2004 quotes

the challenge of next year
"We treat every year the same. We'll start at the bottom of the heap with everyone else – same record – and all try to get to the same point. We approach every year the same."
super bowl winning coach press conference, february 7

after winning super bowl xxxix
"First of all, I can't say enough about our players. These guys have worked so hard, for over six months, putting up with me, beating all the challenges this season – a lot of good football teams, a lot of adversity – and they just step up. And no matter what happens, they just keep working, keep fighting, keep playing."
postgame, february 6

what the Lombardi Trophy means to him
"That trophy represents the team – I mean that word collectively, T-E-A-M – that is able to play the best season for the year that it's engraved. It doesn't mean anything about what happened the year before. It doesn't say what's the best team, which has the most talented players, which teams has the biggest payroll, smallest payroll. It stands for the team that played the best in that season. Put the number on there for that year. And the next year we start all over again – everybody is at the same point."
if he sees his name on the trophy some day
"No. No."
pregame press conference, february 4

being a head coach now compared to his first time
"One would be my record. I think the two changes that would be most notable would be delegating things to other people in the organization. I am a detail oriented person and sometimes that is not good, it's better to let somebody else worry about the things they can do and let me worry about the things that only a head coach can do. Off the field there are a lot of things that can affect your football team. It is not all about technique and play calling, although that is certainly a significant part of it. Sometimes there are things off the field that can affect how your team functions and I have tried to be a little more cognizant of those."
the kind of team he wants to have
"Professional, hard working, playing with physical and mental toughness, and able to stand up to a competitive challenge on a week-in and week-out basis."
media day, february 1

being defending champions
"We are not defending anything. This year we started the season with the same record as everybody else. We were trying to get to the same point as everybody else was and that's it. That flag will fly above our stadium as champions last year if had gone 0-16 this year. It would fly above Tampa. It would fly above the Ravens from 2000. It will fly above the Giants from '86 and '90. Whether we win all our games or lose them all, it doesn't make any difference, those flags are still flying. It's not about last year. This is about what we do this year. We are not defending anything. We are just trying to get to the same point that everybody else is trying to get to this year."
being compared to Vince Lombardi
"I don't really have much of a reaction to being compared to some of the other people in this league. It's flattering, but that's not why I'm doing it and that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to get this team prepared to play our best game of the year against the Eagles. We know that the Eagles are a great football team. They present a tremendous challenge. We know we're going to have to play our best game of the year. That's really where all my focus is. I can't reflect back to other points in time, and I really just don't think now is the time to do it anyway. There's just too much on my plate at this point."
press conference, january 31

if he's wiser because of all his Super Bowl experience
"Well again, I think it comes down to a week-to-week basis. There are a couple things that, logistically maybe, are a little bit smoother. But in the end it's going to come down to how we perform against Philadelphia – that's our opponent this week. It's not the environment, or the other things related to the game – that's just all part of it. Our opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles. How well we can play, coach, make adjustments, execute, and do the things that we need to do in that game, that's what will determine the outcome of the game. That's where our total focus is. Whatever has happened in the past, I'm not putting too much on that. We've never played the Eagles before in a situation like this. We'll just deal with them straight up – what they can do and what we think we can do against them."
press conference, january 30

if their defense is a challenge to prepare for
"I don't know, I haven't faced it. You'd have to talk to the people who play against it. I mean really, we just try to hold the other team's points down. That's the #1 thing."
about Paul Brown
"I think that Paul Brown was, in my mind, the greatest innovator as a coach that I know of. Not that I'm an expert, but I've been around it a little bit. What he did in terms of turning football from a game, or a sport, that I think if you looked at it now would look more like almost an intramural sport, to the level that he took it to as a coach, as truly a professional undertaking. Where every single thing was set up and geared toward one purpose, and that was the team playing at its maximum performance level and winning. I don't think anybody did any more for that than he did. I'm not saying that Zuppke and Rockne weren't committed to winning, I'm not saying that. But I'm saying the professional aspect of the program – the film study, the meetings, the gameplanning, the precision of the plays, all those things are things that he's, in addition to some of the specific ones along the way – the draw play, all those kind of things – I think he really took it to a different level. And again, a big part of that for me comes from talking to Jim Brown. When I was in Cleveland, Jim and I had many long conversations. I mean we talked for hours and hours and hours about football and about all the things that went into professional football and a professional football team. So many of the things that we do today and that I did when I was at Cleveland, were the same things that Paul Brown did. The same schedule, the same philosophy, the same approach to getting your team to perform to the highest level on the practice field, in meetings, in strategy, in game situations. The level that he was at, I think, was way ahead of the competition at that point. And it's very, very much the blueprint for the way the game is played today. Including the West Coast Offense."
press conference, january 28

