After 18 years of dealing with Patriots coach Bill Belichick Phillip Gaines Jersey , quarterback Tom Brady possibly would like to “accidentally” hit Belichick in the head with a pass. If Brady ever gives in to that temptation, he won’t be the first one to have beaned Belichick.

It happened in 1984, when Belichick coordinated the defense for the Giants and Hostetler was a third-round draft pick out of West Virginia.

“My rookie year, I am a rookie quarterback with three other veterans on the roster,” Hostetler told the Three Guys Before The Game podcast on Monday. “I鈥檝e got Bill Parcells as a head coach, who did not want to draft me, and so I wasn鈥檛 one of his guys. I had Ron Erhardt as a quarterback coach, who had been in the league forever. His offense is still being run by [the] Patriots, by the Steelers. It鈥檚 probably the best offense that I鈥檝e ever been involved with as far as being consistent, verbiage, all those things. And so I鈥檓 involved with all these guys that are all veterans, and I鈥檓 thinking, 鈥楾his is a tough situation for me to come into.鈥?And so I鈥檓 scared, basically. I鈥檓 thinking, 鈥業f I make a mistake these guys aren鈥檛 going to have any patience with me.鈥?/p>

“Well, I would run a little bit of the seven-on-seven for the defense. And Belichick would always have these cards out and he would show us what he wants us to do. And then he would turn where the center would be, he would turn and he would watch his defense. And so we were running all these crossing routes . . . and so all of a sudden, we鈥檙e running these crossing routes, and he stands right there where the center is. I drop back Matt Milano Jersey , and it鈥檚 a two-yard crossing route. And I drill it to the guy.

“Well, all of a sudden, Bill鈥檚 head is right in the way. It hits him in the head. His papers fly everywhere. The ball flies everywhere. Everybody stops and it鈥檚 like, everything just went quiet. It鈥檚 like, 鈥楿h-oh.鈥?And then he starts ripping into me and yelling at me and grabbing his papers. After that was over with, I had almost every defensive player come up to me and say, 鈥楬ey, great job, Hoss. Great job.鈥?And it was like, I was accepted. . . . Belichick hated me after that, but my only response to him was, 鈥榃ell, don鈥檛 stand there.鈥欌€?/p>

Chances are that Belichick stopped standing there, at least during crossing routes. Chances are he definitely won’t be getting himself in position to be hit in the head (or elsewhere) during what could be Brady’s final training camp.

And chances are that, given Hostelter’s story, Belichick will appreciate the story in the video attached to this blurb, courtesy of Chris Simms last month on PFT Live.

Not until Nate McMillan began being fitted for custom-made suits a few years into his NBA career three decades ago did he understand just how far his arms reached.

When Bill Walton dominated at UCLA in the 1970s, no one ever measured his wingspan – from fingertips to fingertips and arms outstretched.

Neither knew their wingspans then, and they still don’t. That is not the case for young players.

”Yeah Jordan Mills Jersey , I found that out once I bought my first suit,” the 6-foot-5 McMillan, a 12-year pro now coaching the Pacers, said with a chuckle, realizing his arms stretched more than 3 feet each.

Once limited to descriptions of birds, wingspan has become one of the most important measurements for basketball prospects over the past decade. Coaches marvel at players with long arms, figuring they will more easily grab rebounds, block shots, steal passes and shoot over defenders.

The average man has a wingspan about 2 inches more than his height. But several NBA players pop off the chart because of their long arms.

It’s no coincidence that Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who stands 7-1 and led the NBA in blocks last season, has the longest wingspan in the league at 7 feet, 9 inches.

The NBA playoffs begin Saturday, and an extra inch of reach can lead to a blocked shot or steal that might alter a series or a season.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is nicknamed the ”Greek Freak” in part because he stands 6-11 with a 7-3 wingspan and giant hands. The explosive Russell Westbrook is 6-3, with a wingspan of 6-8, which helps him be one of the best rebounding guards in history.

”Every asset that a player has might make up for something else. If somebody’s short, hopefully they’re quick. The wingspan sure helps a lot of people,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said . ”You look at size of hands, wingspans. Look at John Stockton’s arms or Avery Johnson’s arms and they’re very long, and their hands are very big. They can control the basketball http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/marcus-murphy-jersey , they can do things with it.

”A wingspan always helps people, whether it’s blocking shots or deflections on defense.”

In recent seasons, Warriors high-scoring All-Star Kevin Durant has become more determined to use his 7-5 wingspan to make more of an impact on defense.

Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP , is quick to point out that his length allows him to make up for other areas, including being far leaner than most NBA players.

”You make up a lot of ground. I’m not as fast laterally, I’m not as athletic, I’m not as quick as guys up and down but I think I make up for it with my length,” said Durant, a defensive player of the year candidate. ”There’s a lot of guys, Draymond (Green) is the same way, small, undersized power forward but can guard plenty of guys because of his length. His arms are long and he can block shots. We’ve seen him block guys at the rim and also get his hands on some basketballs off the dribble.”

Raised in France, Gobert kept growing from ages 15-19. He didn’t often hear the term wingspan, finally understanding how special his measurement is when he got to the NBA.

”I think it’s something that makes a big difference, especially defensively,” he said. ”You’re able to deflect the pass or block shots.”

Warriors 7-foot center JaVale McGee went through only a handful of pre-draft workouts for NBA teams, hardly a prized prospect after a career at Nevada. Yet each visit he made, among the first things measured was his wingspan Eddie Yarbrough Jersey , 7-6.

One of the benefits is his ability to corral and slam home lob passes that are high and might be off target. Before he got to the NBA, McGee wasn’t even aware of his wingspan.

”I’ve always been tall. I was born tall,” he said. ”It’s nothing that I heard about until I got to the league, or right before I got into the league, they’re like, `We’d like to measure your wingspan.’ They don’t really bring it up to us about that in college or high school.”

Walton is in the Hall of Fame, but he never had his arms measured end to end.

”At one time, they were long enough, and I can still put my own shoes and socks on,” he quipped. ”It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play. Any time you think you’re too small to make a difference in the world you’ve never spent the night alone in bed with a mosquito. But when you have the great game of basketball with all the ultimate winners of the genetic lottery … it’s not how high you jump, it’s where you are and when you jump.”

Wingspan is one detail Warriors coach Steve Kerr takes seriously and might consider when deciding on lineups and rotations for the defending champions. He has been going with a center by committee based on matchups.

Some of the best players Kerr faced had incredible reach.

”It’s legit. It’s much more important than your height,” Kerr said. ”If your wingspan is more than your height, that’s kind of abnormal. Most of us have the same wingspan as our height. That’s kind of a rule of thumb. A lot of basketball players don’t, though, they have wider wingspans. And they’re able to get their hands on balls or shots or loose balls. … I’m a big believer in that.”

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