Tuesday via video conference.
“Interrogating?” O’Brien said with a quizzical chuckle. “Schotty is a good guy … I’ve known him for a long time. I think that’s the way it is every week and every year in this league. There are guys that come into your organization off of teams that you’re about the play … (but) I’ve never thought in my years in the league that any of that was a real overriding factor in a win or loss.
Added O'Brien, flushing out the "interrogation'' parallel: “I don’t think that were trying to pull a light over anybody," said O'Brien. "There’s no, ‘Tell me what you did on July 20, 2023’. We’re not doing that. We’re not interrogating anybody. We’re just trying to put together the best game plan we possibly can.”
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