preparing for the Eagles
"We've been spending the last three days here – really the fourth day starting today – really going through the Eagles, and there's obviously a lot of work to do. This is really a good football team. They've had tremendous consistency over the last four years in every phase of the game, starting with their overall management of the team. What they've done with a lot of their younger players, their drafting, bringing in a few key players, the coaching – they've had tremendous success in all three areas, with their offense, defense, and special teams. I have a lot of respect for the coaching staff – the coordinators and Andy of course. A lot of great football players on this team. They're very well balanced, they've got Pro Bowl players littered all over the roster, again in all three phases – linemen, receivers, skill guys, offense, defense, special teams – they're pretty well stocked at every spot. And they bring a great scheme with it, so it's a very difficult team to prepare for. Glad we have some extra time, I think we're going to need it. We're definitely going to need it. The games we've played them in preseason – which has been most every year since I've been here – were so early in preseason, and there's so little going on scheme-wise and player-wise, that I really feel like we're starting all over again. Even when we played them a couple of years ago in the regular season, that game was such a long time ago, and there's so many different elements now than there were then that I'm not sure there's really very much there. They've been very impressive to watch, and we got a lot of work to do. As I said, I'm glad we'll have some extra time to deal with it because it's going to take all that and maybe a little bit more. Definitely one of the toughest teams offensively to prepare for, and with Jimmy and what he does on the defensive side of the ball and the outstanding players that he's doing it with, is very challenging."
press conference, january 27

winning the AFC Championship
"I thought that there was really a lot of excitement from our team yesterday in the game. It was almost like we had never won one. It was such a thrill for the team to go in there, beat the #1 team in the AFC, won 15 straight, to win the game and to go to the Super Bowl, win the AFC Championship in Pittsburgh. I thought they were every bit as excited as they were last year when we beat Indianapolis, or we were two years ago when we beat Pittsburgh there. There was such a feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration. But at the same time knowing that this wasn't the last game. And as great as that feeling was, that it's going to be time to move on. But for a few moments out there on the field and in the locker room and on the plane ride home, you could enjoy it and feel good about what you'd accomplished. But Donovan McNabb and the Eagles' defense is right around the corner."
weei, january 24

if the team is ready for the Super Bowl
"Right now I don't think we're ready to do anything. We've got two weeks before the game, and we're going to need all that time to study the Eagles, to familiarize ourselves with them to be able to execute a gameplan against an outstanding football team. The Eagles have led the NFC from wire to wire, and we've got a lot of work ahead of us. Whether we are going to be prepared to do that will be determined by how much and how well we get things done in the next couple of weeks. Right now I don't think we'd be very good at all against the Eagles. But we have some time to prepare, and we'll try to use that time efficiently."
if he enjoys this
"Well, sure. I mean, this is what you play for all the weeks since whatever it was last year – February whatever the day after it was. You're back to building your team, getting ready for the off-season program, mini camps, so forth and so on. It's all geared toward one thing, and that's to win your conference championship and go to this game. So it's an honor to be in the game and represent the AFC. It's what we've worked all year for. We're thrilled to be there. We also understand how difficult it's going to be against the Eagles, how we're going to have to play, and how hard the preparation's going to have to be. So there's nothing to celebrate yet. We're going to be meeting our biggest challenge."
press conference, january 24

getting to the Super Bowl three of the last four years
"Well it's tough, but very gratifying. This team has worked hard. These players come to work every day ready to work. We demand a lot of them, and they lay it on the line. There's a lot of blood and sweat that's put out there, and I'm happy that they have this kind of achievement to show for it. I've never been around a harder working group of guys. And like I said, they've stood up to all the competition this year. We faced a lot of good teams, and a lot of teams that really played well against us, and they just stood there and battled them every week. And that's tough to do. But it's a special group of guys."
postgame, january 23

upon being presented the AFC Championship trophy
"I'm just so proud of these players. Our team has really played well in the big games, and today was a huge one against a real good football team in the Steelers. We have so much respect for that organization and the job Bill Cowher's done. We're just fortunate to win, and I'm very fortunate to have such an outstanding group of men on this team."
trophy presentation, january 23

about being in the AFC Championship
"This never gets old, no. I mean it's an honor to be here. It's a lot of hard work – you know, we had our 92nd practice today. We started the off-season program 10 months ago, and we started training camp roughly 6 months ago. So it's been a lot of hours, a lot of energy, a lot has been put into this season, and it's all really to get to this point right here. So it's satisfying, but we still obviously have a lot to do. But in order to be here, just to get to this game, has been a big accomplishment. So from that standpoint, no, it doesn't get old."
press conference, january 21

about Bill Cowher calling the Patriots "the model franchise," and if they're trying to build a dynasty
"Really all we're trying to do is win a game here. So no, I'm not really worried about that bigger picture. I mean, it's a nice compliment, and I appreciate Bill saying that. Although, I think that the reverse might be more true, based on what he's done in 13 years – 8 division crowns, and this year they've been the best team in football. So right now I think we're trying to catch them. How things will be looked at retrospectively at some point, I don't know. I hope favorably. But right now I'm really not too worried about that. My concern is going into Pittsburgh trying to play a more competitive game against them than we did the last time. But I think Bill really, you know even though he's not the oldest, or maybe doesn't have the most years, the fact that he's been at Pittsburgh for such a long time – he does have tenure in terms of being in one spot longer than anybody else in the National Football League – I think that he's kind of in a way the dean of coaches in the NFL. And deservedly so. He's had a great record there, a lot of success, and I think the way his teams play, and what the Steelers are about – their style of play, their toughness, what they bring to the game, and how they play the game – I think really all of us in the NFL admire. They have great style."
press conference, january 20

