Bill Belichick addresses the media during his press conference at Gillette Stadium.
BB: Well, that isn't exactly the way you draw them up, but we're happy with the win. The Bears are a good football team. It's good to come out on top. I'm sure neither team feels like they played their best football today. Still, all that being said, fortunately we were able to make a couple more plays than they did and that's why we won. There were plenty of mistakes to go around out there, all the way around, every phase of the game for both teams. We had some guys step up and make some big plays at the right time. That's what ended up being the difference in the game. [There are] a lot of things we have to work on, a lot of things we need to work on. That's what we'll do this week and get back to work on.
Q: Can you talk about the job that Asante Samuel did today?
BB: He made three big plays. He made three big plays and missed one. He has good hands, plays the ball well. He's an instinctive guy.
Q: How do you think your offensive line met the challenge upfront with the Bears' defense?
BB: I think there were some good things in the game. Actually, there were a lot of good things in the game. I thought we played hard. I thought we made a lot of plays, but that was almost overshadowed by some of the plays that we didn't make, or gave up, however you want to look at it. I think there's probably a lot of good and not so good probably in every phase of the game and every unit of the game.
Q: You were big on Junior Seau, how much will be missed and how long?
BB: Yeah, I'm not sure exactly. I'll wait until I know more. I don't know. But, certainly we missed him and if he's not able to play we'll miss him going forward.
Q: If you were told before the game that you were going to have five turnovers, what would you have thought the odds of winning the game would've been?
BB: Like I said, there's a lot of things we need to do better. We gave up some long balls. We almost had a punt blocked, turned the ball over. They had some of the same problems. Like I said, it's not the way you draw it up. It's a question of making plays at the time you need to make them to win the game. Luckily we made a couple more than they did.
Q: With the way the game was being called, was it hard to get a read on the defensive backs and the way they were covering?
BB: Yeah, I don't know. Again, our job is to play not to officiate. When there's contact down there, if you're not playing the ball, I think you're probably going to get those called against you.
Q: Are you working with [Tom] Brady and his running moves out there?
BB: Yeah, he had two big runs on that touchdown drive. Those were certainly key plays. He made a nice move there coming up the middle on [Brian] Urlacher. On the short yardage sneak, that was a play that he kind of checked to when he saw some space in there and thought he could make it and those were big runs, going into the game, [not] the guy who you think is going to have a couple of big runs for you, but he did.
Q: When you see him running at Urlacher, what is the first thought that comes to mind, 'Get down?'
BB: Well, he had a little space to work with. He had another good run earlier in the year against Cincinnati, I think it was Cincinnati and he broke out of there. He's a football player. He's a competitor. I have all the confidence in the world in Tom's judgment. If he thinks he can make the play, then I trust him to go ahead and make it.
Q: Kevin Faulk set the franchise record for receptions by a running back today. What makes him so good in the passing game?
BB: I think Kevin is good in all areas of the passing game. He's quick. He understands coverages - man and zone, kind of knows where the open spots are. He has good hands. He knows how to set defenders up. He knows how to find open spaces and does a good job of beating man coverage. He's a good screen back. He's good getting loose in the open field and loose plays with the ball in his hands. We like to see him get it in those situations.
Q: Did the players have any comments or complaints on the new surface?
BB: No, I didn't hear any. No. We were just trying to concentrate on the Bears. We had our hands full with that, believe me.
