Bill Belichick's pre-game conference call with the New York media.
Q: So what will Sunday be like going
against a guy you basically mentored into the NFL?
BB: You know, my focus is just on our
team and the New York Jets. I don't think you're going to see us
squaring off out there on any one-on-one pass rushes or anything. Just
trying to get our team ready to play a good football game against the Jets.
That's really what it's about for me. That's what I'll be thinking about.
Q: Bill, with you and Eric [Mangini]
being friends, we were a little surprised by you guys bringing the tampering
charges. What kind of went into you guys making that decision?
BB: Obviously this is business, and
that's what it is. It doesn't have anything to do with our relationship,
it's just business. I don't really have anything to say about it. That will
all be decided by somebody else.
Q: What about Eric taking this
job? Did you encourage him to take the job? What type of advice did you give
him being as though you guys would be in the same division?
BB: You know what, none of those are
my decisions. It's not my decision on who offers the job, it's not my
decision to a person whether they take or don't take a job. I'm just trying
to coach our team and do the best job I can for the New England Patriots.
Each individual has to make their own choices. What teams offer what jobs to
which coaches, all that's out of my control. I don't really think too much
about it because I don't have any input on it.
Q: Well, Bill, in talking to Eric he said that you guys haven't had the chance to talk for a while. Has this
kind of put a strain on you and he's relationship with, here again, you guys
being in the same division, playing each other twice a year?
BB: Yeah, well I think when you're in
the same division you're in direct competition. Like I said, my favorite
team's the Patriots, his favorite team's the Jets...
[Laughter]
BB: You know, we're going to put our
energy into our respective organizations.
Q: Bill, you said through a lot of
these kind of games, facing Bill [Parcells] and [Nick] Saban and so forth over the years, is it just kind of old hat to you
now, or did it mean something...
BB: Yeah, it's the same questions and
the same answers every year. The names are different but it's the same
situation. You know, I'm not playing in the game and neither is the other
coach. I'm coaching it. I'm just going to get our team ready to go—same
thing as I do every single week—and hope we can
play better this week than we did last week. That's my goal.
Q: Coach, Eric has indicated
that you've taught him a great deal that he's come away with from working
with you. Is there anything you haven't taught him that we should know about
for this Sunday?
[Audio disturbance begins and continues throughout. This is my best
approximation of the remainder of the call.]
BB: I don't know, based on
[inaudible]
Q: Bill, is there sort of league-wide
admiration for Chad Pennington and his ability to come back from
rotator problem [inaudible]
BB: Sure, I think there is. I think Chad played very well last week against Tennessee. He led the
AFC in passing. He had a great day, threw the ball well, made some big plays
down the field, made a lot of smart decisions. I mean he's a good
quarterback. He's killed us plenty of times before, so we have all the
respect for Chad Pennington and the entire Jets offense—Laveraneus
Coles, and all of them. It's a good offensive football
team. They put up more production last week than
anybody else in the AFC. That's easy to see on film. They're
explosive and they do a lot of things well.
Q: [Inaudible] You've lost a lot of
players [inaudible] that won three Super Bowls, [Deion] Branch being the latest—[David] Givens, [Willie] McGinest, [Adam] Vinatieri. How does that affect your
outlook on your team?
BB: I think our team is our team. It
changes every year. I mean, you can pick out names after every single season
and put them in that question. That's the same as it is for every team.
There are new players on the Jets, new players on the Patriots, new players on every team.
Q: When you gameplan against a guy
who comes from your system, do you feel you have the advantage in terms of
being able to gameplan and maybe throw him off a little bit?
BB: I don't care anything about that.
I don't think it's that big a deal. When you play against other people in
this league they get to know you, you get to know them. Each team is
different. Even though the basic systems might be the same, when you call
plays and how you utilize your personnel, that changes from week to week,
from team to team. But really I think that's way overrated.
Q: Do you recall, Bill, the exact
moment when you found out the Jets wanted to interview Eric?
BB: No, I don't
remember. At the end of the season sometime after, I think, I don't know,
right around there after the regular season was over. Some time around the
[inaudible] game, I don't know.
Q: Were you surprised by that?
BB: Nothing really surprises me.
Again, the decision was out of my control. I've seen other teams, whether it
be Michigan State with Nick [Saban], and Charlie [Weis] at Notre Dame, Romeo [Crennel] at Cleveland, Eric with the Jets, we've had good coaches. I
think we have a good staff, we have good players, and I'm not surprised that
there are other people that are interested [Inaudible] an opportunity for
them if it comes available. I understand that. [Inaudible] That's pro
football.
Q: Coach, getting back to the [Deion] Branch trade, does the fact that [Inaudible] help your team get
closure [inaudible] because they know he's not coming back?
BB: Look, we all wanted Deion here. We tried to get it to work out; I know he did, too. There are a lot of
parties who were trying to get that to happen. In the end it just didn't
work out. Everybody's moved on, so that's really about all I have to say
about it.
Q: Coach, Eric had talked
about letting coaching interfere with his parenting. But realistically, how
hard is it to be a devoted father and NFL head coach, given the hours and
the work load?
BB: Well, I think you need to make
your own choices on that. My family and my kids are important to me, and I'm
sure they are to a lot of other coaches as well. You make time for that, no
matter what the other demands are. Nothing really comes ahead of that.
Q: Have you given advice to him over
the years [inaudible] this kind of role?
BB: I'm sure Eric's
perfectly capable of handling whatever situations come up. He's a smart guy
and he's a mature guy. I'm sure he can handle it.
Alright, thanks Bill.
BB: OK. Thanks a lot. |
