Bill Belichick joined Dennis & Callahan with guest hosts Fred
Smerlas and Steve DeOssie during Patriots Monday on WEEI Sports Radio 850 AM.
SD: Joining us from his palatial Nantucket, or wherever he is...
FS: He's locked in the cellar in the
basement of the stadium, breaking down film.
SD: Joining us, head coach of the New
England Patriots, Bill Belichick. Bill, welcome to the new morning show.
We're taking over...
FS: We're not leaving...
SD: We're not leaving here. We're taking
over the morning show.
BB: Hey Steve, Fred. Hey, that's awesome. Congratulations. What a way to start
the morning.
SD: We had to use a lot of tape to tie
up John Dennis and Greg Dickerson, but they'll be all right.
We'll feed them around 8 o'clock.
FS: It's like eating liver in the
morning, listening to us. [Laughter] It's just something you have to do.
BB: Hey, it's good to have you guys on early. I love getting up in the morning.
FS: What time do you get up,
Coach?
BB: I'm an early guy, Fred. And I go to bed early.
I usually get started early and
finish early.
[Crosstalk]
SD: Well Coach, you've completed the part of your offseason where your
players are around the facility and whatnot, and now they get to scatter a
little bit for a few weeks before training camp. How do you evaluate this
offseason as compared to other offseasons?
BB: I think it's been productive on a number of levels. You always like to see
it be a little bit better, but we had great participation in the offseason
workouts. Players worked hard. They were into it. We had good participation
in our spring camps. I think we got a lot done. That just puts us in position to
start training camp. That's when it really has to come together, is when you
go full speed
and compete and get past the teaching stage and get into the execution stage.
But staff-wise, we kept things together pretty well, made a few adjustments and changes in our scheme and studied some things some other people were doing
around the league. So I think we've tried to take some steps to improve, and we'll see how
it all comes together.
FS: How are the new guys getting
acclimating to the gameplan? You watch them in practice and it's a lot
different — the terminology is different, their
responsibility is different. You always, as a coach, look for guys, you've
told us several times, that can understand not only what they're doing but
how to apply it on the field. How are the new guys absorbing the new gameplans?
BB: You know what, this group of guys, Fred, has really been kind of special. They've all been here
for all the offseason workouts from the time that they've signed. Now,
we've signed them at different points in the Spring, but they've
participated a hundred percent in everything. They're caught up, and even though they have experience in
the league, they're ahead on the terminology and knowing how we do things a
little differently from the way it was done in the past.
I think that looking back on some of the players that we've signed in previous years, in
some cases that wasn't always the way it happened. The guys had other
commitments and they weren't able to join us in the offseason, and I think they
missed some valuable time. These guys have really jumped in with both feet
and been some of our biggest participants. So I think that's a good sign and
certainly doing everything you can to make it work and be successful. From
that standpoint, they've fit in well because they've worked hard to fit in.
FS: You said something interesting, though. A lot of players
and a lot
of teams in this day and age don't connect. A player, a veteran of nine or
ten years, might hem and haw about coming in. You talked about the
enthusiasm. Is there an enthusiasm from these new guys you just
brought in, to participate in these minicamps? Because sometimes it's hard to
draw them in. They want to go on vacation, and you're saying it seems like
they've jumped right in and are enthusiastic about it.
BB: Yeah, they've been very good. They seem to be invigorated by what we're doing, and I
think to a certain degree we're invigorated by having some new faces and new guys to
work with and having it all come together. I mean, there's still a long way to go and we haven't done anything yet.
We haven't blocked, or tackled, or caught a pass, or anything, in a
competitive situation. But as far as preparation, which is such a big key
for us, I think that we've had a good Spring of preparation and hopefully that will manifest itself
into a good training camp and a good, productive football team.
SD: Well Coach, if you were to just read the national publications and the
websites and whatnot, with the combination of the core guys that you have on
this team and the talent that you've brought in in the offseason, it seems
like the national media has just paved your way to the Super Bowl this year.
How do you get your guys to not believe the hype?
BB: Well, you know we don't care anything about that. That and a buck will
get you a cup of coffee. You can't worry about what everyone else thinks. We
just have to go out there and get our level of performance high on the
field. Other teams have improved, other teams are all working hard. You
know, other
teams are working just as hard as we are, we know that. So we have to go out
there and do it on the field. It doesn't really matter what anybody says one
way or the other, whether we're good or bad. I don't think that really
matters.
FS: But it's been the same rhetoric for the past couple years
— the
Patriots have been the team to beat the last couple of years, so that's
something that's not foreign to you.
BB: I don't know, Fred, there have been plenty of things written where we
stink, we're no good, we... So, it goes both ways. We can't really worry
about that.
FS: One thing must be a lot different
though, you have receivers now that, you
know, 6'3", 6'2", 6'1". How does that look change the complexity of things?
You've always had shorter receivers, except for maybe [Doug] Gabriel, but
all the receivers, or [Donald] Hayes a couple years ago, they brought in from Carolina, but these are bigger receivers. You have a couple bigger receivers
that can pose a lot of problems for zone defenses.
