Bill Belichick quotes popular president in preparation for the Dallas Cowboys

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Bill Belichick learned football from watching his father coach at the Naval Academy, but it's some advice from the Army that he's using to prepare for his team's next game.

The New England Patriots head coach referenced a famous quote by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general in the Army, during a press conference ahead of New England's Week 12 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

"It's like Eisenhower said, preparation is important for the war," Belichick said. "That's what we do. Once the game starts, we try to figure out how the game is going, make adjustments [and] do the best we can at that point in time."

The former president and war veteran is often quoted as having said, "In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable." He was voted Gallup's Most Admired Man 12 times during his life, with a peak approval rating of 77, which he obtained twice during his presidency. Eisenhower's average approval rating of 65 is the second highest since 1937, behind only John F. Kennedy.

The Cowboys, a team Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has hated "since coming out of the womb," will travel to play 9-1 New England at home this Sunday.

Ironically, Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, about 75 miles north of Dallas — though the Cowboys franchise wasn't formed until his last year in the White House in 1960.