CONFERENCE CALL FROM PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady

Patriots Safey Ty Law

When you come into any game now, the opposing team is going to look at it almost like a playoff game.  Does that change your approach at all?

No, we always expect our opponents to play well.  We have a lot of respect for every team we play, as well as the players and the coaches in this league.  You can pick up the scores every Monday morning and look at them in the paper and there are going to be games every week that will probably come out different from the way that the experts, or people, thought they would come out.  So if you play well in this league, you have a chance to win.  If you don’t, you have no chance.  Our objective is to try to play well every time we go out on the field.  That is what we are going to try to do this week, and that is what we tried to do last week.  We know we are up against a great team with the Steelers.  Playing them on the road is going to be tough.  That is where all our focus is, just this game.

The overwhelming majority of the games on the streak have been close games.  As you look at the final scores and margin of victory, is that something that keeps you up at night, or is it just extra satisfaction?

I think it is just a reality.  I have been in this league a long time.  Historically, half the games in the league are seven points or less, and a quarter of them are decided by a field goal or less.  So it is not surprising to me that most games we play, and most games in the league, are close games.  That is what we expect on a weekly basis.  We expect and try to prepare for how we are going to handle situations at the end of the game, however they unfold and then try to deal with them accordingly.  Do you expect it to be close?  Hope you can keep it close and then try to make enough plays to win at the end. 

Does that closeness make this streak all that more impressive?

I don’t know.  I have not really thought about it.  The only thing we are thinking about is how to try to compete against Pittsburgh.  I am not really going to make any judgments on what happened in previous games. 

You made mention earlier in the week of your meeting with Bill Cowher years ago.  Can you talk about that, and the kinds of things you talked about, and what you learned speaking with him that day?

We talked very specifically about defensive techniques, how linebackers played, and how defensive backs played, teaching points, and problems, and things that the offense does that make it hard on you, and how to combat those, certainly from a technique standpoint.  Bill had a lot of experience coaching the secondary, I had a lot of experience coaching linebackers.  Of course, Bill played linebacker, so he knew quite a bit about that himself, too.  We talked about those kinds of things and it was very insightful and helpful to me because I always thought that in Cleveland and in Kansas City their defensive backs played with exceptionally good technique and fundamentals.  So it was very helpful to me to try to understand how that was being taught and what exactly they were doing.

Hines Ward was saying that the last couple times you played them, that Ty Law followed him around.  Can he afford to do that now with the way Plaxico Burress is playing?

Pittsburgh has a great group of receivers and they are tough to handle.  So I really don’t know how we are going to be able to handle them.  But (Hines) Ward has done a great job.  (Plaxico) Burress has been outstanding, he has made a lot of big plays.  (Antwaan) Randle El is tough.  Lee Mays has come in there and done a solid job for him, too.  Plus, you have Verron Haynes to worry about coming out of the backfield and the tight ends. So it is going to be tough.  I don’t really know how you can just dedicate your coverage to one guy against the Steelers; they have so many people that can kill you, plus a great running game. 

What do you think of their young quarterback?

I think that Ben (Roethlisberger) has made a lot of big plays.  He has been very impressive in his playing strength, how he is able to just shrug people off that are trying to tackle him.  He has a great ability to keep his eyes down the field, even when he is being rushed and still hit those big passes and big plays. He has played well in clutch situations, on third down, in the fourth quarter.  When keys plays have needed to be made, he has made them.  He has not fumbled all year, which not a lot of players in the league that have been playing can say that.  So he is doing a lot of things well.  He is playing very maturely for a rookie.  He is playing with a good group of receivers, a good running back, a good offensive line, and playing for good coaches.  So there are a lot of things going in a positive direction in Pittsburgh.

Do you think their defense changes much with Chris Hoke at nose tackle and Willie Williams at cornerback?

Hoke has been playing in the rotation anyway.  We have seen all the games, and he always plays.  He is rotated in there with Casey (Hampton).  I think that he does a solid job.  Willie (Williams) has been in the league for a long time.  I thought he played well in the Dallas game.  We have seen him in Seattle, and of course when he was in Pittsburgh before.  He is a solid veteran, and knows their system well, and is a good guy.  He has good speed, I thought he made a real good play last week in the Dallas game where he chased down the reverse all the way across the field.  He can still run, so I think he is a good player.  They have a good young corner, as well, a couple of them to go with (Deshea) Townsend and Williams.  I think it is a good solid group back there in the secondary.  Of course, (Troy) Polamalu is a guy you got to deal with, as well. 

A lot of people think that you and your staff are the ones that are going to come up with some schemes to confuse Roethlisberger.  Do you have some stuff planned?

We will do the best we can to try to slow the Steelers down.  But again, they have a lot of weapons and a lot of things to deal with.  They have a good running game.  They have a good passing game.  They are very good in the red area.  They make a lot of big plays.  We will have our hands full.  

