HOUSTON - There's nothing quite like the Martellus Bennett experience when it comes to interviews so it was mildly disappointing early in the week when the tight end wasn't parked at a podium to offer the national media the opportunity to enjoy his often jovial demeanor.
That changed on Wednesday. Bennett took his place at one of the 10 risers and entertained throughout his hour-long give and take. Typically Bennett likes to meander in different directions, even when asked specific football questions, and it was nice to see the extra attention that comes with the Super Bowl didn't stifle his personality.
He was asked a question about fitting in his large personality with the normally buttoned-down Patriots and took the opportunity to branch out a bit. He wound up comparing the team's 2016 season to a Wes Anderson film.
"I think the biggest thing is I just came in, I did my job and I was the same person every single day," Bennett said innocently enough. "They know that who I am, this is just who I am. This is what they're going to get. So I think everyone is like, 'Oh, that's just who he is every single day.' If I don't tell a joke sometimes, everyone is like, 'Are you OK?' If there's a chance for a joke to happen, I swear the whole team just kind of looks at me waiting for me to say something. And if I don't say anything, they're all like, 'Man, you had the perfect opportunity, but you didn't say anything.'
"I'm kind of like comedic relief. When you watch some movies that are super, super serious, and then there's this one character that makes the funny lines that make the people laugh. That's kind of me."
That's when he launched into his movie analogy.
"If this was a scary movie, I probably got killed in the first scene," he said. "Every scary movie, where there's a black guy, you've got to recruit other black people. You've got to recruit other black people because the black cast members get killed off first. Your best bet is to have multiple black people to get killed with you, so then your chances of survival go up.
"If you're the only black guy with a bunch of white friends and you're outside, someone will be like, 'Hey, there's a noise in the basement. Let's go check it out.' And I'm like, 'Man, I don't think we should do that.' But they're like, 'We should really check it out, dude.' Man, that sounds like a bad idea. They go check it out, and you're like, 'I'm not going,' and then you get killed on the couch."
At that point Bennett was informed that it was Rob Gronkowski who was lost for the season with a back injury, and that got Bennett even further into his humorous analogy.
"I know. See, those are plot twists. You didn't expect that. You're like, 'Oh, he made it! I could have sworn the killer was going to get him right there, but he made it! Oh, he's got to die in this scene. But he doesn't!'" Bennett continued. "I get hurt and it looks like I'm going to go down, and it's like, 'Oh, he's in the next scene! He's still alive!' And then he saves the day or something like that.
"If [the Patriots season] was a movie … I wouldn't say it's a drama. We did have some dramatic instances over the year. It would probably be like a Wes Anderson film. Very good and beautiful, but at the same time there's things going on here and there that keep you on edge. And the color palette's the same — Wes Anderson uses the same color palette in all of his films, which is very interesting. And I love Wes Anderson, too."
For the record, Bennett did his best to give an actual answer to the fitting in question.
"I think the biggest thing in coming here is coming with no expectations," Bennett said. "Coming with an open mind and just trusting Coach [Bill] Belichick. Everything he's done is proven. A lot of times, you get young coaches or have been in the league a long time, you feel like you know things. Coach has been coaching for 47 years. You know when he says something it's easy to buy into it. Every single guy on the team buys into it."
HOUSTON - There's nothing quite like the Martellus Bennett experience when it comes to interviews so it was mildly disappointing early in the week when the tight end wasn't parked at a podium to offer the national media the opportunity to enjoy his often jovial demeanor.
That changed on Wednesday. Bennett took his place at one of the 10 risers and entertained throughout his hour-long give and take. Typically Bennett likes to meander in different directions, even when asked specific football questions, and it was nice to see the extra attention that comes with the Super Bowl didn't stifle his personality.
He was asked a question about fitting in his large personality with the normally buttoned-down Patriots and took the opportunity to branch out a bit. He wound up comparing the team's 2016 season to a Wes Anderson film.
"I think the biggest thing is I just came in, I did my job and I was the same person every single day," Bennett said innocently enough. "They know that who I am, this is just who I am. This is what they're going to get. So I think everyone is like, 'Oh, that's just who he is every single day.' If I don't tell a joke sometimes, everyone is like, 'Are you OK?' If there's a chance for a joke to happen, I swear the whole team just kind of looks at me waiting for me to say something. And if I don't say anything, they're all like, 'Man, you had the perfect opportunity, but you didn't say anything.'
"I'm kind of like comedic relief. When you watch some movies that are super, super serious, and then there's this one character that makes the funny lines that make the people laugh. That's kind of me."
That's when he launched into his movie analogy.
"If this was a scary movie, I probably got killed in the first scene," he said. "Every scary movie, where there's a black guy, you've got to recruit other black people. You've got to recruit other black people because the black cast members get killed off first. Your best bet is to have multiple black people to get killed with you, so then your chances of survival go up.
"If you're the only black guy with a bunch of white friends and you're outside, someone will be like, 'Hey, there's a noise in the basement. Let's go check it out.' And I'm like, 'Man, I don't think we should do that.' But they're like, 'We should really check it out, dude.' Man, that sounds like a bad idea. They go check it out, and you're like, 'I'm not going,' and then you get killed on the couch."
At that point Bennett was informed that it was Rob Gronkowski who was lost for the season with a back injury, and that got Bennett even further into his humorous analogy.
