FOXBORO – Bill Belichick’s ire holds no bounds. Not even at the Pro Bowl.

On Wednesday, the Patriots coach spoke glowingly about Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Belichick has met Rivers twice – coaching him at the 2007 and 2011 Pro Bowl. What he didn’t mention was that he also chewed Rivers out.

Rivers relayed the funny story about Belichick to the local New England media on Wednesday. During the 2011 Pro Bowl, the AFC team was losing 42-7 with Rivers, Peyton Manning and Matt Cassel at quarterback. The Patriots coach called in his team for a meeting and let them have it during the exhibition.

“I do remember halftime at the Pro Bowl game we were getting killed,” Rivers said. “I think it was me, Peyton and Cassel. We were getting blown out at halftime and he kind of called us all up and said, ‘hey, we can tackle. I know it’s the Pro Bowl and all that but can we tackle somebody today? Let’s go out and make this a little bit respectful in the second half.’

“Then he looked over at us quarterbacks and we had all thrown an interception. Thank goodness, I wasn’t the only one and he said, ‘it would help if you guys would stop throwing it to the other team.’ I got a kick out of that because I was standing near Peyton Manning and Cassel… I was glad I wasn’t the only one who had thrown it to the other team. That was pretty good. I got fussed out at halftime at the Pro Bowl.”

In the end, the AFC team made it more competitive, losing 55-41 to the NFC squad.

When Belichick was asked about his Pro Bowl experience with Rivers, he said, “Yeah, that was a long time ago, but he’s a smart guy, he’s a great guy, good football player, really cares and knows a lot about football. He’s an impressive guy to talk to.”

Clearly, both the coach and quarterback left a lasting impression.