FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was all smiles as he walked to the podium Wednesday for his first news conference of the Super Bowl LII bye week.
“How’s it going? Good to be working this week,” Belichick said. “Should be working anyway. It feels good for us to be working.”
Belichick went long in a news conference originally scheduled for 15 minutes. He nearly doubled his allotted time at the podium, talking for over 29 minutes. Belichick expounded on nearly every topic broached other than when he was predictably snippy when asked about tight end Rob Gronkowski’s status after suffering a concussion Sunday.
Belichick even responded with a playful barb when a reporter mentioned the Patriots haven’t scored in the first quarter of a Super Bowl since he became head coach in 2001.
Belichick was left nearly speechless when a reporter asked this:
“Coach, most of us in this room know you pretty well. I was looking at your schedule for next week. Would you say the chance to win a Super Bowl is the only thing on this earth that would get you in front of the media and in a mall at the same time?”
His response:
“Probably a pretty good analysis,” Belichick said.
The Patriots have 11 days to prepare for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. They depart for Minnesota on Monday, Jan. 29.
