Glenn Ordway: How do you take a game like that, second preseason game. First drive, obviously, they just marched down the field. How do you take something like that?
Bill Belichick: Well, the first drive they converted four third-downs and we really had our chances to get off the field there. Most of them they just converted by a yard or two. We just weren't quite tight enough on a couple of those plays. So that wasn't good. The other touchdown, long drive they had, they hit a short pass for about two yards and we missed a couple tackles, lost some leverage and that ended up being a big play. And they had a run that we basically had stopped and that kind of spun out of there for 10 or 12 yards. So I think there were a lot of little things in the game defensively that if we just could tighten them up by even a yard or so, we would have been able to get off the field and give the ball to the offense. Offensively, we had a couple turnovers. Three, really. One for a touchdown, so that's not good. Again, we were just inconsistent, really. Too many negative plays and not being able to convert on third down, being in some long-yardage situations because we had some negative plays on first- or second-down. And that was, to me, pretty much the story.
Fred Smerlas: Did it seem like they were…[do] teams blitz sometimes in preseason? When you're trying to take a look at players, is that the best way for you guys to prepare? If you're blitzing guys and guys don't have a chance to [inaudible] see their individual talents. It seemed like they blitzed a lot and it seemed like last week they blitzed a lot.
Belichick: Yeah, I think there's no doubt about it, Fred. That's hurt us both [of] the last two weeks. Baltimore and Tampa Bay, when they blitzed us they had a lot more positive plays than we did. Part of that's just we have to do a better job with what we're doing, but part of it is also there were probably better plays we could have run in those situations. We didn't gameplan for them very much and so part of it was we didn't look good because they had a better defense on than we had plays. And conversely, we really haven't blitzed much at all. We pretty much stayed in our basic defense, and that probably hasn't made it overly difficult for the other teams' offenses to figure out where we are and what we're doing. We're not really trying to fool anybody, we're just trying to play good fundamental football. But we can play better fundamental football and we have to handle the pressures better than we have in the last couple games. So I think it's a little bit of a combination of things.
Smerlas: My point would be, if you're the coach doing the Patriots you want to look at individuals because you have to make decisions whether you keep them or not. But when you're blitzing everybody and guys are just running in there, you don't look at their talents, coverage or how they're playing their techniques and things of that nature.
Belichick: Right. Yeah, I think that's kind of what our philosophy is, is to let the players play in the basic stuff and see how that goes. It's easy to draw up plays in preseason that work, because the other team's not ready for them or they have inexperienced guys in there and then you know that that play works but you really don't know how well the players can play it. So we're trying to find a balance with that. I'm sure everybody else is, too. Baltimore and Tampa did what they needed to do to get their teams ready, so I respect that. We just have to do a better job of handling those situations, because they're going to come up eventually. We need to maybe do a better job with them here sooner rather than later.
Steve DeOssie: How does the balance change over the four preseason games between wanting to look at the younger guys, or the backup players, and getting your regular players ready for opening day?
Belichick: Well, I think it's a full transition there, Steve. I think you go from the beginning of preseason where you really want to see the guys you haven't seen play, play, and then the closer it gets to the end of preseason and the start of the regular season the more you want to see the guys who you think are going to be playing, start playing, and playing together. So we transitioned that a little bit last night; we'll probably do a little bit more of it against Philadelphia and they we'll take a look at the Giants game when we get to the Giants game. But that will be kind of the plan for these first three preseason weeks.
DeOssie: Do you have to take into account the age and health of your players in that situation?
Belichick: Absolutely. And each player's different. And each player's situation is different. And a lot of times the depth that position is on your team is different, from one position to the next, so that's a factor too. But in the end, I think you want to, by the end of preseason, try to get the guys who are going to be playing for you starting to play together in preseason if you can. Last year we weren't really able to get that with Tom [Brady] and Randy [Moss] but that didn't mean they weren't able to, eventually for that to fall into place. So I don't think there are any absolutes. Just because you do have guys playing together doesn't insure that everything's going to be great, either. But I think that's kind of the road you want to head down.
