Bill Belichick joined The Big Show with hosts Pete Sheppard, Fred
Smerlas and Steve DeOssie during Patriots Monday on Boston's Sports Radio WEEI 850 AM.
PS: Good afternoon, Bill.
BB: Pete, how are you doing?
PS: Nice to see you again. Our first official Patriots Monday down here. Summer flying by already. Well, 41-0 win
over Washington on Saturday night. It looked pretty easy – a lot of positives, I would think, to take out
of a game like that. The third preseason game considered to be the most
important one?
BB: Well, there were. There were some good things in the game. There are
still a lot of things we need to work on, but I thought we did some things
well; we improved in some areas. We still have to work on getting the ball
in the end zone, the quarterback scrambles, punt returns – there are still a lot of things that could be
cleaned up. But I thought we made some progress. The players worked hard and
we had a good week of practice. That's two weeks in a row that we strung
together good, steady practices.
FS: Some of the things that jumped out: the tight end use. You have a
couple tight ends. You have a phenomenal guy that can run and he can also
[inaudible] go downfield. Bad matchup for a cornerback with his size and
strength and the speed of linebackers. How important is he going to be in
this picture?
BB: I think Ben [Watson] is a very talented player. He's
improved tremendously in three years. He works hard, he's a smart kid, and
he's really committed to getting better. He's improved in a lot of little
things over the course of minicamp and training camp this year. I think Pete Mangurian has done an excellent job with the tight ends – Ben, Dan [Graham], and the young kids
as well. Ben's become a strong player in the league and certainly a good
contributor for us as one of our skill people.
FS: How are the young kids coming along?
BB: They're
coming along pretty well. We've thrown a lot at them and they've got a lot
of things to do – playing tight end, playing in the backfield, splitting
out, special teams. There's a lot of stuff going on there. They're pretty
smart, they work hard, and they've gotten better. They still have a long way
to go, but they're making improvement, and that's positive. And they've made
some plays for us.
SD: How did Rodney Harrison's knee hold up in
his first action?
BB: Good, Steve.
I think it held up well. I spoke to him during the game and after the game,
and no problems. He feels good. A little rusty. He hasn't played much in a
long time, other than a few practices. But I think physically it's okay.
It's just getting his timing and recognizing things quickly and
communicating on the field and that type of thing. So I think it went fairly
well.
FS: How close to full-speed is he?
[Crosstalk]
FS: No, I don't
mean on the field, I mean just as far as his overall speed.
BB: Oh, I think
it's okay. I think it's okay. I think it's more the reactive quickness. It's
more seeing things and
reacting to it at game speed; I think that's the biggest thing that any
player who hasn't practiced has to adjust to.
PS: And Junior Seau takes 16 snaps in the first three defensive
series, had three tackles, a couple solo. He seemed to fit in nicely at
inside linebacker, considering we haven't seen him all year.
BB: Yeah, he's done a good job. In practice sessions
he's gotten quite a few snaps. We do a number of things on defense that we
have to adjust to or check in and out of and all that, but he's been
great with that. He's quick and he's got a real nose for the ball, as we saw
Saturday night. He knows where the ball is, knows who's got it, and he's
after them.
FS: Do you think sometimes, because he has great quickness and he's a
great athlete and, observing him over the years, he does tend to run around
some things, but he has the quickness to make up for it. Does he need to be
more structured in this defense?
BB: I don't know, I think that the bottom line is you've got to find a
way to be productive. And, you know, there are different playing styles.
When I was with the Giants – Steve remembers
this – when Everson Walls came to the team...
SD: Mmm-hmm.
BB: Everson had his unorthodox style of play as any defensive back that
I've ever coached or, for that matter, seen. But he had, what, 55 career
interceptions, or whatever it was. He was at the end of his career but he
was still a productive player for us, and [we] went to the Super Bowl with
him in 1990.
SD: Big part of that defense, too.
BB: He sure was. He sure was. And that tackle he made on Thurman
Thomas on the last drive was, you know, that was the game. But I don't
think...I didn't try to change his style because he was so comfortable in
it, and I would never teach another player to use that, but that was an
extreme example. So I think that in our system we can adapt to different
players having a little bit different playing styles. As long as it's within
the context of the framework of the defense.
