conference calls, Bellichick & Long, 11/30 … transcripts

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick – November 30, 2016

(On what attracted him to former Rams DE Chris Long, and on his performance this season)

“I’ve followed Chris since he came out of Virginia. He was drafted, and we expected him to be drafted pretty high. Really we didn’t have much of an opportunity on him. But, we did our scouting on him, followed his career. When he was released last spring and available, like we would a lot of free agents – whether they’re free agents, or players who are released – followed up on him, and we were able to work things out. He’s good to have on our team, and I’m glad he’s here. I think he enjoys coming to work, working on football, and competing every day. I really respect that about him. He gives you a great effort every day.”

(On if he was surprised to see a player of Long’s caliber released)

“I mean look, it’s the NFL. Teams release players every year. Players become free agents, or they change teams. I don’t think we’re going to act like this has never happened before.”

(On what QB Tom Brady needed to develop when he first arrived in New England)

“All players are different, and all players are on different teams and in different systems. I think (QB Jared) Goff had great career at Cal, and he was in that system, and now he’s converting into a different system in the NFL, like all players do. I’m sure he’s getting very good coaching and instruction. He’s had an opportunity to play with (QB Case) Keenum, who’s another good quarterback, who’s a smart guy, that I’m sure that’s very well prepared and does a good job. Like all players in that first year, they eventually learn more about the system they’re in. They learn more about what the teams are doing on the other side of the ball. They learn how to train. They improve on a steady basis, and then they take all that into year two, and start at a much higher point. That’s just a natural progression. All players go through that at every position. I’m sure that Jared is getting great coaching and great instruction from the people who are doing that for him with the Rams.”

(On his impressions of the Rams going into this match-up)

“It’s a team we don’t know very well. There are only a handful of players that are still on the team from the last time we played them. Very explosive, very talented team. They can score in a hurry from pretty much anywhere on the field with their skill players and their receivers. (TE Lance) Kendricks is a good, clutch, tight end, the backs are explosive, the quarterback can make all the throws. The offensive line is big and long, athletic, they do a good job of covering up defenders. The kicking game, (P Johnny) Hekker is a huge weapon, they’re good in the return game – they lead the league in coverage, so they’re very strong in that area, they create great field position for their defense. Their defense is very disruptive, they cause more negative plays than anybody else in the league. They’re hard to block, the linebackers are fast – (LB Alec) Ogletree and (LB/S Mark) Barron, those guys run well, they cover a lot of ground. (CB Trumaine) Johnson is a franchise player, a hard guy to throw over, has great length and very athletic. Like I said, they can score in a hurry on defense with turnovers and disruptive plays, and force you in to long yardage. They have two great returners, they create great field position with their kicking game with (K Greg) Zuerlein and Hekker. I think it’s a very explosive team that has shown that they don’t need a lot of points – they’ve won a couple games without scoring a touchdown. Held almost half their opponents to 14 points or less – it’s hard to do in this league. That’s what we see.”

(On he sees vulnerabilities on the Rams defense after watching their last game on film)

“It’s a really good defensive team with a lot of good defensive players. Anybody who’s coached defense in this league, sometimes you just don’t have a good day, but there aren’t many of those. I don’t think you’ll see that much from the Rams. Look, the Saints are a good team, they’re a good offensive team. We’ve been down there before, it’s happened to us, too. We went down there and they’ve ripped us, we know what that feels like. They’re a good football team, they’ve played a lot of good football defensively and they have a lot of good players. I don’t think focusing on that one game – I don’t think we’re going to see that and I don’t think that’s who they are.”

