Bill Belichick Quotes (217 Quotes)

He's played safety. He's played in (the Dolphins') sub defense. He's played down in a linebacker type of role. He has some flexibility and has played in the kicking game.

We just came up short early and fell too far behind and just couldnt make it all up,

We're doing what we do every year, every spring, (which) is build our team and try to make it as competitive as we can heading into training camp and the regular season in the fall. That goes for every position and every player, across the board.

I think all of the players on the team understand that they are going to be called on to do certain things, and for us to win and be successful, they need to do it, whatever it is,

He's probably as good as there is in the game, ... not just on defensive backs, but also coming in and getting linebackers, which is unusual for a lot of receivers.

One of the things we wanted to do today was play competitively against a good football team. Obviously, it came right down to the last play. I was proud of the way our players fought. We had a lot of opportunities for a lot of people to play. This was really our last opportunity to do that, so we tried to take advantage of that.

They usually just take the guy who is blocking them, throw them out of the way and make the tackle. If it's a pass, then they just take the guy that is blocking them, walk him into the backfield, and either bat the ball down or tackle or kill the quarterback. And they do a lot of that.

I'm respectful of what this group has accomplished, what the previous Patriot teams have done and what this means in terms of league history and all that. But none of that really means anything in what we do from here on.

We have to play better in that phase of the game. We didn't cover it well or return it well. There is not one magic thing that can take care of it. We have to play better.

Taylor's a great player. He's a guy you've got to be aware of. He's a tough guy to stop. But if you just took him away and set everything to take him away, they've got plenty of other guys who can kill you, too.

That's a tough position to play. It's a lot like playing corner. You're put there on an island. It's not all that easy to give a left tackle help. A lot of times you can't give him help . . . To play out there, on the blind side of the quarterback, and still be physical in the running game, it's a tough spot to play.

Belichick also feels that success is built each year, and the Raiders are a team that proves his point. His respect for the talent Oakland has been able to accumulate is evident in his remarks. I think when you look at every player on the Raiders roster, competitively, in other words relative to the average at that position through the league, the guy is either going to be bigger or faster or both than the average at that position on a league-wide basis, including the kicker, ... It's pretty much every single position.

Any time you have a negative play in the running game, it's like getting a penalty,

That was a heck of a football game. I've got to give all the credit in the world to (our) players. This is a team that believes a lot in itself even when others don't.

He has outstanding ball skills. He's a smart player. He anticipates well. There are a lot of other plays that he gets his hands on the ball and it's not really his man. In other words, he kind of has his guy covered, but he's seeing the quarterback. He sees the ball thrown and then he breaks on the ball . . . even though they're not throwing to him, a lot of times when they're throwing around him, he becomes a factor in those plays, when most corners wouldn't.

The last couple of years we've had a lot of guys go in the first round at receiver, mostly bigger receivers, and there has certainly been a trend and a little bit of a stampede to get those kind of guys. It seems like there are fewer of them this year.

We're going to do what we think is best. What we did against Oakland may or may not be what we think is best against Carolina. Last year we played Indianapolis in one type of a defense. We played Pittsburgh in another type of a defense. We played Philadelphia in another type of a defense. We're going to do what we think we need to do to try to match up and stop the opponents. I'm not making any promises to anything or anybody about what we're going to do.

They haven't given up many long drives. They're not in the red area very much. They're not at the goal line very much. They usually get them stopped before people get down there against them. They don't give up many points. They're good.

I've been in the game for a while. I've heard 'Belichick' and 'genius' together. I've also heard 'Belichick' and 'moron' together.

Tell him what you said to the team last night.

I don't think Deion has any problem with it. I don't think a lot of our players have a problem with it. They understand what the expectations are of their position and their role, and they want to go out there and fulfill them.

He's looked OK. He's done what we've asked him to do. I don't think that he's had any problem with it. When will we make the decision if he'll play When we're sure that the decision that we're making is . . . that we're not going to have to double back on it. That we're sure it's going to be the right decision for that point in time.

He had some good players to go against in Kimo von Oelhoffen and Joey Porter. Some plays werent so good, but I thought he was competitive. Hes been playing both sides for us all year.