SD: Is he still a versatile player in terms of being able to rush the
passer on the outside and play some of the inside?
BB: Yeah, I think that he'll probably rush a little bit more on the
inside than the outside on some of our inside blitzes, but he's quick and
he's an explosive guy. He's got good timing, anticipates well and he reads
things very quickly and can counter and stuff like that. So I think he'll
probably be more of an inside player for us than an outside player.
FS: He's a little bit deceiving now, because he's been playing 16 years,
but it's not the 16 years of the Bill Belichick/[Bill] Parcells camps when you used
to hit for eight weeks in a row. You don't beat people up like... So 16
years now, you don't have the mileage you had back then.
BB: No, but he's played awfully hard and he's taken a lot of snaps. I
know that the last couple years in Miami, and particularly last year in Coach Saban's program, which has some carryover with what we do, I know
that was a tough and demanding camp, but he's a good football player. Just
leave it at that. He's a good football player. I think he probably can find
a way to play in any system, because he has a variety of skills.
PS: Keeping with the defensive side of the ball, Johnathan Sullivan – you were saying he's practicing better and it seems
to be translating on the field. He seemed to play a lot better on Saturday
than what we've seen in the past.
BB: I think he's improved in each of the three games. I think the Atlanta
game was a start. He really hadn't been too much on the field before
that game. And Arizona was better than Atlanta. And Washington was better than Arizona. I think
that he's made quite a bit of progress. He's worked hard, his conditioning
is much improved, his technique's much improved, and his understanding of
the defense is better. So as long as he keeps working hard and improving and
correcting those mistakes, I think he'll continue to be able to contribute
for us.
FS: How much of an upside does he have? I mean, he was a 6th pick. To
compare him to [Richard] Seymour, tremendous disappointment.
Because we were talking about this earlier. Sometimes
the system...if DeOssie went to the Raiders before going to a more
structured team, he probably would have been in jail instead of the Super
Bowl.
PS: Or a nose tackle.
[Laughter]
FS: Do you know what I mean? If I went to New Orleans, I'd probably be...
BB: A tight end.
[Laughter and crosstalk]
FS: If he went to New Orleans, just didn't get it done. He comes to a
more structured team. How big a difference does it make when a guy comes in,
when he's more structured and he has guys around him that could be
motivating for him?
BB: Well, I don't know, Fred. I think you'd have to ask him that. But I do think that our style of defense, considering what he did in New
Orleans – which, I watched a lot of that – what he's doing for us and what he did for them
are...they're very different. They're very different.
FS: They're a one-gap, upfield...
BB: Very much of a one-gap team, a lot of stunts.
And we don't play much one-gap and we don't stunt very much. We play much
straighter than what they did. And I'm not saying that's good or bad, it's
just different. And it took him a little while to adjust to that. Some of
the things that he instinctively did defensively at New Orleans, which were
more similar to what he did at Georgia, are things that we don't
fundamentally do. But he understands it. He's picked it up and he's improved
it. And he continues to improve. So I think it's been very positive for us.
We've got some good defensive linemen; there's some good competition at that
position across the board – at nose and at end. We've got some tough
decisions there.
SD: Is there
similar competition in the defensive backfield? You've got quite a few guys
there, too.
BB: Yeah we do, Steve. I think our corners have
played well and I think our safeties – you know, it's good to get Rodney [Harrison]
back. I think our safeties have played well and their communication has been
better. You know, we haven't had – knock on wood – but we haven't had a lot of blown coverages and easy plays where
guys are jogging down the field 40 yards past the line of scrimmage and
nobody on them. At least the coverage has been fairly competitive, and
forcing the quarterback to stick it in there tight. So I hope we can
continue to do that. Just make it competitive so that they've got to make
good throws and good catches.
FS: How much of the defense do you run to win and how much do you run to
look at guys in certain games? You know, sometimes you're in the third
quarter and you get a look at a guy that might go man-to-man in situations
that he normally wouldn't. Does that ever play into it?
