Belichick emphasizes team concept

JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- With the Lombardi Trophy glimmering just to his left, Bill Belichick spoke today in glowing terms of the people of Jacksonville and a group of folks he’s more closely associated with, the 2004 New England Patriots.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It’s been a hard-working team. We’ve demanded a lot of them from mini-camp, training camp, preseason games, and a regular season 16-game schedule,” the New England coach said at his final media briefing before Sunday’s Super Bowl. “Through a lot of adversity they’ve played well and have come together. I’m proud to be coaching them. They’re a great group to be around.”

But Belichick wanted nothing to do with the Lombardi Trophy with which he shared the stage at the Prime Osborne Center. Customary on the Friday before the Super Bowl for both head coaches to pose with the trophy individually, when Belichick was done with his press conference, he rushed past the table it sat on before anyone had a chance to ask him to stand with it.

“That trophy right there represents the team, and I mean that word collectively, T-E-A-M, team, who executes and plays the best football in a season in which the year is engraved,” Belichick said. “That’s what it stands for. It doesn’t mean anything that happened the year before. It doesn’t say which is the best team, most talented team, the team that has the most guys going to the Pro Bowl, which team has the biggest payroll, whatever you want to talk about. It stands for the team that played the best in that season. They put the number on it for that year, and the next we start all over again.”

In order to be that team again, one final challenge lies in front of the Patriots if they hope to raise the Lombardi for a third time in four years: stopping the Philadelphia Eagles, and in particular, quarterback Donovan McNabb.

“Donovan McNabb is this era’s version of a human highlight film,” Belichick said. “He does so many things with the ball in his hand that it forces you to defend him and that leaves you vulnerable to some other people.

“Every play is a potential big play for Donovan McNabb when the ball is in his hands. You see him throw the ball downfield for eight yards, see him scramble around. He’s a tough guy to defend.”

Another individual capable of breaking open the game will be wide receiver Terrell Owens, who by all signs has recovered enough from an ankle injury that he’ll play on Sunday, a dangerous threat for McNabb to turn to, as well as Brian Westbrook running the ball.

There is some question as to how well Owens can cut up the field due to his lingering injury, but Belichick said that doesn’t change how the Patriots prepare for him.

“Look, he’s not going to be out there on crutches. If he’s out there he’s going to be able to run and be able to play,” he said. “Whether we can cover him or not, that remains to be seen. You know, they’re not going to put the guy out there in a wheelchair.”

Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid said this morning that whether or not Owens starts is irrelevant as it applies to his playing time, and that the Eagles had broken his participation down by certain plays. When Belichick was asked if that gave an emotional lift to the Eagles, the New England coach paused before answering.

“Is Andy going to fax that play over to us?” he asked.

Owens’ presence gives the Eagles an edge in a game in which they have been popular underdogs, a situation Belichick knows all too well, when his team was a 14-point underdog to the St. Louis Rams. He knows the line doesn’t matter.

“The only thing we’re concerned about is how we play on Sunday,” Belichick said. ”The team that wins this game is the team that plays the best. That’s what this game comes down to.”

Belichick also announced today that the Patriots have expanded their roster back to 53 players by signing offensive lineman Billy Yates from the practice squad.