Coffee With The Coach

WEEI
January 16, 2006

Bill Belichick joined Glenn Ordway, Steve DeOssie, Fred Smerlas and Pete Sheppard on The Big Show during Patriots Monday on Boston's Sports Radio WEEI 850 AM.

Glenn Ordway: It is Monday, it is our final Patriots Monday of the year. Time for Coffee With The Coach.... Good afternoon, Bill. Did you get any sleep in the last couple of days?

Bill Belichick: Yes. Got caught up a little bit here.

Ordway: How frustrating is it – I know it's frustrating every time, any time, a team loses – but frustrating in that so much seemed to go right. The things that you had to do – stop the run of Denver – you guys were able to do. The fact that you were able to open up your offense in that third quarter, figure out and deal with their blitz and stuff like that. To make those mistakes internally and cost you the game, is that more frustrating than what you normally deal with?

Belichick: Well, I think any time you lose it's frustrating. There are elements of that game – I can't think back to too many games that we've lost that there wasn't a degree of frustration in, one way or another. It's kind of like falling off the cliff, you know. It's tough when the season ends. It's very sudden. You've been at it a long time and have a lot of high hopes and aspirations, and you do a lot of things well but just not quite enough. It's disappointing, but that's the way it goes. They made more plays than we did and that's why they won.

Fred Smerlas: Now, your front seven was playing very well – they took the cutback away, they put pressure on the quarterback, they weren't allowing any big runs. Did you see all that on film? I mean, it didn't look like they were getting blocked, everyone was making their reads pretty well. A team that likes to run, you guys took the run away pretty effectively.

Belichick: I thought that we did a decent job at that. Yeah, there were some plays that could have been a little better than others, but overall I thought we played competitively against the running game. But I don't think you can focus too much on any one aspect of it – well this was good, that wasn't good. There have been plenty of games we played this year where we couldn't stop anybody. We couldn't even slow anybody down on defense. And then there were other games where we basically shut them out. So just collectively there have been times where different parts of the game have helped carry other parts. In the end, we gave up more points than they did, they turned the ball over more than we did, defensively our defense didn't make as many big plays as theirs did, or offensively their offense didn't make as many mistakes as we did, however you want to look at it, but we just didn't do as well as we needed to do Saturday night and that's the bottom line.

Steve DeOssie: And oddly enough the same individuals that seem to always come through for you year after year, game after game, were the guys that made some of those mistakes. Between Tom Brady's interceptions, the Troy Brown fumble, these are guys that, for years now, have made the big plays for the good instead of what happened on Saturday night.

Belichick: Well, I think we all made mistakes out there Saturday. I don't think there was any one that made the difference. There were things that we all could have done better. I don't think this game came down to one play or one player's mistake or anything like that. Certainly there were a lot of good plays, by a guy like Brady – he threw the ball, we moved the ball well and scored some points. I mean, there are always going to be a couple you'd like to have back. You look at the Jacksonville game and the ball was on the ground four times in that game. We were fortunate we didn't lose them. In this game the turnovers ended up in their hands and they were most costly.

Smerlas: Looking at cost, after you watched film does that pass interference look any different? It looked more like an offensive pass interference to me. But he looked like he had good position and...

Belichick: Tough call. It was a tough call.

Smerlas: ...in a playoff game? I mean it's...

DeOssie?: And that would have been 3rd down and 10 from the 42, correct – if they missed that play?

Belichick: There were certainly some key plays in the game there that I'd say we didn't get a real good break on. But that's football. You just have to play through it.

Ordway: You made some reference to the side judge yesterday in your press conference, or Saturday night, what the side judge said. Obviously the back judge made that call, and twenty seconds later. Did the side judge say something to you down the sideline?

Belichick: No, I asked him about it and he said he didn't have anything. But he was overruled by a guy that, from his view, thought that he had an infraction. That's the way the crews work now. The last couple years we've gotten more into this. The crews will come together and talk about it and try to get the play right rather than just one guy making the call and everybody standing back. They kind of had those huddles and those conferences to try to get the play officiated correctly. And this was a case where one guy saw it differently than the other guy did.

DeOssie: When they choose the crews for the playoff do they choose them as a team or as individuals and bring them together? Had these guys been together the whole season?

