Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addresses the media during his press conference at Gillette Stadium on Friday, December 10, 2010.
BB: How are we doing on this short week? We're just trying to wrap it all up here today. We'll go through our walk through tomorrow and then head to Chicago. Hopefully we'll be able to pull it together here this morning and afternoon.
Q: Wes Welker was joking around that he puts himself in the freezer before cold games. What do you do differently to prepare for a game in this weather?
BB: We just go outside. We've been in windy and cold conditions here at points in the year. We don't have a freezer.
Q: Do you layer? A double-hoodie method?
BB: No. That's a good idea. I'll give that a shot today, see if that works.
Q: What do you like about Chevis Jackson? Where can he contribute?
BB: We'll see how it goes. We just got him in here today. We have a couple of personnel things and will announce them later on.
Q: How big of a factor is Brian Urlacher in the Bears defense and do you try to mimic it in practice?
BB: I think we get a good look in practice from our guys. He's a big middle linebacker. You usually don't see guys at that position of his size - his height, his length - he covers a lot of ground inside there and in their zone defenses. He's a big guy to throw over when he blitzes. So, he's definitely a tough-matchup guy, for any offense. It's a lot different throwing around a 6'4" - whatever he is - inside linebacker compared to a lot of guys that are shorter in height, but also don't have quite as much length as he does. He gets to a few balls that most guys won't get to.
Q: Do you see similarities between the Colts and Bears defenses? Do they both play the Tampa Two?
BB: Yeah, I see some similarities.
Q: Does that help you at all this week because the Bears are a team you haven't played much, but the Colts are?
BB: Yeah, I think there are some similarities. There is some carry over - some of the principles are the same. It's different players, so every defense is different, but there are some similarities.
Q: Larry Coyer kind of tilted the Tampa Two in Indianapolis, but are the Bears pretty true to the Tampa Two that Rod Marinelli had on that staff in Tampa?
BB: Yeah, well again, that's Lovie [Smith]. Lovie was in the Tampa staff, then he was at St. Louis with Mike [Martz] and now Mike's with him and he's got that system in Chicago. So, I'd say it's a lot of the coaching points and consistency and carry over of Tampa to St. Louis to Chicago, I'd say they coach it the same the way; they play it the same way. It's different people so it plays a little bit differently, but that's the system.
Q: How does a quarterback with the arm strength of Jay Cutler change the way your cornerbacks cover?
BB: I just think with all your defenders, you better have them cover the ball; [it] doesn't stay in the air long. He's got a very quick release and he's got a lot of zip on the ball. You always want to be on receivers tight, but you have to really understand that with him, you have to be on real tight because he can laser it in there.
Q: And he throws from different angles and on the move and still is accurate.
BB: Yeah, he's very athletic. He can move around in the pocket. He throws from some unorthodox positions, but he has a lot of zip on the ball and he throws it very accurately. I've really been impressed with his passing accuracy and skill under pressure. He can get his eyes down field, see receivers on the run. He can fire it just about anywhere: short, long, inside, outside. He's got very good accuracy and good mobility.
Q: He caused a stir in Denver a few years ago saying he has a stronger arm than John Elway. Who do you think has some of the strongest and most accurate arms in the history of the NFL? ... You always have to start with Bert Jones.
BB: Definitely start with Bert Jones. Bert Jones, Vinny [Testaverde], I think you have to put them right at the top. Players that I've been with on a regular basis. [Phil] Simms is pretty good, too.
Q: Speaking of Phil Simms, what do you remember about that '85 game in Chicago?
BB: I don't think we played our best game. The Bears are a good football team, no doubt about it. We had a good drive going early in the game [and] fumbled the ball. We didn't play good on defense, gave up a couple of touchdowns, [and] had the bad field position play on the punt. We just weren't as good as they were that day. We had some opportunities and didn't take advantage of those opportunities that we had and they made more plays than we did.
Q: Is that as cold of a game as you can remember being in?
BB: Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad. It's cold at the end when you're getting beat 21-0. It could be 70 degrees and feel cold then. I didn't think it was [bad]. It was cold, but I didn't think it was that bad.
Q: With Robbie Gould, he started here and you signed him as a free agent. When you look back at that time, do you wish things had turned out differently?
BB: Well, I think any time you look back, there are always things that you can look back on and think that you might have been able to handle it a little bit differently or done something a little bit differently. But, I don't really spend a lot of time worrying about that. We did what we did. Robbie's a good player. He's had a great career and he's an outstanding kicker. We knew he was good when we had him here, but again, it's one of those situations where you have to make some decisions and you make the ones that you think are best for your team.
Q: Does the wind or the cold put a greater premium on the pregame warm-up for the kickers and punters?
BB: I think the field conditions, sure, they definitely play a part in that. It's a good point. I think sometimes you have to be careful. Sometimes the conditions change a little bit during the game. Sometimes, what it was three hours ago and what it is at that moment in time may or may not be the same thing. That's something you want to try and find out. You know what the range is in ideal conditions but there're a lot of things that can affect that. Based on what the particular conditions are for that day, you change them based on what you know in pregame. Then as the game goes on, you have to figure out whether that continues to change a little bit or whether that sort of stays the way it was when you sort of measured that in pregame.
Q: I know you enjoy talking about injuries, so I'll ask about one.
BB: Thank you.
Q: What is Mike Wright going through in terms of dealing with the concussion?
BB: He goes through whatever the trainers do with him. I don't know; I'm not a trainer. We have injuries. The trainers treat the injuries based on the systems and what the treatment is and how all that works and what the process is. That's what medical people do.
Q: Glad we could end on a high note.
BB: Yep. Thanks for asking that.
