Jimmy Johnson: ...4-4 and faced a moment
of truth.
Bill Belichick: And our biggest thought
was, we've got to play better.
Johnson: What turned it around?
Belichick: Well, just hard work and trying to
improve our fundamental techniques ... and just trying to get better at
doing the things that we could do. Our big moment of truth was just to play better football. Don't worry about all the other stuff, just play
better football.
Johnson [voice-over]: And that's exactly what they've done with a
late-season playoff surge.
Johnson: What's your big concerns about this team right now?
Belichick: About our team or about Tampa?
Johnson: About your team.
Belichick: Just our ability to play consistent
football. I think in every game we've shown that we can do things well, but
we just haven't done them well on a consistent basis for 60 minutes.
Footage of Tom Brady limping on the field in Buffalo during Week 14.
Johnson [voice-over]: You know what? I'll
take Tom Brady with one bum leg over most quarterbacks with two healthy
legs.
Belichick: Tom's had a real good year. He's an
outstanding player, but I think he continues to work on little things in his
game and it certainly comes across in his performance on the field. He makes
very few mistakes. The ones he makes really bother him, and he very seldom
makes them a second time.
Footage of the Patriots' locker room. Belichick: "I want to know how we feel
about having Tedy Bruschi back." Players: "Oh yeah!"
Johnson [voice-over]: Having suffered a
stroke in February, the mid-season return of Tedy Bruschi has simply been
remarkable.
Johnson: Tedy Bruschi, is he close to
what he was before?
Belichick: I think he's pretty much back. Jim,
you know when you miss that much time, you come back and it takes a little
time to get your timing and your reads. You know when you put 21 other guys
out there and you're a linebacker, you've got to read things instantly. I
think that he's gotten better every game. And he's a good football player.
Johnson: The entire country's got the image of you on the sideline with
your dad, Steve. He passed away in November. That had to be a difficult
time for you.
Belichick: Well, it was, and I miss him
greatly. On the other hand, very grateful for the 86 years he had doing what
he loved. He loved football, he loved his family, he loved the Naval
Academy. And he was a part of all those things right to the last day, so
we're very grateful for that.
Johnson: And he took the Gatorade with you.
Belichick: Yeah, he did. I tell you, Bruschi
almost put him away there at the end ... in Jacksonville.
Johnson [voice-over]: He coached, and the team won, the day after his dad
died. When it comes to football, Bill's always poised, as I discovered when
I crashed the taping of his TV show.
Johnson [walking into the studio during the
taping of Patriots All Access]: Now, Coach Belichick...
Belichick: Jimmy!
Johnson: I know you're looking at Joey
Galloway. I've been looking at this team all year long, you've got to put
some pressure on Chris Simms. Force some turnovers.
Belichick: Alright. But how are we going to
stop Galloway? You've stopped them all, Coach. How are we going to stop him?
Mike Lynch (host of Patriots All
Access, to Jimmy Johnson): What are you doing here? Did you just happen
to be in the area?
Johnson: I love the snow.
Footage of Bill Belichick on the sideline in Buffalo during Week 14, and
during the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Golf Tournament in February.
Johnson [voice-over]: Bill Belichick's a
winner in the snow and just about everything he does. No wonder so many
colleges want to sign him up.
Footage of Bill Belichick accepting an
honorary doctorate during Wesleyan University's 2005 Commencement. Belichick:
"I'll have to put this hood on my sweatshirt." [Laughter]
Johnson: How far can this team go?
Belichick: Well, that'll be the moment of
truth.
Johnson: Right.
Belichick: That'll be the moment of truth. If
we win enough games at the end of the year, then I guess somebody will tell
us to keep playing.
Johnson [back in the studio]: A coach can
only take a team just as far as the talent available. They've had so many
injuries this year, it's been difficult to overcome. But this team will win
the AFC East for the third year in a row.
Howie Long: Yeah, I think this might be
arguably his best job to date with all the players he's had injured. I think
these players on this team are a reflection of him.
Terry Bradshaw: Great coaches, you can
look at one thing they all do, every one of them: they never deviate from
what they think is the formula for winning. They never change, no matter
what happens.
Long: Good and bad.
Bradshaw: Exactly. |
FOX NFL Pregame Show