Belichick: Yes, as a team. Right, Steve. And in the past they've done it individually by the guy who was graded the highest at his particular position, and that's kind of why they put this officiating teamwork into place – so that as a crew if they make a call and, theoretically, if it wasn't the right call, that somebody saw it differently could overrule it, then that would be to the benefit of the entire crew. As opposed to having one guy who's graded high, another guy who's graded low, they kind of would help support each other and get it right, and that would reflect the overall crew's grade, theoretically giving the best crews the most important games in postseason.

DeOssie: Well then what the hell happened this weekend? Because this had to be one of the worst officiated playoff games...

[Crosstalk]

Smerlas: Every game....The interception by Polamalu...

DeOssie: There were a bunch of scenarios. I don't know if you had the chance to watch some of these games, but...

Belichick: You're talking to the wrong guy here. We just try to coach the team. You'd have to talk to the other powers that be about those aspects of the game.

DeOssie: It's amazing.

Smerlas: We try, but they hang up on us.

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Belichick: I bet they do, Fred. I bet yours isn't the call that they really want to take.

[Laughter]

Ordway: Well, I was telling these guys it'll be interesting because Mike Pereira usually comes on with the NFL Network and he goes through the film, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday. It'll be interesting to see what his description is of some of these calls because there were a lot of just bizarre calls. The one we thought was the craziest was yesterday in the Pittsburgh-Indianapolis game. Either there was movement on the part of the Steelers or there was encroachment on the part of the defense. Yet the two met and there was no call! I've never ever seen that before. I've never, ever seen that before. [Crosstalk] No flag, no call and there was no contact. The video clearly showed there was contact there. I mean...

Smerlas: They seemed confused and dazed.

Ordway: We're not going to put you on the spot because all it'll cost you is money.

Pete Sheppard: How bad was the crowd noise in the early part of the game, first quarter?

Belichick: You know, it was loud. I don't think it was anything we haven't played in before, it wasn't that loud. But yeah, it was loud, like it usually is on the road, especially early in the game when the fans are very energetic and boisterous and juiced up. But I don't think it was anything that we hadn't dealt with in the past.

Smerlas: Troy Brown – the play with 10:50 left, he was at a, they had like the punt on, he was [audio drop] coverage on one of the guys they dropped back...

Belichick: Mmm-hmm.

Smerlas: What was the call on that, on the punt, punt blocked?

Belichick: Yes. Yeah, we rushed the punt and we brought the guy in off the gunner and rushed him on the punt. And Troy was coming over to cover him in case Sauerbrun threw it on a fake because he was uncovered. And then when he didn't he came back, and...

Smerlas: Set.

Belichick: ...and came back to play the ball, which was a high, kind of one of those high, short, pooch-type of punts that they were trying to come down there and down.

Smerlas: And he has the same rules that apply...on the ten yard line or whatever applies...

Belichick: Yeah. I mean, basically you have a ten yard line rule, but any time the ball has a lot of hang time on it and the defenders are down there to cover it and get behind you, there's no sense in letting it hit on the eight...

Smerlas: Yeah.

Belichick: ...and let him down it on the one. There are some situations that kind of trump that. I've heard people talk about the yard line rule like it's some kind of cardinal rule, and it just isn't that way for us. I think it depends on the hang time on the kick and the field position and how you're handling the ball. Certainly, if you're on a long field and the guy kicks one over your head that's different than a guy at the 40 yard line kicking the ball straight up in the air and having it come down on you.

Smerlas: So he was in coverage on that, and then he has the option...

Belichick: Oh no, he was over there checking him. He didn't...I mean, he only had coverage if they threw it to him and he released down the field. But no.

Smerlas: And then he just has the option...because it looked like he was pretty set when he caught the ball. He wasn't running or turning or anything. He had set for about a second or two and had a good shot at collecting the ball.

Belichick: Obviously it was an unfortunate play. I mean I've never coached a player in the entire time I've been in the league that I think has any better hands or is any more dependable in handling the ball in those situations than Troy. He's not perfect. None of us are. We've all had plays like that, or decisions, that we'd kind of like to have back, and unfortunately that was one for him in that game. But over the long haul, and all the opportunities he's had to handle the ball back there, I can't think of anybody that's handled more balls in more tougher situations and conditions than we have out here on a consistent basis than he has.

