Steve Buckley: Last night, Gillette Stadium, Steve DeOssie, Fred Smerlas and the coach [2:13] of your New England Patriots, Bill Belichick.
Fred Smerlas: Coach Belichick, thanks for joining us. How are you doing today?
Bill Belichick: Good, Fred. Great to be here. Steve, how are you doing?
Steve DeOssie: Great. Congratulations on your 15th win of the season.
BB: Thank you.
SD: Knowing that you're a fan of the game and appreciate the history of the game… there are so many records going on right now, both individual and with the team and whatnot, how do you look at these individual or team records? How do you look at them, or do you look at them after the season?
BB: Yeah, after the season, Steve. I really haven't thought too much about them. You know, you hear about them – people talking about them and all that. But [we] really don't think too much about it. Just thought about trying to go out there and play well against Miami and now we'll start all over again here on the Giants and try to get ready to go, and go down there and play well on Saturday night.
FS: Well, traditionally you try to get yourself in a cocoon where you don't have all that outside interference. We always hear 'one game at a time.'
BB: Right.
FS: How hard is it with people like Steve who keep barraging you with questions like that? [Laughter] No, but it gets harder to insulate yourself and the team from all that stuff as time goes on, because obviously everyone wants answers to questions and you're trying to focus on the team. Does it get more difficult to isolate?
BB: No, because those questions have been coming since the second week of the season. I understand everybody's interest in it and all that, and I appreciate the support that we get and the interest in the league and where we are individually and all that, but the bottom line is, none of that really matters on a week-to-week basis. We just try to go out there and do the best we can this week. And whether we break a record or don't break a record, or whether we won last week or didn't win last week, really what we need to do is go out there and play well this week. So that's what we're going to focus on.
SD: Well, let's take a look at the Dolphins game. It almost was, offensively anyway, a tale of two halves – smokin' hot in the first half and then not so much in the second half.
BB: Well, we hit a couple long plays there – the long pass to Jabar [Gaffney] and Laurence [Maroney] broke out of there in the short-yardage run, got a big play on that. So that always helps your offensive production – when you can hit it all on one play and not have to drive it down the field. But I thought that we moved the ball pretty well offensively, and then in the second half we… some of the things that Miami did – they adjusted a couple of our formations and we made some adjustments – we just didn't have the overall consistency that we did in the first half on offense. Fortunately, we got a couple big red area stops on defense and we were able to keep the points down, so we were able to maintain a lead. But they had the ball down there on us a couple times.
FS: Bill, you['ve] always [been] a guy that likes to use tight ends on your offense and it's unusual to have all three starting tight ends out. You don't talk about that a lot. How much does that limit what you like to do, without tight ends in the game? It's very unusual to see that.
BB: Well, we pretty much went into the game, Fred, just the way we played it – in three- and four-wide receiver sets. Primarily, four-receiver sets. We signed [Stephen] Spach last week and he only has a few days in our system and not really… just doesn't have enough background experience in it to be able to utilize him as a full-time player at this point, although he's certainly helped us in some situational stuff. But we just felt we'd be better off playing the game with guys who have more background in our system, so that's what we tried to do.
FS: It takes away a lot of the matchups you have, especially with [Benjamin] Watson. If you have to match up with a DB, he's bigger and stronger; with a linebacker, he is much faster and more elusive. So that limits some of that, little bit of a short possession-type game.
BB: Sure. Yeah, it takes away some of those matchups. It also puts the tackles out there on more of an island and gives the defensive ends and the edge rushers more space out there, and it keeps us from tightening down the end of the formation. But we felt like that was the best thing that we had to work with for this game, so that's why we used it.
SD: You mentioned the red zone defense earlier. You had exceptional red zone D in the last few games. What's the difference between what they're doing now and what they were doing earlier in the season?
BB: I think the one big thing is we're not letting them run the ball in. At least we're stopping the running game. And then in the passing game, when you make them throw down there, it's just so much tighter – they can't stretch the field, there's only so much space, the zones are smaller. Theoretically, you should be able to play better pass defense because you're defending less space. But I think the big thing is not letting them run the ball in the end zone, then it doesn't matter what your coverage is, if you can't stop the run. So we've done a better job of that. At least forced them to throw the ball. And our defensive backs have made some plays down there in the red area passing game – either taken away the coverage or getting our hands on a couple balls. Tedy [Bruschi] made a nice play there on fourth down, we covered the receivers pretty well on the other fourth down play that [Cleo] Lemon scrambled on – he ended up running out of bounds just short of the goal line, but it was good coverage back there for us to pull it down and run it. So overall it's just been better team defense.
FS: When you have a 28-0 lead at halftime, you came out and you had the ball, and then [Tom] Brady looked like he saw, obviously, Randy Moss open, but he didn't look the safety off long enough. Did the ball hang on him, from what you saw, and the safety made a good read on it?