Smerlas: They talk about age, and in the old days, when you were a young man, [Laughter] when you had eight week of camp and you pounded the crap out of…it's totally different now. Guys at 35 years old aren't like they were 35 years old in the '70s and '80s. They take care of themselves better, there's less pounding in camp, there's less… I mean, a guy can play 15 years now, whereas that was unheard of back 20 years ago. So when they talk about age of linebackers, when you're healthy and you don't have the knee injuries or the elbow injuries, physically these guys can play on. You see [Mike] Vrabel doesn't look like he's lost a step. Age is totally different now than it was a couple years ago. I want to send that to [Sterling] Sharpe because he kept saying 'They're so old! They can't play!' But do you see much difference from years ago with guys being able to play later into the years?
Belichick: I think, really, it just depends on the individual player. There are some players that, at the end of their career they drop off very suddenly; there are other players that drop off very gradually and it's really hard to notice from one year to the next. And there are other players where it's more noticeable but it's not terminal – they just don't fall off the cliff from a performance standpoint. So I just think you have to take each individual player and go by what you see. I don't know that there's a specific age where you can say it's going to happen or it's not going to happen. The only thing I say is I think that there are certain players who are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, and there are certain players who are closer to the beginning than the end. I think that's really how I would categorize it, because I don't think you ever really know when a player's career is going to come to a close. Sometimes that's at 29, sometimes it's at 34, sometimes it's at 40! It just depends on the individual player and maybe his position and his physical situation and how he matches up at that position with what he's got to play against.
[Crosstalk]
Ordway: Well, you've had some good success with guys that have come in here, guys that have been toward the end of their career, and have done quite well. I mean, Junior [Seau] did very, very well here. Now you've brought John Lynch in. Is there something about those players, because of their experience, because of their smarts, the fact that they've been around so long, that in a one-year situation they can pick stuff up pretty quickly for you?
Belichick: Sure. I think the experience is one of the biggest things those players have going for them. Although, they're pretty special – those two in particular, Lynch and Seau – are pretty special players and athletes in their own right. Roman Phifer, guys like that, that were pretty special in their day, and they continue to be, and were able to maintain that through a long career and a very productive career.
Smerlas: Well, different systems. Some systems are more physical. In this system, if you have the intelligence and you're in the right place at the right time and you follow the gameplan, you can be more productive than maybe in some other systems.
Belichick: Right. And I think certainly a lot of that has to do with what the player is being asked to do. In some cases one system may play into a player's strengths a little bit more than another one would, regardless of his age.
Ordway: I guess that's a good sign when what most people are talking about today is the backup quarterback position on your team. Because you hope that as the season goes along, you never get to that backup quarterback position out there on the field. But based on what you've seen in the first two weeks here, is there any concern at all on your part at that backup quarterback position?
Belichick: Well, I thought that Matt [Cassel] did a much better job this week than last week. I thought that he handled a lot of situations pretty well down there in Tampa. And when he had some opportunities, I thought he did a good job with them. There were several plays where he really didn't have a good chance, but I thought he played much better than he did the first week against Baltimore. So hopefully we'll keep building on that. I think at every position you always would like to have great depth. That's just what you want, because you never know when you're going to need it. And that's what we do, we try to work to get every player on our team in position to contribute and ready to contribute whenever he's called on at whatever spot that is. It doesn't matter whether it's backup quarterback or any other position, it's really our approach. And our attitude's kind of the same on all of them.
Ordway: In the past, you've used 40-year old quarterbacks as your backup quarterback. Right now you've got a stable of real young kids. Is that by design or is that just what happens to be there?
Belichick: Well, I think that's the preferred way to go, is to take a younger player and take the three or four years that you have with him and develop him, rather than taking a player who's older, that it's kind of year-to-year and you're just kind of getting by with that player until you can get a younger one that you can commit to for three or four years. And as soon as you have that, then you would rather work with that player because you know what you have and you know he has longevity with you, rather than the one-year type players. And we've had those and those guys have been good to have, like [Doug] Flutie and [Vinny] Testaverde and guys like that. But you know that the clock's ticking on them and it's not going to last forever, and you really need a younger player that you can get into that spot, that can do a good job, that can grow over a period of three or four years and become solid at that position. That way you're not looking for one every year.
