Giants OT Nate Solder Shares Bill Belichick's 3 Rules for Representing Patriots

There are certain rules that you have to abide by if you're going to wear a Patriots uniform.

When the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants Thursday night to kick off Week 6 of the NFL regular season, there will be one player on New York's sideline that has spent significant time with the reigning Super Bowl champions - Nate Solder. 

Solder, who is in his second season as the starting left tackle for the Giants, was drafted by and spent seven seasons in New England. His tenure with the Patriots shows not only his capability as a starter in the NFL, but also shows how well he can abide by the rules established by head coach Bill Belichick. His understanding of them must have been pretty clear, which is why he was able to recall some of them two years after he left the Patriots.

During a recent conversation with the New York Daily News, Solder shared Belichick's three rules for representing New England. 

“Be prepared. Speak for yourself. And don’t fuel the noise.”

Solder also gave an example of how prepared Belichick expects everyone to be on a daily basis. 

“So we’d go over goal line, as most teams do, towards the end of the week, either Thursday or Friday. And at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, he asked Sebastian Vollmer what is their goal line front personnel? And Sebastian’s like we get to that on Friday, I have no idea (laughs). So he just started making stuff up. But those were the expectations: This is not what you’ve been coached, but you’ve already done so much research, you know going in what you should know on Friday on Wednesday morning. That was the expectation.”

Whether you believe in Belichick's philosophy or not, the results can't be questioned. His regimen may be a bit more strict than most NFLs organization go about their business, but players know what they are getting into before the join the Patriots, and yet they still do find themselves planning in New England. 

The want to win is important in every player that plays in a Patriots uniform, which trickles down to their preparation, confidence and focus on day-to-day basis. Being prepared, speaking for yourself, and not fueling the noise fall right in line with that want.