BB: I think that's probably right. I think Tom could comment on it better than I could, but I'm sure that he didn't quite get the ball as far enough away from him as he would like to, and he made a good play on the ball.
FS: When you were playing Miami, traditionally, I think they beat you last time [when] you were 12-and-… what were you, was that 2004?
BB: They beat us the second game of the year the last three years – '04, '05 and '06, they've won the second game all three years.
FS: Now, Jason Taylor wasn't a factor the last game, but today he came on even though with a bad ankle, he made some nice pass rushes, he made some nice reads. And they got pressure a few times with just three guys.
BB: Well, yeah, Taylor and [Joey] Porter are good rushers… [Vonnie] Holliday. He wasn't a factor, though, Fred? He intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown. That was…
FS: Yeah…
SD: Yeah…that's a bit of a factor. [Laughter]
FS: That made The View cry in the morning because [you] put Brady back in.
SD: He is a tremendous player. He was on crutches earlier in the week, injured last week, did you expect him to play or were you just…
BB: Yeah, I expected him to play. But he is, he's an outstanding player, as we all know, and he's had great success against us. He's always a guy that you have to game plan for, know where he is on every play, and somehow take care of him. And at times we got him, but there were a couple times when he got us, too. He's a hard guy to just shut down, and obviously we didn't do it.
FS: It's a redundant question but did you see anything different today? They ran some shotgun and handed off inside a few times. Had they run that previously? A couple of plays that kind of were like sweeps with pulling the backside?
BB: Right, they mixed that in a little bit. A couple times they handed the ball off and took them across the ball, and then a couple times they handed off in the shotgun and the runner stayed on the same side. They mixed the backs in there – [Jesse] Chatman and [Marty] Booker – and of course they're both very different backs and so it's… a couple times we lost leverage on them. But I thought there in the fourth quarter we were able to play those runs better, and a couple times it looked like it was tight. It was kind of hard to see from the sideline, but it looked like the the back just sort of squirted through there. It didn't look like it was that bad of a defense, like in the first game where there were some big holes, but they were big enough for Booker and Chatman to squirt through a couple times. So I thought we tightened that up in the fourth quarter and our run defense was better.
SD: Richard Seymour seemed to play well again today and it seemed like he's getting his legs under him and pushing for a great postseason.
BB: I think so. I think Richard's come on a little bit every week. Of course he didn't have the training camp and the preseason that most of the other players had and so week-by-week it's kind of been an [inaudible] thing for him. But I think overall our front seven has played pretty well the last few weeks; we're getting a little more pressure on the passer. And the run defense isn't perfect but it's competitive. And our secondary hasn't given up big plays in the passing game and that makes them go the long field. Fortunately, we had a couple red area stops and that's limited the points. So those are good.
FS: I'm a little surprised… in the game was Troy Brown returning kicks.
BB: Well we thought that [we'd] take a little bit of a load off [Wes] Welker on the punts, although Wes did have a couple but Troy, especially at this time of year and the type of weather, we thought we might get here, we just wanted to make sure we had a good ball handler back there and that's one thing that Troy's done a good job of. And also with our receiver situation this week, we didn't have the tight ends so we had the extra receiver just to get us some depth there because we knew we were going to be in a lot of multiple-receiver sets and that we could count on Troy for that.
SD: And he's a sentimental crowd favorite and got a great…
BB: He should be.
SD: He absolutely should. He got a great round of applause when he went out there for the first punt return, I believe. Any of that play into your decision to activate him today?
BB: No, it was more of a function of what we had. Again, we were going with only one tight end, and with multiple receivers we felt like we needed more depth at receiver, and when we had Troy that gave us the opportunity to use him out there in punt returns. But he's one of the most respected players I've coached or I have the most respect for him of guys that I've coached, and I like Troy, so it was good to have him out there. But still, the decisions we have to make are for what's best for the football team. But I felt like Troy gave us better overall depth and could help us more than the next guy could. So that's why he was active.
FS: Well, good news/bad news: the bad news was that you had to punt a lot and the good news was the punter punted very well today. [Laughter] In cold, kind of rainy conditions, he punted extremely well today.
BB: Chris [Hanson] has done a good job for us all year and even though the bobbled snap last week, which he could have certainly handled better, was really more of a protection breakdown than it was a a punter issue. But Chris has done a good job for us. He's directionally punted well and punted well inside the 50. And backed up, he got off a couple good ones. And also against the full rush, he hit the ball well. So that was good to see. But he's done a good job for us all year.
FS: Usually this time of season [it's] not too often that you [practice] with pads. Last week, you decided to go with pads. Was that to get some of the timing back down it seemed like you were losing?
