Bill Belichick 10/23: "Each and every one of us is accountable on this team"

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Good morning, Bill. What does Mike Awenu have going for him that allows him to make that move to the outside that we saw yesterday and perform at the level he did?

Bill Belichick (0:12)

Well, you know, as you know, Mike played there as a rookie year. And, you know, he's a smart kid that understands.

It's probably all the different positions on the offensive line. Pretty good fundamental player, obviously got good strength.

SPEAKER_1 (0:31)

And on the Peppers' interception, when you reviewed the play, what did you see that was a key in that result?

Bill Belichick (0:42)

Good play by Pep, you know. There was a three-level pattern that they had run on us before with the first receiver quickly to flat, then the second receiver coming in behind them, and the outside receiver clearing out.

Pep widened and then recognized the route coming behind them and had good width, and so he was able to gain the depth that he needed to make the play. This is a great job by Pep. Like I said, it's a play that they hurt us with last year. We handled it well in practice and carried over the game.

SPEAKER_3 (1:27)

Morning, Bill. How are you?

Good.

Bill Belichick (1:29)

Good, Chris.

SPEAKER_3 (1:33)

Just obviously, in facing the adversity you guys have faced this year, who do you see as being some of the most impactful players in helping you to maintain a positivity and process in your messaging throughout the course of this time? And who would you say those guys have been?

Bill Belichick (1:51)

I think we have a lot of guys on our team that are really good competitors, very professional, and come in every day and work hard and set a great example.

I don't think any one person can do it alone. Everybody's got to bring it themselves, and so you need a lot of people doing that. Some of our more experienced guys, of course, are part of that, but even some of our younger players have shown that too, so it's good to see. Each and every one of us is accountable on the team, and nobody can do anybody else's job. It's just not possible. You have to focus on what you're doing, so you have to credit everybody.

SPEAKER_3 (2:40)

And on the last drive, obviously, patients of adversity there, Mac bringing the team down the field to win the game. What do you see from him, particularly in his decision making, where it felt like he kind of stayed within what the game plan had been prior as opposed to trying to do too much or force anything in those instances?

Bill Belichick (3:01)

Well, I mean, there were a lot of big plays on that drive, but two big ones were the pass to Stevenson and a great run that changed the field position, totally changed the whole dynamic of the drive. And then the third long conversion to Hunter, which then put us into field goal range and gave us an opportunity to try to win the game with a touchdown, as opposed to just kicking a field goal to extend it. And then there were a lot of other plays in between, but those are kind of the two critical ones. But yeah, Mack did a good job. But the receivers, the protection, they were all part of it. It was a good team.

Offensive execution at the time we needed the most.

Yeah, you're up, Chris.

SPEAKER_3 (3:58)

Next question is from Zach Cox, followed with a newcomer.

SPEAKER_4 (4:06)

I know you've mentioned a couple of times the win yesterday, the conditions. How would you describe the performance you got from Chad Rowland and Bryce Barringer? It seemed like both of them were able to get you guys in impact.

Bill Belichick (4:19)

Yeah, I think I mentioned that. Yeah, I thought both guys did a great job. It wasn't easy out there, and they hit the ball well and gave us what we needed, and we covered kicks. Two kickoffs, I think it was, and the punt.

The punt went out of balance right before the half. I mean, it was a good kick, but yeah, those guys did a great job. It was kicks we could cover.

SPEAKER_4 (4:47)

And quickly on Farrow Brown, it seems like every time he touches the ball, it's a 25-yard game. Are you surprised at all at kind of the big playability he's been able to give you in passing it?

Bill Belichick (5:04)

Well, I think, you know, Farrow's a big target. He's got good hands.

He's done a really good job running with the ball and securing the ball. A couple of those plays that you're referring to, he got hit almost as soon as he caught the ball.