what this game will come down to
"I don't think this is going to be a big scheme game. This game is going to come down to fundamentals and execution – blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, leverage – a lot of the basic things. I think that's what this game is going to come down to, that's what it's about. I don't think anybody's going to fool anybody here. The team that can play fundamentally the best without making mistakes, play well situationally in the red area, third down, goal line, things like that, that will be the team that has the advantage. If you go in there and turn the ball over four times, get sacked four times, rush for five yards and they run for 220, it will look the same – 34-10, or whatever it was."
playing Pittsburgh versus playing Indianapolis
"If we play like we did against the Colts, we'll get killed. It'll be a lot worse than whatever it was out there the last time. Because Pittsburgh is not the Colts. And the Colts are not Pittsburgh. You're talking about two totally different teams. Things that we did against the Colts, if we tried to do them against the Steelers, it would be 55-0. Maybe worse that that. That might be if they kneel on the ball like they did at the end of the game last time. This is a totally different team, that has a totally different style of play, that you have to defend and attack totally differently that in the Indianapolis game. There's almost nothing that I would carry over or correlate from that game to this game. We couldn't make a bigger mistake than trying to do that in my opinion. You're talking about as different as you could possibly be."
press conference, january 19

remaining focused after a championship season
"I think it's a real credit to the players. It's been like that all year. They start off the season with meeting challenges from opening day. And every single week it's been another quality team, and a team that is out to make their mark on the season by taking out us. And the players have met those challenges week-in and week-out with solid weeks of preparation, and strong efforts on the field. Not that every play's been perfect, or every game's been great, but the preparation has been good, the effort has been good, and they've really done the most they could with those opportunities. I think it's a real credit to them, because it's been week-in and week-out. It's been a long, tough, hard, grueling season. And they've stood up to it every week."
if someone else's comments can be used as motivation
"You've got to go out there and execute the plays, whatever they are. And whether somebody said something good about you, or something bad about you, in the end it comes down to how you perform on the field. So, can it get you going a little bit, or can it motivate you a little bit? Maybe. But I think the big thing is to just be able to focus on what your job is, what your assignment is, and then get it done under the pressure of the game when you've got to do it. That's what it really comes down to. And if you count on that – 'Well, you know, if somebody says something good I'm going to play good.' – then if they don't, then what? I think a better approach to take is to just get yourself ready to go out there and do your best every week."
weei, january 17

being thought of as "one of the elite coaches of all time"
"It's a nice compliment. I don't think it really means much this week. I don't think anybody cares about that. I am sure Pittsburgh doesn't care. What we have to do this week is, we have to get back to work and have a good week of preparation and get as mentally and physically prepared as we possibly can to play the best team in the AFC in their place. If we don't, I'm sure none of those tings will be said next week."
press conference, january 17

winning the AFC Divisional Playoff
"As I told the team, I'm really proud of them, I thought they gave a tremendous effort out there today. We came in at half-time and everybody realized we needed our best 30 minutes of football of the season in that second half. I really thought we got it. I thought the players, everybody, did an outstanding job.... We know we're going to play the best team in the league, the team with the best record. They handled us the first time. We know it's going to be tough going into Pittsburgh, so we're going to have to put this one behind us pretty quickly and move on. But we're glad to have the opportunity. It was a good win for this football team."
postgame, january 16

being underdogs
"I don't really care about any of that. I mean, it doesn't make any difference to me what somebody else thinks about the game. I think what's important is what we think about it, and what we're able to go out there and do about it. Who is favored, who isn't, who's this, who's that – I mean I don't think anybody cares about that when the ball's kicked off at 4:30 on Sunday afternoon. It'll come down to which team plays better for the next 60 minutes. That's really the only thing that matters. I don't think it really matters what anybody else's predictions are, or what their expectations are. I think that our team's expectations will be to go out there and play our best game of the year. And I hope that's where we're going to be."
press conference, january 13

an execution game
"I think you can watch them play and they are in the same place most of the time. We are in the same place most of the time. It comes down to how well you can do what you do and how well they can do what they do. We didn't do it very well. We didn't do it very well at all. Now, some of that was poor coaching as well, as I said the other day. I mean, that was definitely part of the problem. We need to do a better job. I need to do a better job from our standpoint in trying to defend them. It wasn't very good."
press conference, january 12

an offensive mentality
"In an offensive mentality, you can't worry too much about the defense. You really can't. There's nothing you can do about that. You just have to worry about controlling the things that you can control. The big thing in this game is turnovers. That is one of the reasons why the Colts are so successful, is the number of turnovers they get. Certainly third downs and red area are going to be important, because if you do get down there, you have to be able to capitalize and convert those into touchdowns rather than field goal attempts. That would be important if you get down there. But, offensively, I don't think you can go into a game, 'We're going to do a lot of keeping the ball in bounds, keep the clock running,' and hope that somewhere you get some points that just parachute down out of the sky from somewhere. I just don't know where they are coming from."
press conference, january 11

being 5-1 against Peyton Manning
"I don't know if any of those games really mean much. We read a lot about the history of last weekend: the Jets, 20 years and they hadn't won a [playoff] game on the road, and they win one; and no 8-8 team's ever won a playoff game, and Seattle won one. So whether we beat them in 2000 or not, I don't think that really has much to do with it. The game we played in the opener came down to the last kick – ball missed by a foot, or whatever it was, two feet. That's how close the two teams are. So we're going to have to be at our best on Sunday. I'm sure that the Colts will be at their best. But that's what it's going to take for us to win – we're going to have to play our best game of the year. We all understand that, and right now we all just have to work toward that goal."
weei, january 10

