Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addresses the media during his postgame press conference on Sunday, November 21, 2010.
BB: It's a great feeling to win that game today. It was a great job by the players. James [Sanders] really...that was a tremendous interception there he had at the end. As it always does with the Colts, it came right down to the wire. They're an outstanding football team. They really do a good job. You've got to give them a lot of credit, but our guys made a few more plays than they did today. We're really happy to get the win. We've got a quick turnaround here [to play Detroit Thursday], so we can't stay on this very long, but we'll enjoy it here for a couple hours.
Q: Why does it always seem to come down to the wire against this team? Is Peyton Manning just that good?
BB: He's pretty good. He's pretty good. I think they're a good team. It's not just him; they've got a lot of other good football players, too. They're well-coached and they do a good job. They've won a lot of games. They've won a lot of games.
Q: From what you saw, what are your thoughts on the last play? Was it a good play on your part, misread on their part or how did that come about?
BB: I'm sure they'd like to have that back, but it was a heck of an interception by James [Sanders]. He went up, high pointed the ball, and it was a terrific catch.
Q: Did the Colts change anything in those last few drives?
BB: No, we were playing some zone coverage and they hit them underneath. And we got in man a couple times and they ran good routes and stuck it in there like they normally do. It was a great catch on the middle read there for the touchdown. Look, they're tough. They're tough.
Q: When you moved Kyle Arrington, was that just an in-game adjustment or something you had planned beforehand?
BB: Yeah, yeah, we planned it. We don't draw them up on the dirt now.
Q: What does it say about your team to be able to come up with this win?
BB: AS usual, games like that come down to a couple plays. Today we were fortunate enough to make them.
Q: What did you think about the touchdown run by Danny Woodhead?
BB: He's a good runner. I thought Benny [Green-Ellis] ran hard. Woody (Danny Woodhead) ran hard. Those guys break a lot of tackles. They're tough to bring down. Fortunately we had a couple good blocks there from [Deion] Branch and [Wes] Welker. It was hard to see the whole play, but it looked like Branch came over and kind of helped spring him there. Wes was making a block in the end zone, so [it was] good running, good downfield blocking by the receivers. It was good team football.
Q: What was your thought process in putting Darius Butler back out there?
BB: Well, we switched Kyle [Arrington].
Q: So that was kind of a double move there to move Kyle to the rush spot. What's the idea? Is that a matchup thing?
BB: It's something we felt could help us in the game.
Q: How do you manage the short week now since you play Detroit on Thursday?
BB: Yeah, it's tough. We've got to go quick. Tomorrow is going to be a scouting report and get going on Detroit day. And Tuesday it will be a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday combined, and Wednesday we're travelling, so we're going to have to cram a lot in here and do a good job on preparing for the Lions. They've got a lot of stuff to get ready for. [They're] a real explosive team offensively, so we've got our work cut out for us on the preparation for that. That's the way it is. With every long week comes a short week; with every short week comes a long week, so it all balances out in the end. But that will be a big challenge, preparation challenge for us this week.
Q: I know he's always good, but do you see Tom Brady getting more comfortable? I think he was 19-of-21 at one point.
BB: There were a lot of great things in the game. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter offensively wasn't part of it. Defensively we just didn't do a good job on their two possessions after it was 31-17. After we kicked the field goal we have two bad drives on defense and two bad drives on offense. We certainly need to do better in those situations.
Q: Do Deion Branch and Tom Brady seem to be meshing really well?
BB: Yeah, I mean they are both really good players. They are both really instinctive players. Deion almost always makes the right decision and does the right thing on his routes based on the corner's technique or the coverage. And Tom of course does a great job of reading that stuff. They're two good players.
Q: Some of the focus today on offense was getting the ball out quickly because of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Other than that one sack, it seemed pretty good.
BB: Well, I don't think you ever want to hold the ball against those guys. You try to get that out as quick as you can, but you've got to mix in some downfield routes or the defense will sit on everything. [If you] throw all two-yard patterns they'll just sit on top of those, so somewhere along the line you've got to mix it up and get the ball down the field. But blocking those guys is a challenge.
Q: It's a short week now. What are your thoughts about playing on Thanksgiving?
BB: I mean, I think Thanksgiving is a great day for football. It's a great day for high school football and obviously for the NFL the double header is now a triple header. And that is a great day for everybody to be with their family and eat turkey and watch football. That's kind of what that holiday is. It doesn't get any better than that. It's a great day for all of us to be thankful for all of the opportunities that we have, particularly the opportunity to play in the National Football League, and for me personally, to be with the Patriots and to be here and the opportunity that Robert [Kraft] and his family have given me. It's great. Football is football and everybody looks forward to Thanksgiving Day. And having been in Detroit, I know what a big game that is for the Lions and how much that is a part of that city and that franchise and the tradition that has been there. They are always ready to go on Thanksgiving. Jim Schwartz - I know he does a great job and his teams are always well prepared and I know they will be ready to go. We have a lot of work to do to get to that point. After a couple hours we're just going to have to turn it around and get going.
Q: On that last interception, when Peyton Manning threw it, did you know James Sanders would be there based on what you guys were in?
BB: No. He kind of fell off on the route. He kind of read the quarterback and fell off on the route.
Q: Is that just instincts?
BB: Yeah, well, and reading the quarterback and making a good play on the ball. He went up...I mean, he covered some ground to get to the ball, went up, high pointed it. It was a great interception.
