Bill Belichick accepts his Coach of the Year award in a phone conversation with NFL Network's Total Access crew.
"I accept the award on behalf of the entire organization -- ownership, our assistant coaches and certainly the players -- they're the ones that stepped up and made the plays this year," Belichick said in an NFL Network phone interview. "We had a lot of new people on the team, young players that contributed. It's certainly an honor to receive this award on behalf of our performance in the regular season. Unfortunately, we weren't able to carry that over into the playoffs."
What was the biggest challenge to getting your team up each week while winning 14 games with so many moving parts and so many young parts?
"It was interesting, we faced a lot of different challenges this year, both in the AFC and of course the NFC schedule where we played Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota. It was really a different challenge every week and I just have to give a lot of credit to the players. They adapted, they adjusted to tough weather conditions, like the snow out in Chicago, for example. The players did a good job of staying focused and playing through those conditions. We were able to get a lot of turnovers defensively at the end of the year, and offensively we had a lot of points and special teams scores early in the year, so it all kind of balanced itself out one way or another during the course of the season."
Bill Belichick responds to Roger Goodell's assertion that he felt deceived by his response to spygate.
I did not make any assurances about throoughly discussing the subject publicly. I said I would address it following the league's review. I then did that in a way I thought was appropriate. I don't think that was deceptive.
Mike Reiss catches up with Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald to get his thoughts on the Patriots.
"I think it all starts with the head coach [Bill Belichick]. He does a fantastic job, week in and week out, keeping his guys mentally prepared to go out there and play," he said. "He’s the only coach in history to have four seasons with 14 wins, and that alone, speaks volumes of what he’s able to accomplish, especially in that [AFC East] division. I think you’re looking at the NFL’s strongest division, from top to bottom. If Buffalo played in the NFC West, they’d probably win the NFC West. That’s a strong, strong division and he’s found a way to win it [eight] times. It’s astonishing. "
TEAM TALK
- The Associated Press named Bill Belichick the NFL Coach of the Year. It is the third time that Belichick has earned the honor. He was also named coach of the year following the 2003 and 2007 seasons.
- Patriots Today - Belichick named NFL's top coach. (2.26 min. video)
- Erik Scalavino looks at each position to see where the most pressing needs may be: Wide Receiver.
LOCAL LINKS
- Ian Rapoport notes Bill Belichick received a well-earned Coach of the Year honor yesterday, but it won't make him feel any better about the way his season ended.
- Tom E. Curran reports Bill Belichick received 30 of 50 votes to win his third AP Coach of the Year award, but sees room for debate.
- Mike Reiss tells us why Rich Gannon voted for Bill Belichick for Coach of the Year.
- Mike Reiss wonders where does 2010 rank in Coach of the Year Bill Belichick's tenure?
- Tom E. Curran responds to the story of Roger Goodell feeling "deceived" by the lack of a public explanation from Bill Belichick after the league handed down its punishment.
- Greg A. Bedard reports the league has told teams they can use franchise tags on February 10th.
- Mike Reiss notes Veteran receiver Torry Holt, who was with the Patriots in training camp, believes the team is one receiver short and it showed up in the playoff loss to the Jets.
- Monique Walker reports Rob Gronkowski is joining his brothers in Dallas this week for charity, benefiting the Heart of America Foundation.
- Mike Reiss notes Rob Gronkowski's success put his family on the NFL map.
- Tony Massarotti explains why a Steelers loss on Sunday is a good thing for the Patriots on a number of levels.
- Christopher Price reports the Packers say their season started to turn around with their loss to the Patriots.
- Ian Rapoport notes Packers backup QB Matt Flynn had "a blast" playing against Tom Brady and the Patriots back in December.
- Ian Rapoport notes Packers OLB Clay Matthews thought he'd be drafted by the Patriots.
- Tom E. Curran reports Cardinals' brilliant receiver Larry Fitzgerald is a fan of the Patriots and Bill Belichick.
- Jerry Thornton offers his Super Bowl Survival Guide.
- Tom E. Curran shares his Dallas Diary: Ups and downs of the job.
- Kirk Minihane says it's Mailbag time, and it's all Brady vs. Roethlisberger this week.
- WEEI highlights Jay Glazer's appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show.
- Mike Reiss focuses on the future at each position: Cornerbacks.
- WEEI scouts out potential Patriots: OT/OG Benjamin Ijalana (Villanova) and RB Mark Ingram (Alabama).
- Ron Borges reports negotiations may be at a standstill but there was no shortage of talk by NFL executives and Players Association officials about how the other side has it all wrong.
NATIONAL NEWS
- The NFLN Total Access crew discuss the AP selection of Bill Belichick as Coach of the Year. (6.22 min. video)
- Peter King (SI) The Man of the Hour. A politician's son who rose from intern to NFL commissioner. Includes two paragraphs about how Goodell felt "deceived" by Belichick's spygate response.
- Jason Whitlock (Fox Sports) Big Ben's just a pawn for Goodell.
- Eric Adelson and Adam Watson (Yahoo! Sports) NFL orders players to cut ties with company touting deer antler supplement.