On the eve of the 2019 NFL season, New England Patriots fans were treated to two compelling looks back at their team’s run to a sixth Super Bowl title.
“Do Your Job Part III: Bill Belichick and the 2018 Patriots” and “America’s Game: 2018 Patriots” both premiered Wednesday night on NFL Network.
The former highlighted head coach Bill Belichick’s relationship with longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, with the two coaches sharing insight into key aspects of the Patriots’ three postseason game plans. The latter told the story of New England’s season through interviews with wide receiver Julian Edelman, tight end Rob Gronkowski, safety Devin McCourty and cornerback Jason McCourty.
Here are 22 of the best quotes from the two hourlong specials:
1. Belichick during his speech at the Patriots’ latest Super Bowl ring ceremony: “Josh, I’m glad you didn’t go to Indianapolis. Let’s start with that.”
2. Tom Brady to McDaniels after being removed from a drill during spring practice: “I’m hot right now. You can’t take out a pitcher who’s throwing a no-hitter. Especially when it’s the fourth inning.” (McDaniels’ response: “I know, but you’re old. I’ve got to save your body.”
3. McDaniels on the Patriots’ shift to a run-heavy offense late last season: “(Belichick) said, ‘If you keep holding on to what you’d rather be — no-huddle, spread formations, 34 points a game — then you’re probably going to end up regretting a lot of things at the end of the year.’ What are we really good at? What’s the most consistent part of our team offensively? And then you commit to it. We had been a pretty decent running football team. It was something that we felt like our personnel fit.”
4. Belichick during a postgame speech late in the regular season: “Don’t believe all the other (expletive) out there about how bad we are and how bad we suck and all that, how old we are. Just keep doing what we’re doing.”
5. McDaniels on Belichick: “It’s hard for me to imagine anybody being a better leader and a better role model for a young coach. He gives you responsibility, and then he lets you do your job.”
6. Belichick on Kansas City Chiefs receiver Chris Conley’s uncalled illegal pick late in the AFC Championship Game: “You can legally make contact with a defender within a yard of the line of scrimmage. Conley ran into (J.C.) Jackson 4 yards downfield. It was pretty clear what that play was and how it should have been called.”
7. McDaniels on the Patriots winning the overtime coin toss in the AFC title game: “As soon as we won the coin toss, we wanted to score and go home. And I think the belief that we were going to do that was extremely high at that point.”
8. McDaniels on the winning drive in OT, which featured three third-and-10 conversions: “I don’t know that we ever converted three third-and-10s in a game all year, which most teams don’t. I’m not sure you could be more proud as a coach. It was a really special drive.”
9. McDaniels on the Patriots’ offense struggling to score points in Super Bowl LIII: “At some point in the game, you have to be willing to just say, ‘We’re not going to score 32 (points).’ I think the realization for us happened somewhere middle, towards the end of the third quarter. It was like, ‘We need a drive. A drive. And that might be enough.’ ”
10. Belichick to the Patriots’ defense before Stephon Gilmore’s pivotal Super Bowl interception: “They really can’t beat us. We just can’t screw up now. If we’re honest, we know they don’t got anything.”
11. McDaniels on Belichick: “I’ll be excited to be there in Canton when he goes in (to the Hall of Fame) five years after he’s done coaching, whenever that is. Which will probably be a long time.”
12. Edelman on his first touchdown after returning from a season-long injury and a four-game suspension: “It was nice to get back in (the end zone). It’s like a warm, cozy spot that, on a cold day, you just want to lie next to. That’s what the end zone’s like.”
13. Gronkowski on the Miami Miracle: “I missed that tackle. Even though I’m a spectacular tackler, I missed it that time, all right?”
14. Gronkowski on Edelman: “Julian’s a beast. Big games come, he’s always coming out to play. You never see Julian in big games back down.”
15. Edelman on Brady’s “everybody thinks we suck” declaration: “I think he’s genuinely pissed off that people think we suck. 100 percent.”
16. Devin McCourty on defending Tyreek Hill: “You’re going against a guy who just had 175 yards and three touchdowns the first time you played him, and he had one catch (in the rematch). What we were doing from a defensive standpoint was pretty good defense against him.”
17. Edelman on screaming “You’re too old!” at Brady during the AFC title game: “Everyone kept saying it, so you let him know. You agree with them sometimes. He’s too old to make those throws. Bombs in Arrowhead for touchdowns. You’ve got to let him know sometimes. You’ve got to let him know you’re agreeing with the people.”
18. Edelman on his near-muffed punt against Kansas City: “I’m 100 percent sure it did not touch my wonderful, all-red Cutters. One hundred percent.”
19. Gronkowski on Dee Ford’s encroachment penalty wiping away an interception that bounced off his hands and would have ended the Patriots’ season: “We just threw an interception, and I saw a flash in my eyes that the season was over. And I turn around to see a flag on the ground, and I’m just hoping for a second chance.”
20. Edelman to running back Sony Michel after the AFC championship: “Hey, we’ve got one more. This is cute, but if we win that next one, that’s where the real fun is. That’s where you’ll always be a champion. This is awesome, don’t get me wrong. But the next one.”
21. Edelman on Super Bowl LIII: “You appreciate any time you get to play in a Super Bowl, but there was a little extra oomph. This was a long year. We weren’t supposed to be here. Everyone thinks we’re going to lose. Everyone thinks we’re not good enough, our time’s over. But we’re here, and we’re ready to work.”
22. Gronkowski on winning another Super Bowl title: “Whenever you’re at the top like that, people just make up stuff — just saying the Patriots dynasty is done. They’ve said it every year. And one year, they will be right. But they’ve never been right yet.”