BB: Yeah, and because of just the overall running game. Especially the way Miami ran the ball against us down there in the first game, I thought we could use a little bit of work on our run defense, and offensively on our blitz pickup, based on the way we've been getting pressured here the last few weeks and also the way Miami – as they were going through the season – looked like they were blitzing more and more, even though they didn't blitz a whole lot against us today. But we had to get ready for that so we thought that kind of would help the timing in those two areas and also on special teams. So that's why we did it. It seemed like that worked out alright.
SD: Fifteen-and-0 going into the final game of the season. Next week's opponent, the New York Giants, I believe they've captured a playoff spot…
FS: Yes they have, Stephen.
SD: …over Buffalo today. How do you expect them to approach the game, and how do you expect to approach the game?
BB: Well, I have no idea what the Giants are going to do, but I'm sure they'll – knowing Tom [Coughlin] – that they'll go out there and do what they do. They have a good football team. We played them in preseason; we have a little bit of familiarity with them. They're strong in all three phases of the game and I'm sure we'll have to do a good job to be competitive with them. We'll do what we always do, which is try to have a good week of preparation and practice and go down there and play well on Saturday night. So that's really no different this week than what it's been any other week.
FS: And they do have guys that can put pressure on the quarterback; they're one of the better pass rushing teams in the league.
BB: Oh, they lead the league in sacks. Sure. They've got a good running game. They've got, I don't know, must have had 300 yards rushing today against Buffalo.
FS: They did have over 300.
BB: And, of course, with Plaxico Burress and their receiving corps and [Eli] Manning, they can throw it, they can run it. Play good defense; sack the quarterback. Turn the ball over; take it away. Good in the kicking game. So, we have a lot of respect for the Giants. We've seen them the last few years in preseason and we have a lot of respect for them.
FS: Manning's a little unusual. I mean, sometimes he comes out and he looks like Peyton Manning and sometimes he looks like he couldn't outplay his father. You know, some games he throws the ball as well as I've seen a guy in the league – has a strong arm and he moves well – next thing you know he's throwing in the dirt. So he's a guy that can rise to the occasion during the season and another guy that plays as bad as… So you don't know what type of Manning quarterback you're going to get.
BB: Well, I think you always have to prepare for every player's best performance, and then if it doesn't turn out that way then it doesn't turn out that way. But I think you have to go into the game expecting each player to play his best and prepare to play at that level. And if you get less, great. But you better be ready for a top performance and know what the players can do and expect them to do it.
SD: Coach, the Pro Bowl teams came out last Tuesday. You must be proud of some of the selections on your team this year.
BB: I am, Steve. I'm happy for all the players that were selected. I think there were other players who were probably deserving, or certainly were worth a consideration, that didn't get it…
SD: Wes Welker.
BB: He would be one, but there isn't much we could do about that. But I'm happy for the guys that got it. I think that when you look at the Pro Bowl team, it's a reflection of the overall team performance and so I think that that's a real compliment. The players we had is a compliment and a commentary on the overall team success. And when you look at players that get selected to that, they usually come from the winning teams and the teams with the best records. So it's almost a team honor as much as it is an individual honor. And I'm happy for the players that were selected; I think they all deserve it. They're all very good players and [I'm] glad they're on our team, but I think it also reflects on our record and the overall team success that we've had.
SD: Your offensive line, well-represented.
BB: Absolutely. Yeah, to get three players off of that unit on there is… I mean, that's great.
FS: Has there ever been a year that a Boston College player hasn't been in the Pro Bowl?
[Laughter]
SD: Your rookie year, I think. Well, we do have an unofficial Question of the Week this [week]. It's from little Zakie D. from Andover. He says, 'Could you please be nice to me next week?'
[Laughter]
SD: What do you say, Coach?
BB: [Giants LB] Zak [DeOssie] can take care of himself out there. We saw Zak in preseason and he's done good job. He's, as a rookie, stepped in and done a good job of snapping, giving the Giants some snaps there at linebacker. He's got a good future ahead of him… just like his dad.
[Laughter and crosstalk]
SD: Coach, we really appreciate it. Congratulations on your 15th win of the season, good luck going for number 16. This has been Coffee With the Coach, and Coffee With the Coach is brought to you by Dunkin' Donuts. America runs on Dunkin'.
FS: Also, Merry Christmas, Coach. Have a good Christmas and enjoy it.
BB: Thank you, Fred. Same to you, Steve. Happy holidays. And to all our listeners out there, Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.
SD: Could you just ask Fred a question so I can watch him sweat?
[Laughter and crosstalk]
FS: Any questions for Steve?
BB: I'm good.
SD: That's my Christmas present – he doesn't make me squirm with a question from the coach. Coach, thanks again and congratulations.
BB: Alright Steve, Fred. Thank you very much.
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