BB: Oh, sure. I think we've played a lot of just straight, man coverage
in all three games, where we just want to see everybody one-on-one, matched
up and let them go, and not try to give one guy help, even though he might
be up against, whether it's Santana Moss or [Larry] Fitzgerald or whoever it is. Just let him go out there and compete and
cover them in a one-on-one situation and see how it goes. And we've done
that quite a bit, like I said, in all three games. We certainly did it
against the Redskins, where it was just straight-up man-to-man coverage.
PS: Coach, what went into your overall decision-making as far as going
with [Stephen] Gostkowski over Martin Gramatica?
[Laughter and crosstalk about Pete mispronouncing "Gostkowski."]
BB: We just felt like that was the best decision for the football team. Stephen's had a good camp. He's kicked off well, he's kicked field
goals well – both in games and in practice. I
think Martin had a good camp as well, and I think that he's certainly
capable of kicking in this league, and kicking well, but we just felt that Stephen was going to be the kicker. And we thought that by giving him a
couple weeks to do everything – kickoff, field goals,
not alternating and all that – that that would be the best thing for
him, for the timing between the center and the holder and the kicker and all
that, that we just would able to kind of get into regular game conditions
and that type of the timing for the plays.
PS: I know in the past you've said you didn't kick any balls into the end
zone. However, as you've said in the past, you're more concerned about
hang-time on the kickoff and not so much how many yards deep it is in the
end zone so he can cover the ball.
BB: Right. Well, he hit a couple against Atlanta. He's got a good leg; I
don't think that's a problem. You want to have good hang-time on the kicks.
So the combination of height and distance – sometimes it's a little higher and a little shorter, sometimes it's a little
longer and a little big flatter. But the big thing is to get the ball down
there and give us a chance to cover it and obviously to make good kicks, but
put points on the board so we have a chance to kick off.
PS: Do you think he's feeling any pressure knowing he's kind of replacing
sort of a living legend at that position around here?
BB: Whether he does or doesn't, I don't think it's anything he can do
about it. I don't think it makes any difference. He has no control over who
was here, what they did, how good or bad or whatever it was. All he can do
is control his performance and his preparation; I think that's what he's
focused on. I think that's what I've told him, Coach Seeley's told
him, Lonie [Paxton] and [Josh] Miller and all
those guys, it's the same thing. And I think that's the way he looks at it.
So that's what it is.
FS: You're a kicker. Kick the ball. Don't worry about anything else.
BB: I mean that goes for everybody. What difference does it make...
FS: Right. Just do what you gotta do.
BB: Whether it was John Elway or whoever. Just, 'They're gone.
You're here. Do the best you can.'
FS: Look, Ordway's gone; Pete doesn't even flinch.
[Laughter and crosstalk]
FS: Offensive line – [Dan] Koppen's back, BC product...
[Laughter and crosstalk]
FS: There's [Ryan] O'Callaghan, who's
really improved and come on. Is that partly because of the system he's in?
But this offensive line...
PS: Matt Light.
FS: Matt Light's back. But this offensive line,
right now, seems to be better than it was last year at this time coming out.
You have [Stephen] Neal with another year of experience, and Logan Mankins – that kid, a very good athlete. So this team right now
seems to be an offensive line really functioning at a pretty high level for
this time during camp.
BB: Well, I think that's been a very competitive spot for us, Fred. And I
think that of course Dante [Scarnecchia], as he always does,
does a great job of...
FS: For as old as he is, he's still [inaudible].
BB: He runs sprints with them and everything else.
[Laughter]
BB: But I think that they've played well together. You know, we haven't
had a lot of...we've gotten blitzed a lot the last couple weeks – 30 times here by Washington, and pretty close to that
in the Arizona game – so we've seen a lot of pressure. There haven't been a
lot of what we call runway rushers, where the guy just is running in
free on the quarterback. We've got them picked up, and
the quarterback's had a little bit of time to throw. There's been some room
in the running game. So I think that we've just got to keep refining
our techniques and doing a good job of the communication identifying the
defensive front. But the line is starting to work well together. We're
getting a couple guys back – Nick [Kaczur]
started practicing last week and, as you mentioned, Dan [Koppen]
has been out
there. So I think that we've got a number of guys that have played
good football for us, and some of the young guys are really challenging
them. It's been a very good, competitive situation. And even when our second
group has been in there, we haven't had a lot of problems.