about teams handling things differently
"I think that every coach does what he thinks is best for his football team. And whatever any other coach did, I respect that 100% because I know that that coach is doing what he thinks is best for the team. And where one team is, and where another team is, can often be two different things. In our case, our players are used to being in a routine, they're used to getting ready to play, and playing. They want to play. I don't think that they would have really accepted any other approach. To them it's football season. It's a game, and they want to play in it. And they want to be prepared when they walk out on the field to play in it. That's the way we approached it. But we just do what we thought was right for us. I'm not saying that another team should have done it differently, or could have done it differently. We just try to make the decisions in the best interest of our organization. I don't want to tell anybody else how to do their job."
joe benigno radio show, january 5

what he will tell the players before the weekend bye
"What we have to understand is that we have an opportunity. It's not anything you could ever count on down the road. You can't ever count or depend on this happening again. Right now it's an opportunity that we need to do everything we can to take advantage of, and be ready to maximize our performance next Sunday. Everything we got, we need to put into this one. Don't think that it'll ever be there again because there's no guarantee that it will. So we should take advantage of the opportunity that we have right now. And that's it."
this is what you play for
"This is it. You work hard to get to this position, and we're fortunate that we have an opportunity to keep playing at this time of year. Every team wants to be in this spot, and not all of them are. And we've been on the sidelines before. So sure, it's a great opportunity. Now is the time when you want to put everything else behind you, and put everything you have into the next game, the next opponent."
press conference, january 5

how they played their last regular season game
"Look, we were just trying to play a game. We got our players – they're professional football players. They've worked hard all year. I think that's the only way they know how to play a game, is to get ready to play and go out there and play it. I couldn't get into, at all, the 'taking anybody out' approach. There are a couple people that we wanted to play so they'd get some playing experience in case they need to play later on during the season, they'd have just that much more readiness. We got into a situation like that last year with Russ Hochstein at guard. He ended up playing the whole postseason for us. Those were some big snaps. So anybody that we could get some work that we thought could help us, and that might have a chance to play down the road, we tried to do that. But that was a lot more about putting people in than it was taking people out. I think it's a real credit to our players. That's really the only way they know how to play the game, and that's how they wanted to approach it. I think that's what went into last week's game."
nfl total access, january 3

preparing for a post-season game
"For all of us, for every player and every coach, we all know it's single elimination. You just can't afford any mistakes. You've got to be at your very best. You know one mistake could cost you the opportunity to move further into the playoffs. It could come down to one play. We've seen plenty of playoff games that are decided on one or two key plays in the game. I think you want to make sure that you don't leave any stone unturned, you're prepared as well as you possibly can be, and then that you're rested and fresh, so the decisions and the execution at gametime is the very best it can possibly be. And, again, you know you're going up against good people. They're going to make their plays, too. You've just got to try to make a few more of them."
this year's offense
"On the offensive side of the ball we were within a few points of setting a franchise record for scoring [437, which is four less than the team record of 441 set in 1980]. Offensively we scored quite a few points – some of those came from defensive turnovers, and runbacks, and that kind of thing – but it was a pretty productive year on the offensive side of the ball in terms of points. When you can score, if you can play any kind of defense at all, and play solid in the kicking game, then you've got a pretty good chance. So am I surprised? We never really looked at it as a 16-game schedule. We look at it one week at a time. And I felt like every week that we went out there we had a shot. For the most part we played pretty consistently this year."
weei, january 3

comparison between last year's 14-2 team with this year's
"I think they're both something you can be proud of. I don't know how you can rate one 14-2 over another one, if you just stop right there. But I think they're both things you can be proud of. Looking at where we are right now, you know, we're in a new season. We're going to be one of the last 8 teams. And it's, again, more what we can do from here on out. We put ourselves in position along with 7 other teams who are going to eventually be in the same position. We don't know which ones they are quite yet, but there are going to be 8 teams that are going to be in the same spot in a couple of weeks. And we're one of them. And at that point, big deal, so are 7 other teams. So it'll be what we can do with it from there. That's really what the challenge is."
any regrets about not coaching college
"Well, I was headed there. I was headed there. It just didn't work out.... When I got out of college I was going to NC State. Lou Holtz was the head coach there. I was going to be the graduate assistant with him. He'd given me the position. We were all set to go and that was in the fall of '75 because he had lost three other coaches, three other graduate assistants. In the Title IX and in the reorganization of their school's, NC State's, athletic program, some of those positions were cut out and put into women's sports and, I don't know, however the thing was redone. So, the position that originally I accepted didn't become available. So, that's when I went to the Colts, took that big salary and started to get some experience."
press conference, january 3

ending the season 14-2
"I thought today, after we got by that first quarter with the turnovers, after the penalty on the punt return and all that, I thought that we settled down and played a pretty solid game. I congratulated the team on another 14-win season. I thought for what they've been through this year, you've really got to give a lot of credit to the players for their diligence, their perseverance, and for battling all the way through. It's been a long season, and they've been tough, and they played tough. I thought they played well enough again today, so we're happy with that. It's on to the playoffs. I don't know who we play next. It doesn't make any difference. Whoever it is will be pretty good, and we know that. That's what we'll start pointing for now."
postgame, january 2

