Transcripts of conference calls by Bill Belichick and Deion Branch with Jets reporters on Wednesday:
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK
On what the Jets are doing better now than in Week 2…
I think all of us are doing a lot of things better than we were that first week of the season. The Jets do everything well. They certainly have gotten a lot of big plays out of their passing game with [Dustin] Keller, [Santonio] Holmes, [Braylon] Edwards and [Jerricho] Cotchery. Of course, their leading receiver is [LaDainian] Tomlinson. He gets a lot of catch-and-run plays, screen passes, short plays that he turns into long runs. He's very dangerous, too, while you're worrying about all the other guys. Of course, [Calvin] Pace is back in there on defense so that is another good player on that side of the ball.
On the Jets' slant game…
They do a good job on those routes. Edwards and Holmes are both very good after the catch. They can take a short pass and turn it into a long gain with their speed and Holmes' quickness. They also use the double move off that, which they ran against Green Bay and Detroit, if I remember right. They start on a slant and run the slant and run the sluggo [slant-and-go] off it. They do a good job of keeping you on them with the double moves, and on the simple catch-and-run plays that can be a 5-yard pass, that can be a big one.
On the Jets being 9-2…
I think their 9-2 record is what it is. It shows a lot about them right there and how they've won those games. In the end, I don't think anybody's record really matters right now. It's all about the preparation and the game this week. I don't think any of that is really that significant as far as the outcome of this game because this game is more about the preparation and the performance of the two teams. That will be on Monday night. That's how we look at it.
On spreading the ball around to different receivers…
I think the important thing is for the quarterback to get the ball to the players that are open. Those players make plays and need to be productive with it. However that occurs is really what the passing game is all about. You can throw to the same guy all the time if he's open and he's productive and makes a lot of yards and gets a lot of catches. There's nothing wrong with that. If you throw it to a bunch of different guys and they're productive, then that's fine, too, or if you run it and make the yards. The important thing is to move the ball and score points. You don't need stats for one guy or stats for five guys. The important thing is to be productive moving the ball and score points.
On what has made the Patriots receivers so effective after the catch…
Players that have running skills with the ball in their hands, that's how they make the extra yards. Some players are better at that than others. Some receivers are really good route runners and get open and have great hands and make great catches, but they're not as effective after the catch. Other receivers are less route runners but when they get the ball in their hands, they're dangerous. They make a lot of yards just by not getting tackled. There are a lot of different ways to do it.
Again, receivers have different skill sets that anytime you have the combination of guys that get open, catch the ball, run good routes and can make people miss after they get the ball in their hands, you face a lot of potential for big plays there. Not everybody has all of those. Not all receivers or tight ends are backed by all those skills. If you can get some combination of them, that's what makes you successful.
On the Jets' blitz packages…
They run their basic blitzes, but then with each of those calls, they have different ways of making them look the same but they're not the same, they're a little bit different. They disguise them or they make swap calls between a couple of players, so instead of this combination of players coming, another combination of players come, but that's the same coverage. Then they show you that same look and do something different off of it. They'll run action on coverage, with seven or eight guys in coverage so you're not getting single coverages. Everybody is getting doubled or most everybody is getting doubled on the play. You think they're going to blitz but then they pull out of it and give you more of a coverage look.
I think it's the changeups and little fine-point adjustments that they make from week to week or even within the game that they're subtle but they can be very effective. If a quarterback or receiver makes a mistake, he thinks he's going to see one thing when the ball snaps and it's something else and he doesn't make the proper adjustment, then you can have the quarterback and the receivers not doing the same thing or not doing the right thing and then you have problems in the passing game. A lot of it is the same or similar but they do change up from time to time. They do a good job of combining their pressures and their coverages and making them look the same so that it's hard to identify before the snap, sometimes even after the snap, exactly what they're in.
On his relationship with and respect for Rex Ryan…
Well, I have a lot of respect for Rex and all the things that he's has accomplished as a coach and professionally especially. Of course, Rob [Ryan] was here. I hired Rob when I came here in 2000, so even though I haven't spent a lot of time and I've never been on a staff with Rex, I've been on a staff with his twin brother. It sounds like they have a lot of similarities and I think they both describe it that way. I feel like I know Rex through Rob probably better than just the amount of time that Rex and I have spent together.
