New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addresses the media during his postgame press conference at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, January 10, 2010.
BB: First of all let's start by congratulating the Ravens today. They were certainly a lot better than we were in every phase of the game. They were the better team from start to finish. We just didn't do enough things well, obviously, to really be competitive in the game. I'm disappointed the way we finished the season. There really isn't too much to say. They were the better team today. [They] outcoached us. They outplayed us. They did everything better than we did. That's why they're moving on.
Q: What did you see happen on the long run at the beginning of the game?
BB: We just obviously didn't do a good job.
Q: Were you not prepared for the level of pressure they were putting on Tom Brady at the opening snap?
BB: I don't think they really did anything different.
Q: How much were your options limited in the receiving game?
BB: We played with what we had. I thought Julian [Edelman], Sam [Aiken], Randy [Moss]; they made plays for us before.
Q: [On Tom's interceptions]
BB: Look, we made too many mistakes in the game to win and that's obvious.
Q: Can you talk about Tom Brady? Was he completely healthy?
BB: We just didn't do very well as a team in any area.
Q: Have you ever been more disappointed?
BB: Anytime you lose it's disappointing.
Q: Were there any indications, practice-wise, that this didn't feel like you were ready?
BB: No, we obviously didn't play well.
Q: You often say you were outplayed and outcoached. You are harping on that you didn't play well. Did you feel like you guys were outcoached?
BB: When you get beat like that, yeah, sure do.
Q: What were they doing in the run game to be so successful?
BB: They ran it better than we defended it. There wasn't any one thing you could single out. They did a good job.
Q: Where do you guys go from here?
BB: Well, our season is over.
Q: Is there a specific point of emphasis going forward?
BB: We'll start to work on that in due course. We just got off the field.
Q: How big of a job is ahead?
BB: Look, we just got off the field. The game was over 10 minutes ago.
Q: What happened to the pass protection? There were times when Tom Brady had time to throw the ball and there were times where he didn't?
BB: Sometimes, they got pressure on us.
Q: [On being frustrated that the defense didn't stop the run]
BB: Whatever it was, was not nearly as good as what they were doing. All of us that participated in the game are accountable for our performance and I don't think anybody felt good about it - players, coaches, everybody.
Q: Besides the disappointment, is there a sense of shock?
BB: No.
Q: How much did those first two scores throw off the game?
BB: [It didn't] throw it off. It just spotted them a big lead - spotting them 24 points in the first quarter, that's not a very good place to be.
Q: You said you weren't shocked by the result. Were there indications that maybe this wasn't the team you thought it was?
BB: Look, we didn't play well today and we got beat by a better team today. Give them credit. They were the better team. They outplayed us. They outcoached us. They won the game convincingly. They deserve to move on.
Q: Laurence Maroney only had one carry and nothing there after, was there a reason?
BB: We were behind a lot in the game.
Q: What does it say about the NFL? You finished ahead of the Jets and they beat Cincinnati who finished ahead of the Ravens.
BB: Same thing it says about the NFL every week in this league. The better team wins. It's not about records. It's about who plays better on the day you play. That's what it's always about.