what it is he's selling
"The importance of practicing and playing now is to continue to get better. To build our performance to the highest level we can get it to, because that's where it's going to need to be. That's as clear as I think we can make it. That's what it is, it's an opportunity for us to do that. I don't think we want to not take advantage of the opportunities that we have – whether it be on the practice field, whether it be on the game field, in the classroom, wherever it is. We only get so many of them. We're trying to get to a point. If we can make progress to get to that point, then it's worthwhile to put the effort into it and try to get there. Whether everybody's buying what I'm selling, I don't know. But that's what we're selling. And that's what it is. I mean, you can slice it up however you want to, but that's what it is."
press conference, december 30

heading into January
"I want our team to be playing its best football as we head into January. It's a critical time in the year and it's a time that we need to be playing well and not going in the other direction. That's what we're going to be working on this week."
press conference, december 29

the bye week
"In our case, I think we just want to concentrate on the San Francisco game. It's a team we don't really know very much about, and don't have much familiarity with. And then we'll worry about the bye next week when we get to it. But I think in the meantime we've just got to take stock of where we're at, try to improve, and still work on the things that we need a little more tightening up on. And then we'll deal with the week off when we get it. But you know, we haven't had any time off, really, since the bye week in September. We've got a lot of guys that are playing hurt, playing with a lot of bumps and bruises, and I'm sure that they'll be able to take advantage of a few days where they don't have to go in there and bang heads, because they've been doing it for a long time."
weei, december 27

the hype
"I don't think that our players have bought into the hype. And I give them a lot of credit for that. I don't think they've bought into that. I think they've rolled up their sleeves, they've come to work, they've gotten their hands and elbows and knees dirty, and gone about and approached the season and approached every game in a very businesslike, professional, tough-minded way. And it hasn't always worked out perfect, or we haven't always played great. But I think that they've had a hard-nosed approach to each game, and to the season, and that's the way I would like for it to be. I think that's what's best for us, and that's the way it should be."
press conference, december 27

beating the Jets week 16
"I'm really proud of our football team. Thought those guys did a great job this week of bouncing back after a short week and playing a couple games on the road – down in Miami, then coming down here to New York, which is always a tough place for us to play. But I thought those guys really stepped up. They showed a lot of toughness today, and played a pretty solid football game. We didn't have a lot of penalties, didn't turn the ball over, played okay on defense. It was a good, solid football game out of all three phases of our team.... It's nice to come out here with a win, tough division game on the road always is. We're happy to win it. Moving on to San Francisco."
postgame, december 26

evaluating your game
"When you come in on Monday, I think you've got to take the final score out of it and say okay look, here's what happened. These are the things that were good, this is why they were good, this is why we want to keep doing them this way. These are the things we had problems with, here's how we've got to do them better. I don't care if we won or lost – forget about that. These situations are going to impact whether we win or lose the next time, and how do we improve them? How do you do your techniques better? How do we communicate better? How do we execute the plays better? How do we handle those things better the next time they come up? And that's really what progressing as a team is. It's coaching, it's playing, and it's taking situations and building on them."
press conference, december 24

about the loss in Miami
"I think the biggest thing we need to do is we've just got to play and coach better. We've just got to do a better job of what we're doing. And I don't think what we're doing is that bad, but the way we're doing it, at times, is something that we've got to improve on. And we've done it well plenty of times this year – a lot more than we haven't done it well. But this is the time of year where you've got to be on top of your game – in all three phases. And we weren't last night for sixty minutes. We were at times, but not for sixty minutes.... There were a lot of plays in that game that could have been better executed by a lot of different people. And that includes everybody. And that's what everybody's got to do. I mean collectively, as a team, we've just got to operate better, and execute better. It's not about one guy costing us the game, or two guys costing us the game. I mean nothing could be further from the reality of the situation. It's that as a team, as a team collectively – 45 guys, and the coaching staff – we just didn't execute things the way that we need to execute them. And that's everybody. It's not just one mistake, one interception, or one penalty. It's way more than that."
weei, december 21

after losing the game in Miami
"We blew an 11-point lead with four minutes to go in the game. You have to give Miami credit. They made the plays at the end of the game that they needed to make, and we didn't make them, which is why they came out on top. We didn't do a good job in any of the three phases of the game, and we need to play better. That's all there is to it. We need to play better.... All I know is we have the Jets coming up this week on the road. We have to go back and get ready for the Jets. That's all I'm worried about."
postgame, december 20

about Charlie Weis
"I'm happy for Charlie. Charlie's had an outstanding career. He's accomplished a lot in his career, and he certainly deserves the opportunity. I think he's a real good football coach. He's had a lot to do with our success here, and I'm glad that he's been recognized and rewarded. I'm sure we'll have other coaches on our staff be mentioned prominently in jobs as well, as the season goes forward. But the fact that this actually came down does change our setup a little bit. I've spoken with Charlie about it. I've also talked to a number of other people on our staff internally about how we're going to work this out going forward, and I think we've got a good plan for it. I think we'll work around a couple little scheduling things and, I don't want to get into a lot of details but, that's what we'll do. Just take it as it comes."
if Charlie will continue to call the plays from the sideline
"Yes."
weei, december 13

winning the division
"Every year's its own year, and everybody starts at the same place. Everybody's got to climb the same mountain. It's really more that type of message. We can't control what people outside say or think or talk about. We just try to control what we do and what our attitude and approach is. From day one you're battling 32 teams for those playoff spots. Fortunately, we have one of them. But now we have to kind of reorder some things, and understand, again, there's a lot of football left to play, and there's a lot of things we need to do better, a lot of things we need to improve in. And we're going to keep pushing in that direction."
press conference, december 13