Smerlas: That's one of the things we talked about, your reliable guys. If you're ever going to be in a tough situation for a kickoff or a punt, you put your hands guy in. He's Mr. Reliable. And the guy you want to have the ball scoring is Brady. And for some reason when Vinatieri missed a 43-yard field goal and Troy Brown fumbles, you know the football gods aren't smiling on you. So you're right, every time there's a tough situation he's always been back there, for how many years now?

Belichick: Quite a few. All the ones I've been here for.

DeOssie: You obviously have a better look than anybody, what are the biggest positives you take out of this season, this playoff run, the whole year? What do you look back on and say okay, this is something that's going to help us in the future?

Belichick: I thought that the team played a lot better in the second half of the season, and even at the end of the season in the playoffs. Again, it wasn't perfect, there are things we could have done better, but we played more consistently in all three phases of the game. After all those practices and all the meetings and all the time you put into it you like to see that kind of improvement, and I think the team did improve during the course of the year, again, particularly over the second half of the season. And in the last third of the season probably played its best football of the entire year. I wish we could have been more consistent. I wish we could have done a better job all the way through the season, and even in the postseason, but I did think that the team came together and improved a lot. A lot of physical and mental toughness in some of those situations at the end of the year.

DeOssie: What did you say to the team after the loss in Denver?

Belichick: Well, everybody, we were all disappointed. There's nothing really...any great revelations. When you put as much into it as we did, and work as hard at the game as this team has worked, of course it's going to be disappointing when the results are what they are. I don't think there are really any words that can provide that great a comfort to it. Denver played better than we did Saturday night. That's what happened. They played better than we did. I don't know that they're the better team but they played better than we did, they deserved to win, and that's why they're playing next weekend and we aren't.

Smerlas: That's the most frustrating thing to you. When you go out there and you put a game plan together, and it all comes to fruition, and then the intangible parts of it that you rely on – handling the ball correctly – falls apart, you go into the locker room saying, 'Physically we didn't get beat. We shut down the run. The front seven did a good job. The DBs were in coverage. The offense was moving the ball.' And you're sitting there going, 'What if?' That's so frustrating. It's not like they pushed you around and you didn't execute and you blew coverages. The game plan you put in there the players executed and played, physically, very well.

Ordway: You kept them off the scoreboard in the first half, which is another thing that you guys were fearful of – they get those big starts. They didn't in this game.

Belichick: No. Again, there were a lot of things that we did well but in the end they just did a few things better than we did. You just have to give them credit for that. That's the way the game turned out. I wish we could have just done a little bit better job. That goes for me all the way down to everybody else that participated in the game – we all feel that way. We're all disappointed. And it wasn't any one thing – one play, one player, one anything – it was just too many of them compared to what they did.

Smerlas: Even the defensive backs when they [inaudible] the fourth down, early on, they ran that fade to the corner – great coverage on that. I mean, they tried to throw a few wrinkles in. Were there any plays in there that were new wrinkles that you didn't prepare for?

Belichick: No, I don't think so, Fred. They ran a couple different combination patterns out of their slot formation that, I wouldn't say they were new like revolutionary new, but just little adjustments that they were able to hit on us. But overall defensively what you hope for is that you can make enough plays to keep them off the scoreboard. And defensively, even when they get the ball in good field position you still need to be able to go in there and stop them and hold them to field goal attempts. Denver was able to get the ball in in the red area when they did have the opportunity, regardless of how they got it there. You always want to try to keep them out of the end zone, and it's tough when they get the ball in good field position, but that's our job defensively. That's what we've got to try to do.

Smerlas: Like the one foot line [inaudible] one of those plays, it's a little...when they had that pass interference and a long run. Did you ever get the chance to look at that again to see if that did go, when Watson made that great play and hit...

DeOssie: Were there any angles in the coaching films different from the TV films that might have helped?

Belichick: No, the angle in the coaching films is from right behind the goalpost right in the end zone, and from kind of midfield on the sideline. Certainly it's a close play, and I can't sit here and say definitively where the ball did or didn't go across the line. But I would say, as I've said many times before, I think that the league should place cameras on the goal line, because that's where so many critical plays and point-deciding plays do occur, and I think that that's something that they should do as part of the replay system. I know that when you challenge the play as a coach one of the things that you're fearful of is that there's just not a good look on the play. It's one thing when you have a play at midfield – not that those plays aren't important, because they are – but it's another thing when it happens on the goal line. I've mentioned that, brought it up several times, and I know this organization's been a proponent of it, and I'm disappointed that the league won't seriously consider that. I don't really understand what the problem is. I'm not saying that it would have made any difference in that play or not, but I think if you're going to have replay, especially in games in the postseason, to not be able to look at a play on the goal line to see whether the guy has scored or not, to not have that view available, I don't really understand. But I think you could talk to the people who control that at the league level, see what they've got to say. But I've felt that way for a number of years and that's the way I still...

