Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addresses the media during his postgame press conference on Sunday, October 24, 2010.
Today's play?
"Nice to come out here and win. Tough game just like it always is with the Chargers. They have a really good football team. You got them down but you can't relax against these guys. They have too many talented players. Non/ (turner) does a good job. Give them a lot of credit for battling back and having an opportunity to win on the last play. l have to give our guys a lot of credit. They really hung in there and fought hard. They made plays when they had to. That is thekind of game it was. We have been in close games with the Chargers and are fortunate to come out on top today."
Couple unusual plays in first half (Chargers) leaving ball on ground. Your thoughts?
"You have to play them out. Whistle does not mean anything. Playing to whistle doesn't mean anything anymore. When ball is loose you got to play it out. We teach our guys to do that, play it out and ask questions later and forget about the whistle."
Thought process on 4th and 1 in 4th quarter?
"If we would have made it we could of pretty much ended the game right there. They made a good play. Give them credit. They got a good defense."
How hot was it on field?
"It wasn't that bad. It is San Diego."
How proud are you of making plays when needing to make plays?
"I am really proud of our team. Tough game, coming all the way out here, but we got off to a descent start. Got some turnovers. Struggled a little bit offensively. Got that going in the second half and hung on. We will take it."
What type of adjustments on second half offensively?
"Not much, we executed a little bit better. I thought we had little bit more balance in the running game. We were able to put less pressure on the quarterback. That is always a better thing."
Tempo of offense in second half it seems offense picked up?
"We had a little success with it. They had success with it. I really don't think it was a conditioning thing. Once you kind of get going and you keep it going at a fast pace, that builds the confidence and sometimes it will amount and that probably happen for both teams."
Specific game plan on Gates?
"He got away from us there at the end. He got on a couple of seam routes and beat us on a crossing route there for at touchdown. Trying to hold him up at the line of scrimmage and we doubled him quite a bit. We expected him to play. Gates is a tough player, he hasn't missed any games. He always shows up to play and always plays well. He is a tremendous player. It is hard to keep him down for 60 minutes. He is a tough guy to handle."
Defensive stop after the 4th and 1?
"They got the one first down there and then (Philip) Rivers hit (Antonio) Gates at the end to get a few yards closer which we were trying to keep them out of that situation ~ keeping it a long field goal - but they made a good play. False start penalty .... that probably helps."
Why not go for it on 4th and 1 in first quarter?
"I did what I thought was best for our team."
Onside kick?
"That was close. lwas there. We were ready for it. It looks like it was right on the line. It was close. It was a good play. Kris (Brown) is a good onside kicker."
Defensively young players making plays?
"I think we are getting better. We have a long way to go. We need to do a better job at coaching."
Last two weeks came out with a win?
"I think we have a lot of guys that will compete, a lot of guys that will play. That's good. A lot of games like that are going to come down to last play, last series in the NFL, that is the way it is just about every week. "
Stress the mental errors?
"We work on everything. We have to do a better job at coaching. Keep working at it. We have a lot of young guys they are working hard; we have some experienced guys too, just do a better job as a team and keep on improving"
