Patriots HC Bill Belichick

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

BB: Obviously a disappointing finish here today. We had our chances today. Got off to a slow start. Made it competitive, but just couldn’t make enough plays here, or the ones we needed to make. So go back to work here, try to correct some of the things that we obviously need to do better and just move on from there.

Q: Can you just speak to how you thought Christian Gonzalez did in his debut tonight?

BB: We’ll take a look at the film on everybody. I’m sure everybody had some good plays and had some plays they would like to have back. That was probably the same for every player and coach that participated in the game.

Q: Bill, I believe career high pass attempts for Mac Jones tonight. What did his performance and the success of the passing game show you in terms of confidence in his ability to lead the offense and be someone who can carry the offense in the passing game?

BB: We have confidence in all our players and confidence in everything we do. Running game, passing game, special teams, defense, we have confidence in all of them.

Q: Early fourth quarter, fourth and three from the 17. You opt to go for it instead of kicking the field goal. What went into that decision?

BB: I felt like it was the best decision for the team.

Q: In hindsight do you wish you had kicked more field goals in this one?

BB: Made the best decision we could at the time. Didn’t know we would be down there multiple times. Six minutes to go in the game. I don’t know. If we had kicked it, I’m sure you would be asking why didn’t we go for it.

Q: You guys dug yourself a hole tonight, but then you were able to get out of it pretty much, and your team came back. What did you learn about your team and their ability to try to come back tonight, obviously falling a little bit short?

BB: That we didn’t play good enough to win. Did enough things to make it competitive, but not enough to win. Got to coach better. Got to play better.

Q: Down two starting offensive linemen, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and Mac Jones did not get sacked until the final three minutes of the game. How do you evaluate how the offensive line played overall today?

BB: Again, I think overall we played competitively. We had some good plays, and then we had a couple of plays that, you know, could have been better obviously. A couple of holding penalties. We had some key penalties and obviously the turnovers, so just need to do a better job.

Q: Bill, what’s your upshot on offensive execution in the game, and what do you not like about what you saw?

BB: And what? Sorry.

Q: Offensive execution in the game, upshot on what you saw.

BB: A lot of things we need to work on, do better, be more consistent.

Q: It seemed like offensively some things came into place in the second quarter. What did you see that allowed the offense to have more success in that second quarter?

BB: Just better execution, better timing.

Q: Bill, the hit that Jabrill Peppers landed to get you guys the ball back at the end of the game, what did you think of that play?

BB: A great contact play. Pep is an explosive player. You know, it was a great hit. Ball popped right out. Really just great tackle. I thought for the most part we tackled pretty well tonight, but I mean, always room for improvement.

Q: Bill, it seemed early on a pretty conservative offensive approach. Also, in time with the weather being at its harshest. Did the rain and the conditions affect the way the offense was called early on? It appeared to push the ball more downfield.

BB: I don’t think so. I mean, you are right. We didn’t launch a lot of deep balls. There weren’t a lot of those anyway. Yeah, it was a little bit of a factor early in the game, yeah.

Q: Kendrick Bourne seemed almost to be a lifeline for Mac Jones tonight. Two huge touchdowns. Is bringing him back into the fold more and more something that you’re looking to do this season?

BB: I thought all of our skill players were productive. So I thought all the receivers, the tight ends, backs, Ty [Montgomery II]. Good production from all those guys.

Q: What did you see from Christian Gonzalez tonight?

BB: That was asked earlier.

Q: My apologies.

BB: No worries.

Q: Bill, Hurts averaged about 5.2 yards per attempt. Struggled to run the ball as well. Just the overall job that you did on him, I know gave up essentially a score because of the offense and another one after the turnover, so you had to be pretty pleased with that crew?

BB: Yeah. I mean, it was competitive. Some things we could have done better, but yeah, got a touchdown on a short field.

Q: Bill, on offensive fourth downs, did you have a question about that one?

BB: We hit some. We didn’t hit some, so…

Q: You guys were 1 of 4, so I just wondered – it felt like you were facing long situations, and how did you guys feel like you executed in those?

BB: You go for it on fourth down, you need your best execution, so…

Q: I know you rotated the receivers throughout the game, and all those rotations are made in the best interest of the team. Specific to the last drive, Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas playing over JuJu Smith-Schuster. What was the thinking behind that move?

BB: Yeah, again we had different groups, different rotations, so we’re good with whoever is in there.

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