Ordway: We had another one of those plays yesterday – they were questioning whether or not it was a touchback. I think you're right, the problem is...and I thought Phil Simms did a terrific job in your game of being able to run a line and say physically it's impossible for it not to go out, except that the camera angles do not show it. You're right, you either need a camera on the end zone or a camera above, which also probably would show which way that ball was going.

Belichick: My recommendation has always been the same as tennis – to put it right on the lines and to be able to have a straight shot down there. A lot of the opinion in the National Football League is, well, when you get to a playoff game or you get to the Super Bowl they've got so many cameras that they've got a camera for every angle. Well, I mean there are a lot of cameras and there are a lot of looks at it, but that's...

Sheppard: Not the right look.

Belichick: That's the way it is. I mean look, they have the same cameras as we have out there, it's not like there's any big advantage. But I just think for the consistency of the game that that will be something that the league should adopt, and I've felt that way for a long time.

Ordway: It's a good point. That would take the camera though from the guy that has the 'D-[fence]' in the crowd. It would take away from him. We wouldn't be able to see him.

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Smerlas: It would also take away from the ref's ability to make a crappy call.

Ordway: There you go.

Smerlas: Because the camera would be right on it.

DeOssie: We were trying to remember, didn't Benjamin Watson make a similar play in an earlier game?

Belichick: He did. Yeah, he did.

Sheppard: What game was that, Kansas City?

[Crosstalk]

Belichick: I think it was Kansas City.

[Collectively] Yeah.

DeOssie: That was just a tremendous effort...

Belichick: It was.

DeOssie: ...even though it almost got blocked by the referee at one point.

Smerlas: How fast is he? I mean, he was outrunning everybody. He almost got picked off by...

[Crosstalk]

Belichick: You know, Fred, it's speed and it's competitive speed. I remember watching, of course Steve and I had the opportunity to watch Taylor a lot in New York, and one thing Lawrence had was competitive speed. I mean he had good stopwatch speed but you always felt like if he was chasing a guy he was going to catch him. It didn't matter how fast the guy ran, he could find a way to get him. And I think that's a little bit what happened with Benjamin where he saw he had a chance and he just was able to run down a fast player, Champ Bailey.

Sheppard: I thought another guy early on in the game that was very good was Josh Miller. You guys were kicking back in your end zone, deep, twice. He really boomed a couple that put them in what would have been probably very good field position for a lot of other punters, but he was outstanding.

Belichick: He did. He did a nice job. And our coverage was good and we were able to change some of that negative field position into reasonable field position for our defense. Those were big plays. And Denver's one of the best teams, along with Jacksonville. Those two teams were number one and number two this season in terms of field position. Denver did a great job on it, we had some problems with it because they did have us backed up and pinned down a few times, but Josh did a nice job of getting us out, along with the punt coverage unit.

Smerlas: You used a couple different return guys – Davis and then Hobbs and then Brown. Is it according to what time in the game or how much someone has been playing, or whatever, to use the different...

Belichick: It has a little bit to do with that, especially with Hobbs who's out there quite a bit, but we have confidence in all those guys. André had a big play for us in the Miami game and Ellis has done a great job for us returning kicks earlier in the year when he was doing a lot of it, Bethel's had success doing it, so we have confidence in whoever we put back there. If we didn't they wouldn't be back there. Patrick Pass. I mean, those guys...I feel like we've got good depth at that spot.

Ordway: Alright, this is the time when we usually look forward to the next game, so let's look forward to the next game which will be played next September, I believe it's the eleventh or something like that. You've got a great core here. Obviously the streak is over at two of the Super Bowls, but you've got a core here where it seems to me like you've got a long shelf life. What do you guys have to do between now and the time you come to camp, to put this team back into position where you can get to this game and beyond?