(On if it’s difficult to prepare for an offense when there is not a lot of film on QB Jared Goff)

“Sure, we watch what we can watch. We’ve watched some preseason games and we’ve seen him the last couple of weeks. He’s part of it, we have to do a good job on him, but we have to do a good job on everything else, too. Their scheme, they do a good job with their running game, their play-action, they can get the ball down the field. They’ve got big receivers, guys who can go get the ball – (WRs Kenny) Britt, (Brian) Quick – Britt’s had a career year. (WR Tavon) Austin is a dynamic player, you have to know where he is all of the time when he’s on the field, where he is – he’s a threat any time he touches the ball. We’re going to have to do a good job on all those guys, (RB Todd) Gurley, Kendricks, and there’s (TE Tyler) Higbee. They have very good skill players, very good, very explosive skill players, they can gain a lot of yards in a hurry. We have to do a good job of playing with good leverage, tackling, playing good, sound defense. Just like the first play of the New Orleans game, Gurley gets out there on that wide route, the Saints didn’t really have it, it’s 30 yards. They can chew up a lot of yards in a hurry – and they usually do early in the game. A good fast-start team, they’re able to score quickly and often in the first quarter, offensively. And they play good defense, they haven’t given up hardly any points in the first quarter.”

(On preparing for a player like Gurley)

“I just said those guys can score on one play, any play – Gurley, (RB Benny) Cunningham, Britt, Quick, Austin – go right down the line. Those guys are all capable of big plays. We have to do a good job all the way across the board. It’s just not about one guy, it’s about defending all of them, every guy winning his match-up, doing a good job, and playing good team defense. There’s no one guy to stop here. You have got to stop a lot of them.”

(On who this Patriots team is right now and how close they are to being the team he would like them to be)

“I don’t know, we’ll find out on Sunday. We have a lot of work to do this week. We have a lot to prepare for – a lot of really good players on the Rams team that we have to prepare for. Their schemes are difficult on offense, defense, and special teams. They’re very difficult to prepare for. I don’t know. We’ll see where we’re at. It’ll be a big challenge, that’s for sure.”

(On how QB Tom Brady has been able to limit his interceptions)

“Ball security is very important to us. Anybody that has it tries to make sure that we have security of the ball at the end of the play. That’s everybody – quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, returners, snappers and whoever touches the ball. There’s nothing more important than ball security. Got to make good decisions, try to run plays that keep us out of those type of potential situations. Players that handle the ball have do a great job of securing it and using good judgment and making good decisions so that we don’t lose it.”

Patriots DE Chris Long – November 30, 2016

(On his thoughts playing the Rams this week)

“Definitely a dangerous team, a team that’s played in a lot of tight ball games. Obviously plays great defense. Offensively, new quarterback, a lot of weapons. Definitely a group we have a lot of respect for – capable of beating anybody any Sunday. Certainly it’s going to be a tough test and a four quarter game. ”

(On being born in Southern California and whether he has any childhood memories of the Rams being in Los Angeles)

“I really don’t, honestly. I was born in Southern Cal, I moved when I was eight to Virginia. Not really.”

(On his experience while playing with the Rams and why he thinks the franchise hasn’t progressed past the rebuilding stage after so many years)

“It’s not really my place to make a generalization of another team needs to do this, that or anything else. I know that they’re a team that’s capable of beating any team on any Sunday. That’s how I know those guys – tough group of guys. They’ve got a lot of skill guys on offense that we’re going to have to deal with for 60 minutes. It’s not important what I think about the state of any other team, what’s important is that I’m preparing to play them this Sunday.”

(On what he sees on film from the offense, and how they compare now to the offense he was used to facing in practice in prior years)

“It’s a lot of the same guys, for sure. That offensive line, after the past two years, they had some young guys, some draft picks, and they’ve continued to develop them. Obviously, you have your veteran leadership with (G Rodger) Saffold, and (C Tim) Barnes. Then you’ve got familiar faces that I’ve played with for a while, like (TE) Lance (Kendricks), (WRs) Kenny (Britt), Tavon (Austin) is now growing into a leadership role, he’s a vet now. You go down the line, a lot of those guys that I saw as young guys are growing up quick, and you can see the roles they’re taking on, on the field – reflect that. Obviously, with a new quarterback a couple weeks in, strengths of that offense, (RB) Todd (Gurley), Kenny, Tavon, guys like that, it helped that quarterback a lot. He’s only played two games, but I think he’s improved each week. He’s going to improve exponentially again another week, and that’s what makes it hard to kind of look at a quarterback like that on tape, because he’s going to make huge jumps every week. There’s not a pattern yet. It’s obvious that he’s got a big arm. He’s mobile, he’s an athletic guy, but we don’t know much about him yet, which makes it all the more difficult to prepare.”

