HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

PRESS CONFERENCE
October 17, 2019   

BB: We've had certainly plenty of time here to focus on the Jets, and very impressive win that they had last week against Dallas. They played well in all three phases of the game. Had a lot of big plays offensively, and defensively as well. Big fourth-down stop, big two-point play stop. So, very talented team. They've got a lot of guys that are hard to block on the front. Coach [Gregg] Williams has an excellent pressure package and he does a good job of keeping the offense off balance. Adam's [Gase] one of, as I I've talked about, I think one of the best game planners in the game and does an excellent job of attacking defenses and just making it tough to handle what they do offensively, with their different personnel groups and plays and his play calling. He did a very good job of that against Dallas – had some big plays, kept them off balance and was very productive. So, big two-minute drive at the end of the half, probably the difference in the game – that and the long pass to [Robby] Anderson. So, a lot of good players, a lot to get ready for, and Monday night's always a high-energy game. So, we'll point to that, and we'll just be tough down there in New York. So, we'll need to have a good week here, be ready to go.

Q: What happened with Michael Bennett that led to a suspension?

BB: Yeah, I'm not going to comment on any player's personal situation.

Q: Demaryius Thomas called the way his trade went 'disrespectful and insulting.' Do you have any regrets about how that situation went down?

BB: Yeah, look, Demaryius is a great kid. I have a ton of respect for him. He's very professional and did everything we asked him to do. Our circumstances changed a couple times in that period leading up to when he was traded, and so I felt like I was always truthful with him, but things changed, and therefore what I said was not the same as what it was – what I had said previously. So, it is what it is.

Q: What do you see as a role for Michael Bennett for the rest of the season?

BB: Yeah, right now we're focused on the Jets, so that's what we're working on.

Q: When it comes to bringing in a veteran player and asking him to do something different than he's used to based on scheme, how difficult can that be sometimes for players?

BB: Yeah, I don't know. You'd have to ask the player that. It varies probably from player-to-player.

Q: How different is this Jets team than when they came here four weeks ago?

BB: Well, the quarterback makes a big difference. They've gotten other players back on both sides of the ball, and again, as I think I mentioned earlier, Coach Gase had the bye week and probably had an opportunity to get some things reworked. That was obvious in the Dallas game that their execution and some of the things they were doing they were just more efficient at and looked better doing them. So, he's an excellent coach, Coach Williams is an excellent coach, Coach [Brant] Boyer's an excellent coach. They've done a good job of improving their team every week and certainly showed it on Sunday against Dallas.

Q: You said that Adam Gase was one of the best game planners in the game?

BB: Well, that we face. I mean, just, we've faced them several times here in recent years, so I'd certainly put him up there based on that, yeah.

Q: What makes him so good?

BB: Everything. 

Q: You said everything?

BB: Yeah, game planning, play calling, strategy, use of personnel, use of plays. I mean, all the things that go into it. It's not one thing.

Q: Does he have a specific style?

BB: Yeah, he attacks each defense based on the personnel matchups that he can create differently from week-to-week. I mean, he'll tell you that, and he said it after the Dallas game. It's obvious. 

Q: How much has Sam Darnold improved from the last time you saw him?

BB: He's a good quarterback. We saw him at the end of the year last year. He played in the Buffalo game. But, he can make all the throws. Big, strong kid. He can run. Short, intermediate, deep. He's got good weapons. Anderson's a great deep receiver, [Jamison] Crowder, [Braxton] Berrios are very good players in the slot. Bell, obviously is – I mean, how many backs better than him in the league, in terms of the run game and the passing game? They can split him out, they can get him the ball in the backfield. He's a very versatile player. So, again, they have a very good scheme, good play caller, good strategy and they have a lot of good weapons. 

Q: What's allowed Adam Butler to make the jump that he seemingly has from last year?

BB: He's been a consistent player for us for three years. Like anybody, he gets better like we all do with experience and reps and technique and so forth. But, he's been a solid player for us for three years.

Q: So, not a different level?

BB: No, I said he's improved. I think he's improved like all of us have. Like a lot of players do. Third year players are better than second year players; second year players are better than they were in the first year. I mean, that's obvious, but it's been steady. I don't think it's been dramatic. It's been good, it's consistent, but he's played a lot of good football for us.

Q: How have the Jets' pressure packages changed with players returning from injury, and how has this changed the way they've used Jamal Adams?

BB: Yeah, they mix it up. I don't know if the packages are any different. Coach Williams is a good game planning coach, so he'll do things differently from week-to-week based on what the offense is doing and how he matches up with them and so-forth. But, it's not like it's a new defense every week. They change it up, and certainly getting [Quinnen] Williams back has helped and [C.J.] Mosley, if he's back, he's one of the best linebackers in the league. So, I mean, getting those kind of players back would help any defense.

Q: What made Eric Tomlinson a player you wanted to work with, and from his experience, will he play some fullback?

BB: Yeah, we'll see. You know, we haven't had a lot of time with him, but we'll work with him and see what kind of role he can develop for himself. If there is one, we'll see.

Q: How would you describe his skillset?

BB: He's a bigger guy. Probably more of a – you know, bigger, has blocking ability. He has been in the backfield. He's played on the line of scrimmage. So, I don't know. We'll see how that all plays out.

Q: How has Quinnen Williams transitioned from the college game?

BB: Yeah, I mean, he's big, athletic, hard to block. He's just like the rest of those guys in there: [Steve] McLendon, Leonard [Williams]. I mean, those guys, they're all a little bit different, but they're all tough to block. They're effective, they run well, they're tough, they're strong, hold the point ofattack well, pursue. [He] made a big play on [Dak] Prescott in the fourth-and-two play – came all the way from the other side of the ball and made the play on the quarterback sweep. So, he's a good football player.

Q: Do they use him in every situation, every down?

BB: Yeah. I mean, they have somewhat of a rotation in there, but they – yeah, he can play on any down.  

Q: What went into the decision to bring back Ben Watson?

BB: We had a roster spot. He had availability. Jak [Johnson] went on IR, so we had an opportunity to put him on the roster that we didn't have the week before.

Q: What allows Sam Darnold to elude the pass rush and perform well while under pressure?

BB: Yeah. I mean, he's a big, strong kid who can stand in the pocket. He's hard to tackle. He's not an easy guy to bring down. He's big, he can see, find guys under pressure. He's got a great outlet receiver in Bell, no question about that. So, it's good. He can get the ball to Crowder, also, who's quick and elusive underneath, and Braxton, if he's in there. But, those guys are all instinctive, quick guys that find space to get open – Crowder, Bell, Berrios, probably in that order of targets. He does a good job of keeping those plays alive, and giving them a little bit of extra time and then finding them.

Q: Would you put him in a similar category with guys like [Josh] Allen?

BB: No, I see them differently.

Q: How did you utilize the extra time to prepare for this game?

BB: Well, we've been going at it here for a while now – I mean, six weeks of training camp and six regular season games. We have enough information, I think, to look at from a self-scout standpoint. It is what it is. It's a third of the season, but that's something to work with. It's not one or two games, so we can go back and look over some of the things that we've done, where we're at, changes we might make. It gives us some more time to review the Jets, get ahead on some of the situational things that I'd say you're always fighting a little on at this point in the season because there haven't been a lot of situations, situational plays with this team. So, those are starting to accumulate. Gave us a little more time there, but I think just trying to prepare ourselves as well as we can for a big division road game. That's it, but a little more time on self-scout for sure.