Smerlas: Was there ever any interest in [Chad] Pennington when he was out there?
Belichick: It seemed like that opened and closed pretty quick. But it sounded to me like – I don't know, we really weren't involved with it – but it just sounded like Pennington was looking for an opportunity to be the starter or to compete for playing time, and it seemed like he got that opportunity in Miami. At least they signed him in that…gave him that chance.
Smerlas: But you know, they always talk about this backup position, and when I was in San Fran for a year the backup was Steve Young. But nowadays a good backup job's worth 40 million bucks. Whenever there's a good kid backing up, you're not going to have the salary cap space to keep a top quality guy that's proven himself. Someone else is going to jump on him. At any position.
Belichick: Right. That was proved last week when the Jets acquired [Brett] Favre and then had to release Pennington. It's really prohibitive to have two quarterbacks on your roster that are making that kind of top starter money. It's just hard to do; it eats up too much space and it weakens your team in too many other areas. You just can't afford that. I'm not saying you can't have two good quarterbacks, but I don't think you can pay top dollar to two good quarterbacks without it really taking a toll somewhere else on your football team. That's why most teams don't do it. But back in – like you were talking about – back when the 49'ers had [Joe] Montana and Young, or even at the Giants when we had [Phil] Simms and [Jeff] Hostetler, those two starting quarterbacks, teams could have a couple starting quarterbacks because there wasn't the salary cap and there wasn't free agency, so they were able to maintain the depth at those positions. It's a little bit of a different story now.
DeOssie: How are your rookies playing so far?
Belichick: I think overall as a group they've done a good job. A lot to learn, a long way to go, but I think that they've done a good job. They've worked hard. It's a hard-working class, a pretty smart group. They pick things up well. Even though they make mistakes, there's not a lot of mental mistakes or things that you've gone over multiple times and still can't get them right. There isn't very much of that. Most of the stuff that they have trouble with are things that they haven't really seen before, or it's a little different than the way we normally see it and they don't quite identify it quickly enough. But overall I think that they've done a good job. I thought Kevin [O'Connell] handled himself pretty well again last night. Again, not perfect. But Jerod [Mayo] and [Shawn] Crable showed up. [Gary] Guyton showed up a little bit. [Terrence] Wheatley was OK. So I thought that overall those guys have performed well given the situation that they've been in, and they're very competitive on our roster.
DeOssie: In the evaluation process, how much of it is their physical ability to play on the field and their mental ability to pick it up? Is it weighted differently for positions or all the way around?
Belichick: Well, I think they're both important, and you have to find a balance with all players on that; not just the rookies, but all players. Granted, they don't have a lot of experience, but on the practice field – we've had 24 practices and two games – they do start to see things repeatedly and some guys pick it up quicker than others. Some guys are able to take one or two plays and turn that into experience, other guys take a lot longer than that. So they can close that gap more quickly if that's the type of player they are. I just think that overall our young guys, our rookies, have been pretty quick at picking things up and making adjustments and understanding how to handle different situations. So the fact that they can do that certainly makes it a lot easier to keep working with them, because you don't leave them behind as much.
Smerlas: Well, part of your process would be bringing guys in that you would feel have the ability to pickup the system.
Belichick: Well, of course. Yeah, everybody you bring in you feel like has enough physical and athletic ability, and they have enough football instinctiveness and playing ability to be able to contribute. And then once you get them in here and put them with veteran players and some other players you've added to the team, then that starts to separate itself. But yeah, initially when you bring them in you feel like things will work out for that player and he'll be able to contribute for your team. But that doesn't always work out that way.
Smerlas: How well is Lynch picking up the stuff?