Belichick: We'll go through the same procedure we go through every year. At the beginning of the offseason we'll take a look and review all the things that happened during the year, evaluate our plays, our schemes, the players, what things they need to improve on, what things they did well – maybe that will factor into some of our future schemes – but also give the players targets in the offseason for things they can improve in, both from a technique standpoint or physically. So evaluate all that. We'll take a look at other things – trends in the league that are going on that we might be able to pick up on or utilize more in our system. Study our opponents, especially the new opponents. It will be the NFC North next year – Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota – teams in that division, as well as the AFC South. Indianapolis of course we know, but Jacksonville and Tennessee...

Ordway: And you get Denver here.

Belichick: Right, but I'm talking about some of the new teams. So we'll look at the teams that we haven't played in a little while, and then before you know it we'll be into the camps – the passing camps, the mini camps and all that. And then really you're just building it brick by brick. There's no way to accelerate the process. You have to put everything in and learn it and teach it to new players, which every team will have on their team, whether they're rookies or whether they're some type of free agent acquisitions somewhere along the line, and there will be some players who played on this year's team that won't be playing on next year's team. That's just part of the transition in this league. So when you start putting it together next spring, and ultimately in training camp, and then next fall, it will be with some different people, some different combinations, but you'll have to go through the same building process, and I think you've just got to look at is as a day by day proposition. You can do what you can do today to get better and then deal with tomorrow tomorrow. I don't think looking ahead to November at this point is really the answer. It's more to take it as part of the process and do a good job at each step along the way wherever you can improve your team.

Ordway: What becomes the determining factor if let's say you know there's a certain weakness that you've got to fill, and you can do it in two different ways – you can do it through free agency, you can do it through the draft. How do you make that decision?

Belichick: I think that's a great question, Glenn. But realistically it never works out that way because the timing of it's just so different. When players are available in free agency you're not drafting, and usually by the time you get to the draft the options in free agency have diminished somewhat. Not that there aren't some there, but there are fewer. And if you really thought that that was the solution to your problem then I doubt that you would wait until the end of April to make that free agency acquisition, you would make it a little bit earlier. So I think a lot of personnel decisions are timing. Sometimes guys become available [and] maybe you're not even looking for that position, but you see somebody there you feel can help your team and you try to acquire them in whatever that way is. So I think a lot more of it's timing than it is...in some cases. And then in the draft and free agency some of that is just opportunity.

Ordway: So does that alter your draft if you, let's say, pick somebody up in free agency that you believe is young enough that can help you in that position immediately?

Belichick: Oh, sure. I think that as you look at the composition of your team...I mean in the draft you're still looking for the best football players and the guys that can help your team. But sometimes if you're able to get a player in free agency you feel like's a significant addition to your team then that lessens the need a little bit in the draft. I mean, again, you're always looking for good players, but it lessens a little bit in the draft because you've got somebody you feel very confident in in there, and there are probably other positions where you don't feel quite that good.

Smerlas: So Bill, what do you do now? I mean it's been so long that you're just going to chill out for a week or go out and hang out...

[Crosstalk]

Sheppard: Will you watch the games for three weeks? We haven't had to ask you that in a couple years.

Belichick: [Laughing] Yeah...

[Crosstalk]

Smerlas: Come to Steve's house and smoke some cigars?

Belichick: It's hard for me to get excited about watching these games, it really is. I mean, the season's over for us and I'll just kind of wait till it's over for everybody else. In the meantime we'll just try to get all of our information for our offseason stuff in line – our different breakdowns of our plays and players and situations and things like that. And I'll start to work more closely with Scott on pro free agency and the college draft and try to get caught up on that. This week's the East West Game, which I won't be attending, but next week at the Senior Bowl I'll be in Mobile for a few days on that, to start to familiarize...

[Crosstalk]

Smerlas: Will it feel like a month?

Belichick: Yeah, it will.

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Belichick: So, you know, it's part of that. Then before you know it it'll be the Indianapolis Combine and free agency and all those kinds of things. So this is the whole...the offseason is really centered around team building. It's making decisions on players in your organization and ultimately making decisions on players that are free agents in the league or college players that are coming out in the draft, and how to best put together from a personnel standpoint your football team for the coming season, in conjunction with modifying your schemes and your system to try to give yourself the most competitive advantage you can. And then as the players come back in in March and April then you get into the offseason program – mini-camps and passing camps and things like that. So it's really pretty...there's a flow to it, and you try to take advantage of each opportunity.

