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Bill Belichick Conference Call Transcript - 9/27/2011

Read what Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had to say as he addressed the media on Tuesday, September 27, 2011.

BB: We're onto Oakland here. Big win for them [Sunday vs. the Jets], [they're] really a couple of seconds away from being 3-0. They're a good football team [in] all three phases of the game - [they're] very explosive, got a lot of big pass guys, playing with a lot of confidence and we're going out there on the road. It will be a big challenge for us this week to get ready for the type of team we're going to be facing.  

Q: They run the ball like crazy. We've spent a lot of time talking about the explosive pass attacks and how this is an unprecedented passing year in the league. Is this a rare team that is sort of an old-school running team?  

BB: They definitely like to run the ball. They have good backs [and] a good offensive line. They emphasize it a lot - you can see they're pretty good at it. Those backs are really special. They throw enough deep balls and they do enough in the passing game to make you worry about that too. You can't just stop one thing. They're certainly a very good running team - one of the best that we'll face. That will be a big challenge for us.  

Q: You guys are heading out to the West Coast. Will this be normal in terms of travel plans or will it be something different because it's such a long trip?  

BB: What we normally do going to the West Coast. It shouldn't be anything we haven't done before, put it that way.  

Q: So you'll head out on Saturday early?  

BB: We're actually leaving Friday after practice.  

Q: We've heard the concept of forgetting about what happened last week and moving on. From a game planning perspective, how much does a player's performance in a previous game go into what you want to set up for the following week?  

BB: I really think each week is a new week. Each week presents new challenges. Sometimes the matchups from one week are more or less favorable than the week before. Again, a lot of times you never know exactly how a team is going to play anyway so you have to be ready to make adjustments during the game. You go in with an idea and you have some options. And then based on the way the game unfolds, sometimes it goes a little differently than the way you think it will once you see how it's going. You try to game plan wide and give yourself enough flexibility to be able to adapt and put your team in the best opportunity you can to be successful and be competitive. We have confidence in all the players on the team and whatever all they're asked to do. We'll put them in there and have them do it. If we didn't, then we'd have somebody else.  

Q: Have you crossed paths very often with Hue Jackson and what do you see he's doing with the team there?  

BB: No, I haven't. Just looking at the team, they're obviously impressive - [they're] doing a lot of things well. That was a strong team at the end of the season last year, actually all year. They had a solid year and played very well in their division. We studied them quite a bit in the offseason to become familiar with them because we hadn't played them since '08. That's a good football team and it looks like they're getting better.  

Q: Rolando McClain, one of the Raiders linebackers, was asked to describe you guys. He kind of called you guys a 'finesse team.' I don't know exactly how he meant it. What do you think when you hear a description like that?  

BB: I don't know. You'd have to ask him about it then. I don't know what he meant or how he meant it or anything else. We're trying to be a winning team - that's what we're trying to be.  

Q: I know we talked about some of the running game and the Raiders were successful against the Jets. They scored a lot of points on the Jets defense that is pretty good. Is there a specific way that they attack things or a specific way that they were able to be so productive against a pretty good unit?  

BB: I think overall they have pretty good balance. They definitely ran it and that opened up some things in the passing game. They kind of do what they usually do. They mix in some gadget plays, some reverses, some things like that, along with their power running game and do a good job in their passing game of getting the ball down the field and also getting it to their backs and underneath people too. They make you defend the whole field and any time you can be successful running the ball that opens up the play action and the passing game and everything else. It's good complementary football. They've done a good job of it.

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