Belichick: John's a very smart player and a very experienced player. He was here for one practice and one walkthrough, and for what he did last night, I don't think there were any assignment problems or really adjustment problems or anything like that. Going forward there are going to be some adjustments for him to make and quite a bit for him to learn, but he's a smart guy, he's worked at it, he's a very experienced player and I'm sure it'll come quickly to him once he just kind of transfers our terminology to other concepts that he's used in the past.
Smerlas: So physically he's still in the ballgame? I mean, it looked like he moves OK. Sixteen years, right?
Belichick: Right. Yeah, I think John's…certainly watching him play last year at Denver, he was very productive for them last year – had a Pro Bowl season. So we're excited about getting him out there on the field this week now that we've gotten through some of the newness and the new terminology and all that, really kind of getting into the system a little bit and letting him take plays and get some reps and see how it all falls together.
Ordway: Robert Kraft talked the other day about the possibility of going to a 17- or 18-game regular season and obviously cutting down the preseason. Do you need four games in the preseason?
Belichick: Well, it depends on the player. I think the rookie players could probably use six games. And if they had six they'd learn from all six. If they had four they'd learn from four. If there were two they'd learn from two. I think that the less opportunity you give the players in preseason, the more it helps the veteran players and the more it hurts the younger players. So whatever it is, it'll be the same for everybody. But to me that's the tradeoff. Everybody talks about developing younger players, and they had that Europe league for a few years with the idea of developing players over there, which I don't think too many got developed there. [Laughter] I mean, there were some that played… [Crosstalk] But in any case, you're trying to find ways to give young players experience and playing time, and right now the best way to do that is in training camp and preseason games.
Ordway: So overall as a coach…
Belichick: It's just a question of who you're giving the preference to. But if you cut that down then it's going to be harder for those players to develop as players. You take a rookie quarterback and you only have one or two games to play him in the preseason and then you don't think he's going to play for you as a rookie – that's a lot to ask. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's a lot to ask. If you give him more time than that, then you give him more opportunity to get ready. I mean, it's a tradeoff. I don't think there's a right or wrong, I just think it's a tradeoff.
Ordway: It seems to me, and even watching other NFL games, that coaches are using their veterans less and less in these preseason games. It's a long season, you take a beating out there, and we've seen some guys get hurt in the last few weeks in these games. Do you think that that's – and you just talked about the difference of veterans and what they need versus what the young players need – do you think there's a trend out there in the league of giving the veterans a little less playing time during the preseason?
Belichick: I wouldn't necessarily say that. I think it's probably a case-by-case thing. I think that what you're going to see, which is the same thing you always see, is at the start of the regular season, in the first two or three weeks of the season, there will be a spike in injuries. And as the veteran players go from playing 20, 30, 40 plays in a preseason game at night, when it's relatively cool, to those Sunday afternoon games in September, whether they be in Foxboro or Miami or Kansas City or wherever they are, to playing 60 minutes at a higher competitive level, because it's the regular season, and playing longer and playing with fewer guys and guys having to play on the kicking game and their offensive and defensive roles, and then cutting the roster to 45 instead of going out there with 80 or 70 or however many you have here in preseason, that you're going to see a spike in injuries the first two to three weeks of the season. And then you'll probably see that level-off for the rest of the year. So, again, that's the tradeoff. The more that they play in preseason probably the more game-ready they'll be for the regular season, but the greater chance of injury by playing them more in preseason. But inevitably when everybody starts playing on a pretty much full-time basis with the start of the regular season you're going to see a spike in injuries and you'll see a lot of guys get hurt the first two or three weeks.
Ordway: Do you take that into consideration in the first two weeks? Do you kind of try to wean those veterans in, maybe not play them the number of minutes, the number of plays that you would play them in game, let's say, five or six?
Belichick: Well, I think if you have the depth to do that, you do it. But the most important thing is you're trying to win that game, so…again, the other team is in the same boat as you are. They're playing their guys about the same in preseason as you're playing your guys, so it's all relative. But all I'm saying is when you take that jump from 40 plays a game – in preseason, at night, on a much more controlled basis – to, let's say, 70 or 80 plays in a regular season game at a much higher competitive level on Sunday afternoon in a much more strenuous situation, that usually something's going to give over the course of 1,500 players or however many guys there are in the league that are playing on that week. That's the tradeoff. And the more you can play them in preseason and the more you can get them ready, then the closer they are to being ready to play a full game in the regular season in September.