beating Cincinnati week 14
"Like we expected, we got a very explosive game out of Cincinnati. It was one of those back-and-forth, up-and-down the field types of games. Fortunately we were able to get some turnovers and make the most of our scoring opportunities, and that was probably, you know, ultimately the difference in the game. I certainly didn't think it was our best game. We had a lot of things that didn't go very well that we need to do a better job of."
postgame, december 12

the role of the quarterback
"The important number for me is the score at the end of the game. And I think that's the quarterback's job – to manage the team. [Q: "You have said accuracy is important."] Yeah, accuracy, turnovers, production, third down conversion – I mean all that – red area, it's all important. And that's all part of his production, and that goes into winning. But you know to just talk about stats, we can talk about quarterback stats all day. And then you talk about wins, and sometimes they're correlated, but a lot of times they aren't. You can pick up the paper on Monday and see some of the highest producing quarterbacks, some of the highest numbers, the most yards and touchdowns, and all that, and it doesn't always correlate with wins. What we try to emphasize is winning. And it's not stat related, although a quarterback's production as it relates to winning."
press conference, december 8

the job of the defense
"I remember when I was a kid and my father was coaching at Navy. He was a defensive coach – coached the secondary, coached the linebackers at different points during his career there. I remember one game where I said that to him after the game – you know, where I really thought the other team kind of ran it up on you. And he said, as a defensive coach would say, 'You know what, it's our job to keep the score down, not theirs. We're on defense. That's what our job is, to keep them from scoring.' Having been a defensive coordinator, those words have rung in my head many times. When they're moving the ball, when they're scoring points, it's your job to stop them. Not their job to ... [Host: Stop themselves.] Right, pull back."
weei, december 6

beating the Browns in Cleveland week 13
"That was an unusual game. We haven't been in one of those in a while. I thought that Bethel's kickoff return there to start the game, and the entire blocking on the kickoff return unit, was really a big play in the game. It set a good tempo for us. We got a couple turnovers on defense. The play at the beginning of the third quarter was a play that really gave us a good cushion after Cleveland scored there at the end of the half. I thought we had a solid effort, made a couple big plays, and those plays that started off their respective halves were good momentum setters for us that gave us a little cushion there, especially in the third quarter."
postgame, december 5

the competitiveness of the NFL
"I don't think any week comes easy. I think every week is hard. I think winning in this league is tough. I think you have to prepare hard and play well. If you don't, you can pick up the paper every Monday and see the scores and there are going to be some games that you thought were going to go one way and end up going another. That is the way it is in that league. Every team has good players. Every team has good coaches. It is very competitive. If you play well, you have a chance to win. If you don't play well, you are not going to be happy with the result."
press conference, december 3

the other coaches he's worked with
"I feel very fortunate to have worked with a lot of the coaches that I've had the opportunity and privilege to be with. I've learned an awful lot from them. As a group they are very professional, very dedicated, worked hard, have a good working knowledge, and good teaching fundamentals. It's been a privilege for me to work with really everybody that I've had on my staff, both at Cleveland and New England, and also the assistant coaches that I worked with and was on the staff with in my other stops through the NFL. I feel extremely fortunate when I look back at that list of names – I did move around quite a bit in my first four years in the league – the number of different people that I touched, and touched me, and impacted my knowledge and my philosophy on coaching. All the different styles and teaching methods and coaching philosophies that I was able to touch early in my career I think did a lot for me. It opened my eyes a lot. It gave me a lot of experience, and gave me the ability to see that there are a lot of different and successful ways of doing things. I think I took a lot out of all of those relationships. There were, I think it was over a hundred coaches in the first few years that I was in the league, that I worked with and had contact with. That's a lot of people in a short amount of time. So yeah, I've been very fortunate that way."
conference call with cleveland, december 1

Cleveland's 58-48 loss to Cincinnati
"I haven't seen the game yet. But they've been playing very well on defense. They came in here last year and held us to nine points. They're tough on defense. They pursue well, they're a very aggressive team, they hustle the ball. They're fundamentally pretty good – I don't really know how Cincinnati got that many points. But I've seen their recent games, and they did a good job against the Jets. That's a 10-7 game. They played well on defense. I went back and watched our game last year, and we had a lot of problems with them. We couldn't score. We kicked three field goals. But I mean it was tough. And offensively they go out there and put up 48 points against the Bengals. It's 48 more than we scored in Cincinnati...."
weei, november 29

beating Baltimore week 12
"The Ravens gave us a lot of pressure there in the first half. They were bringing some secondary blitzers off the edge. We had a little problem picking that up. I thought that Charlie [Weis] and Dante [Scarnecchia] did a really nice job at halftime and made some adjustments. That was a lot less of a problem in the second half than it was in the first half. That is a credit to the players to be able to go out there and play through those conditions and still execute well or reasonably well against a good team like Baltimore. They deserve the credit."
postgame, november 28

winning in Kansas City
"We had our hands full, but the players did a nice job stepping up and making some big plays at key times. We were able to finish off the game and hold them there at the end with some good coverage down the field. Willie [McGinest] finally got to Green and made the final play. It's a good win. We've got a short week and a big challenge this week with Baltimore coming in. They're one of the hottest teams in the league, one of the most physical teams in the league. We won't have much time to get ready for them."
postgame, november 22

