Patriots coach Bill Belichick was not happy when reporters suggested that his team has an easy game on Sunday against the Colts.
“There’s 16 games on the schedule and they’re all the same,” Belichick said, via the Boston Herald. “It’s our team versus that team that week. And we look at tape and learn about our opponent, scout them, and pick up tendencies. But how we match up against that team that day is all that matters. The rest of it, it’s a bunch of garbage. You guys can write about it all you want, it doesn’t matter. But, the winner of this game will be determined by which team plays better on Sunday, not what happened four weeks ago. And I know this is a news story, it’s like this every week. Every week.”
Reporters who pointed out that the Colts are 0-11 heard Belichick say what he’s probably saying to his players: They need to be focused on doing their jobs, not looking at how the Colts have played so far this year.
“What difference does it make? How somebody played two weeks go against somebody else,” Belichick said. “I mean, who cares? Us or anybody else. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is how we and the Colts perform against each on Sunday. That’s all that matters. Who cares who won three weeks ago in some game with some other players? It doesn’t matter.”
For the record, three weeks ago the Patriots went to New York and pounded the Jets, while the Colts got whipped at home by the Jaguars. Surely, that tells us a little bit about the Patriots and the Colts, doesn’t it?
Not according to Belichick, who said he’s focused only on the game ahead. When one reporter started telling him that he wouldn’t be able to judge his team based on how they play against a bad opponent like the Colts, Belichick got upset.
“I don’t agree with that,” Belichick said. “So, you can go ahead on your soliloquy about that, but I just don’t agree with that. You don’t think you can gauge a team based on how a player blocks Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis? I mean, who else would you gauge it against? What? Are you kidding me? Covering Reggie Wayne, [Austin] Collie, and [Pierre] Garcon — you don’t think you can gauge your coverage based on those players? I don’t care what their record is. You don’t think there’s better receivers around than them? Better pass rushers than Freeney and Mathis? I mean, I’m not sure what games you’re watching here.”