FOXBORO, Mass. — After fielding questions about ESPN’s much-discussed New England Patriots report in multiple forums Monday, Bill Belichick has had enough.
Belichick opened his Tuesday morning news conference by saying he no longer would answer questions about his reportedly strained relationship with Robert Kraft and Tom Brady or his decision to trade Jimmy Garoppolo. His entire focus, he said, was on the Patriots’ upcoming playoff opponent, the Tennessee Titans.
“I dealt with some non-Tennessee subjects over the last couple of days,” the Patriots coach said. “At this point, I’m all in on Tennessee. I’ll answer any questions about the Titans, but that’s it.”
The Patriots finished the regular season as the top seed in the AFC, earning them an automatic spot in the divisional round for the eighth consecutive season. They’ll host the fifth-seeded Titans on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
“It’s a one-game season,” Belichick said. “This is what you what you work for, to get to this position that we’re in. You put everything you have into this one-game season. We have one game left against the Titans. We have to play better than they do to be able to continue playing. So, that’s a huge challenge.
“Obviously, every team that’s playing — there are eight teams left — all eight of them are good teams. Every team’s good at this time of year. There’s a reason why they’re here. They’ve earned their way here. There’s no other reason why you’re playing this weekend unless you’ve earned it. We’ve earned it, the Titans have earned it, and I’m sure it’ll be a very competitive game. They’ve got a great football team. I can see why they’re here.”
The Titans already have won two de facto playoff games, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 to clinch their first playoff berth since 2008 and rallying for a road win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round to set up their date with the Patriots.
“We expect to get everybody’s best every week, and we’re certainly going to get everybody’s best in the playoffs,” Belichick said. “There’s nothing to save it for. It’s a one-game season. Whatever you’ve got at this point, in any capacity you have it, player or coach or scheme, there’s nothing to save it for. So everybody’s going to do their best and put their best out there. I think you’ve got to be ready for everything and anything at this time of the year.”
The Patriots, winners of two of the past three Super Bowls, are seeking their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance. The Titans have not reached the conference title game since the 2002 season and are 0-6 in their last six meetings with New England.
