Bill Belichick says weather forecasts ‘almost always wrong’

Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn’t spending too much time worrying about the weather for Sunday’s game vs. the Broncos.AP

FOXBOROUGH – Lots of folks – media and referees, mostly – have drawn the ire and landed in the crosshairs of Patriots coach Bill Belichick. On Friday, he took aim at another well-intentioned group: Meteorologists.

Meeting with the media for a final time before Sunday’s home game against the Denver Broncos, Belichick was asked about factoring in the weather forecast when it comes to coming up with a game plan for his team and the opponent. In his answer, the coach didn’t hold back.

“When you play in New England, you’ve got to be ready for everything. Based on the forecasts we’ve gotten so far this year, none of them were very close to what the game conditions were. There was a 100 percent chance of rain last week, and the only water I saw was on the Gatorade table,” Belichick said. “It is what it is. We’ve got to be ready for whatever it is.”

He was only getting started.

“My experience of going with the forecast, in this area, two days before the game, I’d bet a lot that they’re wrong, just based on history, because they’re almost always wrong,” Belichick said. “An hour before the game? Maybe, you might have something to work with there. But if you start game planning for what the weather is going to be and you game plan wrong, you’ve wasted a lot of time.”

Belichick was then asked when is the latest he checks on the forecast prior to kickoff.

“When you walk out on the field, that’s really when you know what it is. The rest of it is a bunch of hot air,” he said. “We played down in Miami two years ago and there was a zero percent chance of rain – zero – and it rained. If I did my job the way they do theirs, I’d be here about a week.”

Told that he probably wasn’t making many friends in the meteorologist profession, Belichick said, “Look, I’m not saying I could do it better than them. I’m just saying they’re wrong a lot. That’s a fact. They’re wrong a lot. We all make mistakes, I’m not being critical of them, I’m just saying I don’t think you can [game plan] based on [the forecast].”

For what it’s worth, the forecast for Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium is for a high in the mid-40s, with plenty of wind and a 50 percent chance of rain or snow.