TY Hilton Talks About Facing Bill Belichick, and He So Obviously Gets It, That It's Actually Impressive
Jared Wickerham. Getty Images.Sometimes you've just got to give credit where it's due. T.Y. Hilton is a hell of a wide receiver.
There. I said it. And it wasn't hard. That 5-foot-10, 183 pound tower of pure wideout talent is in the prime of an outstanding career. He's in his 10th season. He's topped 1,000 yards in five of them. He's made the Pro Bowl in four of them. He led the league in receiving yards a few years back. There's nothing not to like about the guy.
Granted, he hasn't had his best games against the team and the coaching staff he's going up against Saturday night. In his five career games against New England (he was injured in the 2018 meeting), his stats are well below his career averages:
- Targets: 7.4 per game
- Receptions: 4 per game
- Completion %: 54.1
- Yards: 67.4 per game
More importantly, he's still never beating the Patriots in five games against them. But say what you will, Hilton is under no illusion about how well New England had defended him.
CBS4Indy - T.Y. Hilton knows the score.
“I’m 0-fer against them,’’ he said.
There’s a lot of that going around. …
“If you need any motivation, 13’s gonna give you that motivation,’’ he said. …
“They’re fundamentally sound. They’re great in their scheme,’’ Hilton said. “They do everything their coach asks them to do and they’ve got playmakers.’’
And as Hilton mentioned, the Patriots still have coach Bill Belichick.
Frank Reich called him “the best ever.’’
“It’s a great challenge to go up against a defense that is coached by him,’’ he said.
The primary challenge is adapting as the game unfolds to however Belichick decides to attack the offense. He’s a master at taking away the opposition’s strength. …
“Expect the unexpected,’’ Hilton said. “The thing with (Belichick) is whatever you do well, he’s gonna take it away. So if you’re right-handed, you better learn to shoot with your left half. If you’re left-handed, you better learn to shoot with your right hand.”
“That’s just how he is. We’ve just got to be ready for anything and everything when it comes to that defense.’’
Hilton said he’s been the focus of double teams in each of his five appearances against New England.
“Correct,’’ he said. “All of ‘em. Anytime you’re not able to be a factor, it sucks. But it’s part of their game plan. Take me out of the game and live with the rest.”
If I'm disappointed by anything in Hilton's comments, it's that his "Expect the unexpected" line didn't immediately lead to the rest of the rules Dalton laid down when he took over as the cooler at the Double Deuce. But at least he most definitely picked up on the one about "Be nice," even if he didn't overtly say it. I respect a man who gets it. Who knows when he's up against the very best he's ever faced in his long and successful career. That even going into his sixth game against New England, the one thing he knows is that he doesn't know what he's going to have thrown at him by the defensive firm of Belichick & Son.
Hilton might end up with a face full of J.C. Jackson. Or they might zone him to death. It could be the way they stopped him in the infamous Deflategate Game, where they put Darrelle Revis on Donte Moncrief and just bracketed him with a safety all night in a blowout loss. Whatever the plan, I appreciate anyone in the Colts who's willing to admit they have their toughest games against the Patriots after eight straight losses stretching back over a decade.
Not everyone in Indy is always that magnanimous:
With the Patriots needing to win to keep the top seed in the AFC and Indy trying to hang onto a white knuckle grip on a Wild Card spot and the Pats at +2.5 on the road, the stakes are about as high as they get with four games to go. And it's refreshing to see one Colts veteran at least respects how tough it's going to be facing the No. 1 defense in the league. Even if they don't sound terribly impressed with Mac Jones. It's going to be a long wait for game time. They can't kick this thing off soon enough. Lord help me, I love December football when the Patriots are in the hunt.