PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
PRESS CONFERENCE
November 6, 2023
Q: Going back through the game, I think there were six plays that Washington had that were 20 yards or more. What did you pinpoint when you went through the game that were the primary factors that contributed to that?
BB: Obviously, we just need to do a better job. It's a combination of things. But, yeah, just need to do a better job.
Q: One question. Was Tyquan [Thornton] available to you if you needed him for the final two and half quarters?
BB: Yeah.
Q: As we go past the halfway point of the season here, obviously the results haven't been what you wanted. What do you kind of pinpoint, in terms of general themes, as to why the results haven't equated to more victories?
BB: Like yesterday, we had our chances. We just need to make more plays at the critical times of the game. That's in the past here. We're moving ahead to Indianapolis and get ready for the Colts.
Q: One of the problems, obviously, yesterday on defense appeared to be tackling. This has been one of the biggest things you've talked about on a consistent basis. What's kind of been the disconnect there in terms of the execution on tackling, and what can you do better?
BB: Yeah. I don't know if I really see it that way. Fundamental tackling is always important. We work on that every week, and we'll always work on it. It's the most important part of defense, getting the guy with the ball on the ground. So, at times our fundamentals need to be better, could be better, and we'll keep working on it.
Q: Have you been given any assurances from ownership about your job status for the rest of the season?
BB: Yeah, my focus is on getting ready for the Colts.
Q: Do you personally believe you could be coaching for your job this week against the Colts?
BB: I'm going to control what I can control and get ready for the Colts.
Q: With the travel to Frankfurt this week, and flying out, what does the significant travel in the middle of the week preparation change for you guys in terms of what you're able to get done getting ready for Indianapolis this weekend?
BB: Well, we get there on Friday morning, so Thursday night is sleeping on the airplane. We'll lose six hours, or whatever it is. Friday, minus the six hours between the end of practice on Thursday and the start of the day on Friday. So, similar situation to what we had in our other games in London, so we'll be on that kind of schedule.
Q: With the experience your team has with the London games, are there any specific efforts the team takes to prepare players, try to not get players jet-lagged and have them adjust for that major time change?
BB: Yeah, we'll talk about that with them this week. We've obviously experienced it, looked at other teams in other situations and tried to gain as much as we can from that. It is what it is. You can't change what the situation is, but you try to minimize it and do the best you can with it. So, that's what we'll do.
Q: Is jet-lag an issue you see with players trying to get ready for a game that's, based on their body clocks, a lot earlier than usual?
BB: There's schedule changes in this league. There's Thursday games. There's a Europe game. There's Monday night games, Sunday games, and so forth. Those variances in the schedule, they are what they are.
Q: Just how has this season affected you personally, and has it enhanced or diminished your desire to continue coaching?
BB: I do the same thing I always do. I try to do the best I can to help our team every week.
Q: Has it affected you one way or the other, and what have you learned about yourself during a season like this and how have you kind of evolved in any ways?
BB: Yeah, I don't know.
Q: How would you describe how J.C. Jackson has handled his transition back to the organization after you guys acquired him in a trade, I guess, both on and off the field?
BB: Well, it's been a transition. I think his off-field training and physical health and conditioning – conditional has definitely improved. So, he's done a good job working at that. Just the consistency in the secondary from everybody is something we need to do a better job of.
Q: I was going to ask the same question about Jack Jones, just in terms of his transition coming back from IR, and what you've seen from that both on and off the field. The reason I ask, is yesterday, obviously, he wasn't involved in the game early. He was on the sideline. I'm curious if you see him engaged at the level you want to see him engaged. Because, sometimes to the outsider – obviously I'm not on the sideline – it didn't always look like he was necessarily fully engaged. I'm curious what you've seen from that.
BB: Yeah, look, all those guys, we played all the corners yesterday. There's a certain way we played them, and it varies from game by game. As you said, J.C. and Jack weren't available earlier in the year, so there's been a variety of circumstances there. Gonza [Christian Gonzalez] and Marcus [Jones] aren't available now, so I think everybody is working through it. We need to coach better, play better and play more consistently.
