Bill Belichick was clearly frustrated following the New England Patriots’ 27-17 loss to the Colts. He offered an apology to the media for his rather “short” answers postgame.
“I apologize if it seemed like I was a little short with you after the game,” Belichick said Monday. “Obviously it was a frustrating game. Down 20-0, didn’t do anything well enough. There really isn’t much to say at that point without watching the film. Clearly, we had problems in every area so there was no simple answer. Every play could have been better, every area of coaching could have been better, every area of playing could have been better and any of that would have helped.
“So, not really trying to be short but there wasn’t really too much to say,” he continued. “I don’t know that there’s much more to say now but it’s not your fault. It was a frustrating game.”
The Patriots were dominated until the fourth quarter when Mac Jones and the offense caught fire while the defense stepped up to attempt a comeback, but they caught fire too late as Indianapolis ended up snapping the Pats’ seven-game winning streak.
Here is Belichick’s transcript on Patriots.com, in his postgame press conference. Other than his opening statement, he was rather short in his answers as you can see.
Opening Statement:
“First of all, I’d like to extend my sympathy to Ryan (Kelly) and his family. Our hearts go out to him. As far as the game goes, obviously we didn’t do anything well enough to win. We didn’t play well and we didn’t coach well. Too many penalties, fumbles, interceptions, over 200 yards rushing. We played from behind the whole game, so just nothing really good enough. We have to go back to work here, coach and play better next (game). It’s disappointing, but we’ll move on.”
How do you explain the unforced errors?
“I don’t know. Maybe you know what went wrong. I don’t know. Obviously, we didn’t do anything well enough, I don’t know how else to say it.”
What’d you see on the blocked punt?
“We didn’t block the guy.”
What did you guys learn from tonight?
“We didn’t play well tonight. I don’t know. We didn’t play well tonight. It is what it is. We didn’t coach well. We didn’t do anything well.”
Were you pleased with the fight you showed in the fourth quarter?
“We have to do everything better than we did tonight.”
Did you get an explanation from Referee Carl Cheffers on the ejection?
“You should talk to (Referee) Carl (Cheffers). Don’t we have a pool reporter who goes and talks to him, right? Go talk to him. He’s the one who made the call. Talk to him about it. I’m standing 50 yards away.”
Did the Colts make any adjustments or do anything differently during the game?
“They pretty much did what they do. They do enough to keep you off balance and they obviously did it better than we did.”
Was there any reason for the flat start that the team had?
“We didn’t play well. We didn’t coach well.”
How do you feel the team managed the clock at the end of the game?
“Nothing was good enough tonight to win so it wasn’t good enough.”
Is there a reason the team came out flat?
“We didn’t play well. We didn’t coach well.”
What did you see on Jonathan Taylor’s 67-yard run?
“We’ll look at the film.”
How do you feel you guys did against Taylor outside of that run?
“I’ve said it like five times, I could just say it another five times. We didn’t do anything well enough to win tonight, including giving up 225 yards rushing.”
Do you feel like the guys will be able to turn the page quickly for another big performance next week?
“We’ll see.”
Was the crowd atmosphere a factor in tonight’s performance?
“We’ve played in plenty loud stadiums before.”
Was this game hard for Mac Jones as a rookie?
“I don’t think we coached or played well enough to win tonight across the board, everyone, all of us.”
Was it a difficult choice to choose between a kick or conversion for the fourth-and-seven play during the fourth quarter?
“I did what I thought was best for the team.”
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Clearly, Belichick wasn’t in the mood to take questions following a loss of that caliber.