Patriots HC Bill Belichick

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Q: Coach, with so many things going wrong, where do you start? Where do you prioritize facing the problems?

BB: Obviously it was a poor performance today here. So just plain and simply, we’ve got to find a way to play and coach better than that. So that’s what we are going to do, start all over and get back on a better track than we’re on right now. Slow start. And then just couldn’t ever really get the game under control.

Q: What went into the decision to sit down Mac there in the later stage of the game?

BB: We were down 31-nothing at the end of third quarter.

Q: Is he still your quarterback going forward?

BB: Yeah, there was a lot of problems. It certainly wasn’t all him.

Q: When so many things go wrong, where do you start? Where do you prioritize fixing the problems?

BB: It’s what I just said. Start over again.

Q: There was a fourth-and-3 situation where you punted. I think you were on the Saints 40-yard line. Was there any thought of going for it in that situation?

BB: Until we’re better on third and fourth down, I don’t think so.

Q: You mentioned the slow start. What has been contributing to those for you guys over the course of the season here?

BB: Turnovers. Turnovers and touchdowns.

Q: How can you remedy it?

BB: Can’t keep doing it.

Q: How concerned are you that your message isn’t getting through to the players?

BB: We’ll keep working on it.

Q: How strongly do you have to consider changes personnel-wise?

BB: We’ll do what we think is best.

Q: How concerned are you about players losing confidence after the last two weeks? And what as a coach can you do to help them in that situation or that area?

BB: Play the best players we can. Coach the best we can. We need to do better than that.

Q: Is there any new message to the team after these two losses?

BB: We’ll deal with that this week.

Q: We’ve seen Chad Ryland hit only 50 percent of the kicks. Is there any pattern with some of the misses that he’s had?

BB: We all need to do a better job. It’s everybody, offense, defense, special teams, players, coaches. We’ve just got to do a better job than we’re doing, includes everybody.

Q: The team has obviously had good practices. You’ve talked about messaging, working with the guys. What’s the disconnect between the messaging and preparation and execution at this point?

BB: Got to play and coach better on Sunday. It’s obvious.

Q: You said you guys need to start over. Have you ever had to do that before five games into the season, just for reference? Is it something new?

BB: Yeah, I’ve done it before.

Q: What does that entail, starting over?

BB: Starting over.

Q: How would you describe your satisfaction level with the team’s effort?

BB: I said we’ve got to do a better job all across the board. It’s not good enough.

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