Recapping an Embarrassing Night for Belichick, UNC

Here is a partial transcript of Bill Belichick after the season opening loss to TCU on Sept. 1.

Opening Statement

It was a great atmosphere here for the game tonight. The fans had tremendous energy, and we played competitively early, but just couldn’t sustain it. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. We need to do a better job all the way around—coaching, playing, all three phases of the game just weren’t where they need to be. I know we’re a lot better than that, so we need to work on those things, show it on Saturday, and turn it around. Give TCU credit, they came in and did a good job. They were clearly the better team tonight. They deserved to win, and they did it decisively.

Question: Was there a sense of helplessness that you couldn’t stop it? And what was maybe the key sequence that got your team turned around?

Belichick: Multiple things. Anytime you give up two turnovers for touchdowns offensively, that’s not good. We gave up several long plays on defense where they gained a lot of yards on one snap. Too many three-and-outs, too many long plays defensively, and then turnovers. We had three total, two went for touchdowns. Just a combination of things we have to work on.

Question: How much teaching can you do from film?

Belichick: We’ll use the time as best we can to correct mistakes from last night and move on. We need to get ready for Charlotte. They’ve had a couple extra days and are coming off a disappointing game themselves, so both teams are in the same boat. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ll get at it.

Question: How much of that was due to the limited amount of time you had to prepare for this game, especially with tackling?

Belichick: We have to do a better job tackling, no doubt about that. We just have to work harder at it. There’s no secret, no pill you can take—you’ve got to tackle better fundamentally and get more guys around the ball, so we’re not stuck with so many tackles in space.