FS: When people ask about this offensive line they say, 'Without knowing
a lot of players, how great are they?' The thing is, there's always someone
in front of somebody. If a blitz comes, normally they don't come free,
right?
BB: That's the key.
FS: They play smart together, and that's a tribute to the coach and the
players you bring in. Usually no one's coming on the runway right to the
quarterback. They're getting at least a hand on them.
BB: Yeah. Well there's nothing worse than a quarterback having a guy bare
down on him unblocked. And there's nothing worse for a running back than
getting the ball and having a guy three yards in the backfield. You can't do
anything in those situations.
PS: Troy Brown had another impressive game. He's unbelievable. He
seemed just to reach another zenith, another level for him on Saturday
night. But what about your other receivers? We haven't seen [Chad] Jackson and Reche Caldwell. How do you feel about them? Is Reche
Caldwell developing like you'd like? Is he getting better? How do you see
his role on this team coming up, and particularly with #83 still not
around and the possibility that he might be traded?
BB: I think that Reche made a couple nice plays in the second half
against Washington. He's done a good job in practice and some of that has
transferred over into the field, some of the timing –
it's a little bit quicker out there in game conditions. But I have a
lot of confidence in Reche. I think that he's worked hard, he's been out
there on a consistent basis, he's gotten better, and he can get open. And
he's got good hands. So I think that he's going to be productive for us and
I think he's going to find a good, solid role and we'll be happy about his
production in the long run.
SD: The Patriots have given permission for [Deion] Branch and his agent to seek a trade or a deal. Is there any movement on that front
at all? I know they have till Friday, but is there any movement at all going
on there?
BB: You know, Steve, I really couldn't make any comment on any of that
stuff. We made our statement and that's pretty much where it stands.
FS: You brought up the point that other teams have been blitzing you a
lot. Isn't that unusual for preseason? Because it's hard to get looks at
guys just running, you know, linebackers and DBs. You said 30-something
times they blitzed you?
BB: Yeah, it was 30 times against Washington. Well, I think in those two
teams, Arizona and Washington, last year Arizona blitzed about 70
percent of the
time – five or more rushers. So that's what they
do. Washington likes to blitz a lot and that's what they do. They're
working on things that they need to make their team better and they do them
a lot – it's no secret that they like to blitz.
So they're trying to get their team ready, we're trying to get our team
ready. I can't really worry about what they want to do.
FS: Did anything really surprise you about what the team did this year?
Anything unusual or surprising in the games, or you thought that they were
exceptional at that surprised you? Your team.
BB: You'd always like to see a little bit more. I thought that even in
the game against Washington, we ended up scoring 41 points but there were still a number of plays that we
kind of left out on the field. We had one screen pass set up where with ten
guys on the other side of the field there was one corner, he was on the
ground and we couldn't get the back the ball, he fell down and whatever.
That play probably...it would have gained a lot. We had [Benjamin] Watson running down the middle of the field, wide open, and we just
didn't connect on that. We had two or three other plays and could of easily
had another hundred or so yards on just two or three plays had we just been
able to execute a little bit better. Defensively, we've had our hands on 11
balls this year in preseason. We've had a number of them right in our
hands, that all we had to do was just catch the ball. It wouldn't have been
the Play of The Week...if we could have just hung onto the ball we'd have
several more turnovers. So I think we've got to do a better job of
capitalizing on those opportunities. I'm not saying the players aren't
working hard, they're not trying and all that, because they are and it
frustrates them at times, too. But I think there's room for improvement and
that's what our team needs to focus on, is the things we can do better and
how we can be more productive. So I think there's been some positives, but
there's still a lot of things that we can do better that will help us. It's
always good to block a field goal or put pressure on the kicker. You know,
our return game really hasn't been where you would like it to be
production-wise in these preseason games. We had a good kickoff return the
other night, then the ball ends up rolling around at the end of the play – it was pretty close to being a turnover. So there's
still a lot of room for us to improve.
SD: There's a time in training camp where players are really saying let's
get this thing going, let's start the season, let's bring it on. Do coaches
feel the same way about now? Does it get a little tedious after a bit when
you're waiting for the season to start?