"I know. See, those are plot twists. You didn't expect that. You're like, 'Oh, he made it! I could have sworn the killer was going to get him right there, but he made it! Oh, he's got to die in this scene. But he doesn't!'" Bennett continued. "I get hurt and it looks like I'm going to go down, and it's like, 'Oh, he's in the next scene! He's still alive!' And then he saves the day or something like that.
"If [the Patriots season] was a movie … I wouldn't say it's a drama. We did have some dramatic instances over the year. It would probably be like a Wes Anderson film. Very good and beautiful, but at the same time there's things going on here and there that keep you on edge. And the color palette's the same — Wes Anderson uses the same color palette in all of his films, which is very interesting. And I love Wes Anderson, too."
For the record, Bennett did his best to give an actual answer to the fitting in question.
"I think the biggest thing in coming here is coming with no expectations," Bennett said. "Coming with an open mind and just trusting Coach [Bill] Belichick. Everything he's done is proven. A lot of times, you get young coaches or have been in the league a long time, you feel like you know things. Coach has been coaching for 47 years. You know when he says something it's easy to buy into it. Every single guy on the team buys into it."
Speaking of Marty …
Bennett startled Tom Brady during the quarterback's press conference on Thursday, calling out his name in a high-pitched squeal as he was answering a question.
"Hi Tom!" Bennett squealed.
"Marty," Brady replied while shaking his head with a smile.
Brady then admitted that the tight end "scared the crap out of me."
Just another day in the life of Bennett.
You've got a friend
On Tuesday Dont'a Hightower was asked who is favorite defensive player is and the linebacker responded with his former teammate Jamie Collins. On Wednesday he was asked about Collins' big free agent contract – he signed last week with Cleveland for four years and $50 million with $26 million guaranteed – and offered some more support.
"That was great," Hightower said. "I was excited. That was everything you ever ask for. He's a great football player -- great. He'll do whatever you ask him to do -- covers backs, tight ends, blitzes, rushes, covers receivers. I was really, really excited and really, really proud to see my guy get what he deserves."
As for his future, Hightower admitted that his pending free agency has been on his mind. Obviously Sunday's business is the priority, but the former Alabama standout is "looking forward" to getting his own payday soon.
"I've been working, working, working to get into this position," Hightower said. "Obviously [the Super Bowl] comes first in the line, but obviously knowing that's going to come up down the road, it's something that I've been working for for five years and I'm looking forward to it."
Hightower earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl this season despite missing three games to injury, notching 65 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
"Business is business," he said. "That's something that's down the road. I'm worried about 51. We'll handle that, and then we'll worry about all that other stuff later."
Extra points
Robert Kraft was asked about his team's trip to Mexico City next season for a game against the Raiders.
"It's really special for us to go down there. I know the whole team is excited," Kraft said. We played down there against the Cowboys in '98 and there were over 100,000 people there. It was just amazing. And now all of our fans in South America and hopefully Mexico can come to the game." … The Patriots added Vincent Valentine to their injury report on Thursday. The rookie was listed as limited with a back injury that he evidently suffered during practice. Atlanta's veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney was added to the Falcons report with a calf problem and did not participate. Falcons coach Dan Quinn said the injury was not serious.
Speaking of Marty …
Bennett startled Tom Brady during the quarterback's press conference on Thursday, calling out his name in a high-pitched squeal as he was answering a question.
"Hi Tom!" Bennett squealed.
"Marty," Brady replied while shaking his head with a smile.
Brady then admitted that the tight end "scared the crap out of me."
Just another day in the life of Bennett.
You've got a friend
On Tuesday Dont'a Hightower was asked who is favorite defensive player is and the linebacker responded with his former teammate Jamie Collins. On Wednesday he was asked about Collins' big free agent contract – he signed last week with Cleveland for four years and $50 million with $26 million guaranteed – and offered some more support.
"That was great," Hightower said. "I was excited. That was everything you ever ask for. He's a great football player -- great. He'll do whatever you ask him to do -- covers backs, tight ends, blitzes, rushes, covers receivers. I was really, really excited and really, really proud to see my guy get what he deserves."
As for his future, Hightower admitted that his pending free agency has been on his mind. Obviously Sunday's business is the priority, but the former Alabama standout is "looking forward" to getting his own payday soon.
"I've been working, working, working to get into this position," Hightower said. "Obviously [the Super Bowl] comes first in the line, but obviously knowing that's going to come up down the road, it's something that I've been working for for five years and I'm looking forward to it."
Hightower earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl this season despite missing three games to injury, notching 65 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
"Business is business," he said. "That's something that's down the road. I'm worried about 51. We'll handle that, and then we'll worry about all that other stuff later."
Extra points
Robert Kraft was asked about his team's trip to Mexico City next season for a game against the Raiders.
"It's really special for us to go down there. I know the whole team is excited," Kraft said. We played down there against the Cowboys in '98 and there were over 100,000 people there. It was just amazing. And now all of our fans in South America and hopefully Mexico can come to the game." … The Patriots added Vincent Valentine to their injury report on Thursday. The rookie was listed as limited with a back injury that he evidently suffered during practice. Atlanta's veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney was added to the Falcons report with a calf problem and did not participate. Falcons coach Dan Quinn said the injury was not serious.
