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Ernie Adams gives a scouting report of Bill Belichick as a football player
“We were terrible, but we loved football."
Ernie Adams’ extensive knowledge of the ins and outs of football served as a key resource for the Patriots throughout their two-decade dynasty.
Adams, who served as New England’s director of football research from 2000 to 2021, was viewed not only as a walking encyclopedia for all things related to football, but an adept evaluator of talent on the gridiron.
Along with assisting Bill Belichick and his coaching staff with game prep, film review, challenges, and in-game adjustments, Adams was also tasked with helping the team’s scouting department in the lead-up to the NFL Draft.
Adams’ ability to identify top talent in the collegiate ranks played a key role in New England’s ascension as the NFL’s premier power for an unequaled stretch. But as far as grading the on-field talent of his longtime friend in Belichick, Adams didn’t exactly offer up a ringing endorsement.
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Appearing on former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman’s “Games with Names” podcast this week, Adams was asked about how he first met Belichick while both football legends attended Phillips Academy Andover.
Belichick, who transferred to the school in 1970, quickly bonded with Adams over their shared love of football. But that passion for the game didn’t exactly translate over to the gridiron.
“We were terrible, but we loved football,” Adams said.
At Phillips Academy Andover, Adams played guard, while Belichick slotted in at center. Even though Adams stressed that both he and Belichick weren’t going to have fruitful playing careers, he didn’t harp too much on Belichick’s ability to anchor the middle of an O-line.
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“Because I played guard, so there’s kind of a statute of limitations on this,” Adams told Edelman. “Neither one of us were — we were 180-pound high school linemen. We had a fantastic quarterback who won all our games.”
Even though Belichick and Adams weren’t exactly destined for star careers as players, Edelman stressed that those so-so returns at Phillips Academy didn’t prohibit Belichick from harping on his own play during his time as New England’s head coach.
“There’s so many times, I heard in the meeting room, ‘me and (expletive) Ernie could do this,’” Edelman said.
“We could try hard. If it required a lot of ability, forget it,” Adams responded.
Fair to say, both Belichick and Adams made the right choice when it came to furthering their careers in football — just not on the field.
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