if he wants "as little information out there as possible"
"No. I have never said that and I don't believe that. We have great fans out there that follow the Patriots that live and die with us. We want them to have information about the team. We want them to follow the team. We want them to support the team. We want to provide information for them and we want the information to be accurate. That is what we do. If it is something that is accurate that we can give you, then we will tell you. If it is something that could go eight different ways or it is not clear-cut, then to put out a bunch of speculation of, 'All of these different things could happen, we don't really know. It isn't determined at this point. Why don't we have everybody do a poll on it and see what they think?' I don't really see where that is all that beneficial."
press conference, november 19

team chemistry
"Once everybody gets in the locker room and your team starts to formulate, then you see how the interaction goes. But as the head coach, or as a personnel director, you can't sit there and legislate that – you know, Fred you're going to like Pete, and Pete you're going to like Glen, and Glen you and Steve are going to be best friends. You just can't say 'Well that's the way it's going to be.' If that happens, then it happens. And it happens naturally, and to a certain degree spontaneously. So all you can do is put it together, and then see how it works out. When that chemistry bonds together, then you really have something that is something that the players really develop themselves. It isn't something that you could orchestrate as a coach and say we're going to have great team chemistry. I mean that doesn't mean anything. ... I think that you try to bring players together who have a common philosophy, have a common work ethic, have common team goals. Then there is a lot better chance that those things are going to come together. Rather than you put ten selfish people together and say okay, they're all of a sudden going to come together and have this tight bond, or team unity. Based on what?"
weei, november 15

beating Buffalo week 10
"I thought it was nice to win a division game. It was a really good win for our football team. I thought it was, overall, a pretty solid effort. There is certainly too many guys to single everybody out, but we had a pretty solid effort all the way around. We were able to run the ball. Obviously, Corey [Dillon] and Kevin [Faulk] and all the backs did a good job. The offensive line did a good job. And other than the one big punt return, I thought overall our kickoff coverage was competitive. It wasn't great, but it was competitive. Unfortunately, we got the turnovers today and did a pretty good job at taking care of the ball other than one miscue there, but came out on the plus side of that. So it was a solid effort. I thought the players played hard. I thought they played physical and they deserved to win."
postgame, november 14

about being 7-1
"I think, being 7-1, we are in a decent position at this point in the season. That is not any absolute thing. Minnesota was 6-0 last year and they weren't even in the playoffs, so it doesn't really mean anything. How you win them, whether you win them 40-0 or whether you win them 13-12, you take a win however you can get it in this league and feel good about it. So, what is really on my mind is where the team is at now and how to move forward. Seven wins aren't enough, just like 6-0 wasn't enough for Minnesota. We have a division game, we have three more division games, but we have a division game at home this week and those games are always critical to the standings, so we are just really focusing on that. I really haven't given too much perspective to the halfway grade, so to speak."
press conference, november 12

the ability to play two different positions
"To draft a guy that is going to play wide receiver and corner for us, you are lucky if you can get him to play either one. I am not saying that – somebody can't play more than one position – as a negative. For some players...they are good at one thing and they get zoned into that one thing and then when you throw in a whole other set of issues or situations, whether it is on the opposite side of the ball, so their footwork is reversed or instead of seeing the play 'this' way, they see the play 'this' way. That affects them. I am not saying that negatively. I just think you have to recognize that not everybody can do that. That is just the way it is. It is not a positive or a negative. It is just reality."
press conference, november 11

what you do to win
"What's important is the final score. So if you have to go out there and throw the ball 40 times, and you win, great. Run it 40 times and win, that's great. You do what you have to do to win. I don't think rushing...you know, the final score is what's up on the board. There's no 'We rushed 31 times, they rushed 27 times, we won.' That's not up there. You've got to put the points on the board, however you do it. It's nice to be balanced, but it's more important to win."
press conference, november 10

every week is different
"I think every week is important and every week is its own game within a season, obviously, and how everything unfolds for that particular week...we only have 16 of them, so every one is critical. I hope that we will be able to take this week and build on it and that is certainly what our objective is and that is what we are going to emphasize. But, the only way that will get done is with a hard week of preparation, a hard week of film study and a great understanding of what we need to do against Buffalo and a resolve to go out there and do it on Sunday against a team that is playing well and that is playing just a little bit different than when we played them just a couple of weeks ago. They have certainly found their footing and they are a better team. It will be a big challenge for us, but that is where it all has to be. To me, that is where the arrow has got to be pointed."
press conference, november 8

winning in St. Louis week 9
"It was probably as complete a team victory as much as I've ever been around. We got big plays from all three groups. We got big plays from so many different people out there. Everybody just went out there and fought till the end, played with some pain, played through some injuries. We moved guys around from different positions, but they just hung in there and kept fighting."
postgame, november 7

the reluctance to talk about the winning streak
"We talk about the game and the team that we're going to play. We're not big on talking about what happened last year or two years ago or eight years ago, I don't think it's too relevant. The only thing that's relevant right now is how the Rams and the Patriots utilize the next five days to prepare for the game on Sunday afternoon, and then how the two teams are able to execute in that one opportunity during the week that they compete against each other. That's what's really relevant to me."
conference call, november 3

first loss in over a year
"The Steelers were the better team. They outcoached us, they outplayed us. They were the better team and they certainly deserved to win. They won convincingly. We weren't very good in any phase of the game. We didn't do much of anything right. Anytime you give up 34 points on the road, it's going to be hard to win. That's what happened out there today. We just didn't do anything the way we're capable of doing it, and Pittsburgh played an outstanding game. That's about the result you would expect when those two forces collide."
postgame, october 31