Obviously, he does a great job, did an excellent job with the Baltimore defense. That 2000 defense that he was a part of is as good a defense as there was in the history of the game. Of course his father [Buddy Ryan]'s defense at Chicago in '85 is probably the other one that's right up there. There is definitely some carryover that Rex and his father, Buddy, did.
Rex's development as the coordinator and then as the head coach of the Jets, you can definitely see his stamp on the team, how they play and how successful they've been over the last two years. I have a lot of respect for him, what he does and the success that he's had doing it throughout his career, particularly the last two years where we've gone head-to-head to with him, but all the way through.
On the last time he heard an opposing coach say he wanted to kick his butt…
I don't know.
PATRIOTS WR DEION BRANCH
On how New England's current passing offense compares with the offense the first time he played for New England…
I think it's a mix of both. I think, when I played back in the past, we had so many guys. The similarities are pretty much about the same. I think we had a lot of guys that were really versatile. We threw the ball around the field a whole lot the first four years. These guys did the same thing years past when I was in Seattle. They were still throwing it down the field. To be honest, I think it's game by game. Some games we may come in and say, "Hey, we're going to throw these right here." Other games, we'll target down the field. I really think it's just game-planning. I don't think it's a lot [of going down the field]. The focus is on the short game and trying to convert, and get a lot of YAC yards.
On Tom Brady…
Tom, he's a nerd. This guy studies so much. The thing is, we're in the room studying with him, going over a lot of things: positions, where he wants us to be when he's getting ready to throw the ball. I think guys are, obviously, making sure they're doing what he's asking of them to do and the outcome will be pretty good. I think the front line has been doing a great job for him back there, giving him time to throw the ball. I think guys are going out and making plays for him. This guy, he's a perfectionist. We all enjoy going to work for him.
On the excitement and importance of the game with the Jets…
Overall, the excitement is going to be there. I think the stage is set for this game. Two teams coming in undefeated, one on the road and one is undefeated at home. Monday Night Football. I think the rivalry speaks for itself. This is a big game, don't get me wrong, this is a very big game. But I think the thing is, whatever the outcome of this game really wouldn't tell what the outcome of the season may hold. We still have four games left on our schedule that will be pretty tough for both of us.
I think, most of all, we want to take advantage of the opportunity right now and worry about those next four games later, but honestly, we're not looking past the Jets. We're not looking past anybody that's left on our schedule as well. I think the biggest thing is there's going to be a lot of hype on the game, and there should be, but this one game isn't going to determine the outcome of the entire season. This game is very important, though, and I hope we go out and get the job done, execute our plays and come out victorious, hopefully.
On the rivalry with the Jets…
It's probably one of the biggest rivalries in the NFL. I'm looking forward to it. I know the guys on the team are looking forward to it. I think the biggest thing at this point is to stay focused and not get involved with the hoopla and the outside things that are going on leading up to the game. We have five, six more days before the game and this stuff started last week. The game, it'll be here pretty fast and somebody's going to win. That's the only thing we both know. The Jets and the Patriots do know that. At the end of the day, somebody will be 10-2 and somebody will be 9-3.
On the Jets defense…
I think it's the same thing. The things they are doing well are pretty much everything. I think all the guys are being sound. They're pretty much healthy. They have everyone back that they need, besides Kris Jenkins. I think, other than that, the guys that filled in for him are doing a great job. Coach Ryan is doing a great job of going out and leading the team. The guys aren't making many mistakes. I think, the thing is, that's the type of football they play, "No turnovers, no mistakes, hopefully we'll win the game."
I think they're doing a pretty good job at it. I think their record shows it. They're 9-2. I'm pretty sure they feel like they let two games slip out of their hands, but I think he is doing a great job of leading that team. Then you have the leaders on the defensive side of the ball doing a great job of them going out and executing their defensive plays that they're trying to get done.
On if he thinks Darrelle Revis is back to form after his injury…
I think you'd have to ask him that. I can't say. I don't know how another man feels. He looks great on film to me. He may not feel good if you ask him. I can't say how he feels, but I think, looking at him on film and everything, he looks good. He's moving pretty good. The guy is a problem. He's a good player and the coaches know what they have in him. I think the times that he did take the field 60 to 70 percent, the coach knew that and they took those chances. I think from I'm seeing on film, he looks good.