BB: Well certainly, Steve, there are some anxious times in terms of
getting the season started. But the thing for us right now is we just have a
lot of balls in the air in terms of roster decisions, a game in a couple
days against the Giants, starting to look at Buffalo, which is a new staff
and some new players in their organization, to get ready for them, so we've
got a lot of things going on here at once. It's always good when you get to
that first week and you can just concentrate on opening day and kind of the
rest of the stuff is behind you. But I think it's in a way good that they've
moved up the cut date to Saturday from Sunday. That kind of helps get it
behind you. I don't think whatever decision you make on Saturday, it'll
probably be the same one on Sunday.
PS: The first cut down day is by 4:00 p.m. tomorrow. It's only 10 guys
tomorrow, right?
BB: Well it's 75. Right now we're at 81 so we have to make some type of
move with six players.
PS: It used to be more, right?
BB: Sixty-five. But there were the exemptions for the Europe players. Now
it's 75...75 on Tuesday and 53 on Saturday. So you just have a few days
there to figure out what you're going to do with 20 players...22. So the
wheels will be turning.
FS: How is Dan Koppen doing?
BB: Dan's had, I think, a real good preseason. In the first two games was
very productive – knocked the quarterback down several
times, gotten a lot of pressure on the passer. We had been using him
primarily in a sub role in sub-defense pass-rush situations.
FS: He's so quick. He gets the leverage, you know. He's strong.
BB: You're right. He's quick, he can counter well, he's got good balance,
and he's a good technique player, he really is. I think he's been
competitive. Like I said, I think our defensive line is a very competitive
position on the team. Guys have different skills. We'll just have to figure
out what the best balance and combination is with those players.
PS: Another guy, too, speaking of defensive line reserve, Mike Wright had a hell of a game Saturday, too. He was all over. Even on special teams.
BB: Mike's had a good camp. He's been productive in all three games. You're right, he's helped us on the kickoff, kickoff return teams;
he's a big guy that can run and he's physical...
FS: He's strong.
BB: He's very strong. Well, you know Mike had a great offseason; he was
one of our offseason award winners. He's made a huge jump, not only from
technique and production, but also confidence. He's a lot more confident in
what he's doing and what the people around him are doing, and that helps him
be more aggressive. He's done a nice job. He's had a real good camp.
SD: How closely will you be watching the waiver wires over the next two
cuts, and will you be looking for any position in particular?
BB: I don't know if there'll be anything in particular, Steve. I think
it'll just be any player that we feel like can help our team. Maybe find
somebody that will help us in a particular role or situation that we feel
like, for whatever reason, can be improved by that.
SD: Are those players usually veterans that you've seen for a while that
you know of, or do you take chances on younger guys?
BB: We've done both. We've brought in younger guys like Bill Yates,
like Tom Ashworth, like Brandon Gorin, guys like that that
were in other organizations that have come in and ended up being good
players for us, with some development. So I don't think I would limit it
to...and certainly we've brought in some guys who were more experienced. But
again, I think you've got the 53-man roster, plus you've got eight guys on
the practice squad, so there's a lot of opportunity there to find players at
a different level in their career. You can bring in a guy who's really more
of a practice squad type of player than he would necessarily be a 53-man
roster guy with a role and all that, but that still can be an important
acquisition. The Steve Neals and the Brandon Gorins and the Tom Ashworths,
and guys like that, I think are still important to the overall quality of
your team.
FS: Bill, is that a new sweatshirt or did you customize the old one?
Because my wife was noticing it on TV...
BB: No, I think it's an older one, Fred.
[Laughter and crosstalk]
FS: It's an older one? Because the sleeves look [inaudible].
PS: Are you getting taller, then?
BB: Yeah. It might be my arms.
[Laughter]
PS: Coach, Thursday night, last preseason game against the Giants. For
once you don't have to open up on that Thursday night and have a short week,
so you'll have ten days until opening day against Buffalo. Do you plan to
play your veterans more than you normally would, on Thursday?
BB: I think so. We really didn't play them at all the last two years.
That going from Thursday to Thursday is tough in terms of players going
through a long training camp, to preseason, 30-some practices. So I think
that we'll have a better opportunity to pretty much play most of the squad
in this game. And that's something we haven't done the last two years.
