Bill Belichick talks about the game at his Monday Press Conference.
I thought it was our best chance to win. I thought we needed to make that one play and then we could basically run out the clock. We weren't able to make it.
Well, there're a lot of the decisions in the game that we all have to make - coaches, players. Each play is filled with decisions and you try to do the best you can on those and I think that's what we all do.
I tell the team - and I think they believe that I do what I feel like is best for our football team to win every game. I put the team first and I put those decisions first. I would hope everybody understands that.
[Asked if he would make that call again] You only get one chance.
[On the Colts moving the ball quickly downfield] We knew that. It didn't take those drives to figure that out. It's an explosive offense; we've seen them do it in one play. They did it to us two years ago on a 73-yard check down to [Joseph] Addai. It went the whole length of the field. We know how explosive they are. Anytime they have the ball they are capable of scoring. They're capable of scoring touchdowns. They're capable of scoring them in a hurry. They're capable of scoring them in one play. That's playing the Colts. I don't think that's anything that was overly significant in this game and that's the way it is in every game.
It’s disappointing to come up short in a game like that and I think we all feel it - as we should - [because] we put a lot into it,’’ Belichick said. "There were a lot of plays in that game that you think about. Obviously from a coaching standpoint, there are always a lot of things that could have been done better by me, the players, and everybody else.
You always feel that way after a tough loss like that. We’ve all got to do a better job, starting with me, and find a way to win those games.
TEAM TALK
- Erik Scalavino notes Belichick granted the team a rare Monday off to recoup and come back prepared to focus on the Jets.
- Monday Press Conference: Bill Belichick (13:54 min. video) Plus Transcript.
- Patriots Today: A stunner in Indy. (11.35 min. video)
-
WEEI Patriots Monday: Brandon Meriweather (9:07 min. audio) and Bill Belichick (35:40 min.)
LOCAL LINKS
- Adam Kilgore offers another vote for Bill Belichick and an intriguing argument in support of his decision.
- Jim Donaldson feels Belichick made the right call, it just didn't work out.
- Bill Reynolds thinks Belichick's decision was foolish, even if it worked.
- Chris Gasper puts that Belichick decision on the wrong side of the line between genius and madness.
- Albert Breer notes Charles Gruden had Belichick's back.
- Mike Reiss notes there are no updates yet on Patriots injured in Sunday's game: Banta-Cain (rib), Sam Aiken (hip), Stephen Neal (head) and Rob Ninkovich (knee).
- Christopher Price lists his Ten Things we learned from Sunday.
- Mike Reiss presents his Ten Quick Hit Thoughts on the Patriots.
- Christopher Price discusses Belichick's history of 4th downs. It's anything but conventional.
- Tony Massarotti asserts that the damage done to their season Sunday night was considerable.
- Monique Walker says this isn't the first daring decision Belichick made this year. Against the Falcons, he went for it on 4th and 1 from the Patriots own 24.
- Robert Lee talks about the coach's decision to go for it on 4th and 2, and the final timeout that was called beforehand.
- Ian Rapoport notes Belichick has been hit from all sides over his decision, even from supporters and ex-players such as Tedy Bruschi (who took it waaaaay too personally) and Rodney Harrison.
- Karen Guregian argues that right now the Patriots defense is not up to the task of stopping the league's best quarterbacks.
- Dan Duggan reports on Belichick facing the chorus of criticism from the media.
- Gerry Callahan points out that Jim Zorn, Todd Haley, John Fox and Norv Turner won Sunday but 'the great Belichick' lost because he out-geniused himself.
- Dan Guttenplan tells everyone to stop hating on Belichick. You can question his decision, but you can’t question his motive.
- Ron Borges grades the Patriots in his weekly report card. Brady and Moss at the head of the class. C'mon, take a guess at what he gave Belichick?
-
Boston Herald Patriots Notebook: Rookie Sebastian Vollmer made Dwight Freeney disappear; Kevin Faulk was distraught after the loss; The Patriots lead charter bus hit a parked police car on the way out of the parking lot sustaining only minor damage and no one was hurt.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Patriots' Belichick confident, not arrogant.
- Alok Pattani (ESPN Stats and Information) Formula seems to validate Patriot's 4th-down call.
- Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Belichick prepares for every situation, even this one.
- Joe Posnanski (SI) Why Bill Belichick made the right decision.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Whisenhunt stands behind Belichick.
- Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) Criticism for Belichick is misguided: Blame the refs who blew the call.
- Steve Wyche (NFL.com) Easy to second guess, but Belichick was just playing the percentages.
- Judy Battista (NY Times) Belichick's latest gamble backfires.
- Dan Shanoff (Sporting News) Belichick made the right call.
- Brian Burke (NY Times) Defending Belichick's fourth-down decision.
- John Czarnecki (Fox Sports) The real problem with Belichick's call wasn't that he went for it, it was the actual play that was called.
- Michael Lombardi (NFL.com) Belichick's move done out of respect for Manning's abilities.
- Clifton Brown (Sporting News) Sunday night blunder: Belichick's bold move backfires.
- Andrew Perloff (SI) Does Belichick's relationship with the media play a big part in their attacks?
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Who are the go-to guys on third down?
VIEW FROM NEW YORK
- Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Loss makes Jets coach emotional Rex: Team meeting after Jags debacle brings impassioned coach to tears.
- Steve Serby (NY Post) These Jets ought to be ashamed.
- William C. Rhoden (NY Times) After all that bluster, the Jets are barely breathing.
- Mike Vaccaro (NY Post) Rex's blatherers forced to eat their own words.
- Mark Cannizzaro (NY Post) Jets D-Line coach Locklin shown the door.