We often hear players say that the Bill Belichick seen behind closed doors is different from the one we hear at press conferences, and second-year defensive linemen Dominique Easley reinforced that point during a television interview on Sunday.
"He’s a jokester everybody doesn’t really see," Easley told WBZ's Dan Roche. "A real big jokester. He makes us laugh all the time."
Easley hit on a variety of topics during the conversation, including which veteran teammates he leaned on for help as a rookie, why hitting injured reserve at the end of last season was a good thing for him, and why he's trying to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia.
He also explained why he thinks Belichick is such a successful head coach -- aside from his ability to get players to crack up.
"He does everything different, and I would say, in my eyes, at risk," Easley said of Belichick's willingness to take chances. "He just does things that you would never normally see somebody do . . . He just does a lot things that a normal coach wouldn’t do, and that’s what makes him great."
Easley's worked with Belichick up close for just one season, but he saw his coach make his share of outside-the-box maneuvers.
For starters, Belichick drafted Easley, a consensus first-round talent who fell to pick No. 29 because of two ACL injuries in college. Belichick also broke out offensive formations in the Divisional Round of the playoffs that had rarely been seen to help beat the Ravens, and he took a chance on an unheralded Division 2 cornerback before the season who helped Belichick win his fourth ring as Patriots head coach.
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"He just sees what he has," Easley said, "and goes from there."
Here are a few other highlights from Easley's appearance on WBZ:
On hitting IR last season:
"I had a bit more time to get back healthy. I’m on the road to it right now."
On his mentors last season:
"It was real good just to have Vince Wilfork as my guidance, as a mentor for me. It went real smooth. I had Chandler Jones and a lot of veterans behind me, helping me out, showing me the way, showing me the path."
On the football camp he's hosting this summer:
"This is my first camp, ever really. Growing up I never went to a camp. I just want them to experience something I never got to experience. Just go out there, show them how to do some drill, bust most importantly, have some fun.
"Have fun, and don’t ever let the game itself take you out of having fun playing football. That’s the problem now. A lot of people take it too serious. When you have fun, you play great."
On Fibromyalgia -- a disorder that has affected his younger sister, Destinee -- for which he's raising awareness through Easleysawareness.com:
"A lot of people don’t know how serious it is until you actually witness it for yourself. I just want to let people know how serious it is and try to raise awareness to find a cure.
"That’s my goal, to get my sister and other women out of this pain they can’t control. The website actually shows you what Fibromyalgia is, gives you a little detail about my sister’s life, and it shows you the pain that she went through. People need to read about it and learn more about it, which I am still, just to find ways to help."