Has the atmosphere changed around your team one way or another with what the Red Sox are doing?

We have to focus on our job.  We really can’t worry too much about what else is going on externally.  We have plenty to deal with right here.  We are trying to get ready for Pittsburgh and coming out there.  But at the same time, we are not ignoring it.  We have a lot of respect and appreciation for what they have done and the way their team is playing, and what they have been able to accomplish, even though they are not quite there, yet.  But coming back like they did the last series and finishing strong during the regular season, they have given us a lot of support.  We want to reciprocate that.  But we are more concerned with what we have to do.

Have you played against Duce Staley much?  What is your impression of him?

I think he is pretty good.   He reminds me a lot in style of a player like Emmitt Smith.  He runs with a real good pad level.  He is strong.  He breaks a lot of tackles.  He has good vision and real good quickness.  He is a hard guy to get a good shot on.  He, a lot of times, is able to get into the line of scrimmage and juke a linebacker right in the hole and then still be able to run with power.  It is unusual to see a back do that.  Again, it kind of reminds me style-wise a little bit of Emmitt.  A lot of guys just try to run over him or they always have to juke and try to get by with their quickness.  But he has a nice combination of pad level, quickness, lower body strength, and being able to run through arm tackles, catches the ball well.  I think he has done a nice job for them and has had a lot of good runs.  He played really well against Cleveland.  He is a big part of the reason for the way the Steelers are running the ball, as well as the offensive line. I think  that the Steelers have one of the best lines in the league, but they have a real good back running it, too.  He did a good job in Philadelphia, as well.

People call you a genius these days.  They did not call you that when you were in Cleveland.  Do you feel like you are a different coach now?  Do you find those perceptions amusing?

Yes, I was called a lot of things in Cleveland and that wasn’t one of them.

Do you feel like you are a different coach?

I don’t know.  No, not dramatically.  But I think as you get older and as you gain more experience, you always try to learn from it and hopefully I have been doing some things a little better than I did a few years ago.  I am not really too concerned about that.  I am just concerned about trying to get our team ready to come in there and play a good team in Pittsburgh.  The Steelers are good in all three phases of the game.  They are very good in the kicking game.  They led the league on special teams last year.  They are strong on offense.  They are strong on defense.  They are high on the turnovers.  They are high in field position.  They make a lot of big plays.  They create a lot of second and third and longs defensively.  They have a lot of outstanding players.  (James) Farrior is, I think, having an outstanding year for them.  I don’t know how many fumbles he has caused and recovered, but it is probably more than anybody else in football that I have seen.  (Troy) Polamalu is all over the place. Aaron Smith is tough.  (Joey) Porter can ruin the game, like he did against Miami.  So that is really what I am concerned abut, not what somebody is calling me.  I have heard plenty of those good and bad things.  I can’t really worry about that.

Are you getting any help at receiver, I know you have had some guys banged up?

Yes, it is kind of a day to day process.  I think that our guys are coming in and getting treatment, and working hard trying to get back out there.  They are certainly better than they were at this time last week.  We will have to see how that shapes up closer to game time.  But I think we are headed in the right direction.  I am just not sure how long it is going to take.

Ty Law is in his 10th year now.  Has he lost a step?  Is he still as dominant as he always was?

I think Ty is having a good year for us.  Ty has been very consistent.  He works hard.  He had a very productive career.  I think that the people that play against him seem to give him the same amount of respect that they have in the past.  He has stepped up and made some big plays for us.  I know he is a local kid that comes from a real football area, Aliquippa.  I think Ty plays the game and represents that area well in terms of his toughness and kind of his old-school style of play, what Pittsburgh, and Aliquippa and that area of Western Pennsylvania is known for.   He brings that to our team and it is a positive thing.

Your quarterback did great as a first year starter, and what is happening here is almost unbelievable.  Are the coaches getting better, or are the players getting better?

I think Tom Brady has improved quite a bit as a player since he came into the league.  He works hard and he is smart.  He has learned from his mistakes and has a good understanding of how to move the ball offensively in this league.  It looks pretty clear to me that Ben (Roethlisberger) has done the same thing, that he works hard, he is well prepared, he does not get fooled a lot with coverages, and that type of thing.  I am sure that the coaches there, (Bill) Cowher, (Mark) Whipple, and those guys that are working with him are doing a good job of preparing him.  We scouted him coming out and not that we would have taken a quarterback in the first round with our current situation, but saw a lot of things about Ben both physically and from the maturity standpoint, and from an intelligence and football instincts, that were very positive.  It looks like he has been able to take those and that the coaches have worked with him and channeled him into a positive direction.  I am not surprised that he is playing well, and I am not surprised that the Steelers are 5-1.  If it had not been for a couple of those turnovers against Baltimore, they probably would be 6-0.  That is what it looks like to me.

Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady