Bill Belichick Doesn't Tolerate Tardiness

Four members of the Patriots, including Randy Moss, were sent home without practicing on Wednesday by coach Bill Belichick. Moss, Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton and Adalius Thomas were all late for an 8 a.m. team meeting and told to turn around, according to a report from Shalise Manza Young of the Providence Journal.

Belichick wouldn't address the reports when he met with reporters later on Wednesday -- "Anything that happens with discipline on the team will stay between me and the players." -- but quarterback Tom Brady was a little bit more forthcoming.

"That's coach's decision. The guys that are here, I have to do my job, I have plenty of things to do. Like I said, I have to show up every day and bring whatever I have -- the energy and leadership that I have to this team. That's what I owe those guys. That's what my job is."

Brady's comments are particularly interesting since he was at practice Wednesday even though his wife, Gisele Bundchen, gave birth to a son on Wednesday morning. Inclement weather and a desire to arrive at your destination safely are certainly valid reasons for being a bit late to work, but it stands to reason that if Brady could make it in on time, there isn't much excuse for anyone else. Everyone had to commute in the same storm, after all.

One can't help to wonder if Belichick, whose team has lost three of its lost four games, wasn't trying to send a message by keeping the foursome out of what's usually the most important practice day of the week. There's been quite a bit of talk around Patriots camp in recent days about the team needing to stop living off of the reputation gained in past seasons, as well as a lack of intensity that's contributed to losing games when they've held a lead in the second half. Perhaps Belichick agrees with those sentiments and saw today's tardy arrivals as symptomatic of those issues.

Or he might just be a guy who doesn't give any quarter to people who are late to work.