Here’s what New England coach Bill Belichick had to say after the 41-33 loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII:
Opening statement: “I’m really proud of the way our team competed tonight. I’m proud of the way our players and coaches competed for 60 minutes. It just wasn’t quite enough. We weren’t able to perform at our best. Obviously, we didn’t do a good enough job coaching, missed a lot of opportunities offensively in the first half, didn’t play good enough defense, didn’t play good enough in the kicking game. Just wasn’t quite enough against a good team like Philadelphia. Give them credit. Doug Pederson and his staff, they did an outstanding job. They played a competitive game. In the end, we just couldn’t quite make enough plays and that was all on me. Disappointing, but I’m proud of the way our team competed. These guys are champions, champions of the AFC. They earned that. We just came up a little bit short. Tough, tough way to end. There’s a lot of really good things that happened this season, but that’s what this game’s about.”
On if cornerback Malcolm Butler didn’t play due to a disciplinary decision: “No.”
On if it was strictly football:“Yes.”
On what the Eagles did to make defensive back Eric Rowe a better fit than Butler: “We put the best players out there and the game plan out there because we thought it’d be the best to win.”
On Eagles quarterback Nick Foles’ performance and their offense: “The Eagles played great offensively – everybody. Foles played good, the backs played good, tight end, receivers. It’s a good offensive team.”
On what made the Eagles offense hard to defend: “They did a good job. They did a good job all the way around. They got the [best] of all of their skill players. They had a good design and kept us off-balance. The offensive line played well. They were getting pressure on the quarterback. Just give them credit – they did a great job.”
On if it was disappointing to be unable to make second-half adjustments: “Of course it’s disappointing.”
On if there was a conscious effort to get tight end Rob Gronkowski more catches in the second half: “No.”
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