Smerlas: You just brought something up that you would have to take into consideration if you had 18 games. Preseason is, you go out there, you get your plays in, it's kind of relaxed. But to add two more games at a much higher intensity, much more plays, you put a lot more wear and tear on the players. Those preseason games are really…
Belichick: Yeah, I think if you added two more games, I think what you'd have to think about is not just the two extra games – from 16 to 18 – but also the shorter preseason and would that cause a further spike in injuries the first two, three, four weeks of the regular season? Would that actually help you in the long-run or hurt you in the long-run? When you start losing significant players that early in the season, we've all seen teams in previous years, teams where they have two or three big injuries those first two or three weeks and it takes a lot out of the team and the momentum of the team and the fans and so forth. But you can't buy insurance on anybody. You go out there and play a game, you don't know who's going to get hurt, who isn't! That's football. It could be a guy who hasn't played, it could be a guy that has been playing, it could be a quarterback, it could be a defensive lineman, it could be anybody! So you just don't know, and that's the hard part. No matter how much we sit here and say this is what we're trying to do, there are no absolutes in it.
Ordway: And they're actually talking about playing them at the back end into February. So they would go deeper into February.
Smerlas: Nice. Freezing. And the mental fatigue you're talking about. At the end of the season these young kids are burnt. That's a long season.
[Crosstalk]
Belichick: Fred and Steve, you guys know well how the attitude in training camp shifts from when you're a rookie or you're a young player that's coming in for your first time and you're fighting for a job and you're trying to make the team, and every practice is like the Super Bowl for you. Versus when you're a four-, five-, six-year veteran and you have a lot of confidence that you're going to make the team as much as you're trying to get ready for the season! I mean, you still have to play well enough to make the team, but you know what I mean. There's a difference there. So those players are able to pace themselves a little bit through the preseason and then be ready for the season, But you talk about rookies burning out, well part of the reason they burn out is because that first six weeks when they're in training camp and those preseason games, I mean, that's their career right there!
DeOssie: It's high intensity.
Belichick: It's very high intensity. And then you tack the season onto that, plus the fact that they're younger, they're not used to it and they're playing against much better players than they ever played against in college, it's tough for a rookie. It really is.
Smerlas: And there are no girls walking around. When you come into camp, it's nothing. It's football! You don't go to class, you don't get the break, you don't get the bikinis walking around. It's nothing. [Crosstalk] But it is a different mindset coming from football and school and recreation to football. Bill Belichick looks you in the eye and says, 'Son, you're not playing well.' And either you melt…I mean, when I was a rookie I started two games and Chuck Knox pulled me aside and said, 'You suck. You can't play a single bit.' I was a [inaudible] defensive end, put my nose tackle and told me to read. I said, 'Coach, I read in college, what do you want me to read?' I didn't know how to read. And you have to, you know, he boots you in the butt at corner. You know how you do it sometimes, some guy needs a pat on the ass, some guy needs a kick in the butt? … It's a different world for these rookies coming in to just black and white football – take your book home, study, come back on the field and be there all day. That's a huge change!
Belichick: Oh, absolutely. And that's why a lot of veterans have the edge on the rookies coming in. Not because of their experience just on the playing field, but their experience in terms of preparation and really knowing how to be a professional and how to hold on to their jobs. A lot of rookies don't understand what kind of commitment they need to take a job from a veteran in training camp. Sometimes they don't find out until their second or third training camp.
DeOssie: It's easy to get sidetracked with a little money in your pocket, too. You get a nice signing bonus in your pocket, all of a sudden you think that's good money. You don't realize what money you're leaving on the table if you don't pay attention to what's going on.
[Crosstalk]
Belichick: I think the big difference between college and professional football, relatively speaking, is that pro players have more time and more money. They don't have class, they don't have study hall, they don't have the college coaches standing over them like in college in the NFL. The have a little more free time and a lot more money and a lot more opportunity or options. And that can be good or it can be not so good.