playing by the rules
"I tell the team this every week: it doesn't matter what I think, it doesn't matter what you think. The only thing that matters is what the guys in the black and white shirts think. And whatever they think, that's how we need to tailor our game. And if it's illegal, then we can't do it. And if it's okay, then we can do it until the point that it's not legal. And it doesn't matter whether I think it's a penalty or don't think it's a penalty. Doesn't make any difference whether you think it's a good call or not, or whether you even like the rule – I mean I don't even care. Just know what it is, and play according to it. That's really what it is. So whatever the cut rules are, whatever the contact rules are, whatever the substitution rules are – whatever they are – it's our job to understand them and play within them."
press conference, october 29

the AFC East
"What that game really came down to was, you have two 5–0 teams, and at the end of yesterday, one of them was going to be a game and a half out of first place – you know, given it's a division game – so the loser is a game and a half out of first place. Now in addition to that, the loser of yesterday's game has the second best record in the AFC. So that's what was at stake, and that's the point we tried to make to the team going into that game, was 'I don't care what we did, it doesn't matter. After this game Sunday against the Jets, somebody's going to be a game and a half out of first place – one of these two teams.' And that's really what our focus was. And that's how important that game was. And there's still a lot of football left to be played. Don't get me wrong – nobody's clinched anything by a long shot. But one team's ahead of another, and that's what that game determined."
weei, october 25

beating the Jets week 7
"As usual, that was a real dogfight with the Jets. I am really proud of the football team. I thought our guys stepped up. They played tough. They made a lot of big plays that they had to make in the fourth quarter in all three phases of the game. In the end, really, the difference in the game was the two-minute drive at the half. The offensive group was able to answer the Jets touchdown with a touchdown at the half. That ultimately ended up being the difference."
postgame, october 24

doing your job
"I think when you look at a team – the way we look at it, the Patriots – is everybody has one job to do. I have a job to do, Charlie has a job to do, Romeo has a job to do, Pepper has a job to do, Corey Dillon's got a job to do. And none of us can do each others' jobs. You wouldn't want me doing some of the things that other people are doing, and other people are a lot better at doing the things that they do. So that's what a team is – everybody goes out and does their job. I don't think anybody deserves any credit for anything other than their individual role in the team. It's the team that's been successful, when it's been successful, and whether it's successful or not in the future will depend upon how well everybody handles their individual responsibilities. That's really what I try to focus on, and what I think our team tries to focus on – is just taking care of your job, and having confidence in everybody else that they'll get theirs done."
this week in football, october 24

how they see their opponents
"I think that the big thing for us is we respect all of our opponents. We respect everybody we play – the players, the coaches, the organization – and we know that everybody we play is perfectly capable of beating us if we don't play well. There's enough talent in this league, in every single franchise, to put a win up on the board any week, against anybody. That's the way we try to approach it. And I would be disappointed if we didn't approach it that way. That's really all we can control. However anybody else wants to do it, that's up to them, and there's nothing we can really do about that. All we can do is get ourselves ready to go, and try to get our best performance out there. But I think if you don't expect another team to play their best, or another player to play their best, then when they do, you get surprised, and inevitably it ends up being a bad situation. I think it's a lot easier to prepare for the other team's absolute best performance – their best execution, their best plays, their best performance – and try to get your level up to that, or try to get it a little bit above it, and then go from there. So that's kind of our philosophy on it."
weei, october 18

beating Seattle week 6
"It was a good win for our football team today. I really told the players that I was really proud of the way they played. I thought they played a really physical game. I thought we did a good job running the ball and really played hard. They did better in the kicking game and converted a lot of opportunities. Overall, I think it was just a good, solid football game. We had some mistakes and we screwed some things up."
postgame, october 17

this being a week-to-week business
"I think I have a full understanding of how this is a week-to-week business. It doesn't really matter what you have done in the past. It won't have much effect on, or probably won't have any effect on this week's game. What we do this week won't have much effect on next week's game. That is the way it is. In 30 years of NFL coaching, I have picked that up. If you want to call it fleeting or week-to-week or last week doesn't mean anything or whatever perspective you want to put it into, I will buy into that 100 percent. I don't see it any other way."
press conference, october 15

strengths & weaknesses
"I say the same thing to myself that I say to the team, you have to look at where you are. You have to look at your strengths and weaknesses, and if you can't acknowledge that you are weak in an area or you are not productive in an area, then I don't know how you are going to improve it."
press conference, october 14

beating Miami week 5
"I told our team after the game that I was really proud of what they did. As usual, it was an extraordinarily tough game with Miami. And we were stopped twice inside of ten there in the fourth quarter. That is kind of typical with the way it goes with them. We kind of did what we had to do. Miami is a good team. They played very hard. You have to give Dave Wannstedt and his players a lot of credit. They gave us all they wanted. It is good to come out on top."
postgame, october 10

tying the consecutive wins record
"We don't care anything about a record. We're just trying to win a game, trying to win another division game. That's what's coming up. Division games are important. We got one, but we have Miami coming up and we know they'll be tough. We always have tough games with them. So that's all we need to worry about. Just look at any other game we've had with Miami. They're all tight."
postgame, october 3