Washington at Patriots: Why Rivera is 'Watching' Belichick

"They were a dynasty, and now they’re rebuilding,'' Rivera says of Belichick's Patriots. "And it’s going to be fun to watch.”

The Washington Football Team is opening its NFL preseason on Thursday at New England, and while WFT coach Ron Rivera will have many, many things to keep his eye on ...

He'll also be "watching'' Bill Belichick.

“The best thing about coach is there are no apologies for who he is,” Rivera said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “He’s true to form. … I enjoy watching him.''

"Watching'' and then "borrowing,'' surely, because "this is a copycat league,'' as it is so often said - and Belichick's Patriots are, in this era, the most copied team in the sport.

That is really the most sincere form of flattery. And even now, as Belichick is not overseeing a dynastic team in its prime - something he did do, with the help of QB Tom Brady, over the course of a couple of decades - the coach is "watchable.''

"They were a dynasty, basically, and now they’re rebuilding,'' Rivera said. "And it’s going to be fun to watch.”

Rivera, of course, knows something about "the build.'' He is in the process of doing just that Washington. As a first-year coach in 2020, he led the WFT to a turnaround season, a respectable 7-9 record and an NFC East title - and then a playoff game, a loss to the aforementioned Brady and his Tampa Bay Bucs, who won the Super Bowl.

That's where the New England Patriots so often set up shop. It's where Rivera and the WFT want to be. The on-field process begins Thursday when they square off in this preseason game ... and yes, from Belichick on down, there are plenty of reasons to watch.

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