Smerlas: Did you ever think about college coaching? Would you like that?
Belichick: Right now, I like what I'm doing. I need to do it a little bit better, but I like what I'm doing.
DeOssie: How do you think your offensive line has shaped up so far? I know you've had some injuries along the line, how do you think they've shaped up so far this preseason?
Belichick: I think they're hanging in there. I thought they really did a good job against Tampa last night. The problems we had with Tampa were primarily when they blitzed and they outnumbered us or they were coming from places where we really didn't have good blocking angles on them. But overall I thought our offensive line did a good job on pass protection – we didn't have a lot of pressure on the quarterback. And when they didn't blitz us and we weren't outnumbered, we were competitive in the running game. But when they did come, then either sometimes we didn't have guys picked up or we missed them between the tight ends and the backs and the line – we missed somebody and had some pressure. That's really where we had more trouble. So that was good though. I thought that Tampa is a pretty good pass rushing team, and when we were able to just block their pass rushers we were OK. It was just when they brought extra people is where we had a little trouble.
Ordway: Do you still treat Game 3 of the preseason as the…it seems in the past it's been the most important game. You see more of the veterans in there, and you seem to back off in Game 4. Do you do that this year?
Belichick: I think this year it's a little bit different because of the short week. We got back about 4:30, 5 in the morning last night, now it's Monday morning already, Monday afternoon, and we're playing Friday. So it's a short week. I think we just have to be careful about how long we go on a short week with guys who really haven't played a lot. So we're going to have to try to balance that off and take that into consideration, as well. I think if it was a normal weekly schedule in preseason, right, the third game would probably be the one where the players played more than they did in Game 1, and then Game 2 adds to that and then Game 3 would add to that. I'm not sure if that's we're going to be. We'll have to wait and see how our team's health [is] and where we're at this week.
Smerlas: That is the worst time to have a short week, the third game. That's the one you want to look at.
[Crosstalk]
Ordway: Does Brady play on Friday night?
Belichick: We'll see how all of our guys are as we go through this week of practice. Like I said, we just got back in really early this morning, looking at the film and all that. So I'm not really sure where everybody is yet this week.
Smerlas: How's the young rook coming along, the quarterback? He's an athletic kid. O'Connell.
Belichick: Oh, yeah. Kevin's fast. He runs well…
Smerlas: How fast is he? I mean, he looks like he…
Belichick: Looks like he could run 4.6.
Smerlas: Does he? He has a quick release on his arm. He looks like a pretty athletic quarterback.
Belichick: He got himself out of trouble a couple times last night and a couple times the week before against Baltimore. He certainly runs well and made a nice run for a first down there when he got outside and broke containment. So that's one of the things he has going for him.
Ordway: Alright, let me remind you that every Monday we're going to, when we talk to the coach, you'll have your chance to submit your question to 'Ask The Coach' at WEEI.com's Football Page. That's where you have to go. And if your question is chosen you'll automatically win a $100 gift card to the brand new Davio's over here at Patriot Place. I took a walk through Patriot Place and through Davio's today – it's phenomenal. The coach's question is powered all season long by CleanEnergyAction.net. When you logon to CleanEnergyAction.net you'll find that the strong wind can do a lot more than push that winning field goal through the uprights. Tackle your energy costs and alternatives at CleanEnergyAction.net today. I want to thank you for the donation you gave to that on-air auction. We got $10,000 from some nice person out there who's going to spend some time with you on Friday. We really appreciate it. We did close to $5 million overall in that Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.
Belichick: So we hit our goal.
Ordway: Yes. We were expecting to get 4 [million] and we ended up over 4.8 [million] and they're still counting. People are still calling in.
Belichick: Congratulations.
Ordway: Well, thanks again to you and to everybody else out there. We'll talk more about it during the course of the day. Great seeing you again, Coach!
Belichick: OK. Good to be back.
Ordway: We'll do one more of these preseason games and then we'll get into the real season.
Belichick: Sounds good.
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