DeOssie: Speaking of situations and decisions, have you had a chance to talk with Eric Mangini yet?

Belichick: I talked to him after the game. I haven't talked to him since he's talked to the Jets, no.

Smerlas: I think I'd rather go to hell.

[Laughter and crosstalk]

DeOssie: You've always hated the Jets, though.

Smerlas: I hate the Jets...

Ordway: Has he asked you for your advice? Because you guys have been together for so long and you've been a mentor to him. Or do you think he will ask you for your advice?

Belichick: Eric and I go back a long way, we have a good relationship, and I think we'll just keep whatever thoughts and comments we've made and have with each other between us on a personal basis. I think that's the way to handle it.

Smerlas: In other words, shut up, Glenn.

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Ordway: I had to ask the question.

DeOssie: So instead of Detroit then you get to go play in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am again. Are you planning on...

Belichick: No...

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Ordway: Do you need a caddy?

Belichick: No, I won't. No. Not this year.

DeOssie: It was just once?

Ordway: He's going to hang around Mobile. He already told you. He'll hang there for about three or four weeks.

Smerlas: It is kind of...I mean, a feeling like you have today – Pete and I were depressed and hugging each other on the ground after the game, but...

[Crosstalk]

Smerlas: ...you haven't had this feeling in three years where it ends with a thud instead of a bang, and it's a crappy feeling.

Belichick: Well yeah, it is, it's a very empty feeling. But I don't think that's anything that surprised anybody. I think we approached the game the right way, I think that we tried to do everything the best we could to win it and we just didn't do it as well as they did and it didn't work out. But I think that everybody knew that if we didn't beat Denver that this is about what it was going to feel like...

Smerlas: But you were so used to winning...

Belichick: Yeah, well but that's the NFL. You play till you're eliminated and once you're eliminated it's an empty feeling. And then you pick it up and you head on to next year. But it's hard to go through at the time you have to go through it. But that's the way it is.

Smerlas: One of the other things I wanted to hit on was the development of Hobbs and Hawkins, that defensive backfield. They talked about the lack of covering ability, that was one of the areas that probably improved the most. And going into next year with Rodney coming back and everyone else coming back, and Gay, that could be a much stronger unit.

Belichick: It did, Fred. I think that Ellis and Artrell both gave us some good play back there in the secondary, and I also thought that – and Hank Poteat did, as well...and Troy, when he was in there, filled in there in some dime situations, particularly in the Jacksonville game – but I also think that Asanté and Eugene played extremely well, as I thought the rest of the defense did in the second half of the season, and particularly the latter third of the season. And a lot of those big plays that were happening in the first half, and some key third down conversions and completions and things like that, that we were much better. And of course along with that I think you've got to give a lot of credit to the pass rush and the underneath coverage by the linebackers which, again, just in total team defense, was better at every level. Particularly in the secondary when, hey, when you give up an 80-yard pass it's hard to look at the nose guard and say that's all his fault.

Ordway: It happened a lot when I was playing, though.

[Laughter]

Belichick: Yeah, I'll bet it did. So, long plays and big plays are ultimately always at least partially the responsibility of the secondary. And in some cases a large part.

Sheppard: How is Rodney progressing?

Belichick: I talked to Rodney yesterday. Rodney's doing well. And of course nobody works harder than Rodney. He's got a great attitude and I think that he's done everything absolutely that he can do, and I think it's going well so far.

Ordway: Talking about that, Tom Brady over the weekend said that this was the most trying season he's had as a pro. And I wonder, as a coach you're a guy that's got to stay focused on the game and the game plan and what's at hand that Sunday. When you look back at all of the injuries that you've had, the different personnel that you've had to bring into that defensive secondary, your own personal loss with the passing of your dad, how trying has it been for you to try to do what you do best, and that is stay focused on what's at hand for that game?

Belichick: I think that it's been really good for me to coach the players that I've coached. I mean, this team is a hardworking, focused, dedicated, football-is-important-to-them team. The most trying seasons for me have been to work with players who just really don't put as much into it as I feel like they should or they're capable of. If the guy's out there giving you everything he's got, doing everything he can do to try to be the best player and to give you the best chance to win as a team that he can, I can't argue with that. That's all I'm looking for. What's disappointing is when players don't put forth that effort, and have another personal agenda, or just non-team type players. And that doesn't really exist on this team. So from that standpoint it's challenging every week. There are good teams and good players out there every single time we line up on Sunday, or Saturday, whenever it is. But the way the team worked and their effort and their attention to detail and their unselfishness – I love that about this team. And I have a lot of respect for every single one of them because they all put forth that effort.

