Here's the full transcript of Greenberg's question:
AG: "Bill, slightly unrelated topic - the way that the QBs are protected by the rules these days. Obviously, it benefits you sometimes and it's against you others. What's your general feeling about the way the rule is interpreted or is done out versus years ago. Do you think that it's a rule change that has gone too far or not?"
BB: "Well, my background is as a defensive coach so you can probably figure out the answer to that question. The bottom line is that nobody cares what I think. It doesn't really make a difference."
AG: "I do."
[Laughter]
AG: "You may not care but I do!"
[Laughter]
BB: "Alan, you got me on that one. I'm telling you. You got me on that one."
[Inaudible talking and laughing]
BB: "Again, that's one of those things that I just don't have any control over. You want replay, you don't want replay. Pass interference at the point, 15 yard penalty. You know, I'd say go talk to the geniuses who make the rules. You know, really, because they're the ones who make it. They got all the answers. 'That's why we do it this way, here's why we don't do it that way.' They want to sit in there and talk about all the money the QBs are making and 'we don't want to see those guys on injured reserve,' and you know. I mean, they got all the answers. They could really explain it a lot better than I can. Whatever the rules are, we need to understand them and play within those boundaries. That's all I know."
AG: "I was just asking you to speak to it in a theoretical sense from somebody who's been in the league for 30 years about -"
BB: "Look, no one wants to see a QB get hurt. And a QB's in a position a lot of times where he can't defend himself. You know, he's looking at a receiver, he's stepping up, he's trying to throw the ball, and he really can't protect himself from somebody who's trying to, you know, knock his head off. And that's different than a RB, and for the most part that's different than even a receiver. Although, every once in awhile we see a receiver trying to catch a poorly-thrown ball, usually, and they get laid out by a defensive player. But that's more a result of where the ball's thrown. So, you know, defensively, you're protected on crack-back blocks and things like that. I think the concept of protecting a guy, whether it be a returner who can fair catch, or giving a QB protection in the pocket. And once he get out of the pocket, he gets less protection, although he gets plenty out there too. The slide and all that. I mean, There's a million rules that have been put in there basically to protect him when he can't protect himself when he's trying to look downfield and deliver the ball. And we all know that's an exciting part of the game, the passing game, in the NFL, and that's one of the things that makes this the greatest game and the best part of it, the skill of those players and the guys they throw to. So, I think we're all on board with that. As it goes to each specific rule and point, the one-step rule, the slide, below the knees, above the shoulders, and helmet-to-helmet and all that. There's a point to everything. How much is too much, what's not enough. Hey, I'll tell you right now. When they meet again this year, they'll be another one in this year, too. They'll talk about it, I don't know whether they'll pass it or not, but they'll be some other rule. So, like I said, I think you should talk to the guys who make the rules. There's plenty of people on that committee and they love to talk about the rules and how great they are. Honestly, the Charlie Casserly's of the world that have all the answers to everything. Talk to them. Really, they spend a lot of time studying them, a lot more than I have, and I'm sure they have all the answers."
AG: "But surely the pendulum can't swing any further than it already has-"
BB: "Why not?"
AG: "Because the players don't even know what they can and can't do."
BB: "They don't make the rules either. The pendulum can swing as far as the people who make and pass the rules. And I'm not just saying it's the competition committee. The league votes on all that too. There must be enough of a sentiment within the league to pass those rules. I mean, 32 teams vote on them and I don't know how many they need to vote for them. Whatever the number is, you got to have enough people who want the rule for it to be a rule. It's not like it's - I don't know. Look, I'm not on any of those NFL committees, I don't want to be on any of them. I just want to coach the Patriots and see if we can beat Jacksonville. That's really all I'm interested in.
AG: "Did they ask you to be on a committee?"
BB: "Look, all I want to do is coach the Patriots and try to win a football game here. I'm not trying to conquer the world. I just want to win one game."
PR: "2 final questions."
[Pause]
PR: "Alright, 1 final question."
[Laughter]
[Pause]
BB, jokingly: "Nice job, Alan."
-end-
