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Bill Belichick knows the road to the Super Bowl. He also knows what to do when he gets there. Before the New England Patriots land in Houston on Sunday to begin preparation for Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, Belichick and the Patriots are already digging for an advantage: comfort and familiarity away from home.
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"We have to do some logistical things for this game, but players and other members of our staff, a lot of members of our staff are working on that with our players and other people that travel," Belichick said Tuesday morning.
The Super Bowl is not a typical road game, even if the path is well-traveled by this franchise.
Players are being asked to take care of air travel, hotel and ticket needs Tuesday. Belichick notoriously demands distractions are dead and buried by the time full practice preparation shifts to game plan installation on Wednesday.
"Really kind of right now the first thing is just, well, getting things up at the University of Houston, which that is important for us, but just kind of logistical stuff like taking care of various things with our team regarding tickets, transportation, hotel rooms, etc.," Belichick said. "We have a staff that's doing a great job of handling that, but sometimes there are some decisions or situations that I have to get involved in or make a decision on. There are also certain obligations that we have from a league standpoint, and so just trying to schedule and coordinate some of that."
Another type of installation was also underway early in the week some 1,828 miles away in Houston.
The Patriots overtake the football facility at University of Houston, their home next week as the visiting AFC team, and team staff began taking a coordinated plan to Texas to make the Cougars' practice facility and weight room a home away from home for the Patriots. But the best-laid plans for temporary headquarters don't always pan out.
When New England played in Houston in the Super Bowl in 2003, Belichick and the Patriots moved from Rice University to the Houston Texans' facility. Because of rain, Belichick demanded the team be moved to the indoor practice field of the Texans.
No matter, Belichick always has his own version of the Churchill Bunker, a Super Bowl tradition of sorts. In the comfort of his hotel suite, Belichick has multiple screens for film review -- practices are filmed and almost immediately reviewed for next-day corrections -- and planning and a treadmill in the suite to make sure he gets his exercise while multitasking final phases of game preparation.
But that's for next week. For now, Belichick is focused on the home front.
"We're on to Atlanta now as a coaching staff. We're deep in the middle of them," Belichick said.
