Bill Belichick joined The Big Show with hosts Pete Sheppard, Fred
Smerlas and Steve DeOssie during a special Tuesday edition of Patriots Monday on WEEI Sports Radio 850 AM. Here's a small portion of
that interview:
SD: I know you're involved with going on day-to-day with the
team, but did you realize that this is a franchise-best
defense, in terms of points allowed, that the Patriots have
had? And a big part of that is you've only given up, I think,
10 touchdown passes during the season. I'm not sure if
sometimes that's lost on you, when you're in the middle of a
season. This defense doesn't seem to get the recognition
of what some people note as a better defense in the league.
But you guys have done a fantastic job in terms of keeping
points off the board.
BB: You
know, you're right, Steve. I appreciate the compliment.
Certainly, a lot of credit needs to go to Dean Pees and his
defensive staff and the players. I was made aware of
that this week, and it's something that, as a team, we can take pride in
that accomplishment over a 16-game regular season schedule, so that's nice.
Obviously, it doesn't mean anything going forward, but it certainly is
something that we can be proud of as a regular season accomplishment.
t t
t
BB: Here's my
question for you, Pete. On the last touchdown pass, did you
feel that that was appropriate or did you feel that that
was, you know, when you're ahead by 13 points with a little
over a minute to go in the game...
PS: Coach, I
thought it was a tremendous gesture on your part to allow
Vinny to...that was an
historical moment for him. Last year, with the dropkick
with Flutie, I thought that was great, too. That stuff
doesn't bother me in a game like that. Guys were making a
big deal about it on TV, Enberg and Randy Cross...
BB: Oh, were they?
PS: Yeah. I don't
know if you talked to Jeff Fisher after the game, if he was
upset. I would tend to think he would not be. I think
he knows exactly where you were coming from. It was a great
moment. The team went crazy! I had no problem with it at
all. I thought it was great.
BB: Well, I definitely
wasn't doing it to run up the score; I was doing it to give Vinny an
opportunity to throw a touchdown pass...
PS: Of course.
BB: I thought he
deserved that opportunity. But I just wanted to see what
your take on it was. I appreciate that, Pete.
PS: I thought it was a
tremendous gesture.
FS: Hey Bill, here's a
suggestion to teams: if you don't want teams to score, then
stop them. How about that?
BB: You know what? My dad told me that a long time ago when I was a coordinator at the Giants. He said, 'It's your
job to keep the score down, not theirs.'
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