(On if the culture of the Patriots is different than what he experienced with the Rams)

“Every team in the NFL is different for sure. I was on one team before I came here for eight years, but I’ve played under four head coaches, I think four. For me, not going down the comparison road is kind of the most comfortable thing, because you have to be able to hit the curve ball in the NFL, and you’re going to play for different coaches under different systems. Just realizing that every team is different. It doesn’t make it better or worse. Every team has their own way of building a culture, and that’s all I can really say about that.”

(On what he’s seen so far with the Patriots is what he anticipated upon signing with them)

“Obviously, everybody has expectations for everything, for what team X, Y, and Z is like. But, for me, I just came in real open-minded. To say it met expectations, or it wasn’t what I expected, I don’t think I had enough of an expectation. Again, It was my first time being on a different team. Then, as mentioned, playing under so many coaches, under so many different defenses, different systems, you’ve got to keep an open-mind, and you can’t come in with preconceived notions. For me, listen, all I can say is that I’m extremely lucky to be a part of a group like we have. We’ve got selfless guys, we have great leaders, and really great players. I’ve played with a lot of guys like that through my career. So, I’ve been lucky all through my career, and certainly it’s no different here.”

(On what it would mean to go to the playoffs for the first time in his career)

“Everybody works towards that. We take it one week at a time here, for sure. And I think that’s what helps this team be in the hunt so much late in the year, keeping such a narrow focus. For me, I’m 100 percent just thinking about the Rams – who, like I said, are a tough football team – I know that well from playing there so long. The record doesn’t matter, that’s a tough, physical, relentless group of guys. Looking past it and thinking about what might be in a month or two can only get me in to trouble. For sure, it’s a new thing, playing games in December that have a different vibe to them. So I welcome that, for sure.”

(On if there will be any extra emotions seeing some of his old friends on Sunday)

“I talk to those guys a lot. So it’s not like any friendships ended. I have got a lot of love for those guys and those coaches as well, respect for those guys. It will just be good to see everybody, but at the end of the day, they’re not going to be worried about, ‘Hey, that’s my friend Chris.’ We’re wearing different uniforms, so we can’t get caught up in that. Different guys have friends all over the league, when the whistle blows on Sunday, it’s all business. Certainly it will be good to see former teammates, friends, that sort of thing. This league, it’s a brotherhood and certainly when you spend so much time with a group who I respect so much, it certainly is good to see them as well.”

(On how he would characterize his separation from the Rams)

“I just think it was probably an appropriate time for both parties to move on. Like I’ve said before, I own up to not being myself those two years, injury is part of it and it’s part of the game. I was getting paid too much to be gimping around and not playing like myself. It was just time and I totally understood when I got the call. I love them all the same, I respect those guys all the same, I’ve got no bitterness. For me, it’s very easy to move forward and have no ill-will. It’s just about football to me this week, there’s none of that.”

(On what Patriots QB Tom Brady brings to the game of football and to the team)

“He’s incredible. The thing is the most impressive to me about Tom is just the way he works day-to-day, all the little things and just the teammate he is. For being, quite possibly, the greatest of all time – and I do think if he’s not, he’s in the very short conversation. He’s a great teammate and treats everybody in the building with the utmost respect. He’s locked in on the details like everybody knows, he’s intense, but he’s a really good teammate, too – which, for somebody as great as he is, that’s not always a given. He’s a great, great guy to have in the locker room as a leader.”