BB: Receivers all come in different shapes and sizes, and different skill
sets. We've seen guys throughout the league have different attributes and be
successful. So I think in the end what it comes down to is whether a
receiver can find a way to get open and catch the ball. And again, there are
a lot of different ways to do that, whether it's with size, with speed, with
quickness, with technique, and using their hands to catch the ball
productively in traffic. So each guy has his own way of doing things. As
long as they can do that then that's a positive for the passing game — if
they can get open and catch the ball. If they can't, then there is no
passing game. You know, I could go out there and not get open and not catch
the ball, so that's nothing special. We have plenty of guys that can do
that. The ones that can, they're the ones that add to the passing game. I
thought our players last year, [Jabar] Gaff[ney] and Reche [Caldwell] both
had good years for us. We were very productive in the second half of
the year throwing the ball. We have some competition at that position. We'll
just see how it all works out. But I think that our players from last year that
were offensive skill players — Kevin [Faulk] had a good year for us as
well, Laurence [Maroney], we're excited to work with him, [Benjamin] Watson and [Kyle] Brady and Dave Thomas. You know, we'll just see how
all that comes together. But I think we have good competition there, that's the big
thing.
FS: It must be interesting with Tom [Brady]. Tom's locker now is in the
middle of Randy Moss's and...isn't he right in the middle of the whole
thing? That's what Big O [Glenn Ordway] was saying. Big O dressed up
like a garbage can and was sneaking around the locker
room.
BB: (Laughs)
SD: You mentioned Laurence Maroney. Is he going to be healthy for the start of training camp?
BB: We'll just have to see how that comes along. I'm sure he'll be close.
He's doing well. He's worked extremely hard this offseason and I'm sure
he'll be ready to go. What the exact time will be, we'll just have to wait
and see how that comes along. But I'm sure that he'll be ready to go.
FS: One of our guys, Rodney Harrison, making progress?
BB: Rodney had a good offseason. He had a good few weeks in our Spring camps
when we were out on the field working on our team defense and our team pass defense and
so forth. Rodney's a real professional. I think if there's one guy you
can count on to be in shape, to be physically and mentally as well-prepared
and ready to go as possible, that Rodney Harrison's that guy. It was good to see
him out there, it was good to see Junior [Seau] back out there, too,
after his injury during the season and resigning him late in the Spring. It's good to
see both of those players back out on the field in uniform running around
making plays for us. Hopefully, defensively we can improve a little bit on
that side of the ball, as well.
FS: Think about it, those two guys off the field is what, 40 years of
experience? I mean, that's an amazing amount of experience. How many guys
have you ever coached that have a better understanding of the scheme and of
the offense than Rodney Harrison?
BB: Well, Rodney's a very experienced player, he's a very instinctive
player. And you know, a lot of times he doesn't do everything exactly by the
book, because he sees things and is able to anticipate or recognize a play
or a formation or something that's going to happen. Sometimes he'll cut
short his responsibility a little bit in anticipation of what he thinks is
going to happen, and most of the time he's right on that. He has that
ability to sometimes stretch his responsibility a little bit and still be
productive because of his experience and his intuition into the play.
FS: How much latitude do you give them to make adjustments on their own
like that?
BB: You know, Fred, you have to just play. You know how it is. You can say
'Well, this is the way it's supposed to happen,' then you get out on the
field and it doesn't quite happen that way. You just have to be a football
player, and you just have to react to it and do what you think is right on that play,
even though it might not be textbook assignment-wise. That's just what a
good football player does, he's able to quickly analyze a situation and make
a good decision. Those are the guys that are good players.
FS: You always yelled at me for doing that. 'What the hell are you doing?!'
(Laughs)
SD: One of the things that always comes up with the good teams is the
chemistry. You have a few high-profile new guys coming into the team this
year, what is it exactly that comes from the team that these guys have to
pickup in terms of the chemistry or the mentality or whatever? What,
specifically, do your veterans show these new guys? Is there something you
can put your finger on?
BB: I think the biggest thing, Steve, is we ask of every player is to just
be consistent. To come to work prepared, ready to give their best effort, to
be in condition, to know their assignment, to work hard and be dependable.
That goes from a rookie to a twenty-year veteran. There's really no shortcut
to it. If you know what to do and you work hard at it and you put the team
first, then we're going to have positive results. I think that the most
important thing for each player is to come to work with that attitude and to
carry that out. The emphasis isn't on veteran players giving big speeches to
everybody else and all that. If they just come in and perform with that type
of work ethic and attitude, then that is leadership and that's really
what everybody should do. Players, coaches, everybody in the organization.
Be prepared, work hard, put the team first, and then everything else will
kind of fall into place. We really don't talk a lot about everybody
telling each other what to do. Really, each person at this time of year,
each player and coach, has everything they can do to get themselves ready to
play for the season, or coach for the season. In terms of their own personal
preparation, really I don't know if they have time to worry about what
everybody else is doing. They just have to get themselves ready to go.
FS: A guy that I've vowed to give a break to is Randy Moss. Fairness is one
of my main things in life. [Laughter] There was talk about him not hustling
at practice — I remember a couple of articles. But he's been working very
well with the rest of the guys, and participating at a good level with the
team drills?
