Bill Belichick PostGame Press Conference Transcript
Here is Bill Belichick's complete press conference transcript following the Patriots 37-16 win over the New York Jets:
OPENING STATEMENT:
"It's really great to come down here and win. I'm really proud of our players. You know, we had so many guys step up today, I mean really everybody that dressed played a huge role in the victory. We had a good week of practice and our preparation was good, and I thought we did pretty good job of executing against a good team. I know they'd won three straight, they're on a big roll here, and it took a good effort to win tonight. But our guys gave it to us. Really, all the credit needs to go to the players. They really prepared well, never got down even though we lost a couple of tough games, kept the attitude up, kept their preparation up, practiced well and came out here and just competed as hard as they could tonight. They really deserved it. They were the better team tonight and the players did a great job. So give them the credit, now we've got to turn the page, got another big one Monday night, but it's good to walk out of here with the win.
On the defense stepping up:
"Everybody stepped up, everybody stepped up. Special teams, defense, offense, we made the plays when we had to make them. It wasn't perfect, but when we had to make them we made them. And again, all the credit goes to those guys. we could name twenty guys, I mean they did a great job."
On how they were able to be so effective with guys like Sterling Moore, Jeff Tarpinian, etc. starting:
"Like I said, you just have to give the credit to the players. They prepared all week, they were ready to go, and they went out there and they did their job. You know [Patrick] Chung was a game time decision, he wasn't able to go. Sterling [Moore] was the next guy up. Unfortunately we lost Devin [McCourty] there. Antwaun [Molden] stepped in. We lost [Brandon] Spikes, and so moved Mayo to [the Mike spot]. Jeff [Tarpinian] stepped in, Tracy [White] did a great job for us in the sub. We got a lot of plays from a lot of guys that played really hard tonight, and played well."
On Tom Brady's play after getting off to a slow start:
"I mean, they're a good defense. They do a good job. They have a good scheme, they've got good players, they make you work for it. They made some plays, we made some plays, and fortunately we made enough of them. But again, that's a good defense. I mean every play's not going to be an eighty yard touchdown against them, I'll tell you that right now."
On Andre Carter and the defense's pass rushing performance:
"Guys worked hard at it. The players worked hard, they've gotten better, they use good techniques. They did a good job of winning their one-on-one match-ups. There's no magic wand there. Give them credit, they rushed well."
On how big the win was for the division:
"Of course the division games are important, no question...division games are important. But we're not even at Thanksgiving yet. I mean there's a lot of football left in this season. One game won't win you much. But it's a good win and we're certainly happy to have it. But we've got a lot of football left."
On if the no huddle had the Jets on their heels:
"I don't know, you'd have to ask them that. I mean, hey look, they've seen it before. It's not like we haven't run no huddle or they haven't seen it before. I think it really comes down to execution. I wish that's all there was to it, just say 'no huddle' . But it really comes down to execution. It comes down to blocking, running routes, getting open, throwing the ball, protecting, breaking tackles, getting open, all those things."
On how much he had to simplify the defense with all the changes:
"You know I'd say we played pretty much what we practiced. We added a couple of things during the game based on some of the things that the Jets were doing, our players handled that well. We made some adjustments during the game and they communicated well, they handled it well. We really didn't have a lot of missed assignments. They caught some passes on us and they got a couple of runs on us where they did a good job. But for the most part we were where we were supposed to be, trying to play the right thing and overall I thought we did a decent job. Certainly getting the lead there in the fourth quarter, that helped turn it into kind of a one-dimensional game there, so that helped us."
On Rob Ninkovich's interception:
"The ball got tipped up in the air and batted a couple of times, Rob made a nice play on it. I mean we know Rob's got good hands, we've seen him intercept some passes before. On the play down there when they were backed up, Tracy [White] did a good job on the jam, I think he jammed [Dustin] Keller, and it looked like [Mark] Sanchez was trying to check the ball down over the middle. Rob, being the player that he is, read his eyes, saw the ball, and made a good play on it. He was where he was supposed to be, but the big part of that was jamming the receiver so that Sanchez couldn't go down the field and had to check it down. So it was good team defense. That's always the way most of those plays work out."
On if Gronkowski's production surprises him:
"I think we put players out there we think that can produce when they get the opportunity. Rob got some chances tonight, and he made them count. But other guys have done that too. Wes [Welker], Deion [Branch], [Danny Woodhead] Chad Johnson, Ocho, whoever, pick one. They've all had their chances and we feel like they can all be productive."
On Julian Edelman at slot corner:
"We were kind of running out of guys there. He stepped in made a nice hit there, made a nice tackle on [LaDainian] Tomlinson. You never know. As I said, it's a long season. We've got a lot of games left. Who knows who will be playing where? I know one thing, these guys are tough. Mentally, physically, they'll stand up to the challenge and they'll give their best and that counts for a lot. The game's not too big for them."
