HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

PRESS CONFERENCE
Monday, October 11, 2021

On his primary takeaway from the second half of yesterday's game:

BB: I mean, there were some good things in the game. There were some things that we didn't do well enough. I thought our situational football was better at the end of the half, at the end of the game, but still some things we need to clean up. 

On if he has an update on Damien Harris' injury:

BB: No. No update yet.

On if the offense playing well in the second half yesterday will inspire the team going forward:

BB: Well, sure. I think any time you do things well, it builds your confidence, whether it's in practice or, more importantly, in game situations, but until you do something and see it done successfully, I don't think you have quite the same level of confidence, and, of course, doing it in a game starts in practice, but then doing it in a game just reinforces that, so, again, I think we have some things to build on and we have some things we need to continue to work on or little details that could make a big difference in some of the plays in all three phases.

On how Matt Judon has impacted the defense:

BB: Matt's [Judon] an explosive player. He's certainly given us a number of significant plays. I think as he continues to work with his teammates and build communication and adjustments in the defense that it'll continue to get better. I think that's still an area that he's, I wouldn't say it's deficient, but I think it will improve, and it has improved over the course of the year, and I think it will continue to do that, but he's made a number of big plays. He's strong. He's fast, and he's instinctive, so he's got some good tools to work with.

On the offensive line's performance yesterday:

BB: I think, overall, as a group, they played hard. They played with a high level of intensity and competitiveness. Overall, the pass protection was pretty good, and we were able to punch out some yards in the run game, but I thought they fought hard, competed hard. For guys who haven't really played much or played together much, I thought they did a pretty good job. 

On Yodny Cajuste's performance:

BB: I think all the things I said about the group would apply to each of the individual players as well. Good effort. A lot of positive things. Not perfect, but more good than bad for sure.

On Jamie Collins' sack and his overall performance:

BB: Well, it was a good play by Jamie [Collins]. He was unblocked up the middle, but he made some plays for us in the kicking game and on defense, and we'll see how his role develops going forward, but it was good to have him, and, certainly, that was big play for us.

On his preparation for the Dallas Cowboys:

BB: We really spent all last week focusing on the Texans, and so after we get through with the film this morning, we'll turn the page and move onto Dallas. We have other members on our staff who have prepared for them and gotten some of the preparations ready for the rest of us, but, obviously, they're a good team, and we have a ton of respect for them, but as far as a lot of details and all that, I haven't really focused on them yet.

On Jake Bailey being the team's backup placekicker:

BB: Yeah. Of course. He does that every week. He would be our backup placekicker. That's right. 

On if the team would be confident in Jake Bailey if he were to kick field goals in a game:

BB: Yeah. Jake's [Bailey] a dual specialist. He would obviously be our kicker if we didn't have Nick [Folk], but, overall, Nick's kicked very well for us, so I certainly wouldn't put Jake in ahead of Nick, but if something were to happen, Jake's certainly showed the ability to kick the ball off the ground as well as punt it and vice versa. Nick would have to back up Jake in the punting area as well.

On the Red Sox and his relationship with Alex Cora:

BB: Yeah. It was a great win last night. Saw the highlights and the walk-off. It must've been a heck of a game. We were on the plane, but yeah. I've known Alex [Cora] for quite a while. I have a lot of respect for him. Certainly, all he's done here for the Red Sox and the championship they won. Looks like they put together another good team here, and it's fun to watch them play.