PS: Also, reports out there that – I hate to talk
about next season already – but next preseason reportedly you guys are playing Seattle in China.
[Laughter and crosstalk]
BB: It'll certainly make training camp a lot different from what it's
been like this year. Going to Seattle, and then going from Seattle to China,
halfway across the world. So it'll be a different camp, that's for sure.
FS: How long does it take to get out to China?
[Laughter and crosstalk]
SD: We went to England from California one year with the Cowboys and that
was just a nightmare.
[Laughter and crosstalk]
PS: A few years ago it was just that the NFL would have a game in Mexico.
And, I mean, China. Is it that big of a deal that you have to sell...
[Crosstalk]
PS: I'm being selfish: I think it's disruptive to this team [inaudible]
going to China to play a meaningless exhibition game halfway around the
world.
The other thing is 'Rescue Me'. We saw Kiefer Sutherland win
an Emmy last night for '24,' so I assume next year you will be nominated for
an Emmy for that great line you had about loving lacrosse on 'Rescue Me'.
BB: You think so? You think I can get a nomination?
[Laughter]
FS: Was that on yet?
PS: Yeah, it was on Tuesday.
FS: Did you watch it?
BB: I did. I did, yeah...
PS: What did you think?
BB: About 20 seconds...
[Laughter and crosstalk]
FS: If Hollywood calls, would you leave the coaching profession?
BB: I don't think so.
SD: Is there anything you could have done better...
PS: I think [Phil] Espo[sito] stepped on your line a
little bit. But that was just me.
[Laughter]
BB: It was a lot of fun being there with Espo and Denis [Leary]
and Lenny Clarke...
[Crosstalk]
BB: It's a great group and they have
a lot of fun. There are a lot of great
lines there, and then when you see the show, a lot of it gets cut out. Not
that I know anything, but I'm sitting there thinking, 'Wow, there's a lot of
good stuff that they didn't get to use.'
[Laughter]
PS: Anything with you that they had to cut out?
BB: No no no. That was about it for me.
FS: What time do they start shooting in the morning?
BB: I think maybe around 9 [a.m.]. I was down there for the Harry Carson event. Lenny Clarke invited me to stop over so I
went over and saw him and Denis. They had that scene, that funeral or
wedding, whatever – both. 'Well, you know, we
need some extras, we'll throw you in there.' And then Espo was there,
so he said, 'Here, why don't you do this.' So I said 'Sure.'
SD: Did you demand your own trailer and caterer and hairdresser and all
of that stuff?
[Laughter and lots of crosstalk]
PS: Alright, it's now time for the Eastern Mass. Volkswagen Dealers'
Coach's Question of The Week. Jason from [I have no idea what he said]
wants to know, 'What were some of the things that concerned you, or that you
know you need to work on, if any, after a 41-0 preseason shutout?'
BB: I think there were plenty. Even though the score is one thing, still
on an individual play basis there are a lot of things that can be improved.
We went through that with the team today. We watched the tape for I'd say
about an hour and a half – just on one side of the
ball. And then probably another half hour, 40 minutes on special
teams. So that's over two hours of just going through each play. It's
reinforcing the things that we did well and correcting some of the other
things. We mentioned some of the plays on offense that we didn't make, a
couple plays on defense that we didn't make, special teams – our return game could certainly stand some
improvement. You know, you're playing a lot of different players, and
communication between them, and then being in the right spot working off
each other, there's plenty of things to do. And really now that game doesn't
mean anything; now we're moving on to the Giants and they present a bunch of
new, different challenges that we'll have to get ready for. So it really
doesn't matter too much what happened last week against Washington, it'll be
how we match up with this team and how well we can do things against them.
PS: That's the Eastern Mass. Volkswagen Dealers'
Coach's Question of The Week. Jason is now registered to win a trip for two to the pro football
championship in Miami. Stop by your local Eastern Mass. Volkswagen Dealer or
logon to WEEI.com to submit a question for the Coach and register for a trip
to the big game.
[Crosstalk]
PS: Well Coach, thank you. I guess we're going to do it next Tuesday,
after the holiday.
[Thank yous and good byes]
MP3 available in WEEI's Audio Vault |
