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Bill Belichick Postgame Press Conference Transcript

New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick addresses the media at Gillette Stadium following a preseason game versus the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, August 20, 2012.

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BB:We got to look at a lot of players tonight, evaluate them against a good football team and we'll take a look at the film and correct our mistakes, build on it. We've got a quick turnaround this week with Tampa. These are the days that we can, as a team, really learn from a lot of these experiences, game situations, training camp practices and so forth, to make our team better, so that's what we're going to do. It was some good experience for us out there tonight. Some good situations came up. We played against a good team and I thought we competed hard. Obviously we didn't make enough plays to win, but there are some things to build on there and obviously a lot of things to correct.

Q:Will you guys really even have time to look at this film and break it down or will you go right into Tampa preparations?

BB:Yeah, we'll do that tomorrow and then we'll head to Tampa tomorrow night. So it will be like a normal day after a game for us and then we'll head to Tampa.

Q:Can you speak about playing three games in a ten-day span?

BB:What about them?

Q:Does that affect your preparation?

BB:It is what it is. We don't make the schedule.

Q:Can you comment on the addition of Jeff Demps and what drew you guys to him?

BB:We scouted him coming into the draft last year and then he, of course, went to the Olympics. After that he was like any other undrafted player, so we worked him out and we agreed to it with him.

Q:Did you have a level of concern about the protection early on in some of the passing game situations?

BB:Yeah, the Eagles are a good team so we're concerned about everything. Just go out there and play. We had over 50 plays in the first half and we had a lot of snaps, so we got a chance to evaluate a lot of things against the Eagles.

Q:It seemed like after the first touchdown there was some kind of discrepancy with the referees before the two-point conversion?

BB:There was a half-the-distance penalty, so instead of the ball being on the two, it was on the one, so we went for it. I don't know what you're talking about.

Q:Did they address it with you?

BB:The ball was on the two-yard line and it was a half-the-distance to the goal line penalty, so they put the ball on the one, so we went for two points. I'm confused, sorry.

Q:It looked like Dont'a Hightower was calling the defensive plays. Does that speak to how comfortable he is with the defensive system?

BB:He's one of the players that's been – we have several players doing that, calling the defensive signals. We change it from game to game or within practices so that multiple players are able to do that depending on what could come up during the year. So, now's the time when everybody practices it and he's one of those guys.

Q:Nate Ebner is on a bit of a hot streak with making plays on the ball in practice and tonight. Can you talk about his instincts?

BB:Nate's shown up around the ball and that's good. There are certainly a lot of things he needs to work on. He has good plays, he makes mistakes and learns from them. He doesn't have a whole lot of experience, but he works hard, he's smart, he's getting better. So, we'll see how it goes here, how much we can build on tonight and the previous practices and we'll see how much he improves going forward.

Q:Was starting Ryan Mallett over Brian Hoyer just a chance to see Ryan against a top defense?

BB:It wasn't – they played equally. I think they probably played against the same players and with the same players.

Q:What did you like from Deion Branch today? He had three targets and three catches.

BB:We have a lot of guys playing out there so it would be hard for me to critique any individual player tonight. But it's always good to see him step up and catch the ball, sure.

Q:What was your evaluation of Ryan Mallett's play?

BB:Yeah, same thing. I'm trying to watch a lot of guys out there. We'll go back and watch the film tomorrow morning and then players come in tomorrow afternoon and we'll take a look at it. I'm sure there were some good things; I'm sure there were some things we could have done better – all of us: every player and every coach included. That's what the preseason is for, that's what practice is for and we'll try to critique all of our mistakes and correct them going forward. We're all in that category: players, coaches, everybody.

Q:You had quite a few players not dress for the game. Can you talk about your decision making process?

BB:You can't put all the players in the game anyway, so we played some players more this week; we play other players more in other games. Some players didn't play tonight because of injury or personal situations. A couple other players didn't play.

Q:How about the tight preseason schedule with three games in 10 days? How much does that affect your decision making process?

BB:I don't know. It's a factor. I don't know. I couldn't give you a percentage or anything. We take everything into consideration and try to do what's best for the team.

Q:Was it a unique opportunity to match up some of your players against some of theirs that normally would not match up quite that way?

BB:I think every game is an opportunity. We can't control what anybody else does; we can only control when we do, so that's what we do. We practice and prepare and try to get the players ready who are going to play in that particular game, or we think are going to play, and then we do what we do. We can't really control what our opponents do: who they play, what they play, what they call. We can't worry about that.

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