BB: Yes, Randy has participated in everything. When we signed him, actually,
he initially had already had a couple of previous commitments. His schedule
permitted him to do almost everything, but he had had a previous commitment and
wasn't going to be able to participate in a couple things that we had
scheduled because he had already made scheduling arrangements on his own.
And then he changed his schedule, he moved some of those things around, and
I know it was an inconvenience to him to do it. But he did it and he didn't
miss anything all Spring. I think that he had a good Spring in terms
of learning our system and picking up some of the things that we do in the
passing game that are a little bit different than what he's done in the past
at Oakland and Minnesota. I wouldn't want to single him out, because really
I think you could say the same about all of our new players, and even our
veteran players, that those guys worked hard this year, they've picked up
some of the adjustments and changes that we made in our system. Guys that
came in new, like [Kelley] Washington and [Wes] Welker and Adalius Thomas and Tory James and all those guys, they worked hard to learn what was going on
and get caught up, and they did a good job of it. I think that whole group has
been impressive. Sammy Morris and Kyle Brady — those guys have come in, they've learned new systems, they've been asked to do things a little
differently than they've done it in the past, even though they were successful
doing them, and they've tried to change and pick up and do it the way we
want it done. So you can't ask any more than that at this point. And like I've said, the big
key now will be whether we can go out and execute it in game-competitive
conditions as we work into the preseason and the regular season games.
FS: Pete Sheppard wanted me to write down a question.
BB: How's Pete doing?
FS: Pete's doing great. He misses you and...
BB: Good. Give him my best. I haven't seen him in a little while.
Yeah, give him my
best. I always look forward to working with Pete, too.
FS: [Glenn] Ordway went to a fat farm because he got so big
and he couldn't even
get into the booth. [Laughter] But Pete wanted to know, are you going to do
something to make [Tom] Brady's name stand out from Kyle Brady's? On his back.
Like make it like red, white and blue.
SD: So Pete doesn't get confused?
FS: He wants to make sure Tom Brady's name stands out more than Kyle Brady's
when they're in the huddle together. He didn't know if you were going to do
anything to change the colors or make them larger.
BB: That's something we've really been working on, Fred.
Hosts: [Laughter]
BB: I just don't want to reveal any of those, you know, that's one of our
secret weapons. That's something that I don't really want to reveal at this
point. We'll save that for later.
FS: But you have to say 'Good question, Pete.' He lives for that.
[Laughter]
SD: Well, Coach, we really appreciate
you joining us, taking time out from your offseason. What does the head
coach of the New England Patriots do to kick back a little bit in his
offseason? I saw you playing a little golf in Nashawtuc there, but what do you do in your downtime when you want to relax?
BB: I've been getting a little extra
coaching in with my kids in lacrosse,
a couple of summer lacrosse tournaments. So, we've had that sport going, too. It's good just to relax and spend a little time on Nantucket with the kids. Do a little fishing, do a little golfing, just do a little
bit of nothing, that's okay, too. Just kind of spend a little leisurely time, not
really on a tight, threatening schedule, just kind of going at your own pace
and see if the fish are biting.
SD: So you're not flying back and forth to Hollywood for cameo roles?
BB: Well, yeah, I still have to work on my acting career...
Hosts: [Laughter]
BB: I have a few TV appearances lined up.
Yeah, I'm still working on that. I don't
think that's going particularly well, but I'm working on it.
SD: (Laughing) I think it worked very well. Coach, we appreciate it.
FS: Thanks, Coach!
SD: You enjoy, and tell the boys that I said 'hi' — and Amanda. We'll talk
to you soon.
BB: OK, well you do the same with Zak [DeOssie]. We'll see him at the end of
August [when we play the Giants]. It was great to be on. I appreciate the opportunity, Fred and Steve.
I don't usually get on this morning show. It's quite an honor to come on early and
catch the listeners here early in the morning on their way to work. So, thank you.
It's good to talk to you and I look forward to working with you again this Fall.
FS: You're always welcome as long as
we're hosting and co-hosting. [Forget about] those
other guys.
SD: We're going to take this over for at least a week.
Forget this one-day stint. We're taking over for a week.
BB: Well, when you guys are on, if you
invite me, I'd love to be there.
SD: We have to lock ourselves in the
studio, so send us some food. If we get out they'll never let us back in.
FS: We're heavily armed with cigars.
BB: Hey, I know of a restaurant in Providence that
I might be able to connect you with that'll feed you.
SD: Oh, you mean down in Twin River?
A nice steakhouse?
BB: Yeah, it's a good place.
SD: I heard the same thing. Fred and
Steve's [Steakhouse].
BB: It's awesome.
SD: And we have your own private table
any time you feel like using it, Bill. You know that.
FS: And two big, fat waiters — me and
Steve.
[Laughter]
SD: Thanks a lot, Bill.
BB: Good talking to you. Thanks a lot,
fellas. Bye.
SD: See ya.
FS: You know what, though? When we're on
the show, things happen! You want guests, call Fred and Steve!
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