DeOssie: And all that factors into the type of players, like you said, that you're looking at in the offseason, maybe, and in the draft and whatnot. All of that plays a very big role on your team, I'm sure.

Belichick: Well, sure it does. And that's why you have a team. When everybody's pulling together and helping each other out like that...and again, there were plenty of games this year where we didn't play well offensively and we didn't play well defensively or we didn't play well in the kicking game, and those other units support each other and there was a lot of...there was a good chemistry and a good feeling on this team and they worked well together. They worked well in practice and as the season went on they came together and they played a lot better football at the end of the year. So I think we're all proud and feel good about those things, yet at the same time we're very disappointed in the way things turned out. And I know I speak for everybody on that – every player, every coach, Mr. Kraft, the entire organization. It's disappointing to end up where we ended up.

DeOssie: So how does that translate in the offseason to the individual player or to the way the team works together? Do you hope that that translates into something positive?

Belichick: Well, sure. I think that any time things don't go well there's a certain motivation to work a little harder to make them better.

DeOssie: Not with all teams. Some teams...

[Crosstalk]

Belichick: Well, I've certainly felt that way about this team. I think you can make positives out of a good effort, too. But we had several games last year that we didn't play well, and collectively as a team we were able to bounce back the following week and improve our effort on our performance – not that it was perfect – but make it better and be able to be victorious the following week. So I think that there's a resiliency to this team and this group of players. And at the same time I think later in the year they built on some good performances and were able to make them better the following week. Like when we were in there against like the Jets and Buffalo and Tampa, some of those consecutive weeks in there where I thought we played some of our best football.

Smerlas: Bill, you made the point where the players play well together. Everyone talks about a coach keeping control of the team. Makes it much easier when you bring players in that aren't cancer cells, like a T.O. or something that's going to be disruptive, that you have to put a lot of your effort into just controlling that person's behavior. You eliminate that type of person which you seem to be very successful at with this team. It makes you able to focus on the game plan and the task at hand instead of worrying about the chemistry.

Belichick: No question, Fred. No question. And I don't have time every single day to go around and give everybody a ten minute pep talk about, 'Let's get going' and 'We need to have a good practice today,' and all that. These guys are self-starters – they come in, they're ready to go, they're ready to go to work, they're attentive, and football is important to them. So no, you're right, that's the key to it. And that's what makes this job really a pleasure for me. I think it's a privilege to coach this team and to work for this organization because that's the type of character and the type of effort that they put forth in it. I feel very privileged to be the head football coach here.

Ordway : Bill, I wish we could do it next week and the week after, but it's not going to happen. So what we wanted to do is we want to thank you for coming down here, because I know there were probably some Mondays you said the last thing you want to do is come down and see the four fat guys down in the bowels of the stadium. But you were down here every Monday and you were answering the questions and we've enjoyed it. And we can hardly wait...

Belichick: Thanks, Fred.

Smerlas: Thanks Coach.

Belichick: Steve, Glenn. I always like to come down and see you, Pete. See you do The Flash, that's one of the highlights...

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Belichick: I've enjoyed it all year. I certainly appreciate the support from you, from the fans, and from everybody that supported our football team, both home and away, but particularly at home. We've had great support all year and that was much appreciated. I say that on behalf of the entire organization and the team, that we can feel the energy there with us and it's very positive, and we appreciate it.

Sheppard: Well, we've all had dozens of people tell us to thank you ... everybody you talk to says to tell Coach and the team...

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Ordway: Alright, and we've all said it here today, we can hardly wait for the first game. I mean, that's how you feel when it ends, I guess. And you guys probably feel it even more. I heard Rosevelt Colvin on the radio earlier and he was saying the same thing – he can hardly wait for that first game...

[Laughter and crosstalk]

Ordway: Alright, Bill. Have a great offseason. We'll see you back here.

Belichick: OK, thank you. Thanks a lot.

Ordway: Thank you very much. Bill Belichick here on The Big Show.