When Bill Belichick retires, we'll miss the press conferences most of all. Watching the New England media try to draw blood from a stone on certain topics has become a sport unto itself.
When it comes to injuries, any experienced Patriots reporter knows that Belichick isn't talking. That doesn't stop some intrepid questioners from trying. This exchange from Monday's press conference was an all-timer.
Q: How close was Rob Gronkowski to playing yesterday?
Belichick: I don't know. He was inactive.
Q: Did he have a shot to play?
Belichick: He was inactive.
Q: Going into the day, was there a chance he'd play?
Belichick: He was inactive for the game.
Q: What about Danny Amendola?
Belichick: He was inactive too.
Q: I know they were inactive.
Belichick: They were inactive so they didn't play.
Q: I think you have an idea how close they were.
Belichick: Well, they weren't able to play. What do you want, percentage points? They couldn't play.
Q: Going into the day, did you know they couldn't play?
Belichick: They were inactive.
Q: That doesn't answer my question.
Belichick: They were inactive, it's as simple as that.
Reading between the lines, it appears that Gronkowski and Amendola were inactive.
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