I thought Tom did a good job managing the game, especially opening night where you know you're going to get a couple of different (defensive) looks. He showed a lot of poise.

We kind of stumbled around there on a few things tonight, ... It's going to catch up to us if we don't watch out. But it's good to win.

The thing I like about Matt is, if you correct him, the next time, he usually gets it right,

We'll see how we do against Denver. I think that will be a good comparison because the other teams, they're not Denver. Nothing against them, but they're not Denver.

We thought it would be in the best interests of the team to be in here. This is probably similar to the conditions we'll be playing in, in terms of wind.

He's got a skill and we got a chance to let him use it, and I am happy for him. First time since '41. It might be 60 years again, too.

Kirk was a good fit for us in Cleveland because of the love he had for the game. He had the commitment to quality and the commitment to teaching that helped him succeed. He had expectations, but he was also fair with his players. His demeanor served him well, and I think that has helped him since he returned to Iowa.

And I understood that in an age where there was so much ego, because of the camera, that it was very important to look for that kind of player, ... I began to look for the kind of player that doesn't need his ego fed by stardom, but will do what he's supposed to do because he knows the game and loves the game, and will do the job the right way even if someone else gets the glory.

They've both been very dependable. They have gotten a lot of snaps. They've been able to be out there on a weekly basis and understand it and get better. I think they've improved. I think they started at a good level and I think they've improved with each game. I think they're doing well and I think they can do better. There are some things that they need to work on. They're both instinctive football players, smart guys that when you tell them something, they understand it.

He kind of knows the right thing to do without being told. He just knows how to get open and he has a good understanding of passing game concepts. He knows where the other receivers are. He understands where he needs to be, and when there are traffic problems, he almost always does the right thing to clear that traffic up.

I think our best test is going to be in the kicking game. They have excellent specialist with their kickers, their snapper, their returners and they have a lot of really good cover people - guys that are very athletic and have been very productive for them in the past several years.

The Denver Broncos will be our toughest challenge this season. To have any chance, it will take our best game and certainly a lot better performance than the last time we played them.

I'm proud of the team. The players played hard and I thought they played well and made the plays they needed to make to win the game.

The early Monday night games in college, that was a big thing because we'd do anything not to study in college. We needed a good excuse and 'Monday Night Football' was that.

What we wanted to do was try and run the ball and give our defense a break, ... The defense couldn't stay on the field all day. And the big thing was when we had the opportunities we had to take advantage of them. That's what we wanted to try to do Play defense, play field position and take advantage of our opportunities.

It was good to be able to run the ball and run the ball with consistency, control the clock. Those are things you have to do at this time of year.

Mikes always been one of our most versatile players. Hes a smart player. Hes been in a number of different situations and handles them all well. We have a lot of confidence in him whenever hes on the field. Hes a fast learner and he picks up things quickly.

We were trying to take a little bit of the edge off, give everybody a chance to relax. It's been a good hard week with a lot of concentration. We figured we'd lighten up a little here and be ready to go tomorrow.

It was special and I knew that at that time. I told the owner (Modell) that several times too, when he had some questions about how the coaching was going.

We'll give it to you when we have it. I don't know any more than that.

Mike Tannenbaum is an extremely hardworking individual who moved up from the entry level to the top of his profession. I am happy and proud of him.

Were just going to try to take advantage of every opportunity we have to put the best team we can on the field this year.

Coach Davis is primarily a defensive coach, ... I think that's where most of his background is. All the (head) coaches that he's hired have been offensive coaches.

A lot of guys youre looking at in college havent played on their feet and on first and second down, thats probably where they would be playing for us. Were looking at projecting guys who were down, to projecting them up to playing on their feet and thats definitely a conversion.

It was kind of like a basketball game. We were playing for the last shot.

I'm sure the other 31 teams have things that they're concerned with today, one way or another. We have plenty to do right here. I'm not really that concerned about what everybody else is doing.

I don't think that the issue is talent. It's more from a consistency standpoint and being able to gain the experience, and do it competitively the right way every time.